The digital workplace could provide the key to organisational success, claims Microsoft

The digital workplace could provide the key to organisational success, claims Microsoft

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

New research from Ingram Micro Cloud and Microsoft suggests that organisations without the right digital infrastructure in place to support flexible working risk their long term survival. In a white paper titled The Modern Workplace (registration needed), the firms claim that 60 per cent of under-35s place greater value on the ability to work in flexible ways than many other job features including holiday allowances. The report suggest that while under 35’s are at ease using cloud-based collaborative, file hosting and sharing tools to do their jobs many employers fail to provide this digital infrastructure.

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

With poor financial wellbeing impacting on productivity, a new paper claims that, despite growing interest, there remains a lag in employers taking action in this area – and that Human Resources departments are key to building a business case for support. Published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), the paper, Building the business case for employee financial wellbeing, draws on findings from a Money Advice Service-funded study trialling financial wellbeing guidance from IES and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

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Prague best city in the world for remote working, but Johannesburg has cheapest coffee

Prague best city in the world for remote working, but Johannesburg has cheapest coffee

by • Cities, Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

New research has revealed the top 15 cities worldwide that are best for remote working and Prague is on top, with London ranked as the 5th best city in the world for remote workers. Inspired by the top 15 cities listed in InterNation’s Expat City Ranking Report, Powwownow analysed the cost of living, average monthly salary, internet speed, price of coffee, and cost of public transport in different places across the world. Cities were individually scored on each factor and ranked by the total number of points, to calculate the top 15 cities around the world. Calculating an overall ranking for each city, Prague was revealed to be the best city worldwide for remote workers. (more…)

Levels of digital dependency hit new heights

Levels of digital dependency hit new heights

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Most people in the UK are dependent on their digital devices, and need a constant connection to the internet, following a decade of digital dependency and transformation claims a report from regulatory body Ofcom. The findings are from Ofcom’s Communications Market Report, which it claims is the most comprehensive study of how communications services in the UK are changing. Around 17 percent of people owned a smartphone a decade ago. That has now reached 78 percent and 95 percent among 16-24 year-olds. The smartphone is now the device people say they would miss the most, dominating many people’s lives in both positive and negative ways.

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Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

by • Cities, Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK government has begun work on its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. First announced in May, the government believes the initiative has the potential to make the UK a world leader in strategies for moving people and goods. The announcement includes two calls for evidence, the first focused on improving first mile/last mile transportation connections, with a focus on electric vehicles and microtransit. The second addresses the more general issue of new technology and trends for urban transport. The government also claims the move will address changes in working cultures including lower levels of commuting and flexible working.

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Financial centres in UK cities outside London are set to suffer most from Brexit

by • Cities, News

Although news reports about the impact of Brexit on the UK’s financial services sector have focused almost exclusively on London, a new report from the Centre for Cities claims that the decision to leave the EU will have a disproportionately larger impact on the centres in the UK’s other major cities, which employ two thirds of all people in the sector. The report explores the financial and professional services sectors in cities across the UK, and looks at what the relationships are with London-based firms in these industries. The report by the think tank supported by the City of London Corporation London: The geography of financial services in the capital and beyond looks at how much individual cities across the UK export in services, and what proportion of these services exports came from the financial sector.

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Workers are becoming more concerned about what jobs robots will replace first

Workers are becoming more concerned about what jobs robots will replace first

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Workers are becoming more concerned about what jobs robots will replace firstFears of robots taking workers’ jobs appear to have lessened over the last year, a new report has suggested. Research from Perkbox and SEMrush examined fears of robots at work according to online searches from January 2015 to June 2018 in the UK and found that in just one year, from 2015 to 2016 the phrase ‘will robots take my job?’ increased from zero to 1,600 average monthly searches. In 2017, the phrase was searched 197,800 times/monthly on average. In 2018 so far, the average has dropped but it remains relatively high regardless (57,833 searches). According to online searches with keyword ‘robots’ and ‘work,’ people are gradually becoming more concerned about what jobs robots will replace first. The phrase ‘what jobs will be replaced by robots? was rarely searched in 2015. However, in 2016-17 the number rose from 200 searches/monthly on average (2016) to 2,400 on average in 2017 (a 1,100 percent increase). (more…)

Digital transformation is making it challenging to find qualified employees

Digital transformation is making it challenging to find qualified employees

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Digital transformation making it challenging to find qualified employeesTraditional job roles are becoming more complex due to digital transformation initiatives a new poll claims, with UK businesses having to wait more than five months, on average, for new joiners to get up to speed in their jobs. In the research by Robert Half of almost 5,000 CFOs in 14 countries, CFOs in the UK report that the key skills for finance professionals are changing. With digital transformation a priority for many organisations, there is now more focus on skills such as data analysis (cited by 43 percent of CFOs), financial analysis (35 percent), and data forecasting (34 percent). Finding the right people with these abilities is made even more challenging by the fact that businesses around the world are struggling to find qualified professionals. Almost all (93 percent) UK businesses find it challenging to attract qualified accounting and finance professionals. Globally, the issue is equally pronounced, with 94 percent of businesses also reporting similar challenges.

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New analysis sets out to define fastest growing sectors in London in 2018

New analysis sets out to define fastest growing sectors in London in 2018

by • News, Property

A new analysis from Instant Offices sets out to identify the largest business sectors driving London’s economy. It claims that the three most prominent are information and communication, financial and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services. The UK Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) showed distinct trends in growth for specific sectors, in London and in the UK as a whole.

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Extending reporting requirements may help close gender pay gap say MPs

Extending reporting requirements may help close gender pay gap say MPs

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Extend reporting requirements to help close gender pay gap say MPs

Employers should be required to publish a narrative and action plan under Gender Pay Gap reporting requirements, the inquiry on executive pay and the gender-pay gap by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee has recommended today. It has found that the requirements to publish data which came into force in April this year represents a ‘small but welcome step towards ensuring that women can make their fullest possible contribution in the workplace and to the economy’, but it calls for the Government to be more ambitious. Detailed statistics should be provided to aid analysis and organisations should explain what they are doing to tackle their gender pay gaps. Under the new rules employers would have to provide some narrative reporting alongside their gender pay statistics, with an action plan setting out how pay gaps are being and will be addressed, including objectives and targets. Subsequent reports would include progress against this action plan, including targets set. (more…)

Financial stress can impair employee performance and attendance

Financial stress can impair employee performance and attendance

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Financial stress can impair employee performance and attendance

Businesses that fail to tackle their employees’ financial stress are more likely to encounter poor work performance, lack of engagement, mental health issues and staff absenteeism, a new report from Neyber has claimed. Since last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of employees affected by financial worries; up from 58 percent to 63 percent, as well as those with less than one month’s savings; up from 24 percent to 32 percent. This stress on individuals is having a severe business impact. One in four employees said they had lost sleep over money troubles in the last year, one in ten said that they couldn’t focus on work and 6 percent said they had had to take time off work. All this adds up to a substantial cost for employers to bear. Neyber has calculated that the lost productivity and increased absence and employee turnover associated with financial stress costs UK companies in the region of £120.7 billion every year.

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Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Capital One has published the results of its latest survey of US full-time professionals for their thoughts on workplace design and the working environment as it relates to their productivity, innovation and collaboration with colleagues. According to the resulting 2018 Work Environment Survey of 3,500 office based respondents in urban centres across the US, many value flexibility and workplace design, particularly when evaluating whether to stay at their current job or consider a new employment opportunity. Employees also place a great deal of focus on technology, design elements such as lighting and agile workspaces, and personal wellbeing.

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