September 13, 2018
Majority of staff refuse to admit tiredness is affecting their performance at work
Almost half of employees regularly turn up to their job feeling too tired to work but according to a new survey the majority (86 percent) are not able to speak openly with their line manager about how tiredness is impacting on performance. The research from Westfield Health has found over one in ten (11 percent) of UK workers have purposefully taken a nap at work, and over a third (34 percent) say their mental wellbeing is reduced due to tiredness and fatigue. Fatigue, which is defined as extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness, is stretching beyond work for UK employees, with 55 percent saying it is affecting them at home too. Almost half (46 percent) said they regularly turn up to their jobs feeling too tired to work, and more than a third (37 percent) say they tend to be more forgetful and make errors as a result of tiredness. This is a worrying concern when it comes to the built environment, particularly construction.
Being made to feel you’re making a positive contribution to your organisation is an important motivator, but a new study suggests over half of employees believe they would be more productive if they knew how their work fitted into overall company objectives. According to the research from Asana this lack of transparency means a third of UK employees believe their business suffers from a lack of direction, with employees complaining that they do not know what their company stands for and are completely unclear of the company’s long term and short-term goals. This unsurprisingly is having a direct impact on employee motivation, with and framed within the context of the 
UK workers are feeling more confident about the state of the economy but it’s making them less inclined to stay in their current jobs, a new survey claims. According to the latest Global Talent Monitor report for the second quarter of this year, from Gartner 18.8 percent of UK employees indicated a very low intent to stay in their current role, the second highest after India (40 percent), and higher than the global average of nearly 12 percent. This is the first time since Brexit that workers reported having an optimistic outlook on the job market, and their own career growth. Nearly 40 percent of UK employees reported somewhat high to high confidence in the economy. When it comes to their personal prospects, employee perceptions have risen steadily over the last year and have increased nearly 4 percent. In fact, job opportunity perceptions in the UK are nearly 1.5 points higher than the global average. However, despite their intentions to move on from their current role, UK employees are still putting in a strong effort in their current roles, with nearly 13 percent of employees reporting a high willingness to go above and beyond in their role, and an additional 43.8 percent leaning towards high.
The number of “gig economy” professionals working in organisations is growing and this trend is expected to continue, a survey by Korn Ferry has claimed. More than half (60 percent) of HR professionals say that compared to three years ago, gig workers now make up a larger percentage of their professional workforce, and 42 percent say they plan on hiring more contingent workers in the future. The reasons, according to the survey, include cost savings, access to high-calibre talent and ease of managing gig economy professionals. Despite the fact that many gig professionals work remotely, 67 percent of the HR professionals surveyed say they are confident they know what the gig professionals are doing on a day-to-day basis, and 42 percent say these contingent employees are easier to manage than full-time employees. However, according to Jeanne MacDonald, president of Global Talent Solutions for Korn Ferry’s RPO and Professional Search Business, organisations should proceed cautiously and ensure they continue to cultivate in-house talent.
The quality of the coffee is the most important feature for office occupants, with two thirds of workers saying a decent flat white or cappuccino is an essential for a productive and engaged workforce. Research by coworking developer Areaworks also found that being closer to the outdoors, and the ability to work from a balcony or roof terrace was an important factor for 64 percent. Hanging chairs, bean bags and flexible spaces are a must for most, as half of office workers want to ditch fixed desks in favour of casual seating and hot desking, making it a top five most favoured feature. the office gimmicks failed to feature on most people’s workplace bucket list. The installation of office gimmicks such as fireman’s poles and ball pits all failed to feature on most people’s workplace list, but slides did make the list, while the majority (66 percent) included a fridge complete with beer and prosecco among their choice items.
September 6, 2018
Creating a productive workplace for people is all about context
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design
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