The ten most read stories on Workplace Insight for 2018

The ten most read stories on Workplace Insight for 2018

We can’t help but feel that the world caught up with us a bit during 2018. We’ve been talking about the intersection of people, place and tech since we started up five years ago. Of course, we weren’t even the first to do this. As we’ve always acknowledged, we’re standing on the shoulders of the giants who first recognised what was happening a quarter of a century ago. Many of the ‘trends’ with which we are presented are nothing more than the crystallisation of ideas first expressed by people in the 20th Century. They seldom get their due.

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More than half of UK ethnic minority citizens believe Brexit will stifle their career

More than half of UK ethnic minority citizens believe Brexit will stifle their career

More than half of UK ethnic minority citizens believe Brexit will stifle their careers

Over half (52 percent) of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnics (BAME) believe that Brexit will negatively impact their career progression compared to only 16 percent of non-BAME. This is according to a new survey commissioned by the Equality Group, an organisation that helps companies attract, retain and develop diverse talent that focuses on diversity and equality within business. Following the referendum in 2016 and the UK’s consequent departure from the European Union, tensions surrounding ‘Britishness’ and what it means to be British reached unprecedented lengths. In May this year, experts from the United Nations expressed concerns regarding the fact that racism and religious intolerance has, in the wake of Brexit, become increasingly acceptable in Britain. Whilst it is possible to statistically monitor the rise in racially motivated hate crimes, of which there was a 40 percent rise (July 2015- 16) succeeding the UK’s decision to leave the EU, monitoring racial discrimination within businesses is a lot more difficult. With this societal and political shift, the report looks at the impact Brexit, with its focus on immigration and the rights to work within the UK, has had on the workers from the BAME community.

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Cyber security fears as employees and ex staff able to access sensitive company data

Cyber security fears as employees and ex staff able to access sensitive company data

Cyber security fears as office workers given unfettered access to sensitive company dataHuge numbers of employees have or have had access to mission critical company systems which should be reserved only for staff that require it, claims a new study by CyberArk. Specifically, it found that almost half (48 percent) of employees have or have had access to sensitive financial documents; 46 percent to confidential HR information; nearly a third (29 percent) have or have had direct access to company bank account and over a third (37 percent) access to research and development plans or blueprints for new products/services. Credential theft remains the most common and effective route to a successful cyber-attack.

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UK Government agrees to code of practice to combat sexual harassment at work

UK Government agrees to code of practice to combat sexual harassment at work

The Government has agreed to work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to introduce a statutory code of practice to tackle sexual harassment at work. It also agreed that non-disclosure agreements require better regulation and a clearer explanation of the rights that a worker cannot abrogate by signing one and will consult on how best to achieve this and enforce any new provisions. It also agrees that regulators should make it clear that workplace sexual harassment is unacceptable, and that sexual harassment should be taken into account when considering the fitness and propriety of the individuals and employers they regulate.

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ONS says Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people

ONS says Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people

Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people says ONSThe two most important barriers to working for those in their 50s and early to mid-60s are health and caring; according to the latest analysis from the ONS. Living longer: Fitting it all in – working, caring and health in later life, advises that although people in their 50s and early 60s have a good level of general health the prevalence of health problems increases over this age range and impacts on the likelihood of being in paid work. Of those potential older workers who are out of work (but would like to work), 38 percent of men and 28 percent of women are unemployed. Women are more likely to be looking after home or family than men (19 percent and 6 percent). Over a third of people aged 50 to 64 years are out of work because they are sick or disabled – with ill health the main barrier to working for both men (37 percent) and women (35 percent).

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Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

The UK government has introduced what it claims to be the most significant package of workplace reforms for 20 years in response to last year’s Taylor Report on working practices. The Good Work Plan has introduced a range of measures which the Government claims will improve the rights of agency and part time workers and discourage employers from indulging in unwelcome practices.  The reforms are intended to stop businesses opting out of equal pay arrangements for agency employees and improve the conditions for gig economy workers generally, for example by giving workers details of their rights from the first day in a job, such as eligibility for sick leave, pay levels, maternity and paternity leave.

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Meatspace, cyberspace, the uncertainty of expertise and some other stuff

Meatspace, cyberspace, the uncertainty of expertise and some other stuff

The sign that somebody knows their stuff about a subject is often that whatever they say about it is full of questions, equivocations and caveats. They’ll often start out by saying things are complicated in mitigation of their opinion on a particular topic. They’ll say there are no silver bullets. It’s almost always neophytes, chancers and the conflicted that offer certainty. To prove my point here is David D’Souza of the CIPD making a point about the tendency to look for pat, narrow solutions to complex, broad challenges. Not only does he have something interesting to say, you know that he has the depth and breadth of knowledge to expand on each of the points he makes with yet more sophistication. It’s fractal thinking.

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More than half of employees have experienced some form of workplace bullying

More than half of employees have experienced some form of workplace bullying

More than half (52 percent) of employees in global organisations have encountered workplace bullying and felt psychologically unsafe at work, according to a new study conducted by City & Guilds Group. The report also claims that only one in ten firms proactively take steps to support staff mental health, and found a major discrepancy in how senior management and employees view psychological safety in the workplace. Almost all of respondents surveyed (94 percent) said that they consider psychological safety to be “important”, but just 10 percent of businesses are seen to treat it as a priority. In part this seems down to confusion over accountability; almost half (43 percent) of senior management expect HR to deal with the psychological safety of employees at work, while the majority of employees (56 percent), believe line managers and senior management should take the lead.

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Unhappy workers engage in non-work related activities to get through the day

Unhappy workers engage in non-work related activities to get through the day

Over two thirds (69 percent) of full-time employees in the UK are currently unhappy at work, with the majority (88 percent) admitting to regularly doing non-work related activities to ‘make the day go faster’, new research claims.  Of the 2,101 respondents surveyed, 61 percent stated that the largest distraction at work is gossiping to other co-workers, followed by almost half (45 percent) spending time procrastinating on Facebook and using personal email (44 percent).

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Survey claims increased levels of productivity amongst flexible workers

Survey claims increased levels of productivity amongst flexible workers

Survey finds increased levels of productivity amongst flexible workersFlexible workers claim to work more effectively than those working a traditional ‘nine-to-five’, with a quarter of respondents (27 percent) in a recent poll saying they work longer hours in their new flexible working routine than they did when they worked normal office hours. The research, which was commissioned by the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) found that flexible workers think they put in almost seven hours more each week on average than they did previously. The research, which looked at the productivity of a group of workers who set their own hours or working location against a group of those who are not doing so, found that the former benefit from feeling happier and less stressed. More →

Generations differ on what makes them happy at work but agree on flexibility

Generations differ on what makes them happy at work but agree on flexibility

Generations differ on what makes them happy at work but all want more flexibilityA new survey into happiness at work suggests it is viewed differently according to age. Baby boomers: aspire to have job security and think careers are defined by employers. Gen X: aspire to have a work-life balance and although are loyal to a profession will not necessarily stick with the same employer. Millennials or Gen Y aspire to have freedom and flexibility and are digital entrepreneurs while Gen Z aspire to have security and stability. The report by Instant Offices’ considered what is important to each age group, and how employers approach the age gap. It found that eight in 10 millennials look for a manager to act as a mentor or coach; Baby boomers want a boss to be ethical, fair and consistent, while 61 percent of Generation X, and 55 percent of millennials, think team consensus is important. More →

Report into the glass cliff claims women still need to break the glass ceiling

Report into the glass cliff claims women still need to break the glass ceiling

Research into the “Glass Cliff” finds “Glass Ceiling” for women is still to be brokenGiven the latest U turn regarding Brexit, with beleaguered British Prime Minister Theresa May announcing the cancellation of a commons vote on the agreement, a new report into the so called “glass cliff” appointment of women is pretty timely.  The term “glass cliff” was coined by researchers Ryan and Haslam in the early 2000s to describe a phenomenon in which women are more likely than men to be promoted to precarious management positions with a higher risk of failure. Aside from May, exemplar cases often used to support the theory include Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and Andrea Nahles, Social Democrat party leader in the German Bundestag. More →