Four in ten workers do not feel secure in their jobs

Four in ten workers do not feel secure in their jobs

Companies are in danger of losing top talent due to lack of flexible workingAlmost four in 10 workers (38 percent) do not feel secure in their jobs, as lay-offs across industries continue to bite, claimsthe ADP Research Institute’s People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View. Feelings of job insecurity are highest among the young. According to the survey of over 32,000 workers in 17 countries, half (50 percent) of Gen Z (those in the 18–24-year-old age bracket) say they don’t feel secure in their job. This is double the proportion of over 55s who say the same (24 percent). More →

The digital edition of issue 6 of Works Magazine just dropped

The digital edition of issue 6 of Works Magazine just dropped

I recently received a copy of the book Office Shock by ‘prominent futurists’ Bob Johansen, Joseph Press and Christine Bullen. Described as a guide to creating better futures for working and living, the book imagines the future of work and the workplace. While reading a passage aimed at leaders, I was suddenly aware that a number of the words were simultaneously being spoken aloud in the background. There was a break in the cricket I had been watching that morning (cricket has a few of these breaks!) and the England captain, Ben Stokes, was being interviewed about his own leadership style. More →

Businesses need three years to prepare for impact of AI

Businesses need three years to prepare for impact of AI

A new survey of 600 UK human resources (HR) managers and directors suggests they will need three years to be ready for the impact of AI on the workplaceA new survey of 600 UK human resources (HR) managers and directors suggests they will need three years to be ready for the impact of AI on the workplace – yet 99 percent believe artificial intelligence (AI) will deliver benefits. Almost 40 percent said it would take a minimum of three years before they were prepared for the impact of AI on their roles, and fewer than one in six (15 percent) said they would be fully prepared for the potential impact of AI on the workforce within the year. To integrate AI, nearly 40 percent were investing in their tech teams, while 35.5 percent were already trialling AI in their businesses. More →

Whinging Poms? Why the UK workforce is one of the unhappiest in Europe

Whinging Poms? Why the UK workforce is one of the unhappiest in Europe

Nearly all UK workers (90 percent) are not enthused by their work and workplace, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report.Nearly all UK workers (90 percent) are not enthused by their work and workplace, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report. The UK workforce rate of engagement at work (10 percent) remains one of the lowest in Europe, ranking near the bottom among peer countries (33 out of 38) with countries like the US reporting triple the number of engaged employees (31 percent). The poor state of disengaged workforces is not unique to the UK, with just 13 percent of employees across Europe feeling engaged at work, and the lowest rates of engagement reported in France (7 percent) and Italy (5 percent). More →

Even when machines make better decisions than humans, people still override them

Even when machines make better decisions than humans, people still override them

Machines can make better decisions than humans, but humans often struggle to know when the machine’s decision making is actually more accurate and end up overriding the algorithm decisions for worseMachines can make better decisions than humans, but humans often struggle to know when the machine’s decision making is actually more accurate and end up overriding the algorithm decisions for worse, according to new research from academics at ESMT Berlin, This phenomenon is described in the paper as algorithm aversion, and is attributed to an inherent mistrust in machines. More →

The retrofit of commercial property should be prioritised over new buildings

The retrofit of commercial property should be prioritised over new buildings

A retrofit first principle is advocated in a new reportA retrofit first principle is advocated in a new report, Transform & Renew – Making non-domestic buildings fit for a low carbon future from building consultancy Mace. That and other recommendations set out in the report aim to promote the re-use and repurposing of existing non-domestic buildings which make up about an eighth of total UK building stock but account for a quarter of its carbon emissions. More than 3.5m such buildings require retrofit in the next ten years, Mace suggests in the report. More →

Remote workers feel “policed” by unpredictable managers

Remote workers feel “policed” by unpredictable managers

Daily monitoring can lead to remote workers feeling that their managers have less trust in them, research from NEOMA Business School revealsDaily monitoring can lead to remote workers feeling that their managers have less trust in them, research from NEOMA Business School reveals. Birgit Schyns, Distinguished Professor of People and Organisations at NEOMA, co-authored a study analysing survey data on 450 employees at UK-based firms. According to the researchers, when working from home, employees can feel that they have less autonomy and are under constant surveillance if monitored too frequently. These feelings can be exacerbated if managers’ behaviour is unpredictable, they say. More →

Men and women hide what they know from colleagues in different ways

Men and women hide what they know from colleagues in different ways

Men and women exhibit different behaviours in the ways they hide what they know at work, according to new research from academics at the UCL Global Business School for Health (UCL GBSH). The findings, published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, suggest men feel more entitled than women to conceal their knowledge: they hide it more often than women, specifically through rationalised hiding, while women use evasive hiding and playing dumb. Men also conceal knowledge more frequently in a female-dominated environment and are more likely to use the same methods as women, since they believe that women will sanction them less than men for this behaviour. More →

Two thirds of employees have experienced significant workplace conflict

Two thirds of employees have experienced significant workplace conflict

A survey of 2,000 full-time employees has revealed that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of workers have been in a workplace where there has been conflict between colleaguesA survey of 2,000 full-time employees has revealed that almost two-thirds (64 percent) of workers have been in a workplace where there has been conflicts between colleagues, with 15 percent subsequently looking to change roles. The research, conducted by communications consultancy Magenta Associates, also found that opposing personality types (47 percent), lack of communication (43 percent), and management styles (38 percent) are the most likely causes of workplace conflict. More →

Younger workers are the least likely to favour hybrid working

Younger workers are the least likely to favour hybrid working

The appeal of hybrid working is linked to the life and career stage of employeesNew research has revealed the nuances in attitudes towards hybrid working and work-life balance in the UK and US. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the appeal of hybrid work is linked to the life and career stage of employees. The poll from United Culture suggests that work-life balance is the factor most valued by employees at work (58 percent), but is much more appealing to women than men (66 percent vs. 52 percent). Flexibility came in second place, chosen by 47 percent. More →

Younger workers have no idea what the hell older colleagues are talking about

Younger workers have no idea what the hell older colleagues are talking about

esearch from LinkedIn and Duolingo claims that jargon such as “blue sky thinking”, “move the needle on a deadline”, or “circling back to take something offline” is off-putting for younger workersA new poll suggests a workplace jargon language barrier may be driving a wedge between generations, with half (48 percent) of Millennials and Gen-Z saying it makes them feel less involved in the workplace. The research from LinkedIn and Duolingo claims that jargon such as “blue sky thinking”, “move the needle on a deadline”, or “circling back to take something offline” is off-putting for younger workers, as 69 percent say their colleagues use too much jargon at work. More →

People now less engaged, less fulfilled and more stressed in their working lives

People now less engaged, less fulfilled and more stressed in their working lives

New research from the CIPD exploring the quality of UK working lives suggests there has been a negative shift in how people think about and value their work.New research from the CIPD exploring the quality of UK working lives suggests there has been a negative shift in how people think about and value their work. The CIPD’s Good Work Index 2023 claims that most people like their work and find it satisfying. However, as many as 6-9 million workers, experience poor-quality work in some major respects. CIPD’s survey indicators show that there has been no significant improvement in job quality in the past four years and, in some respects, job quality has gone backwards. Compared to 2019, workers today are less enthused about work, less likely to perceive their work as useful and more likely to simply see work as purely transactional – simply for the money. More →