Search Results for: culture

September 14, 2017

Millions of older workers fear poor health will shorten their working lives

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Even though the age of the working population in the UM continues to rise, more than half of over fifties people have concerns around work and its impact on their health as they age, with women (61 percent) particularly worried about this. According to the study from Aviva, 13 percent intend never to stop work completely although only 14 percent of older workers say their workplace culture is positive towards them. According to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement study, 55 percent admit to fearing that work will become detrimental to their health or they might not be well enough to keep working, including 13 percent who say this is already an issue for them. Fewer than one in five (17 percent) over-50s workers say they have access to wellbeing advice and initiatives in the workplace which could help prevent health issues from impacting their careers.

September 12, 2017

Eight pathways launched to combat unethical practices in construction supply chains

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Property

A new eight stage action programme called APRES, has been released by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to support the responsible and ethical sourcing of materials, products and people. This call to action has been created in partnership with Loughborough University and presents eight pathways to best practice to combat modern slavery and unethical practices in supply chains. The pathways aim to take organisations and individuals from the level of ‘Baseline’ to ‘Best in Class’ performance.

September 8, 2017

High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

by Mark Eltringham • Automation, News, Technology

New research published by the Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that there remains a wide gap between the understanding and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at most companies. The global study of over 3,000 firms and industry experts claims that almost 85 percent of executives believe AI will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. However, only about one in five companies has incorporated AI in some offerings or processes. The new report claims to identify the key characteristics of AI leaders and offers companies a starting point for developing an AI strategy.

September 7, 2017

Report sets out building blocks of a successful digital workplace strategy

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

Digital workplace developments often lose their way, or fail, due to a fragmented approach that prioritises a few technology ‘fixes’ over business strategy, according to analysts at Gartner. To combat this, ‘digital workplace leaders’ in public sector organisations need to employ a framework to ensure their digital workplace initiatives address eight critical components required for a successful implementation, according to Gartner. The report (paywall) sets out what it claims are the eight critical components — “building blocks” — that application leaders need when planning, directing and evolving digital workplace programs:

September 7, 2017

Remote workers perceived as less valued by management than office based staff

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

Remote workers perceived as less valued to workplace by office based staff American office workers think it’s twice as difficult for remote workers to build relationships with the boss, make work friends, collaborate with their team and navigate the workplace culture than in-office workers, according to recent research. The “Reality of the Remote Worker Report,” claims that remote workers tend to have their presence go by unnoticed, with 43 percent of office workers believing it’s harder for remote workers to be seen in the workplace than those non-remote. The report, conducted online amongst over 1,500 US workers by YouGov for CyberLink, found a number of disadvantages for remote workers; with nearly 1 in 6 (15 percent) of office colleagues thinking that remote workers are less valued by a company, 20 percent believing they’re promoted less often and 8 percent even viewing them as less trustworthy. And office workers who were asked about their own concerns about working remotely expressed a range of potential frustrations.

September 5, 2017

The United Workplace launches to support business workplace strategy on a global scale

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Workplace design

A global collaboration of workplace experts has been formed to assist companies in the development of their workplaces. Workplace specialists Fourfront Group and Amicus are the founding partners of The United Workplace (TUW), an organisation set up to share expertise and knowledge and deliver workplace design, fit-outs and commercial furniture consultancy and installation worldwide. The network comprises of Fourfront Group in the UK, Amicus which delivers workplace design and fit-out projects in Australia, Ware Malcomb an architectural practice in the US, and Summertown Interiors, a United Arab Emirates fit-out contractor.

September 4, 2017

Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Asking for family-friendly flexible working patterns can lead to many people getting fewer hours, worse shifts and in some cases losing their jobs altogether, claims a new report from the TUC. Half (47 percent) of low-paid young mums and dads are struggling to manage work and childcare, according to the Better Jobs for Mums and Dads report. More than two in five (42 percent) said they felt penalised at work when they asked for flexibility – telling the TUC they are subsequently given fewer hours, worse shifts or even losing their job.

September 4, 2017

Third of sick notes are given out for mental health issues, claims NHS study

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

One in three signed off cases of absenteeism in the UK is related to mental health problems, with more than five million Britons being signed off work for conditions including anxiety, according to an NHS study of fit notes issued by GPs over a 28 month period. The number of workers signed off sick or put on restricted duties because of stress and anxiety rose by 14 per cent in the most recent year according to the report. Mental health and behavioural conditions were the most common reason to be off work, making up 31 per cent of cases, followed by musculoskeletal conditions. The NHS Digital report, running to March 2017, said in 2016-17 there were 573,000 cases of people off sick with anxiety and stress-related conditions, compared with 503,000 cases the previous year.

August 25, 2017

Half of UK workers plan to leave their current job over the next year

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

Fifty percent of full or part-time workers in the UK want to leave their current job in the next 12 months claims a new study conducted by Citation. London businesses will be the worst hit, with two thirds (64 percent) of workers in the capital planning on eyeing up other employers. Furthermore, those aged between 18 and 24 are most likely to jump ship (64 percent), and men are 10 percent more likely to leave than women. For two in five workers, it’s salaries that’s forcing them to look elsewhere – this is most likely to be the key driver for 18 to 34-year-olds. Better career prospects (22 percent), drab company cultures (16 percent), dislike of managers (11 percent) and loathing of their job (10 percent) were other reasons given for wanting to leave. With, according to a study by Oxford Economics the average cost of recruitment costing £30,000, UK business owners look set for a costly year ahead. More →

August 22, 2017

Employees with higher levels of trust and autonomy at work are more productive

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

Employees who feel trusted by their employer to manage how and when they work for themselves can improve their levels of productivity, a new survey suggests. The research by Peldon Rose claims that UK workers rate feelings of trust and autonomy from employers and colleagues as increasingly important in keeping them productive and happy in the workplace. But the survey also shows that many employers are failing to provide employees with the resources and support they need to manage their workload and keep them motivated. Although the majority of staff (59 percent) say they work most productively in the office, a third (33 percent) wish they were more trusted to manage how and when they work and 42 percent say that their office does not support a culture that allows them to work flexibly. Despite the clear value that staff place on trust and autonomy, employers are overlooking an opportunity to create a confident and self-motivated workforce.

August 18, 2017

Board buy-in is key to closing employment gap for disabled people in workplace

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

There continues to be a significant gap between the employment rate of disabled people and the rest of the population; according to the Office for National Statistics, just 49 percent of disabled people of working age are in employment. This is why getting genuine buy-in from the top is key to improving levels of disability disclosure and helping to facilitate requests for workplace adjustments. That was the conclusion of a recent round table hosted by the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) which also found that while some HR and diversity specialists are sceptical about the level of support available from senior leadership teams, once the topic is brought to the attention of the board, the response is often overwhelmingly positive. Practical ways in which leaders can bolster disability initiatives shared at the event include; identifying disability champions within the business who can communicate their own stories, implementing unconscious bias training, instigating & reverse-mentoring initiatives where senior managers are partnered with disabled colleagues and leading by example by being open about their own disabilities.

August 17, 2017

How workplace design shapes and reflects organisational hierarchies

by Angela Love • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

The roots of the open plan office can be traced back to the 1960s when post-capitalism was beginning to emerge as a political and intellectual movement. The social and political upheaval that followed World War Two and the emphasis on the autonomous, motivated and engaged worker combined to inspire designers and architects to develop a new and more “modern” way of working. A mode of work characterised by an increased emphasis on social relations and flattened hierarchies. The open plan office was heralded as the ‘office of the future’; a progressive, transformative and near utopian design concept which would enable its occupants to thrive and succeed in a more socialist world. Yet the proponents of the open plan do not appear to have been fulfilled in large corporate businesses in the UK. I’d like to suggest that this failure is not a design fault but rather a problem caused by a clash of ideologies. Upon closer inspection, it appears that these larger corporations have not fully been able to shift into the social-democratic model of collaborative, open working styles.