Search Results for: home working

December 8, 2016

Book review…. HQ:Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Comment, Workplace design

Some people would have you believe that the office is dying out. But the absolute dead giveaway that it is not is the creation of tech enclaves and palaces around the world that exists solely to bring lots of people to work together in real space and real time. Some of these buildings are presented in a new book called HQ: Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands from Irish publishers Roads (link is to Amazon but please try to order from a local bookshop if possible). The high tech homes of the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Vodafone are presented alongside similar examples from eight other business sectors: Finance, Retail, Motoring, Media, Drinks, Fashion, Sport and Design & Innovation.

December 8, 2016

Presenteeism culture in the US means sick staff spread colds and virus at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

In the United States where taking a sick day is frowned upon heavily and where the annual number of holiday days are around half of that of the UK, going to work when you’re ill is almost a mark of dedication. However, for the unfortunate colleagues of those who display such martyred behaviours, trying to avoid cold and flu in the workplace has reached desperate levels, as nearly half of people in a recent survey would give up a vacation day to a sick worker to ensure they don’t bring illness to the workplace. According to the seventh annual cold and flu season survey from Staples, while the workforce is keenly aware of the dangers as well as prevention tactics surrounding seasonal illness, personal accountability remains low, with nearly 80 percent of employees still going to work sick. This is despite the fact that employers increasingly appreciate that a sick employee at home is much preferable than one who has struggled into work.

December 8, 2016

Half of UK firms will hold Christmas parties but just a fifth offer bonuses or extra time off ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

We’re entering the office party season now so it’s time for the usual flurry of Christmas related research. We kick off the season with this from XpertHR which claims that the majority of companies it has polled will host company-wide parties (50.8 percent) or departmental Christmas lunches (47.2 percent), but there will be fewer Christmas gifts, bonuses awarded or additional time off for employees this year. Employers plan to spend an average of £93.33 and a median of £50 per employee on their Christmas celebrations – a figure which hasn’t changed significantly since the last time XpertHR conducted this survey in 2012/13, when the median spend was £42.82. However, fewer than one in five organisations (17.9 percent) will be offering employee gifts this year compared to 21.1 percent in 2012/2013 and just 18 employers will award Christmas bonuses, with no increases planned compared with last year.

December 7, 2016

Are these the best places to work in 2017? ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace, Workplace design

Recruitment site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its ninth annual Employees’ Choice Awards to find the best places to work in North America and parts of Europe. The Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review, about their job, work environment and employer over the past year. This year, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards feature six categories, honouring the Best Places to Work across the UK, US (both large and small companies), Canada, France and Germany. There is one category in the UK: 50 Best Places to Work (honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees). Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year. The top five UK Best Places to Work in 2017 are Expedia, ARM, HomeServeUK, Mott MacDonald and Hays plc

December 1, 2016

Study highlights the main causes of workplace disruption and irritation ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

New research released by Samsung Electronics claims that UK small business workers are losing 5.5 hours a week because of workplace disruptions and irritations. Unsurprisingly, technology issues caused the most lost time, at an average of 27 minutes a day (or just over two hours per week). Crashing computers (92 percent) and slow internet (92 percent) were the two biggest technology factors annoying small business workers, closely followed by no access to emails (85 percent). Distractions caused by co-workers caused 22 minutes a day of downtime (just under two hours per week). Moaning (which annoys 84 percent of small business workers), eating loudly or messily (83 percent) and interruptions while talking (80 percent) were the biggest irritations. General office issues contributed 19 minutes a day (1.5 hours a week) in lost time. Being too hot or too cold (82 percent), uncomfortable seating (81 percent) and a messy workplace (80 percent) were the top frustrations.

November 25, 2016

Dissatisfaction with work-life balance is more and more likely to be a reason to quit ⁰

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

The term ‘work-life balance’ has been promised by large corporations for years – and it now could finally become a key factor choosing a career. According to a worldwide survey, the upcoming generation of Y and Z workers demand more flexibility, less face-time, and rather than having to account for half-day annual leave, attending school plays or meetups, expect to be trusted to do the job on their terms. However, the research by Emolument also claims that in some industries, implementing such a shift in perception and practice is still a long way off, as client demands in terms of reactivity and timeliness remain unchanged. Employers do understand that dissatisfaction with work-life balance is more and more likely to be a reason for quitting though, and that higher pay struggles to compensate for time spent away from family and friends. With more pressure on women to cover for childcare commitment, housework and logistics, 42 percent of women say they’ve a bad work/life balance compared to 33 percent of men.

November 24, 2016

Millennials prefer the traditional job model to the ‘gig economy’ ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Organisations that offer a range of perks, flexible hours and contract work to attract younger workers may be wasting their time, as it seems millennials prefer a more traditional approach to that of the gig economy. In a survey by the US-based Career Advisory Board of 500 respondents representing a diverse sample of American workers, 91 percent of the millennials surveyed reported they would like to work at a single full-time job rather than embrace the gig economy and 81 percent overall said they would prefer a single position that’s full-time. Of the 81 percent of respondents of all ages who’d prefer a single full-time position, an overwhelming number didn’t mind going into an office, but would like some location flexibility (59 percent). Most surprisingly, millennials were more likely to want to work in an office every day than their older colleagues. And as for special perks like onsite food, wellness perks and day-care, less than 1 percent of respondents preferred special company perks to the more crucial benefits such as medical/dental plans, paid time off and retirement benefits, which rated the most important offerings after competitive salary.

November 23, 2016

Gender earnings gap in tech sector is significantly higher than national average ⁰

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

The high tech sector may pride itself on offering some of the most attractive and modern workplace environments, but when it comes to equal parity between the sexes it seems out of date. New research from Mercer claims that at 25 percent, the gender earnings gap in the UK’s high tech sector is significantly higher than the national average (18 percent). The consultancy also found that small companies have the largest gap, with a 30 percent difference in (median) pay between all male and female employees, and a 26 percent gap when considering mean base salaries. This difference reduces as company sizes grow. Where the data allowed comparison of pay between women and men in equal job roles, the pay gap was much smaller, typically 8 percent. This is comparable to the UK norm of 9 percent for this type of analysis. The reasons for this gap is due on further analysis to a multitude of factors including the reluctance of many women to enter the tech field, not enough effort being put into promoting women and a lack of will in promoting flexible working patterns.

November 22, 2016

Number of people who commute over two hours a day increases by a third ⁰

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

One in seven UK employees commute over two hours or more each day. This represents an increase of nearly a third (31 percent) over the past five years, which claims the TUC, is due to a combination of low wages, high house/rental prices and the government’s lack of transport infrastructure spending, According to a new analysis by the union to mark Work Wise UK’s Commute Smart Week, in 2015 3.7 million workers had daily commutes of two hours or longer – an increase of 900,000 since 2010 (2.8 million). In 2015 one in seven UK employees (14 percent) travelled two hours or more each day to and from work, compared to one in nine in 2010 (11 percent). UK workers spent 10 hours extra, on average, commuting in 2015 than they did in 2010. This is the equivalent of an extra 2.7 minutes per day. London (930,000) has the highest number of employees who make long commutes, followed by the South East (623,000) and the East of England (409,000); while workers in Northern Ireland (+57 percent) have experienced the biggest rise in long commuting, followed by the South East (+37 percent) and the West Midlands (+27 percent).

November 16, 2016

Employers as well as workers behind the creation of the gig economy ⁰

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

Employers and workers are both driving the creation of a temporary, independent workforce, but despite the benefits, there are some significant management challenges, claims two new EY surveys focusing on the gig economy. Among large organisations (100,000 employees or more) surveyed, 49 percent said they increased their use of gig workers in the last five years and 40 percent of organisations expect to increase their use of contingent workers in the next five years. One quarter expect 30 percent or more of their workforce to be contingent workers by 2020. On the employee side, the research shows more people are choosing to do contingent work; 73 percent of the 1,008 short-term contingent workers surveyed had positive reasons for their independent work arrangement, with only 20 percent saying they were short-term workers due to a lack of suitable full-time positions. Sixty-six percent believe the benefits of contingent working outweigh the downsides always or most of the time compared to just 6 percent who believe the opposite.

November 10, 2016

If we want to maximise productivity and wellbeing, how many hours should we work? ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working

Some people cling to the idea that if you want to get more work done, the obvious solution is to put in more hours. But if that’s true, why are a number of companies in Sweden reducing their working schedule from eight hours a day to six? Is Sweden that economically successful that they can afford to give their staff a quarter of the day off? No – something different is going on. But to understand it, we need to look at where the idea of the eight hour working day and its association with productivity comes from. During the late 19th century, there was an increased demand for worker’s rights, and the debate about working hours was right at the heart of it. Improvements were slowly made, as standard 16-hour-a-day shifts reduced and reduced. As the 20th century arrived, significant progress had been made, but even then many stubborn companies held on to older working practices. Ten-hour, six-day-a-week schedules were still common.

November 4, 2016

Corporate responsibility now essential to attract and retain millennials ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Corporate social responsibility is no longer seen as more than a nice to have, with those working within the built environment for example, appreciating the role it has in reducing greenhouse gases. But it is also being increasingly seen as a positive way of attracting and engaging the right talent. Now according to a new survey carried out in the US, meaningful engagement around CSR is becoming a business – and bottom line – imperative, impacting a company’s ability to appeal to, retain and inspire Millennial talent. Three-quarters (76 percent) of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, according to the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study. Because the millennial generation are the most likely to blend their personal and working lives, it’s more important to them than other generations to view their job as a way to make a positive impact on society, the study suggests.