Search Results for: childcare

October 19, 2016

Where are zero hours contracts and the gig economy taking us? ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working

Zero-hours contracts have had a bad time in the press. Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, has taken a pounding after uproar over workers conditions, and after vehemently defending his position, he is remarkably making a U-turn, ditching the controversial zero-hours employment arrangements. A large number of companies new also turning their backs on zero hours, including Cineworld, Greene King and Wetherspoons. Casual work isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, the secure, jobs-for-life of post-war Britain lasted merely a few decades. Prior to the 1940s casual work was the longstanding nemesis of the working class. The welfare state and the much-cherished political mantra of full employment emerged in a post-war, golden age. In the 1980s capitalism found its sway. Margaret Thatcher redefined worker’s rights, and it paved the way for employers to benefit again from a more flexible workforce and ultimately what we now refer to as the gig economy.

October 7, 2016

High earners much more likely to be offered flexible working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

We may all be aware that the way to attract and retain working parents – particularly mothers – is by offering them flexible working options, especially with the growing body of evidence that the gender gap increases among working women with children. But although it’s still a challenge for any working women who aspires to moving up the corporate ladder, they usually have more options than their lower paid colleagues who can’t afford expensive childcare. This is why it’s all the more depressing to learn that it’s only the high earners who are being given the option of flexible working. According to research carried out by charity Working Families to promote National Work Life Week (Oct 3-7), high earning parents who bank more than £70,000 a year are 47 percent more likely to work flexibly than those earning between £10,000 and £40,000. More →

October 6, 2016

Employers must create modern cultures to retain working mothers ⁰

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

When it comes to working mothers, too many US organisations continue to follow policies created in the 1990s, if not the 1950s. In the report Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived by Gallup one factor emerges that has the greatest influence on women’s decision to stay in the workforce or leave, children. In the US, more than 5 million jobs are available, but women continue to drop out of the workforce in troubling numbers because despite employers introducing family friendly policies their cultures remain out of date. Because of this, far less than half of female employees polled (35 percent) are engaged in their jobs, and nearly half of women say they are looking for or considering new jobs. Organisations have to create cultures that enable women to maximise their full potential in and out of the workplace; and those that continue to enforce outdated policies will not be able to keep up with employers who offer more choice and flexibility and greater trust and transparency.

September 28, 2016

Offering flexible working to mums could boost economy by £62.5 billion ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

More than two thirds of stay-at-home mothers with young children would go back to work if flexible working was an option, a new study from Digital Mums and the Centre for Economics and Business Research claims. The survey of 1,600 mothers also suggests that more than a third of those already in work would put in more hours if they had better childcare arrangements based around flexible working. The WorkThatWorks report claims that women (and presumably some fathers) would contribute billions to the economy if more organisations were to offer parents more flexible work conditions. The report claims that currently, some 2.6 million mothers are out of the labour market although two thirds (68 percent) feel unable to return to work because of the lack of flexible working options. In addition, 60 percent of mothers already in work do not have access to flexible work despite the introduction of legislation in 2014 that offers them the right to request it.

September 5, 2016

Mothers with young children a third less likely to be in work than fathers ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The growing body of evidence highlighting the challenges faced by working mothers has been broadened with the publication of a new report from the TUC which claims that mothers with young children are a third less likely to be in work than fathers. The TUC found that on average just 64 percent of mothers with children aged 0-4 are in paid work, compared to 93 percent of fathers. The analysis claims that the age of a woman’s youngest child has an influence on whether or not she works. The employment rate for mums increases by 11 percent to 75 percent for women with children at primary school (aged 5-10) and by 17 percent to 81 percent for mothers with secondary school age children (11+). For dads of pre-school children, employment rates are above 90 percent. This suggests that mothers’ work decisions are affected by regional variations in the availability and cost of childcare, transport and housing, and access to good quality flexible and part-time jobs.

August 10, 2016

Low take up for shared parental leave raises questions over demand ⁰

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

New research questions how much demand exists in the UK for fathers to take shared parental leave. The first available figures reveals a low take-up of new rights to paid leave, as just 3,000 new parents took advantage of the system in the first three months of 2016 – one year on from its introduction. By contrast, approximately 52,000 fathers and 155,000 mothers took paternity and maternity leave in an equivalent time period in 2013/14. The figures were published as a result of a freedom of information request from law firm EMW who suggest that this shows that the new rules are being significantly under-utilised and policymakers need to give more consideration to what benefits future changes to employment law will actually deliver versus the impact on small businesses which have to implement them. The new Shared Parental Leave system allows parents to share paid time off between them, in place of (and at the same rate as) Statutory Maternity Pay.

July 30, 2016

Office work not as bad as smoking + New age of reason + Productivity gap ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Mark Eltringham suggests reading the source material behind the latest sitting is the new smoking guff; and celebrates a new age of reason in workplace design. New evidence that giving employees more control over workplace design is the most important contributing factor to their wellbeing; businesses ready to embrace the workplace robot; and the UK economy still to address productivity and digital skills gaps. Third of parents struggle to find childcare across the summer holidays; retaining ‘passporting’ rights to the single market vital for the City during Brexit negotiations; rising over 50s population of workers suffer discrimination; and researchers confirm the imminent demise of the ‘nearly useless’ desk phone. Download our new 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.

July 13, 2016

Gensler publishes latest US and UK Workplace Surveys for 2016 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

Gensler has announced the results of its Workplace Survey 2016 for both the UK and the US. Key claims of the UK report based on a study of 1,210 respondents include that the UK workforce seems to be divided into ‘haves and have-nots’, with mid and lower-tier workers confined to poor quality environments, 67 per cent of the workforce feel drained due to their office environment at the end of each day and that ‘innovators’ spend just 3.5 days of the working week in the office, highlighting the need for greater flexibility. Meanwhile, the key finding of the US study of 4,000 respondents is that a statistical link between the quality and functional make-up of the workplace and the level of innovation employees ascribe to their organisation, and found that a workplace that prioritises both individual and group work creates ‘an ecosystem of innovation’ across organisations and is a crucial predictor of how innovative an employee sees their company to be.

May 24, 2016

A fifth of staff experience more stress at home than in the workplace ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Home may not be the haven we might assume, meaning that employers who encourage staff to work from home may actually be adding to their stress levels. Around a fifth of employees find their domestic lives more stressful than their working lives and many either don’t want to discuss it with managers or feel unable to, claims a new report from MetLife Employee Benefits. According to Building Resilience in the Workplace, 19 percent of employees overall are more stressed at home than at work, with slightly more female respondents to the study claiming to be stressed more by their home lives than the workplace. Around 21 percent of women say their home life is more stressful compared to 15 percent of men. The research claims that 67 percent of employees say domestic issues – including childcare, looking after elderly parents and financial pressures – are having an impact on their work performance.

May 9, 2016

Women not reaping full wellbeing benefits of flexible working ⁰

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

Working flexible hours is associated with lower job satisfaction among women, but greater satisfaction among men, a new study claims. The research explores the impact of flexible working on job, leisure and life satisfaction and suggests that women are not experiencing the full benefits. According to Dr Daniel Wheatley, lecturer in Economics at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University; the research suggests that while flexible working generates a number of benefits, working part-time or reduced hours has significant negative impacts on job satisfaction. He explains: “While some women are able to use reduced hours optimally, such as those working part-time following maternity leave, those using reduced hours for lengthier periods because of commitments such as childcare may feel trapped in ‘restrictive’ flexible employment. They may only be able to gain low skilled employment and may experience limitations in career progression.”

April 6, 2016

Just one percent of men have taken-up UK’s shared parental leave right ⁰

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

One year on from its launch and it’s emerged that just 1 percent of men have so far taken up the opportunity of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) while over half (55 percent) of women say they wouldn’t want to share their maternity leave rights. The main reasons why men have chosen not to take up SPL are financial affordability, lack of awareness, and unwillingness from women to share their maternity leave. A combined survey of over 1,000 parents and 200 businesses (HR Directors) from My Family Care and the Women’s Business Council found that taking up SPL was very much dependent on a person’s individual circumstances, particularly on their financial situation and the paternity pay on offer from their employer. It found that 80 percent of both men and women agreed that a decision to share leave would be dependent on their finances and their employer’s enhancement of SPL. More →

March 24, 2016

Flexible working is a more important perk than nap time for employees ⁰

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

Headline grabbing employee perks such as free catered lunches and massages; whether Google’s free nap times during the day or Netflix’s free unlimited holidays are all very well, but they are hardly the norm. Back in the real world, over half (61 percent) of people in the UK believe they don’t get near enough employee incentives at work. Yet, when losing and hiring employees is far more costly than keeping current employees happy and motivated – for instance, an Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) study revealed that 17 percent of employees claimed they were looking for a new career due to feeling under-appreciated in their place of work – it might be wise to find out what employees really want. Workplace services supplier Direct365 did just that and discovered that workers want perks that they can relate to and enjoy, and which cater towards and take into consideration their individual needs. Unsurprisingly, flexible working is at the top of the list.