Search Results for: employees

Anthropology might hold answers to the most difficult workplace challenges

Anthropology might hold answers to the most difficult workplace challenges

anthropology and the workplaceMany recent discussions have centered on the drawbacks of the open-plan office, a major format in the UK, and possible pathways to the communal workplace of the future. As part of this, it has been acknowledged that the factors responsible for determining the open-plan office’s performance are complex, and a number of the present-day workplace’s characteristics are messy and hard to quantify. In this brief article, I present anthropological methods as means for practitioners to further unpack the symbolic aspects of communication in open-plan offices and spark workplace solidarity.

More →

Most people have no idea what impostor syndrome is, but they know they have it

Most people have no idea what impostor syndrome is, but they know they have it

impostor syndromeA new survey claims that only 15 percent of UK adults know what impostor syndrome is, although more than three-quarters (77 percent) claim to have suffered from it at some point in their lives. The survey of more than 500 UK adults was carried out by media agency UM. It suggests that office workers and those in professional services were the most likely among all those in full-time employment to suffer from impostor syndrome – behind only school and university students. More →

Gig workers like the work-life balance but would prefer permanent roles

Gig workers like the work-life balance but would prefer permanent roles

More than one in ten (12 percent) so-called gig workers in the UK are working multiple roles and consider temporary work as their main role, taking advantage of improved work-life balance, greater variety of work and the ability to see more of their families, according to a new report. The research, carried out by Reed Specialist Recruitment, for its Temporary isn’t Temporary campaign, surveyed 5,000 workers and looked at their experience of, and attitude to, temporary and multiple career roles.

More →

Is flexible working the answer to improved employee mental health and productivity?

Is flexible working the answer to improved employee mental health and productivity?

flexible workingOne of Labour’s flagship policies for its 2019 general election campaign was to introduce a four-day week. More accurately, its policy is to introduce a 32-hour week. This brought flexible working again into the media spotlight. Research suggests that flexible working and reduced hours can have multiple benefits, including improved mental health and greater productivity. More →

Avoiding the minefield of WhatsApp communications

Avoiding the minefield of WhatsApp communications

Whether to keep colleagues updated or to share a new idea, WhatsApp groups are increasingly becoming a go-to communication tool in the workplace.  There are benefits to having such informal communication channels – they can be less hierarchical and improve cohesion within the team, as well as being a fast and easy way to communicate and share images. On the flip side, the lack of formality means that there are risks associated with them.   More →

Are these the best places to work in the UK?

Are these the best places to work in the UK?

Glassdoor has announced the winners of its 12th annual Employees’ Choice Awards – its sixth in the UK – honouring the Best Places to Work in 2020 across the UK and eight other countries. Unlike other workplace awards, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice 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. Common themes among the Top 50 UK Best Places to Work in 2020 include work-life balance, a great culture, smart people and respect for and from leadership and senior management. More →

Occupier priorities are shifting, according to new facilities management trends report

Occupier priorities are shifting, according to new facilities management trends report

what people want from facilities managementCBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) has published the 2019 edition of their Top Trends in Facilities Management report. The latest version of this annual report claims to highlight how changes in occupier needs are impacting FM strategies. The latest trends are broken down into four broad categories: client relationships; contracts; an increasing focus on people and technology. More →

No financial incentive to tackle climate change for 90 percent of CEOs, study claims

No financial incentive to tackle climate change for 90 percent of CEOs, study claims

No incentive to tackle climate change?Fewer than 10 percent of UK CEOs have financial incentives in place to be environmentally friendly in their business practices and thus tackle the climate change emergency, according to new research from Vlerick Business School. In fact, the researchers found that only 6 per cent of UK CEOs have in their bonus a KPI focusing on the environment, and less than one per cent have long-term incentives focused on this area. More →

Over half of firms believe their staff are ready to work with AI

Over half of firms believe their staff are ready to work with AI

Working with AIMore than half (57 percent) of UK companies are confident their staff are prepared for an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled workspace according to a new report from Genesys. This is broadly in line with the attitudes of workers themselves, according to another report from the company which claims that 46 percent of people say they are ready to work with the technology. The latest  survey claims that over half of employers (55 percent) think their employees are anxious that their jobs will be eliminated by AI. However, employers believe this fear is unfounded with only 11 percent saying AI will actually put jobs at risk. In fact, 51 percent of UK based companies don’t anticipate any major staffing changes as a result of AI, despite recent headlines that portraying it as a threat to jobs. More →

Wellbeing is increasingly in the hands of HR and the future looks bright as a result

Wellbeing is increasingly in the hands of HR and the future looks bright as a result

Wellbeing in office designThe future of workplace wellbeing is in HR’s hands; hence, the discipline is even more pivotal to organisational success. As admin and payroll become increasingly digitised and automated, time can be spent more effectively, supporting good people to do good work. Influential people are now catching on to the importance of wellbeing. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told More than GDP, “We need to address the societal wellbeing of our nation, not just the economic wellbeing”. Her government will set a budget to measure wellbeing and the long-term impact of policy on the quality of people’s lives. More →

Third of workers at small businesses are not happy with their jobs

Third of workers at small businesses are not happy with their jobs

unhappy workersOver a third of employees (39 percent) at small-to-medium sized (SMB) businesses in the UK are unhappy with their jobs and 36 percent believe their employer does too little to retain them, according to new research from People First, the HR solutions provider. Exploring the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees across the UK, the research found a major difference in outlook as more than eight-in-ten (86 percent) SMB bosses believe they have happy workforces. When asked to rate out of ten the scale of engagement among employees at their companies, 77 percent of these bosses said it was between eight and ten, with ten being the most content and engaged. More →

Always on working culture in financial services sector driving staff to burnout

Always on working culture in financial services sector driving staff to burnout

always on in the city of LondonMore than nine in ten banking and financial services professionals in the UK work beyond their contracted hours every week, according to a new survey — laying bare the extent of the City’s always on working culture. Almost half, or 47 percent, said that they do not leave the office or take a break at lunchtime, according to the survey by Morgan McKinley. The recruitment firm canvassed the views of around 480 finance workers in an informal poll to come to its conclusions. More →