December 4, 2023
Women value their work-life balance much more than men do when at a junior-level on average, but not at the managerial-level, according to new research by Durham University Business School. The researchers also found that women on the whole were much less satisfied within their job roles than male colleagues who held the same positions. More →
December 1, 2023
Joining Mark Eltringham this week on the Workplace Cocktail Hour podcast is Mike Petrusky. He is the head of podcasts at Eptura and host of the Workplace Innovator podcast which you can find here. In an open, frank conversation we discuss how to have better conversations about the workplace (and everything else), solidarity with our fellow humans, the death of Shane McGowan, mental illness and what firms can and can’t do about it, what we do and don’t know and the need for humility in the way we share our opinions. More →
November 30, 2023
Generative AI will have a much greater impact on white collar roles than blue collar ones over the next 10 years, according to a new report from Pearson. In at least ten white collar roles, more than 35 percent of tasks could be done by AI, with medical secretaries (41 percent) predicted to be the most impacted. Conversely, every of one of the top 10 least impacted are classed as blue collar, revealing launderers, dry cleaners and pressers (0 percent) as the UK’s most AI-proof job. More →
November 30, 2023
According to a new market intelligence report, the worldwide flexible workspace market could exceed between 35 and 50 billion US dollars by 2030, reflecting the growing demand for flexible and agile work environments. The report claims that the escalating demand for flexible workspaces is on the rise, propelled by a heightened desire for convenience and comfort in prime locations such as offices and auditoriums. More →
November 29, 2023
People are more accepting of advice from an AI in animal form if the idea seems to them to fit the species, such as running advice from a whippet, according to new research from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School (UCD Smurfit School), HEC Montréal, and Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China). Consumers are then more likely to engage with the animal AI than humanoid AI if the activity, experience, or product is designed to be fun. The findings were first published in the journal Psychology & Marketing. More →
November 29, 2023
Half of UK C-suites (50 percent) say that the threat of recession has meant innovation has ceased in their business, according to brand new research from consultancy Magnetic. Just 22 percent disagree, with 28 percent undecided. This corroborates the 56 percent who say they’re prioritising the survival of their business above all else; an especially concerning figure when two-thirds of the sample are large businesses with more than 250 employees. More →
November 29, 2023
The current economic environment is creating challenges for investors and occupiers to make the case for investing in retrofitting and futureproofing their real estate. JLL’s new The Commercial Case for Making Buildings More Sustainable report outlines three key factors that should be prioritized in occupiers’ and owners’ decision-making to create a more resilient and sustainable built environment. More →
November 29, 2023
Nearly one year after ChatGPT burst into the public consciousness, generative AI (GenAI) has left employees and their organisations both excited and uneasy. According to a recent study [registration] commissioned by Betterworks and conducted by Propeller Insights, over half of employees are using GenAI at work for complex activities and believe it has the potential to reduce bias across a swath of HR processes, despite the fact that only 41 percent of organisations are actively evaluating it or have made GenAI a priority. At the same time, many employees are concerned about the potential impact of GenAI on both their roles and the possibility of unintentional amplification of bias. More →
November 28, 2023
Over half of UK based ‘deskless’ workers (51 per cent) say they’re viewed as expendable by their employer. Plus, almost a third (32 per cent), feel that their corporate, desk-based colleagues regard them as inferior. These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2024 Global Culture Report which gathered data and insights from more than 42,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 27 countries worldwide including 4,818 from the U.K (of which 1,734 are deskless). More →
November 28, 2023
A new survey claims that a significant number of working parents are finding it so difficult to juggle home and work responsibilities that they have considered leaving their job. The OnePoll survey [registration] of 2,000 working parents with children aged 18 or under commissioned by REC Parenting, an online platform offering support to parents and carers, revealed that many working parents are at breaking point. More →
November 28, 2023
To facilitate the transition to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, $13.5 trillion in investments will be needed by 2050, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, according to a new World Economic Forum report. The Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023, published in collaboration with Accenture, takes stock of progress towards net-zero emissions for eight industries – steel, cement, aluminium, ammonia, excluding other chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and trucking – which depend on fossil fuels for 90 percent of their energy demand and pose some of the most technological and capital-intensive decarbonization challenges. More →
November 28, 2023
Earlier this year, a report from building consultancy Mace advocated for a retrofit first principle for buildings. The report highlighted how non-domestic buildings in the UK make up about an eighth of the country’s building stock but account for around a quarter of the country’s carbon emissions. The solution argued for in the report was to look at how best to retrofit around 3.5 million such buildings over the next ten years. We explore many of the issues around this crucial subject in this supplement produced in partnership with BVN. It represents both a snapshot of the current conversations about retrofit while pointing a way ahead. This one will run and run, but we need to get it right. More →
