February 12, 2019

London remains preferred destination for global corporate real estate investors

London is still the world’s top destination for investment in commercial real estate despite ongoing uncertainty about Brexit, well above both Manhattan and Paris, the next two biggest markets, new research claims. Around£16.2 billion was invested in central London’s commercial offices in 2018 compared with £14.3 billion in Manhattan, £12.1 billion in Paris and £8.4 billion in Hong Kong, according to the analysis report from international real estate firm Knight Frank.

February 11, 2019

Basic income experiment increased wellbeing but did not encourage people to find work

by Mark Eltringham • News

Giving jobless people in Finland a basic income for two years improved their self-perceived wellbeing but did not lead them to find work, researchers have concluded. In the trial, from January 2017 until December 2018, 2,000 unemployed Finns were paid a monthly flat amount of €560. The aim was to see if a guaranteed payment would help people to find jobs and support them in taking on more insecure work. While employment levels did not improve, participants reported to the researchers that they felt happier and less stressed.

February 11, 2019

TUC calls for a complete ban on zero hours contracts

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Zero-hours workers are more than twice as likely to work night shifts than other workers, according to new analysis published by the TUC. The analysis shows that on a range of key measures, zero-hours workers are having a tougher time those in secure employment. The TUC is now calling on the Government to ban zero hours contracts and do more to help people who work anti-social hours. More →

February 8, 2019

Post digital era offers the chance to create personalised experiences at work

by Neil Franklin • Automation, News, Technology

The enterprise is entering a new “post-digital” era, where success will be based on an organisation’s ability to master a set of new technologies that can deliver personalised realities and experiences for customers, employees and business partners, according to the Accenture Technology Vision 2019 annual report that sets out to predict the key technology trends that will redefine businesses over the next three years. More →

February 8, 2019

Staff wellbeing moves up the HR agenda and yes, includes the provision of free fruit

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employers have placed wellbeing high on their agenda in a bid to encourage employee engagement and reduce absence, claims new research from XpertHR. More than half of employers (54.4 percent) run informal employee wellbeing initiatives, while one-in-five (22 percent) has a formal programme in place. The majority of these formal employee wellbeing programmes (69.6 percent) have been in place for a year or more – demonstrating a high level of employer commitment but also that programmes have gained traction within organisations. More →

February 8, 2019

Half of HR departments plan to offer new employee benefits

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

According to Gallagher’s Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey (registration required), 45 percent of HR practitioners are planning changes to current employee benefit offerings amid a highly competitive labour market. The survey shows an increasing number of organisations are fully aware of the measurable impact that benefits have on engagement and productivity. Among HR practitioners planning changes, 72 percent are seeking to enhance benefits, thereby improving their employer brand and becoming more competitive in recruitment. The second-most popular planned change is improving flexibility in benefits, with 47 percent attempting to bolster flexible options to extend individual choice. More →

February 7, 2019

Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

There’s a pretty well proven link between lack of sleep and negative emotion, but is catching 40 winks whilst at work a proven solution? Research from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggests that lack of sleep can have a negative impact on emotion. Could naps of 20-30 minutes make for a more productive workforce, and have a positive impact on mood, concentration and attention? Following the findings that loss of sleep could be costing the UK £40bn a year, is it time to make a change to our sleeping habits? To find out, Brother has produced a study of the eight sleeping customs from around the world, and explored how they could have a positive impact on people and businesses.

February 7, 2019

Employees think Internet of Things will be most important workplace technology trend

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A team from Savills’ flexible office platform Workthere has predicted the top five tech trends we’re likely to see arriving into offices across the UK in 2019. Supporting the research, Workthere also completed a survey of 2,000 office workers to find out their views on the future of workplace technology as defined by the original study. The poll suggests that employees think that the Internet of Things will have the biggest impact on their day to day working lives followed by voice activated technologies and wireless charging.

February 7, 2019

Employee use of apps at work puts their organisation at risk of cyber-attack

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Workers continued use of unapproved apps in the office, including Instagram, Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, to communicate with colleagues as well as friends and family is putting their organisations at risk of cyber-attack, new research suggests. Four in ten employees (41 percent) admit to using Instagram for more than two hours each day, despite the app being banned in almost half of UK organisations. The majority of employees are well aware that certain apps are not approved for workplace use, but this hasn’t stopped them breaking the rules.

February 7, 2019

Employees want to achieve a healthy work-life balance this year

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new Acas study of the key issues for working lives in 2019 claims that the biggest issues for employers will be finding skilled workers (53 percent), productivity (36 percent) and technological change (36 percent). On a more personal level, the most important issues in employees’ working life will be balancing work and home life (53 percent), staying healthy and feeling well (51 percent) and job security (44 percent). The poll found that despite people wanting a more flexible working life, nearly half of workers (49 percent) believe that the use of gig workers will stay about the same in the year ahead.

February 6, 2019

Majority of businesses fail to see a return on their technology investments

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

According to a new report from Accenture, the majority of businesses don’t see a return on their technology investments and just 14 percent of businesses manage to realise the full potential of their tech investments. Roughly $3.2 trillion was spent on new technology in the last five years. Businesses that were most successful with their investments were the ones investing in bold moves, rather than incremental shifts.