Search Results for: diverse workforce

Political chat dominates watercooler moments

Political chat dominates watercooler moments

Political chat gets heatedUK workers are becoming increasingly saturated with political chat with just under half (46 percent) claiming they’ve noticed a significant increase in discussions had by colleagues since the EU Referendum. Despite once being considered the ultimate professional faux pas, new research from Jobsite.co.uk claims that political chat has now entered our workplaces in a big way with 3 in 5 comfortable discussing political matters. More →

London now has its own Good Work standard

London now has its own Good Work standard

The Mayor of London has launched the city's own good work standardThe Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’.  The standard has been developed in partnership with CIPD, claims to bring together good employment practice with resources and guidance written by CIPD experts and tested with London based CIPD members, the framework sets out to support employers of all sizes across the city improve their people management practices and create good work for all.

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Rise in employment led by self-employed and older workers

Rise in employment led by self-employed and older workers

employment figuresAs with the last few months, the latest UK employment figures look like a sea of tranquillity. The number of people in work is up ever so slightly (setting another record), unemployment down slightly again (ditto) and earnings continuing to grow. After a couple of months where there were hints that the labour market might be cooling down, today’s figures suggest that it is heating up once more. However beneath the surface, the numbers highlight some big changes in employment trends – with two things in particular standing out. More →

In defence of open plan office design

In defence of open plan office design

The Johnson Wax building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was an early example of open plan office designNoisy, distracting, toxic and disastrous. These are just a few words that have been used to describe open plan office layouts. Though the open office layout model was originally conceived to promote collaboration, innovation and stronger workplace relationship, if recent press is to be believed, it’s had the opposite effect at many companies. More →

The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate

The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate 0

It’s no surprise to say that technology is having a significant impact on the workplace and the use of corporate real estate. The fast pace of change has seen technology impact all aspects of business, government and culture, as well as personal life, with a constant flow of new innovations and solutions helping us to do things more quickly and efficiently. Equally, technology also provides a challenge to business and, more specifically, corporate operations, with a whole array of disruptive technologies.

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Why are graduates favouring Manchester over London?

Why are graduates favouring Manchester over London?

streetview of Manchester, Piccadilly GardensThe economic performance of UK cities is increasingly dependent on the skills of their workforce. Cities across the UK face the challenge of both attracting and retaining high-skilled talent. The Great British Brain Drain investigates migration within the UK, specifically within cities. It finds that many university cities lose their graduates to London, with this movement especially strong for the highest performing graduates with 2.1 or 1st class degrees from Russell Group universities. Despite this, most university cities experience a ‘graduate gain’: they gain more graduates than they lose.

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RICS and CIBRE to publish new book on diversity in the real estate sector

RICS and CIBRE to publish new book on diversity in the real estate sector

RICS and CIBRE to publish new guide to diversity in real estate sectorRICS and CBRE have announced the publication of a new book: Managing Diversity and Inclusion in the Real Estate Sector, which will be launched at MIPIM 2019 in Cannes. Co-authored by real estate veterans, Amanda Clack, Head of Strategic Advisory at CBRE and Judith Gabler, Acting Managing Director, Europe for RICS, the book places diversity and inclusion (D&I) at the centre of successful real estate and construction organisations. The book provides guidance to, and most importantly actions for professionals in the sector who want to make D&I an inherent part of the culture of their organisation. The book aims to educate the real estate sector about what D&I entails and how a D&I strategy can be implemented to secure future success. It presents a practical and easy-to-read guide that can help organisations and their leaders engage with and apply this agenda to win the war for talent in real estate and construction. It seeks to be about action not words and help those in the sector #BeTheChange.

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Filtering out the noise, the pathology of work, busy doin muffin and some other stuff

Filtering out the noise, the pathology of work, busy doin muffin and some other stuff

We might think that an inability to absorb the vast amount of information generated by our fellow humans and their machines is something of a modern phenomenon, but we’ve always known we can have too much of this particular good thing. Distringit librorum multitude, wrote Seneca in the First Century. An abundance of books is a distraction.

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MPs back plan to increase gender diversity in business

MPs back plan to increase gender diversity in business

MPs back new measure to increase gender diversity in business

A majority of MPs have backed a recommendation to increase gender diversity in business by extending the “Women in Finance Charter” to cover all businesses in the UK. The recommendation comes from the professional accountancy body AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). The Charter asks financial services firms to commit to implement four key industry actions; to have a named senior executive responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion; set internal targets for gender diversity in senior management positions; publish progress annually and ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity. More →

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

More than half of employees say the inclusion of disabled people is an area that requires the greatest improvement within their organisation; with the diversity of age groups coming in a close second at just under half. This is according to the latest findings from Wildgoose’s Diversity and Inclusivity in the Workplace survey. The results suggest a shift in the areas that employees prioritise when it comes to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and raises the concern that dual discrimination based on disability AND age is common practice in the workplace. Other significant findings from the research show that nearly half (47 percent) of male employees don’t consider the gender pay gap to be a major issue, in comparison to the three quarters of females that do; a statistic that is particularly concerning given the recent publication of major organisations’ gender pay gaps and continued media coverage of the issue. Interestingly, the gap between men and women narrows when it comes to equal promotional opportunities.

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The best office designs of 2018, the future of work in 2019, and some other clickbait

The best office designs of 2018, the future of work in 2019, and some other clickbait

This week’s beachcomb of the best workplace stories is brought to you in the wake of the first flood of retrospectives and predictions that wash up in the media at this time of year. The first piece of flotsam [sound of a metaphor snapping] is Dezeen’s listing of the world’s best office designs of 2018, which appears to be based on the answers to three questions. Is it a coworking space? Does it look like an office? Is there anybody actually working there? Answer yes, no, no to those three simple questions and you’re in the frame.

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Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

At this time of year, it seems like we don’t have to wait more than a few hours before some or other organisation is sharing its prognosis about how we will be working in the future. The thing these reports usually share in common, other than a standardised variant of a title and a common lexicon of agility, engagement and connectivity, is a narrow focus based on their key assumptions about what the office of the future will be like. While these are rarely false per se, and often offer valuable insights, they also frequently exhibit a desire to look at only one part of the great workplace elephant. While the more informed reports make excellent points and identify trends,  across most there are routine flaws in thinking that can lead them to make narrow and sometimes incorrect assumptions and so draw similarly flawed conclusions. Talk of the office of the future tells us rather a lot about how we view offices right now.

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