Search Results for: income

Self-employed workers and side hustlers to drive the UK’s economic recovery

Self-employed workers and side hustlers to drive the UK’s economic recovery

self-employedResearch released by Mettle and YouGov estimates that the UK’s growing self-employed and side hustler movement will contribute an estimated £125 billion in turnover to the UK’s economic recovery in 2021. Furthermore, small and medium-sized businesses (with 1-49 employees) are estimated to contribute approximately £310.46 billion. More →

More than half of UK workers planning to take on a side hustle

More than half of UK workers planning to take on a side hustle

workersOver half (54 percent) of UK workers say they are more open to taking on a side hustle or freelance work since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research from Fiverr. Over 2 in 5 (44 percent) agree they are more open to it, due to the flexibility that working from home has given them. More →

What we all get wrong about motivation and the hierarchy of needs

What we all get wrong about motivation and the hierarchy of needs

hierarchy of needsWhen it comes to understanding motivation, the stepping off point for most people is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The theory is now nearly 80 years old and its endurance is some kind of testimony to its insight. Yet a recent paper published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, authored by William Compton of Middle Tennessee State University argues that some of the ideas we most commonly associate with the theory seem to be myths. These include its most fundamental concept, the Pyramid of Needs.

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Low paid workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic

Low paid workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic

low paid workersNew analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies has found that low paid workers are more than twice as likely to have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are at far greater risk of being temporarily laid off or having their hours cut. The research, funded by Standard Life Foundation, concludes that in this current lockdown it is likely that around two thirds of low paid workers – or four million people – are either temporarily laid off or working fewer hours than normal. This would be double the rate of work disruption for staff who are not classified as low paid. More →

Furlough scheme should be extended ahead of the Budget, says CIPD

Furlough scheme should be extended ahead of the Budget, says CIPD

furloughWith six weeks still to go until the Chancellor’s Budget, the CIPD is urging the Government to act early to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs, support incomes and enhance skills development. Its calls are outlined in a report called The Future of Furlough – Recommendations for now and for any future wage subsidy. In order to support smaller firms who don’t pay an apprenticeship levy, the CIPD is also recommending the creation of a furlough scheme training fund of up to £100 million, which would be funded from levy-paying firms’ expired levy funds that would otherwise go to HM Treasury. The CIPD estimates that this could pay for training or outplacement skills development support for nearly 160,000 workers in small firms. More →

Pandemic has improved employee engagement levels say employers

Pandemic has improved employee engagement levels say employers

employee engagementEmployee engagement levels may have actually improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, claims a recent survey undertaken by intermediary Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing. More →

The UK’s digital divide is closing considerably slower than official targets

The UK’s digital divide is closing considerably slower than official targets

digital divideNew data analysis by web design and development agency Rouge Media, claims the digital divide in the UK is closing considerably slower than official targets. In the Government’s 2014 “Digital Inclusion Strategy”, the target was set to reduce the number of people offline by 25 percent every 2 years. And by the end of 2020, everyone who can be digitally capable, will be. More →

Money troubles are more damaging to wellbeing of the self-employed

Money troubles are more damaging to wellbeing of the self-employed

wellbeingFinancial distress is more damaging to the wellbeing of the self-employed than those in employment, claims new research from Trinity Business School. According to the research, authored by Dr Martha O’Hagan-Luff at Trinity Business School, alongside fellow Trinity academics, financial problems are more strongly associated with lower levels of wellbeing for those that are self-employed. More →

Self-employed sector undermined and diminished by events of 2020

Self-employed sector undermined and diminished by events of 2020

An uphill fight for the self-employedNew research from IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, claims that the number of solo self-employed people in the UK has fallen by 5 per cent compared to last year. The total number of solo self-employed (excluding those who have others working for them) has fallen from 4.6 million in 2019 to 4.4 million. Until now the sector had been growing continuously for 11 years – by a total of 40 per cent.   More →

UK tech workers prefer better work-life balance to a pay rise

UK tech workers prefer better work-life balance to a pay rise

work-life balanceWhen it comes to job satisfaction, Denmark tops the list of the best places to work in digital in Europe – beating the UK, Germany and France – according to the 2020 Digital Talent Global Work Happiness Index. The Nordic country scored highly for work-life balance, family-friendly working models, purpose, personal safety and personal impact, which describes how much impact an individual feels they are making to their business.  More →

Maternity leave causes women to lose out on £3.2 billion

Maternity leave causes women to lose out on £3.2 billion

Maternity leaveWomen taking maternity leave collectively lose out on £3.2bn worth on earnings, a fall of nearly half their average annual salary, claims new research from Direct Line Life Insurance. More →

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

The burden of work, Sisyphus by TitianThe pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in September 2020, US$35 trillion (£26 trillion) has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17 percent of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. More →