March 22, 2019

UK gets new £5 million climate change research centre

by George Eltringham • Environment, News

Cardiff University has been selected as the main hub for a £5 million research centre to explore how we can live differently to achieve the rapid and far-reaching emissions cuts required to address climate change. A collaboration between Cardiff, Manchester, York and East Anglia Universities, and charity Climate Outreach, the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) will work closely with industry, local/national governments, and charities to tackle climate change. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. More →

March 22, 2019

UK workforce increasingly concerned with impact of Brexit on employment

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

More than a third (34.25 percent) of UK residents believe that Brexit would affect their current employment in a negative way, and only a negligible 3 percent of respondents think that Brexit will positively affect their current employment. Compared to the survey from Personal Group in 2018, there are some gender, age and professional nuances. Twelve times as many men than women have become more concerned about the impact on Brexit on their current employment. In February 2019 the number of men who believe Brexit will affect their employment negatively increased by almost 8 percent (7.89 percent) compared to a less than 1 percent (0.63 percent) rise amongst women.

March 22, 2019

New centre will assess potential for bias in algorithmic decision-making

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The potential for bias in the use of algorithms in crime and justice, financial services, recruitment and local government will be investigated by the UK government’s new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI). The CDEI will explore the potential for bias in existing systems and to support fairer decision-making. This may include increasing opportunities for those in the job market in existing recruitment and financial services systems. It will also explore opportunities to boost innovation in the digital economy. More →

March 21, 2019

Performance-based pay linked to employee mental-health problems, study suggests

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

In what its authors claim is the first big-data study combining objective medical and compensation records with demographics, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Aarhus University in Denmark discovered once a company switches to a pay-for-performance process, the number of employees using anxiety and depression medication increased by 5.7 percent over an existing base rate of 5.2 percent. More →

March 21, 2019

Government publishes strategy for future mobility in UK cities

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News

The UK government has published its Future of mobility: urban strategy, which sets out its approach to working with innovators, companies, local authorities and other stakeholders to develop benefits of new urban mobility technologies. Alongside publication of the strategy, it has also launched a £90 million competition for cities to deliver Future of Mobility Zones, which follows £60 million awarded to 10 cities across the UK via the Transforming Cities Fund. It aims to support local leaders and industry to trial new mobility services, modes and models through the creation of up to four future mobility zones. More →

March 21, 2019

Digital workplace pioneered by medium sized businesses, study claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Medium-sized businesses now account for over 60 percent of US jobs, and are investing fast in technology. However, with digital now a priority for businesses of all sizes, they must ensure they have the necessary skills and security management in place to handle the change, or risk falling behind competitors according to a new report from Aruba. More →

March 20, 2019

Feeling appreciated and the quality of workplace both key to employee happiness

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

The quality of the workplace has a powerful effect on the levels of happiness of staff, with nearly half of respondents (49 percent) to a recent survey stating that having a great office environment is important to their happiness at work, but according to the figures, only a quarter (25 percent) say a good workplace environment is a current positive about their work. The survey from Peldon Rose also found that less than half (45 percent) of employees actually feel appreciated at work and only two-thirds (67 percent) report feeling happy. Yet the majority of workers (80 percent) who took part, believe that feeling appreciated is most important to their happiness at work – ahead of salary (58 percent) and feeling trusted (55 percent).

March 20, 2019

RNIB launches new focus for Disability Confident scheme

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has launched a new suite of resources that will help employers support blind and partially sighted people in the workplace. The resources have been created as part of the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme, the nationally-recognised Government accreditation that supports businesses to attract, recruit and retain disabled employees.

March 19, 2019

People are happier in more beautiful surroundings, study confirms

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Researchers claim to have provided the first large-scale quantitative evidence that people are happier in more beautiful surroundings. The study, led by a team from the Data Science Lab at Warwick Business School, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Sussex, suggests that this effect does not only hold in areas of natural beauty, but in towns and cities as well. The researchers analysed nearly one million ratings of photographs from an online game, alongside three years of data on the happiness of more than 15,000 people, gathered via a mobile app. More →

March 19, 2019

People often feel as if they are kept in the dark about flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

New research from LinkedIn (registration) claims that a third (36 percent) of UK professionals believe their employer does not do enough to support new parents. The release of the figures comes as LinkedIn claims that 18th March was the day that working families only just start getting paid for the year, once growing childcare costs are taken into account. The survey of 4,000 UK workers suggests that professionals feel they are being left in the dark when it comes to parental policies, with a third (37 percent) not even aware of what support their workplace provides for new parents. More →

March 19, 2019

Demotivated workers would be driven by higher pay and more flexibility

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Almost a third (31 percent) of UK professionals state that their expectations are ‘not being met at all’ by their current employer, whilst a further 24 percent state that their needs are only just ‘moderately’ being met. The findings, which come from research undertaken by recruiter Robert Walters and job board CV-Library – also suggest that while the amount they were paid was most important to staff, other benefits are increasingly playing a more prominent role in keeping staff motivated. Well over half (61 percent) claimed that work-life balance, flexible working hours (39 percent), and cultural fit (25 percent) are crucial to keeping them happy at work. More →

March 18, 2019

Greatest motivator for employees is more recognition, whether monetary or not

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The biggest motivator for staff at work is more recognition, whether monetary or not, according to a new survey on rewards at work by XpertHR. When asked which rewards are most important to employees, more than half (53 percent) said higher basic pay, followed by a wider range of benefits (37.1 percent), but being recognised for the work they do was also cited as an employee priority by 56.1 percent of respondents). The survey also claims that employers are facing a constant battle to get employees’ salaries at the right level. Almost all (97.7 percent) organisations questioned said they would be looking at salary levels in some way over the coming year – whether that be through the annual pay review, benchmarking salaries against the market or complying with the national minimum wage legislation.