May 23, 2022

Younger workers want flexible working, but are sceptical of remote

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

While remote and flexible working roles continue to grow in almost all countries, 20-24 year olds are the age group making the fewest applications to fully remote roles, claims a new poll from LinkedIn. LinkedIn analysed the labour market for career starters in the U.S., U.K, France and Germany – including job applications and hiring data – to understand which sectors offer the most opportunity for Gen Z job-seekers and employers looking to attract them. More →

May 19, 2022

How to prepare your business for the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act

by Jessica McGoverne • Business, News, Works Magazine

Global supply chains are incredibly complex, crossing multiple countries and borders. This complexity brings many challenges for businesses, including managing overseas suppliers, maintaining the flow of goods, and navigating currency fluctuations. One of the biggest challenges is the growing number of supply chain laws that companies need to understand and meet. More →

May 16, 2022

Competition for talent is fierce, but employers edge away from pay to attract people

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New CIPD research claims that almost half (45 percent) of UK employers report having vacancies that are hard-to-fill, and almost two thirds (65 percent) anticipate problems filling vacancies in the next six months. The most common response made in the past six months by employers with hard-to-fill vacancies has been to increase pay (44 percent). However, only a quarter (27 percent) of organisations plan to raise wages in response to the competition for talent in the future. This suggests that organisations may be approaching their limit on this ‘quick win’ strategy and are exploring alternative options, such as upskilling people and flexible working, to attract and retain people. More →

May 16, 2022

London office market activity hits post-pandemic high … for smaller, better, greener offices

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

A study of the London office market from Gerald Eve suggests that there is now the highest number of lettings since before the pandemic with activity focused on smaller requirements and environmentally friendly buildings. Lettings between 10,000 and 20,000 sq ft made up a significant portion of demand with 713,000 sq ft (or 23 percent) of all activity, which totalled 3.1m sq ft in Q1. Tenants are now voting with their feet for best-in-class space, with sustainability at the forefront of decision making. Post-covid requirements continue to shape the criteria for office space as subjective business-linked or staff retention demands rank higher than overall cost in the search for office space. More →

May 2, 2022

Why the over 50s are leaving the workforce in huge numbers

by Carlos Carillo-Tudela et al • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK economy has a problem with its over 50s: following the COVID pandemic, they have been leaving the labour force en masse, causing headaches for businesses and the government. Roughly 300,000 more workers aged between 50 and 65 are now “economically inactive” than before the pandemic, leading a tabloid paper to dub the problem the “silver exodus”. Being economically inactive means that these older workers are neither employed nor looking for a job. Of course, it could simply be that workers saved more during the pandemic and can now afford to retire in comfort earlier than planned. More →

April 29, 2022

Working from home can present particular challenges for women

by Rachel King • Comment, Flexible working

The pandemic has brought with it many different trials and tribulations over the course of the past few years. An area that has impacted teams across the country, and the world, has been working from home and other forms of remote work. Once a necessity imposed by the UK government to stop the spread in the early stages of the pandemic, it has now become a part of working life for many people in many different sectors. It has offered many employees the new luxury of time: no commutes resulting in more time to spend with family and friends and creating a better work-life balance. More →

April 27, 2022

A third of workers think their jobs are at risk from automation

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new poll claims that one in three (37 percent) employees consider their current job to be at risk from automation and digital transformation. HR software provider CIPHR has compiled a list of the occupations that are the most and least likely to be replaced by technology or machines, based on the results of a survey of more than 1,000 UK workers: www.ciphr.com/jobs-at-risk-from-automation. Survey respondents were asked to rate the likelihood that their own occupation could become automated in the future, due to advances in smart technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and robotics. More →

April 26, 2022

Growing number of firms link increased productivity to home and flexible working

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

The number of employers who believe that an increase in homeworking and flexible working has increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency has jumped significantly over the last year, according to new research from the CIPD. When asked in December 2020, a third (33 percent) of employers said homeworking had increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency. However, when asked about increased home/hybrid working in October/November 2021, over two-fifths (41 percent) said these new ways of working had increased this. More →

April 20, 2022

Economic inactivity hits record high amongst men aged over 50

by Jayne Smith • News

Economic inactivity levels amongst men aged 50-64 in December 2021 to February 2022 were the highest since records began, according to new analysis from Rest Less. The firms analysed labour market data from the Office of National Statistics and found that economic inactivity levels amongst men aged 50-64 reached 1.47 million in the latest official figures – the highest they have ever been since records began in 1992. The economic inactivity rate amongst this demographic reached a nine-year high and is now at 23.1 percent. More →

April 19, 2022

Four-day working week can improve wellbeing and reduce social inequality

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Research from the University of Kent has shown how a national four-day working week can positively impact workers and their families’ wellbeing, improve social cohesion and reduce social inequality. In a paper published by the Journal of Social Policy, Professor Heejung Chung from Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research discusses how a shorter working week can help tackle issues by giving workers the ‘right to time’, shifting a balance between work and non-work activities in daily life. More →

April 14, 2022

Office costs creep up, but not because of higher rents

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Higher fit-out costs and service charge growth, not rent rises are set to increase office occupier costs in 2022, claims a new report. Savills analysis of Q1 22 Prime Office Costs (SPOC) in global markets around the world has shown that higher fit-out costs, reflecting material and labour cost inflation, are beginning to creep through in some office markets. While overall there has been no movement in the position of cities in the rankings since the end of 2021, says Savills, some markets are experiencing rising costs in fitting out space and increased service charges. According to Savills this trend is most evident in Chinese cities, Kuala Lumpur, and in North American cities at the moment, but other markets across the globe are set to follow suit in the coming quarters.

Jeremy Bates, head of EMEA occupational markets at Savills, comments: “From higher prices for raw materials to increasing labour costs to keep up with rising inflation, it’s likely that most office occupiers will have to pay more to rent and fit-out their space in global cities this year.

“Whilst rent is the usual indicator of increasing cost, service charge rises and higher capital expenditure will represent the largest contributions towards increased occupier costs in the coming quarters. Even in markets where landlords tend to pay for fit-outs, these costs will eventually be passed on to occupiers later in the form of higher rents. Nonetheless, for many office occupiers the expense is unlikely to deter them from selecting top quality spaces in prime central business districts to attract and retain talent, although they are carrying out extensive data gathering exercises on how employees are using space before making decisions on exactly how much to take.”

Savills says that overall headline rents have, on average, remained flat in local currencies and the increasing additional costs have yet to appear across many markets, according to the international real estate advisor, with fluctuating exchange rates due to increased uncertainty producing the appearance of declining costs for many markets in Dollar terms during the first quarter of 2022, while in local currencies they have broadly remained consistent with Q4 2021.

March 29, 2022

The Great Resignation and what is really happening

by Carlos Carillo-Tudela et al • Features, Workplace

The ‘Great Resignation’ is a buzzphrase that first appeared in May 2021, and has struck fear into the hearts of employers ever since. Coined in the US, the term refers to the unprecedented rise in the number of workers resigning from their jobs following the pandemic. There has since been a huge amount of research trying to work out why this has happened. Are workers quitting work entirely, as the pandemic makes us re-evaluate our priorities? Or are they quitting to pursue their dreams in a different career? More →