Search Results for: flexible working

June 14, 2016

Home workers happier, able to balance responsibilities despite long hours ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

New research claims that home-based employees are choosing to work more hours than those who work in traditional offices. According to the study carried out by homeworking agency Sensée, despite opting to work more hours daily, home workers are generally happier because they’re empowered to choose the hours they work so they can still attend to family responsibilities. Three quarters of home workers (77 percent) stated that working from home enables them to achieve more, including caring for family members or friends and exercising more. Time and money saved on commuting – along with more control over their day – were cited among the top three benefits of working from home. The research also claims there is a desire to work from home among office-based employees. Three-fifths (81 percent) of office-based employees said they would take the opportunity to work from home either full time or part time to care for a family member or friend.

June 14, 2016

Winning over employees during the great Summer of sport ⁰

by Jamie Mackenzie • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The summer brings about many challenges for both employers and employees. The longer days, warmer weather, and reduced staff numbers are an annual occurrence that managers need to factor in; 2016 also brings a particularly exciting season of sport. High profile events such as Wimbledon, Euro 2016 and the Olympics are already upon us, with many of the events taking place during working hours. Research from Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services suggests that 1 in 5 people say they typically feel the least motivated during summer or when there is a sporting event taking place. Managers need to combat this in order to maintain productivity levels throughout the summer – but how can this be achieved? And how can they use the opportunity presented by the Summer of sport to build closer relationships with employees that will have longer term benefits for the business than the immediate challenges they present?

June 14, 2016

UK leads the world in serviced offices and demand is set to rise ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

The UK is the leading global serviced office sector, with the largest and most mature market, accounting for over a third (36 percent) of the worldwide serviced office footprint, according to a new report commissioned by serviced office group Office Space in Town. The UK serviced office market has grown by 31 percent since 2008, and it is projected to increase in value significantly by 2025, to £62 billion on conservative projections and £126bn on more optimistic forecasts. There are three key drivers behind its rise: increasing numbers of growth businesses, expansion of key sectors that use serviced offices and the trend towards more flexible working. There are sound economic and business behavioural reasons to believe this growth in demand for serviced offices will continue over the next decade. This, in part, will come from growth in small firms and business start-ups, which comprise a large share of current serviced office users.

June 14, 2016

What does Stephen Hawking have to do with office productivity? ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace, Workplace design

Whether you are in the business of running a company or even running a country, the words efficiency and productivity are not only frequently used in policy and strategic rhetoric, they also appear to be largely interchangeable. This is frequently problematic. There is no denying the importance of both, but understanding their differences is vital to achieving real success when focusing on financial outcomes. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines efficiency and productivity in the following ways: Efficiency – the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy. Productivity – the rate at which goods are produced or work is completed. Essentially, increasing efficiency means doing more with less, whereas increasing productivity means producing more with the same, for a business this typically means with the same amount of staff, space, time or materials.

June 2, 2016

European Championships 2016: advice and guidance issued for employers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Not that I care*, but the UEFA European Championships will apparently take place in France from Friday 10th June 2016 until Sunday 10th July 2016, with the kick off times varying between 2pm and 8pm. The main issues which will affect both employee and employers will be around; requests for annual leave; sickness absence and internet and social media use during working hours. Aside from the irritation felt by those of us who don’t follow the beautiful game, it’s probably best to adhere to advice from workplace experts such as Acas and Sodexo, that flexibility from both employers and employees throughout the championships will ensure a productive business and engaged workforce. Acas counsels that before the start of the tournament or any major sporting event it would be best to have agreements in place regarding such issues as time off, sickness absence or even watching TV during these events.

May 26, 2016

Digital mobility to work anytime, anywhere is key to job satisfaction ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

In a further nod to the growing relevance of flexible working, the ability to work anytime, anywhere is now key to job satisfaction with well over a third (38 percent) of employees in a global survey rating this as the number one factor, with the UK (43 percent) scoring this the highest. According to the “Mobility, Performance and Engagement” report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Aruba, employees in Western countries report themselves to be happier in their jobs, more loyal to their employers and more productive in their work compared to their counterparts in Eastern markets. When it comes to securing loyalty, the ability to hot desk was seen as paramount by many employees, notably in Singapore (37 percent), UAE (31 percent) and the US (34 percent), while the ability to collaborate with other employees was the number one choice for employees in Germany (43 percent), France (37 percent) and Japan (35 percent).

May 25, 2016

An out of hours email ban and why we all need the ‘right to disconnect’ ⁰

by Adrian Lewis • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Work&Place, Workplace

The recent announcement from President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party that they plan to give French employees the “right to disconnect” by pushing through measures for an email ban out of hours has been the subject of great debate. Although many commentators have argued the need for employers to encourage people to ‘switch off’ when they aren’t in work, to date there have been no legal guidelines on this specific issue, despite several negative reports about modern technology blurring the boundaries between home and work, which some claim is creating a stress epidemic. In the UK, the Working Time Regulations specify that no worker should work more than 48 hours per week. However, there has been no case law as to whether or not checking work emails outside working hours would fall within this limit – and many UK staff check and respond to work emails outside work hours, even on holidays.

May 17, 2016

Employers need to step up to retain older workers and carers, claims CIPD ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

With people living longer and fewer young people entering the labour market, Europe’s employers are increasingly reliant on the skills and talents of older workers. However, the ageing population also means that there will be around nine million carers in the UK by 2037, many of whom will be trying to juggle care and employment, according to new research released by the CIPD. It claims that, although the UK’s policy framework for supporting older workers and creating fuller working lives is well-developed in comparison to other European countries, there is a crucial need to turn this thinking into practical action to avoid losing the skills and experience of employees who choose to work beyond retirement. With around 30 percent of the UK workforce currently over 50 compared to 20 percent in the 1990s, the CIPD is urging employers to put the tools and culture in place to support older workers as they represent and increasingly significant proportion of the labour market.

April 26, 2016

Men paid more after having kids, as mothers’ pay and prospects diminish ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

We’ve observed at Workplace Insight that the reason many women fall behind men in terms of pay and promotion may not be due to direct gender discrimination but becauses when women start having children, they’re penalised for needing a more flexible working arrangement. This theory has been borne out in a series of surveys and now the latest one shows how stacked the job market is against working mothers. According to a new report by the TUC, fathers working full-time get paid a fifth more than men with similar jobs who don’t have children. The report shows that dads who work full-time experience, on average, a 21 percent ‘wage bonus’ and that working fathers with two children earn more (9 percent) than those with just one. The findings are in stark contrast to the experience of working mothers, says the report. Women who become mothers before 33 typically suffer a 15 percent pay penalty.

April 22, 2016

The new issue of Work&Place is now available to read online ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, Premium Content, Property, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

The new issue of Work&Place is available to view online. As ever it presents a truly global perspective on the forces that are redefining our relationship with work and how designers and managers are creating workplaces and working cultures to help firms and people thrive in the new era. This issue includes: Francisco Vazquez Medem looking at the current state of flexible working in Latin America; Ian Ellison finding the unlikely candidate for the missing piece of the workplace puzzle; Andrea Hak assessing what we can all learn from Yahoo’s recent trials and tribulations; Serena Borghero engaging in the ongoing quest for the truly engaged workplace; and Baptiste Broughton gauging France’s unique revolutionary spirit and how it applies to the worrkplace. Each issue of Work&Place, sponsored by Steelcase and Condeco, is read by well over 60,000 workplace professionals worldwide and invites all those associated with the industry to share their own thoughts and experiences during this tumultuous era. Illustration by Simon Heath.

April 14, 2016

Londoners work less flexibly than elsewhere, despite longer commutes ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Flexible working, News, Workplace

Londoners are less likely to work flexibly than the rest of the UK, despite having much longer commuting times. This is according to the results of new research by the CIPD which found that many Londoners are travelling for the equivalent of at least one full working day in a ‘typical’ week. They spend an average of 47 minutes travelling to work each way compared to the national average of 31 minutes, and their average travel to work time increases to 56 minutes each way, if you consider a combination of both employees who live in London and those that commute into the capital from outside the M25. The data also reveals that flexible workers in London are more satisfied with their jobs, feel under less pressure and have better work-life balance than those who don’t work flexibly. In its policy programme, Opportunity through work: A manifesto for London, the CIPD is calling for a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working in the Capital.