Search Results for: wellbeing

March 3, 2017

A collection of essays musing on the precarious and uncertain future of work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has published its annual collection of articles addressing today’s pressing issues for organisations. In acknowledgement of current turbulent times, the team of researchers and consultants have pulled together existing research and their own insights from working with organisations, offering their reflections on how leaders and HR practitioners can successfully navigate the imminent challenges. The collection, Darkening Skies? IES Perspectives on HR 2017, reflects the current sense of uncertainty around what future awaits. The shift towards new and more precarious forms of work, made possible by the growth in digital platforms and solutions, is a recurring topic appearing in many of the articles. They also explore the possible effects and mitigations of known issues such as the ageing workforce and its associated health implications; the growing need to support employee financial wellbeing; and the dangers of ignoring the employee voice.

February 21, 2017

Older workers increasingly marginalised at work despite their growing numbers ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Wellbeing, Workplace design

Older workers are at risk of being marginalised in the workplace according to a new survey of office workers from workplace consultants Peldon Rose, which claims that there are significant differences in the wellbeing, attitudes and motivations of the workplace’s oldest and youngest employees. The over 50s now account for more than 30 percent of the UK’s working population (9.4million people), but according to the study older workers are the least content of all employees with less than a quarter (23 percent) of the 55+ age group feeling appreciated by their company and 80 percent suffering from or having suffered from workplace stress. In contrast, the workplace’s newest recruits, the under 25 year olds, are the office’s most positive employees with over half (55 percent) feeling appreciated by their company and 60 percent – the lowest of all age groups – suffering or having suffered from workplace stress.

February 20, 2017

Digital workplace is ineffective without workers’ technical empowerment ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology

Shifting digital dynamics are reshaping the way organisations operate and are recasting the traditional route to business success, claims new research into the rise of the digital workplace. Ricoh’s new report into digital workplace trends produced in partnership with polling company Censuswide, argues that the latest technology strategies are rendered useless without proper commitment to skills training and the empowerment of those workers who will be making use of it. It advises that businesses need to work on improving the workforce’s digital dexterity by creating an office culture fit for sharing ideas and skills across social, video and digital platforms. The report identifies digital skills training as a key differentiator for employees seeking a new job. Over a third of UK office workers (37 per cent) say they would move jobs to a company which offered better digital skills in the workplace. Likewise a modest 18 per cent of respondents rated their skills as ‘excellent’ whilst 51 per cent said ‘good’ and 30 per cent considered themselves ‘average.’

February 9, 2017

Birmingham creates city development blueprint with global dimension ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a way of investigating or diagnosing the challenges facing their home city that could be used to help improve the lives of city dwellers around the world. And the blueprint they are working with could help city policy makers and other countries to take more effective actions to boost the quality of life for residents by providing better outcomes. Project leaders are already looking at how the work might be applied in countries like India, Brazil and South Africa. The first part of the Urban Living Birmingham pilot project used a wide range of data and evidence used by city leaders to inform policy combined with an analysis of 248 datasets – identifying the challenges facing Birmingham.

February 3, 2017

Plans unveiled for £1 billion mixed use scheme in East London ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

Developers Knight Dragon have unveiled the details of a landmark £1 billion project as part of the Greenwich Peninsula regeneration in East London. Designed by architect and engineering firm Santiago Calatrava, the Peninsula Place development marks the latest shift in London’s shift eastwards. The scheme will total 1.4 million sq ft including a new tube and bus station, theatre, cinema and performance venue, bars, shops and a wellbeing hub. Above this will rise three office towers, apartments and hotels, all connected to the Thames by a new land bridge. The developers claim that Greenwich Peninsula is London’s largest single regeneration project. Over the coming years, the £8.4 billion transformation of the Peninsula will provide 15,720 new homes in seven new neighbourhoods: home to central London’s first major film studio, a new design district, schools, offices, health services and public spaces.

February 1, 2017

No matter how engaged they feel, key talent will leave for a fresh work challenge ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Most employers buy into the idea that the more engaged their employees the likely they are to leave, but a new survey suggests that whether or not staff feel engaged or are happy with their salary, they won’t stay on board once they’re ready for a new work challenge. This is according to research by Korn Ferry which claims that the No. 1 reason professionals would hunt for a new job in 2017 is to seek a more challenging position, while the quest for greater compensation comes in almost dead last as a reason to leave. In the survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said that if they plan on being in the job market this year, it’s because they’re looking for a challenge. Trailing far behind, 9 percent said they are looking because they either don’t like their company or their efforts aren’t being recognized, 5 percent say their compensation is too low, and 4 percent say they don’t like their boss.

January 20, 2017

Over half of workforce feel physically sick due to workplace pressures ⁰

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

More than half of the workforce (53 percent) report that they have felt physically unwell due to a poor work-life balance, and a similar number (52 percent) go so far as to say that work makes them more unwell than anything in their personal lives, claims new research from Bupa UK. In addition to physical sickness, work stress is keeping half (51 percent) of employees awake at night. Two fifths (42 percent) even state it is ‘ruining their life’.The research revealed that people find workplace demands such as presenting at an important meeting (71 percent) or managing a project (65 percent) just as stressful as buying a first house (69 percent) or getting married (66 percent). The research indicated that there is a pressing business need for organisations to better understand and address the wellbeing needs of their employees, as it is impacting profitability.

January 19, 2017

One in five people say the workplace is where they are most unhappy ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new report from the charity Central YMCA claims to highlight the major role employers have to play in supporting the nation’s wellbeing. The report is based on a study of 1,000 UK adults undertaken by the charity which found that being at work is the most common situation in which people feel their happiness is decreased – with a fifth of people stating this. The research also found that finding free time for leisure, family and friends, and socialising was key to achieving good levels of wellbeing. Respondents stated they feel wellbeing at its highest when on holiday (66 percent), when spending time with family (56 percent), or whilst socialising with friends (49 percent) – signalling the importance of creating a healthy work-life balance. Despite these stats, recent studies show that the average British worker puts in the equivalent of 38 working days over and above their contracted annual hours.

January 17, 2017

Third of working mothers rely on school breakfast clubs to keep their jobs ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Public Sector, Workplace

Nearly 60 per cent of parents rank breakfast clubs as ‘very important’ for their families survival and routine; and a third of working British mothers say they would have to give up work if they weren’t available, claims a new report. The Kellogg’s study ‘The Parent’s Lifeline’, which looks into the role school breakfast clubs play in the lives of working families reveals that just a fifth of working mums and dads claimed they found time to enjoy breakfast with their children – describing their mornings as ‘tiring’ and ‘stressful’. While more than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents felt the absence of a breakfast club would mean at least one parent would be forced out of work, it is working mothers who would bear the burden (33 per cent). One in five recognised the cost for alternative morning childcare would mean they would have to tighten their purse strings, with nearly 20 per cent of parents claiming they save more than £50 every week by sending their children to breakfast clubs.

January 14, 2017

Sky Central + Dealing with noise at source + The detoxified workplace ⁰

by Sara Bean • Case studies, Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Wellbeing, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Neil Usher describes the vision behind Sky Central’s new activity-based workplace in London; and Mark Eltringham argues the European Display Screen Equipment Regulations are no longer fit for purpose. CRE’s attempts to advance corporate strategic goals often take a back seat to cost savings targets; the Hushme voice masking device for mobile phones promises a quieter office; and organisations are encouraged to “detoxify” their work environments to improve employee wellbeing. Why employees are prepared to move jobs if employers fail to offer flexible work; a quarter of people with money problems say it undermines their work performance; and the World Economic Forum cites unregulated technological progress as one of the greatest threats to work. Download our Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

January 13, 2017

Major corporate real estate occupiers struggle to balance cost cutting with strategic goals ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace design

Although the world’s major corporate real estate occupiers retain a focus on managing the costs of their workplace when it comes to making the big decisions, there is a growing emphasis on offsetting this against issues such as staff recruitment and retention. That is the key finding of a new report from Cushman & Wakefield into the priorities and decision making of large corporate occupiers. It claims that firms are now far more focused on striking the right balance between goals that are often in direct opposition to one another. The study, produced in partnership with CoreNet Global, was based on interviews with 266 occupiers, three quarters of whom have more than 25 offices worldwide. The survey examined not only how location and workplace strategy are viewed as corporate value drivers, but also CRE’s alignment with business strategy.

January 12, 2017

UK Green Building Council announces launch of first Innovation Lab ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News

The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) has announced the launch of its first Innovation Lab, which it claims offers ‘a radical new approach to innovation in the built environment’. The Lead Partners for the programme are: Canary Wharf Group, Land Securities and Marks & Spencer. The Innovation Lab aims to identify and address what it calls the systemic challenges facing businesses within the sector, and co-create innovative and highly sustainable solutions.

Head of Leadership and Innovation at UK-GBC, Cat Hirst, said: “Research and Development levels across our industry are painfully low; the UK currently only spends £43m on construction R&D. The risks to a single company of investing in developing a solution for such a high-cost industry is often seen as prohibitive. But we desperately need to find ways of working together to achieve radical change if we are to challenge business as usual and transition to a sustainable way of working.

“At UK-GBC we’re seeking to catalyse this change by using our unique position to convene our member organisations to work together to address the issues our industry faces. We want to ensure there is the time, space, and structure for open innovation to occur for the built environment.

“The Innovation Lab is not just about finding one solution to one problem, it’s about fostering a more open and collaborative approach to problem solving as an industry. We need to build the capacity of our industry to innovate and find the right approach to being creative and collaborative within a commercial setting.”

The Innovation Lab began last month with a workshop to identify the ‘breakthrough challenge’ which will form the focus of a 9-month programme of work. In order to arrive at the challenge, the UK Green Building Council is working with the Lead Partners and thought leaders from the wider UK-GBC membership to explore future trends for the built environment as well as key environmental and social challenges, and pain points for business. The initial workshop highlighted key industry challenges around climate change resilience, resource use, shifting demographics, technological advancement and health and wellbeing.

Over the coming weeks, the breakthrough challenge will be refined in consultation with the Lead Partners. The next workshop will be on 1 February, where Innovation Lab participants will begin to respond to this challenge by mapping existing innovations and, where a gap is identified, generating new innovative solutions to solve the challenge.