March 20, 2018
Men and women experience workplace communications anxiety very differently
There is a disparity between the causes of communications anxiety between men and women, claims new research conducted by RADA in business. Male employees are 45 percent more likely than women to feel anxious when socialising with their work colleagues, while women are most scared of giving a presentation. Team building events were also found to be more challenging for men, with almost a fifth (19 percent) reporting feelings of communications anxiety. Work social events followed, with 17 percent reporting the same feelings. In contrast, the report found that female employees experience greater levels of anxiety when giving presentations in front of a group, to colleagues, or to management. The evidence suggests that while men require more help with skills around spontaneous communication, for women it is about standing their ground and getting their voice heard when stepping into the spotlight – often in situations that may have a significant impact on their career path. Notably, the research shows that women are also 39 percent more likely to experience workplace anxiety than men when in a job interview, and 37 percent more likely when negotiating a pay rise.
The challenge to achieve gender equality at work isn’t made any easier by the attitudes of some employers. Although men increasingly want to be more present at home, currently fathers are 
Artificial intelligence systems need to be accountable for human bias at AI becomes more prevalent in recruitment and selection, attendees at the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion’s annual conference have been warned. Hosted by NatWest, the conference, Diversity & Inclusion: The Changing Landscape heard from experts in ethics, psychology and computing. They explained that AIs learnt from existing data, and highlighted how information such as performance review scores and employee grading was being fed in to machines after being subjected to human unconscious bias. Dr David Snelling, the programme director for artificial intelligence at technology giant Fujitsu, illustrated how artificial intelligence is taught through human feedback. Describing how huge data sets were fed into the program, David explained that humans corrected the AI when it used that data to come to an incorrect conclusion, using this feedback to teach the AI to work correctly. However, as this feedback is subject to human error and bias, this can become embedded in the machine.
A third of UK workers (31 percent) say their employer has little or no interest in their mental health, despite the fact that a fifth (20 percent) are stressed out on a daily basis, and for almost a third (33 percent) the issue is so bad that they’re considering looking for a new role. This is according to a new study of nearly 1,300 workers by ADP which found that workplace stress peaks amongst younger employees, with 22 percent of workers under 35 saying they experience stress every day, and 42 percent saying that it is so bad, they’re considering jumping ship. This contrasts with only 19 percent and 26 percent respectively of those over 35 who feel this way, suggesting employees become better at managing stress as they get older. 
Online messaging is the most common way for millennial bosses to communicate with their direct reports, with over half (55 percent) preferring to use this digital method, followed by email at 28 percent, a new survey claims. Only 14 percent said their favoured way to communicate is in person, and 3 percent said via phone. As millennials (born 1981-1996) increasingly moving into management positions, the new Korn Ferry survey also found that when interviewing for management positions, millennials say that making an impact on organisational culture is most important to them, with salary being the least important. The survey also found that compared with Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, knowing what is coming next is critical for millennial bosses. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) said a clear advancement path (e.g. next two positions) is more important for millennial bosses, with 49 percent saying it is much more important.
Work is no longer a place but a set of activities which lead to a set of outcomes that could be delivered anywhere. Or as John Blackwell, Quora Consulting’s Managing Director succinctly described it at the first of the 2018 Quora Smartworking Summit’s held last week, organisations need to create a ‘smart everywhere’ environment. New digital platforms make far it easier for people to work in exactly the way they want. Research by Quora has revealed that there are 5 million people currently working in the UK gig economy or around 15.6 percent of the total workforce. More people are working post retirement age and want to work in a way that they can control, while there are increasing numbers who simply want more autonomy in their lives in the way that self-employment can offer. 
Over a third of UK employees (37 percent) have felt discriminated against in the workplace, more than one in ten (12 percent) believe they have suffered age discrimination and 8 percent feel they’ve been discriminated against due to their gender. This rises to 11 percent amongst women, claims a new study of 1,300 working adults by ADP. The study also suggests that standards and perceptions of behaviour have shifted across the generations, with those in so-called ‘Generation Snowflake’ more sensitive to unfair treatment than their more mature colleagues. According to the findings, half (50 percent) of those under 35 say they have felt discriminated against, compared to just a quarter (26 percent) of those over the age of 45. The contrast is visible across both age (15 percent vs 14 percent), gender (11 percent vs 5 percent) and other types of discrimination.
March 15, 2018
What the Chancellor’s Spring Statement means for the employment landscape
by Oliver Shaw • Comment, Workplace
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