May 9, 2023

Employees care more about work culture than flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

New findings from Cpl’s Talent Evolution Group suggest employees care less about flexible working than generally thought. The survey, to 1,500 UK employees, reveals Brits are more than twice as likely to leave their job due to negative work culture or a toxic working environment than because of limitations with flexible working. Whilst organisations may be prioritising flexibility for working parents, over 80 percent of 25–44-year-olds would not actually consider limitations to flexible working a reason to leave their position. More →

May 3, 2023

Poor management to blame for low performance and poor mental health of workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from the CIPD suggests that there is a direct link between poor management and negative mental health, job satisfaction and performance amongst workers. In response, the CIPD is highlighting the need for better people manager selection and development to ensure managers have the skills needed to effectively lead and support their teams. Its report, The importance of people management, draws on data from the CIPD’s annual Good Work Index, which asked employees to rate their managers on a range of people management behaviours. More →

May 3, 2023

Around a quarter of jobs will shift over the next five years, WEF report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

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 →

May 2, 2023

Half of sales people don’t like to admit what they do for a living

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

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 →

April 25, 2023

People responding to artificial intelligence by focussing on their ‘human skills’

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

Globally, workers are focused on developing their human skills, even as they see a future dominated by technology-driven work, artificial intelligence and automation, according to a new study from Pearson. For the latest edition of the Pearson Skills Outlook series [registration], Pearson partnered with Google to examine how and why people in the US, UK, India, and Brazil are looking to upskill as they face a rapidly changing economy. More →

April 5, 2023

Do you have a crystal ball when it comes to leading change?

by Jennifer Bryan • Comment, JB, Workplace

If you think about a change that is happening to you, in some way, right now – how are you feeling? Are you feeling scared, anxious, worried or happy, excited, looking forward to it? The same thing happens with a workplace change. Some people like the old ways of working because they are use to them, feel comfortable, they don’t have to think about it. Whereas others are looking forward to the new ways of working, as they think they are exciting, new and different. More →

April 5, 2023

Three quarters of people who left their pre-covid employer now want to go back

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

According to a new poll from recruiter Robert Walters, almost three quarters of professionals (71 percent) who left their pre-covid employer in search of better pay or working culture say that they are open to returning. Half of the 3,000 people surveyed say that the reasons as to why they left in the first place are no longer applicable. Nearly half (45 percent of workers) who had left their job after lockdown did so for better pay – with a further 35 percent leaving for a better workplace culture or more purpose/fulfilment in their role. More →

March 29, 2023

Generative artificial intelligence set to boost GDP but could affect 300 million jobs

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

The latest developments in generative artificial intelligence could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs, a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs claims. The authors suggest that the technology could replace around a quarter of the work tasks carried out in the US and Europe but may also mean new jobs and a productivity boom. The report claims that the tech could increase total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7 percent. More →

March 24, 2023

What Studs Terkel can teach us about how we talk about work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace, Workplace design

Studs Terkel is a particular hero of mine. I like his name, his style, his association with jazz but also the way he wrote. His characteristic approach was marked by interviews with ordinary Americans about their jobs and how they felt about them. He did lots of other stuff but that was his work. What is especially striking is that he saw himself as a chronicler of other people’s lives rather than a commentator on them. More →

March 23, 2023

American employees spend 200 hours a year watching adult sites on their work computer

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

American employees are wasting hundreds of contracted work hours a year using their work equipment for personal tasks and activities, according to a new survey from ExpressVPN. The survey, conducted by the consumer privacy and security company, found that some people are spending only 33 percent of annual contracted hours on work tasks. With a steep rise in hybrid and home working in recent years, many companies have provided employees with work devices to use in the comfort of their own homes, including work laptops, desktops, phones, and microphones. More →

March 15, 2023

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property, Workplace

Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. More →

March 10, 2023

Online personal brands are the key to job success say ‘Gen Z’

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research claims to reveal how people who belong to ‘Generation Z’ perceive online ‘personal brands’ as a crucial tool to gain more advantage in job markets. The study, led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the University of Greenwich, claims to demonstrate the importance of authentically building online personal branding strategies and tactics to bridge the gap between Gen Z ‘s desired and perceived images on social media when job seeking. More →