1 in 10 UK workers has already ‘pulled a sickie’ and had a duvet day this year

1 in 10 UK workers has already ‘pulled a sickie’ and had a duvet day this year 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

1 in 10 UK workers has already had a duvet day this yearWe’re only just out of January but new research claims that one in ten employed Britons in the UK has already pulled a sickie from work in 2017. The poll by online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk also looked into previous bogus sick leave and found that 21 percent of grown adults have had a parent, partner or friend call in sick for them so that they didn’t have to on a past occasion. Respondents answered questions about any time they’d taken off sick from work in the last 12 months, were asked ‘How frequently have you taken sick days from work over the past year?’, the majority (57 percent) said ‘once a month’. 22 percent said ‘hardly ever’ and 16 percent said ‘only once or twice’. Everyone was then asked how many of the sick days they took were false (i.e. they weren’t genuinely unwell when they called in sick). From this, the research suggests approximately 1 in every 4 sick days taken by Britons is a false ‘sickie’.

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No matter how engaged they feel, key talent will leave for a fresh work challenge

No matter how engaged they feel, key talent will leave for a fresh work challenge 0

by • News, Workplace

No matter how engaged they feel, key talent will leave for a fresh work challenge

Most employers buy into the idea that the more engaged their employees the likely they are to leave, but a new survey suggests that whether or not staff feel engaged or are happy with their salary, they won’t stay on board once they’re ready for a new work challenge. This is according to research by Korn Ferry which claims that the No. 1 reason professionals would hunt for a new job in 2017 is to seek a more challenging position, while the quest for greater compensation comes in almost dead last as a reason to leave. In the survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said that if they plan on being in the job market this year, it’s because they’re looking for a challenge. Trailing far behind, 9 percent said they are looking because they either don’t like their company or their efforts aren’t being recognized, 5 percent say their compensation is too low, and 4 percent say they don’t like their boss.

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Excessive unpaid overtime contributing to worker’s stress levels, claims survey

Excessive unpaid overtime contributing to worker’s stress levels, claims survey 0

by • News, Wellbeing

Almost three quarters (71 percent) of office staff are so overwhelmed with work they have to put in an 180 extra unpaid hours every year, according to a survey from Printerland. British workers spend on average, an extra 44 minutes every week – that’s 36 hours annually – checking emails, answering phone calls and completing other tasks outside their contracted hours. Over 51 hours a year are spent working late, with two thirds (63 percent) of staff still in the office after hours at least once a week, while 6 percent never go home on time. Many employees are also dining ‘al desko’, with average through lunchtime 2 days a week totalling 93 hours a year, while over half (53 percent) don’t escape the office for the entire day and 16 percent don’t get any screen breaks all day.

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London salaries fall as UK becomes less capital-centric, and it could be due to Brexit

London salaries fall as UK becomes less capital-centric, and it could be due to Brexit 0

by • Cities, News, Property, Workplace

London salaries fall as UK less capital-centric, and it could be down to BrexitLondon continues to be the region with the highest number of advertised vacancies (248,605) and the highest average salaries (£38,449), but its previously unassailable supremacy may soon be challenged, a new survey suggests. According to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna real-time jobs data average salaries in the capital have fallen more (-3.9 percent) than any other region in the UK in the past year as salary growth in the rest of the UK catches up at a more consistent rate. This also represents a wider shift in the jobs market as the Government creates a solid post-Brexit UK economy that drives growth across the whole country. It is likely growing trends such as companies relocating their headquarters to cities outside the capital such as Manchester will continue as well as reinvestments into northern powerhouses to revitalise former struggling areas and industries.  With competition for jobs per jobseeker per vacancy rising from 0.43 to 0.45 in January, jobseekers in the capital may have two hurdles ahead in the shape of a more competitive job market and pedestrian salary growth.

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One Public Sector Estate programme now includes around three quarters of UK local authorities

One Public Sector Estate programme now includes around three quarters of UK local authorities 0

by • News, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

Public Sector EstateThe UK Government’s groundbreaking One Public Sector Estate (OPE) project now includes around three quarters of the country’s local authorities following the announcement that a further 79 councils will join the programme. One Public Estate is a national programme jointly run by the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit and the Local Government Association (LGA). It supports joint working across central and local government to release land and property and boost economic growth, regeneration and integrated public services. It encourages public sector partners to share buildings, transform services, reduce running costs, and release surplus and under-used land for development. Partnerships joining the programme will receive funding and practical and technical support to unblock barriers and deliver ambitious ‘transformational projects’.

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Flexible hours is main reason self-employed are happier than traditional workers

Flexible hours is main reason self-employed are happier than traditional workers 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Self-employed happier than traditional workers due to flexible workingFlexible working hours and being their own boss makes the UK’s self-employed much happier than those in traditional employment a new survey claims. According to the latest set of findings from the ‘Definitive Study of the Self-Employed,’ commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks, the self-employed generated mean annual revenues of £32,623 (£5,000 more than the average UK salary), despite working 10 hours less per week. Of those who have been a salaried worker, two thirds (66 percent) claim to be financially better off or the same and 65 percent also feel better off in terms of ‘life satisfaction’. When the research considered nuanced reasons for choosing to work for oneself ;control of schedule (77 percent), more flexibility to work to one’s own terms (68 percent) and liking being one’s own boss (65 percent) were leading reasons, with not worrying about workplace politics (47 percent) also regularly referenced.

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Majority of employers predict more challenging economic conditions this year

Majority of employers predict more challenging economic conditions this year 0

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Majority of employers predict more challenging economic conditions this year

Three quarters of UK employers (76 percent) expect economic conditions to be more challenging in 2017 compared to 2016 and there are signs that the jobs market is slowing, claims the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) latest JobsOutlook survey. Employers intending to increase their permanent staff headcount within the next three months has reduced to one in five (21 percent), down from 24 percent reported last month. Similarly, demand for permanent staff has reduced in all sectors except health & social care and education. More positively, despite harsh economic conditions, businesses remain self-confident with three quarters of employers polled (74 percent) saying that their business will perform better this year compared to last year. Skills shortages remain a challenge for businesses however, as half of all employers (50 percent) anticipate a shortage of suitable candidates for some permanent roles this year. Employers anticipate that roles in engineering & technology, health & social care, and hospitality will be particularly affected by skills shortages.

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Global workforce fears it won’t adapt fast enough to the digital workplace

Global workforce fears it won’t adapt fast enough to the digital workplace 0

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Workers across the globe are excited by the potential for technology to enhance their work lives and create new career opportunities, but over a third (40 percent) fear that they won’t be able to keep up with the rate of change required by digital business, claims a new survey. Across Europe 77 percent of workers acknowledge that disruption and increased competition will require more people with digital skills in order to compete on a global scale; however, the level of encouragement employees believe they are currently receiving to drive change in the workplace varies greatly throughout the world. Only 64 percent of respondents in the US saying they feel empowered by their company culture to lead innovation, whereas 90 percent of employees in Mexico feel their workplaces encourages them to drive change. The BMC study of over 3,200 office workers in 12 countries worldwide found that 88 percent of office workers across the world strongly believe that employers must create an innovative culture to retain staff and enable them to be successful with increasingly digital roles and responsibilities.

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The office of the future should be defined by the age of its inhabitants. But not in the way you think

The office of the future should be defined by the age of its inhabitants. But not in the way you think 0

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

The office of the future is most commonly seen as the habitat of Millennials. But there are all sorts of flaws in this assumption. Apart from the casual stereotyping of a diverse demographic of people, the most glaring is the fact that the workforce is ageing rather than getting younger, and that most offices must now meet the needs of a wider range of age groups than at any time in their history. A new report from Totaljobs seeks to redress the balance in this regard. It suggests that some of the key features of the office of the future will not be slides and ping pong tables but flexible working areas, quiet spaces, spas and private medical rooms. The study claims that the fixation with Millennials means that a large number of older workers now feel that the design of offices does not meet their needs.

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Physical spaces should be designed to support the digital workplace

Physical spaces should be designed to support the digital workplace 0

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Designing physical spaces that support the digital workplace brings success

In an era in which the digital workplace is just as prevalent as the physical office, organisations that create spaces, technologies and social networks specifically focused on enabling more collaborative work, perform above their direct competitors in their respective industries – in employee connectedness and responsive leadership. This is according to research conducted by Nick van der Meulen of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR). The report assessed on a basis of five indicators, including growth in market share, profit growth and employee satisfaction, and found that trusting employees by giving them autonomy is the key to making a success of the digital workplace. The survey of 313 organisations showed that the high-performing organisations have an integrated and company-wide approach to greater employee connectedness.

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Just one in five UK workers still take the traditional lunch hour

Just one in five UK workers still take the traditional lunch hour 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Just one in five UK workers still take the traditional lunch hourOnly one in five workers in the UK still take the traditional lunch hour break; a stark contrast to France, which sees the lunch hour as a key part of the working day, a new survey by commercial property agency Savoystewart.co.uk claims. Digital marketers take the shortest breaks, taking a meagre average of 14-minutes, followed by recruiters and those in telesales. At the opposite end of the spectrum are media & communication professionals, who take almost their whole hour at 55 minutes. Some of the reasons cited for the shorter break were to please the boss, too much work to do, other colleagues don’t take lunch, there’s nowhere to go or one hour is too long. Half of those polled work right through their lunch break, 30 percent will take under 30 minutes off, 52 percent admit to eating over their desk most days and 27 percent deliberately take a shorter break to please their boss. Yet UK legislation actually allows for a 1 hour interrupted 20-minute rest break after working 6 hours+, and those who are under 18 are entitled to 30 minutes if working above 4.5 hours. Some work contracts may even allow for additional breaks alongside lunch, like tea breaks.

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Many business leaders lack the skills to manage and develop people

Many business leaders lack the skills to manage and develop people 0

by • News, Workplace

Many business leaders lack the skills to manage and develop people

Two new reports published today reveal a dearth of people management skills among both current and future leaders. Over half of the HR professionals polled for the latest CIPD HR Outlook survey believe too many leaders lack the people management behaviours and skills needed to get the best from their workforce. One of the reasons behind this is suggested in the results of a survey from Robert Half which claims that half (50 percent) of management candidates lack leadership skills, with nearly one in five (18 percent) candidates falling short on planning skills, and 14 percent lacking communication skills. In the CIPD poll, people management was voted the top leadership skill needed by organisations over the next three years. However, out of those who chose performance management, more than half (53 percent) said leaders’ current skills in this area were ineffective. Similarly, 44 percent of HR professionals felt senior leaders’ skills were ineffective.

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