IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has welcomed new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing year-on-year growth in self-employment. There are 154,000 more self-employed than this time last year. In total, there are now 4.4 million operating in the UK. The data also revealed a significant rise in the number of women choosing to work for themselves, with an additional 93,000 self-employed women compared to the same time last year. More →

New research from the CIPD suggests there is a significant gap in workplace support for people experiencing fertility issues. Nearly one in five (19 percent) people affected said they had considered leaving their job due to their experience at work while undergoing fertility challenges, investigations or treatment. The CIPD’s accompanying guidance for employers, workplace support for employees experiencing fertility challenges, investigations and treatment, suggests that managing the health impacts of it alongside employment can be extremely difficult without an understanding employer. More →

A significant majority (85 percent) of employees feel like they are just a cog in the machinery of their organisation and 43 percent have no idea how their performance contributes to business success, according to a new survey of employee experience and expectations. According to the new study [registration] from Oracle, HR leaders are struggling to keep up with changing employee expectations and this can have dire consequences for businesses. The survey of 1,000 employees and HR leaders across the United Kingdom (UK) found that despite current economic uncertainty, worker expectations are higher than ever, and HR leaders need help to get the employee experience right or risk losing profits and market share. More →

If you’ve ever thought that the success or otherwise of a career is a little or largely dependent on getting the right breaks at the right time, new research from academics in the UK and France may confirm it. The study examines the role of chance events, whether positive or negative, on managers’ career success across Europe. While positive chance events typically have a positive impact on careers, 71 percent of those having experienced a negative chance event report nevertheless a positive impact on their careers. More →

Almost a quarter of jobs are expected to switch in the next five years according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Its Future of Jobs Report for 2023 suggests that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment. The data is an extrapolation of data from 803 employers employing around 11 million people. More →

Despite the essential presence of sales professionals in most organisations, the stereotype is such that many don’t like to disclose their occupation. A new poll conducted by Gong claims that the majority (54 percent) of enterprise sales professionals don’t want to admit they work in sales. Reasons as to why many sales representatives don’t like to expose what they do for work, is driven by  the feeling that others assume that they only care about sales commission (40 percent). More →