January 15, 2024
AI roles now make up over a quarter of all tech jobs advertised in the UK
AI-focused roles now make up 27 percent of all tech jobs being advertised in the UK, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters. An analysis of 6,073 live tech roles advertised online in January 2024 found that 1,652 roles fundamentally required AI skills. Demand for talent with relevant skills has boomed in the last year with the rise of generative AI tools offering significant boosts to productivity and efficiency in the workplace. More →
Monica Parker joins Mark Eltringham to share an Old Fashioned while discussing how to find wonder in the everyday, the limits of workplace design, our renewed obsession with productivity, how to achieve flow states in a world of distractions and what it means to be truly happy. There’s not much workplace news around right now as people are still finding their feet after Christmas, so we also explore some lessons we might take from the Post Office scandal about how organisations go wrong and the role of human nature in creating toxic cultures. 
Nobody seems to be calling it The Great Resignation any more, but two-fifths (40 percent) of the UK workforce are planning to move jobs in 2024, with one in six already beginning their search as staff look to boost their pay packet, according to the latest Candidate Sentiment Survey statistics produced by recruitment firm Robert Half. The survey’s authors claim these statistics demonstrate the resilience of the labour market as more candidates look to capitalise on skills shortages to boost earnings. Those aged 18-34 are more likely to move roles than any other age group (56 percent). 
Named for its distinctive kinked leg bracket, KI’s new product, ‘KI-nk’, is the perfect addition to your office space. It’s available as part of a table system or as a bench and desk collection. The KI-nk Table System is available in a range of sizes and 3 different shapes – circular, square, and rectangular – so it’s easier to choose the right style for the area you want to fit out, whether that’s a meeting room, a breakout space, executive office, reception, or a café area. Worktops can be specified with either a square or chamfered edge. 
A new poll claims that over one quarter (26 percent) of employees in the UK do not trust their CEO to be open and honest, while 24 percent do not trust their senior leadership to do the same. According to the survey of 2,000 employees in the UK from Personio, transparency and employer-employee communication are pivotal to a positive employee experience and trust in the workplace. The research suggests that feeling unheard by leadership could be fuelling employees’ distrust. Over a quarter (28 percent) of employees surveyed say that they are not given a chance to share feedback to leadership on their experiences. Meanwhile, less than half (46 percent) of employees feel that leadership in their organisation actually listens and acts on any feedback when given from staff. 
Gossiping at work can have serious negative impacts on your career, according to new research by Durham University Business School and NEOMA Business School. Not only are gossipers frowned upon by other work colleagues, they also become socially excluded in the company, and can experience negative career-related impacts as a consequence of their storytelling. 
January 15, 2024
Forget all the talk of Blue Monday; work is still (largely) good for us
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace