September 16, 2015

UK pay rates predicted to overtake rest of Western Europe ⁰

Latest figures from the ONS show that after several years of pay rises at or below the level of inflation, the UK has seen average pay rates grow at the fastest rate since 2009. Unemployment rates are unchanged at 5.5 percent compared with February to April 2015 but lower than for a year earlier (6.2 percent). Comparing May to July 2015 to a year earlier, both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) for employees in Great Britain increased by 2.9 percent. According to the latest Salary Budget Planning Study from Towers Watson’s, this upward trend will continue, with British workers set to enjoy a boom in real-terms pay increases in 2015. The study, primarily covering private sector companies, shows that average UK pay rises of 3 percent, coupled with record low annual inflation of 0.2 percent, will outstrip those enjoyed by workers in all other major European economies.

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September 16, 2015

Employees exhausted by a culture of continuous change at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

A culture of continuous change may be standard practice within larger organisations, but it can have a negative effect on employees, a new report claims. The seven-country Liquid Change Survey of senior executives at large corporations, commissioned by Ketchum Change, found that some leaders are unaware of the effects of so-called change fatigue, despite their employees struggle to keep up. Among partners and board-level executives, only 28 percent think change fatigue is highly prevalent. The survey suggests that to succeed in an environment of continuous change, a more collaborative approach must replace the old top-downmodel. Outlining a clear strategy and goals (43 percent) and engaging with leaders across the organization to co-create the new environment (41 percent) were cited as the most effective ways to get leaders to believe in and actively lead through change.

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September 15, 2015

Considerable minority of working women report gender discrimination ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace

Whether the new Shadow Cabinet is or isn’t representative of women (there are no women in senior roles on the Labour front bench, but half of the total posts went to women) was a major talking point about the new Labour Party line-up yesterday. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, despite numerous policy and cultural efforts in recent decades to break corporate glass ceilings, integrate women in traditionally male-dominated fields and shine a spotlight on pay equity and advancement, a considerable minority of working women report feeling they have been discriminated against at some point in their career. Gallup’s Work and Education survey found 17 percent of working women believed they had been denied a raise at work because of their gender and 12 percent of women say they have been passed over for a promotion or other opportunity because of their gender at some point in their life.

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September 14, 2015

Staff already dreading the advent of Gen Z at work, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Wellbeing, Workplace

If, like us, you’ve grown tired of the endless media focus on Generation Y and its often unfair portrayal based on a clump of stereotypes, then brace yourself. Generation Z, defined as people currently under the age of 19, is now entering the workforce and, according to a new study commissioned by Ricoh Europe, the three demographics it will join at work are dreading it. Nearly two thirds (63 percent) of Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees surveyed in in Europe, Middle East and Asia say they expect workplace tensions to increase with the arrival of a fourth generation and half (52 percent) say their employers are already failing to meet the needs of different generations in the workplace. More positively, there was almost universal agreement (89 percent) amongst the 3,300 respondents that a diverse workforce is an asset to a business.

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September 14, 2015

Specific types of office design could be the source of conflict at work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Workplace, Workplace design

A new study from Swedish researchers suggests that the layout of offices not only affects how people respond to noise at work but may also be a source of conflict between co-workers. According to the study of more than 5,000 office workers, men and women are likely to react differently to specific types of office layout. Perhaps surprisingly, the researchers found that conflict is less commonplace in open plan offices than it is in workplaces that apply contemporary models of office design that offer workers a choice of how and where to work. They conclude this may be linked to the type of work associated with these particular layouts. The study also claims that women are more bothered by noise in these types of offices than men. According to the study, there was also a more readily discernible link between office type and workplace conflict for women than for men.

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September 12, 2015

Productivity myths + Gen Y shun London + Wellness & Work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Wellbeing, Workplace

In this week’s issue; Mark Eltringham says when it comes to productivity, not everything at work is a motivator and lists five ways your colleagues might be driving you mad. Researchers say that green cities could result in global savings in the trillions; the allure of London for Generation Y appears to be fading; and business leaders in the Capital are concerned about retaining employees and improving the infrastructure. The number of people working excessive hours in the UK increases by 15 per cent since 2010; US workers admit that that when they need to get important work done, they avoid the office completely; and wellness policies are overlooking the effects of the workplace on health. Check out our new events page, subscribe for free quarterly issues of Work&Place and weekly news here., You can follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

September 11, 2015

London’s allure for Millennials is less than it was, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The allure of London for Generation Y appears to be fading, according to a new report from Lloyds Commercial Banking. According to the study of 200 Millennials and 400 SMEs, the most talked about Generation appears increasingly happy to work for a small firm, wherever they are located. The survey claims that relocating to London is not on the agenda for half (51 percent) of Millennials, who would be happy to move anywhere for the right job. Over a third (35 percent) don’t want to move away from home, while less than a tenth (eight percent) insist they will only work in the capital – which the report claims is good news for SMEs located outside of London (assuming they want to employ Millennials in the first place, obviously). According to the report, location ranked seventh on the list of factors that would attract Millennials to a business.

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September 11, 2015

New analysis claims to reveal resurgence of long hours culture ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Government is being urged to reassess its plans to request an opt-out from the EU Working Time Directive, when it seeks to renegotiate the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU. The Directive stipulates a 48 hour working week, which the Government has argued is stifling competitiveness and flexibility. According to research by the TUC, the number of people working excessive hours has risen by 15 per cent since 2010, following more than a decade of decline in long hours working, with the number of employees working more than 48 hours per week reaching 3,417,000 – up by 453,000 since 2010. The union says many people are working unpaid overtime and at least a million report that they want to cut their excessive hours. The return of the long hours culture makes people feel pressured to ‘opt-out’ from the 48 hour limit as a condition of employment as currently, individual opt-outs are allowed by law.

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September 10, 2015

Five ways in which your colleagues might be driving you completely nuts ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

It’s always worth reminding ourselves that while a well designed workplace and favourable working conditions are very desirable prerequisites of a good job, what really makes work enjoyable and what really makes a great culture are the people with whom we work. This simple fact is one reason why some people are happy in poorly designed offices full of all the things that supposedly make them unhappy and unwell, while other people can be miserable in airy, daylit, tastefully furnished corporate palaces. Just as Peter Drucker once said that culture eats strategy for breakfast, we also know that it washes it down with a piping hot mug of office design. Culture is defined in large measure by the people around us, it can be they who determine how much we enjoy work. Here are just five ways they can drive us nuts based on recent data.

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September 9, 2015

The way we talk about workplace productivity needs another dimension

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

One of the most typical claims that suppliers in this sector make about their products is that they will make people more productive at work. Many go so far as to put numbers on what this means, and usually not just 0.4 percent or whatever but something far more. We can understand why they do this because they are seeking to link workplace productivity to whatever it is they have to sell. This is often tenuous for at least two reasons. The first is that even when such a causal link is demonstrably true, it still assumes that all other things at work are equal, whereas they never are because there are so many factors involved. That is why you will find some people cheerfully working in shabby, cluttered, underlit offices while others mope around unhappily in gilded cages with expensive chairs, soaring daylit atria and olive groves. The second is that such claims simply ignore what makes people tick.

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September 9, 2015

London firms optimistic, but want improvements to infrastructure ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Workplace

The number of firms planning to expand in London is at its highest level (50 percent) since 2012, though retaining employees and improving the capital’s infrastructure remain key concerns. According to the re-launched CBI/CBRE London Business Survey, over half of companies (55 percent) are increasing head counts, although three in five firms (60 percent) only hire where essential. London firms’ optimism has rebounded from last year, with almost half of companies (47 percent) feeling more positive about the UK’s economic prospects in the next six months – reversing the steady decline seen since the first quarter of 2014 – and 40 percent feel more positive about business prospects. Nearly four in five businesses (76 percent) highlighted improving the capital’s transport infrastructure as the number one issue the new Mayor of London must get down to tackling when they enter City Hall next year.

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September 9, 2015

Five unconventional ways to attract and retain Millennial talent ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Almost one third of millennial staff (29 percent) claim that a higher salary is the biggest contributor to their loyalty, despite only 20 percent of the broader American workforce reporting the same; the Staples Advantage Workplace Index, a study of office workers in the US and Canada claims. US office workers consider title and work responsibilities (38 percent) and work-life balance (30 percent) as leading contributors to their loyalty, but Millennials favour less traditional benefits including more flexibility; generous office amenities, such as gyms; a company which promotes and supports sustainable practices; a more sociable working environment with plenty of breaks; and finally, lots of positive feedback from their direct line manager. Unsurprisingly, unlike other generations of workers, Millennials say that the use of social media enhances rather than detracts from their productivity.

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