December 6, 2018
Rise in number of UK workers looking to leave their job, despite Brexit concerns
The ongoing uncertainty around Brexit has had little impact on both workers’ desire for job stability, and businesses’ assessments of their economic prospects according to Gartner’s latest Global Talent Monitor report. In fact, the UK reported the highest business confidence rating of all European countries surveyed at 60, and above the global average of 57. For employers this has the knock effect that the number of UK employees looking to stay in their current job has fallen sharply over the past 12 months, as 23 percent of employees indicated a low intent to stay with their current employer, a 13per cent increase from the same period last year and 10 percent higher than the current global average (13 percent). While fewer UK workers are committed to staying with their current employers, the number of workers who reported a higher willingness to go above and beyond at work remained flat.
All the chatter around the growth of flexible working might suggest it has now become the norm, but an academic paper refutes that view by revealing a third of all UK workers believe those who work flexibly create more work for others. A similar proportion believe their career will suffer if they use flexible working arrangements. This is the main finding from Dr Heejung Chung from the University of Kent who set out to analyse data from the 2011 Work-Life Balance Survey conducted by the government. Specifically, she wanted to examine whether stigma against flexible workers exists, who is most likely to hold such beliefs and who is most likely to suffer from it. The research also found that the majority of respondents that held negative views against flexible workers were male, while women and especially mothers were the ones who were most likely to suffer from such stereotypes.
Over a third (35 percent) of UK workers continue to work when then get home from the office, claims research from 
Fifty percent of UK employees feel their employers don’t understand them or their potential – higher than the European average of 46 percent according to a study of over 2,000 workers across the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands from ADP. The research found that 40 percent of UK workers are unhappy with the quality of leadership, with only France reporting slightly higher figures, where 52 percent saying they feel misunderstood by their employer. This was followed closely by Italy (48 percent) and Germany (46 percent), while the Netherlands reported the most positive results with only a third stating such feelings (35 percent). However, UK and European employees are more likely to feel their direct reports understand them better, with 61 percent reporting that their managers know and support them, and want to see them succeed. This shows that those working more closely together enjoy better relationships, which in turn is likely to lead to better quality of work and greater productivity. The lesson for businesses is that close relations between all staff, regardless of seniority, matter.
Well over half of workers do not think enough support is given to employees suffering from mental ill health in the workplace, as according to research released today by Personal Group a startling 39 percent of respondents said their workplace does not offer any mental health support for employees. And of all employees surveyed 66 percent felt their employer does not offer enough support for employee mental health. This corporate apathy felt by employees arrives at a time when awareness of mental health issues in the UK is on the rise. 80 percent of respondents said they had noticed an overall increase in awareness of mental health generally in the UK, however a staggering 62 percent said they noticed no change in the levels of awareness in the workplace.
Generation Z, the latest generation to enter the workforce, are more likely to be motivated by job satisfaction and working for social good than by money, a new report claims According to new research from Huawei, in partnership with Chris Brauer, Director of Innovation at Goldsmiths, University of London, based on responses from 2,000 18-25-year olds’ across the UK, also reveals that a new tribe of working professionals among Gen Z is emerging, the ‘New Working Order’. 
December 5, 2018
The war for talent is over and we need to face up to new opportunities and challenges
by David Corcoran • Comment, Workplace
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