Search Results for: flexibility

Majority of employees see themselves as cogs in corporate machinery

Majority of employees see themselves as cogs in corporate machinery

A significant majority (85 percent) of employees feel like they are just a cog in the machinery of their organisation and 43 percent have no idea how their performance contributes to business success, according to a new survey of employee experience and expectations. According to the new study [registration] from Oracle, HR leaders are struggling to keep up with changing employee expectations and this can have dire consequences for businesses. The survey of 1,000 employees and HR leaders across the United Kingdom (UK) found that despite current economic uncertainty, worker expectations are higher than ever, and HR leaders need help to get the employee experience right or risk losing profits and market share. More →

Employees care more about work culture than flexible working

Employees care more about work culture than flexible working

Brits are more than twice as likely to leave their job due to negative work culture or a toxic working environment than because of limitations with flexible workingNew findings from Cpl’s Talent Evolution Group suggest employees care less about flexible working than generally thought. The survey, to 1,500 UK employees, reveals Brits are more than twice as likely to leave their job due to negative work culture or a toxic working environment than because of limitations with flexible working.  Whilst organisations may be prioritising flexibility for working parents, over 80 percent of 25–44-year-olds would not actually consider limitations to flexible working a reason to leave their position.  More →

Firms missing the chances to implement hybrid working and adopt new technologies

Firms missing the chances to implement hybrid working and adopt new technologies

companies are missing opportunities to unlock new levels of employee productivity with new technology, hybrid working, and talent development.The new Slack State of Work Report [registration] claims that companies are missing opportunities to unlock new levels of employee productivity with new technology, hybrid working, and talent development. The report, based on a global survey of more than 18,000 desk workers – including 2,000 in the UK, found only 23 percent of companies are investing in technology to improve productivity and efficiency (21 percent in the UK), and just 27 percent of companies are using AI tools to help do so. More →

BCO Awards winners for North of England again focus on sustainable office design

BCO Awards winners for North of England again focus on sustainable office design

Following last week’s announcement of the annual BCO Awards winners for London, the British Council for Offices has announced the winners of its annual Awards for the North of England. In fact all but one of the winners are located in Greater Manchester and the one that isn’t lies within twenty miles of it. The organisers suggest that the theme of sustainable office design runs through the submissions of the winning entries. More →

Half of parents struggling for work life balance

Half of parents struggling for work life balance

A new poll from AA Driving School suggests that around half (51 percent) of British parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures.A new poll from AA Driving School suggests that around half (51 percent) of British parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures. Increases to the cost of childcare have driven UK parents to work either additional hours in their current job (18 percent) or even take another job (12 percent) to financially support their family. More →

Employers gain nearly two weeks extra work a year from hybrid workers

Employers gain nearly two weeks extra work a year from hybrid workers

Analysis by  workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employerAnalysis by  workplace consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) claims that on average hybrid workers deliver nearly two extra weeks of work a year for their employer as well as working harder and better in a hybrid environment.  The results of the analysis — which shows the benefits of hybrid working for organisations — are a combination of academic research and studies by AWA itself. They are included in AWA’s latest report, ‘Why Employers Benefit From Hybrid Working’, which also found that employees often work better when in a distraction-free environment, with more than half their time dedicated to working alone or focussed work. More →

Hybrid working is the new normal and is here to stay, report claimzzzz

Hybrid working is the new normal and is here to stay, report claimzzzz

Mace has published a new report into workplace trends which claims that hybrid working with a collaborative central space is (brace yourselves) the new normal for a preferred post-pandemic working styleMace has published a new report into workplace trends which claims that hybrid working with a collaborative central space is (brace yourselves) the new normal for a preferred post-pandemic working style. The Mace Operate Workplace Survey looked at the enduring role of a central office for businesses and considered what an office space needs to offer in an era of hybrid working. The majority of respondents (87 percent) said that interaction with people and workplace culture are the main benefits of going to the office with employees and employers seeing eye-to-eye on the need for collaboration for motivation, resilience and effective hybrid working. More →

Employees 12 percent more likely to leave if employers don’t establish hybrid working norms

Employees 12 percent more likely to leave if employers don’t establish hybrid working norms

Organisations that lack explicit norms around hybrid working can increase the likelihood of an employee leaving by 12 percentOrganisations that lack explicit norms around hybrid working can increase the likelihood of an employee leaving by 12 percent, according to a new report from Gartner [paywall]. The report claims that the most successful hybrid models encompass three main categories of explicit norms that increase visibility, enable flexibility, and foster connections. More →

The need for reimagination in an age of uncertainty

The need for reimagination in an age of uncertainty

Since we are now very much in the age of uncertainty being the new certainty, with all the old playbooks out the window and no cookie cutter approach in the ways we work, since one size doesn’t fit all – what the hell do we do?Since we are now very much in the age of uncertainty being the new certainty, with all the old playbooks out the window and no cookie cutter approach in the ways we work, since one size doesn’t fit all – what the hell do we do? Curl up in a ball and die? Go into panic mode and go around shouting ‘We’re doomed! We’re doomed’ manically? Or just ostrich the problem and hope it all goes away or at least reverts back to how it was before? More →

Flexible working is the new “work-life currency”, claims new report

Flexible working is the new “work-life currency”, claims new report

A new report, Future of Work Life, from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab explores the ways in which employees and employers navigate the current work environment and their views on the future of work shaped by the pandemic, digitalisation and the fluctuating labour market. Almost half (48 percent) of the employees in the study say that they enjoy increased flexibility at work. 52 percent consider flexible work hours or locations as key requirements, and 25 percent say that flexibility is the top priority if they would start to look for a new job. Doing work rather than going to work is seen as central in this new way of thinking about work life. More →

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

Most hybrid workers worldwide don’t think they’ll return to old ways of work

A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently.A poll of 3,000 office workers by Insights Learning & Development claims that 70 percent of hybrid workers in the UK want to maintain the arrangement permanently. According to the report, UK employees are generally happy with their hybrid working arrangements – more so than employees in the US, Canada and France. Overall workers in the Netherlands are most satisfied with their hybrid working arrangements. More →

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

The workplace sector in the UK has been reacting to the announcements in the Spring budgetToday the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. More →