Search Results for: promotion

February 1, 2017

No matter how engaged they feel, key talent will leave for a fresh work challenge ⁰

Most employers buy into the idea that the more engaged their employees the likely they are to leave, but a new survey suggests that whether or not staff feel engaged or are happy with their salary, they won’t stay on board once they’re ready for a new work challenge. This is according to research by Korn Ferry which claims that the No. 1 reason professionals would hunt for a new job in 2017 is to seek a more challenging position, while the quest for greater compensation comes in almost dead last as a reason to leave. In the survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said that if they plan on being in the job market this year, it’s because they’re looking for a challenge. Trailing far behind, 9 percent said they are looking because they either don’t like their company or their efforts aren’t being recognized, 5 percent say their compensation is too low, and 4 percent say they don’t like their boss.

January 18, 2017

Lost generation of Millennials stranded between eras of wealth and vocation, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

The much talked about generation of Gen Y Millennials are stranded between the more fortunate era of Gen X wealth and the coming era of vocation focussed Gen Z. That is the key finding of a new survey from recruitment agency Randstad which claims that the members of Gen Y are not just burdened with student debt and struggling to get on the property ladder, but are now under threat from an arguably more vocational and commercially-minded Generation Z. The survey of 4,000 respondents claims that nearly four in ten (38 percent) Gen Y Millennials feel their education has left them unprepared for the modern world of work. But just under a third (32 percent) of respondents from Generation Z — the ‘digital natives’ born from 1996 onwards — feel the same way. The survey also revealed that the very youngest professionals from Generation Z are displaying higher leadership ambitions, with 84 percent saying they are shooting to be top dog in the workplace. This compares to 79 percent of Millennials.

January 16, 2017

Fathers’ careers stifled by modern workplace culture, claims report ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The UK is running the risk of creating a ‘fatherhood penalty’ – as fathers consider stalling or side-lining their careers to find roles they can better combine with family life, according to a new study. The 2017 Modern Families Index, published today by work-life charity Working Families and Bright Horizons, captures a broad picture – of fathers wanting to take an active part in childcare and the workplace failing to adapt and support their aspirations. Family is the highest priority for fathers. A quarter of fathers that took part in the study drop their children at school or nursery every day; with just over a quarter (26 percent) collecting them more than half the time. Seven out of ten fathers work flexibly to fulfil their caring responsibilities. However, for half of the fathers we spoke to their work-life balance is increasingly a source of stress. A third of fathers feel burnt out regularly and one in five fathers are doing extra hours in the evening or weekends all the time.

January 10, 2017

A unity of opposites at Sky Central ⁰

by Neil Usher • Case studies, Facilities management, Features, Work&Place, Workplace design

It’s drummed into us from an early age that we can’t have it all, as a result we consider choices as being a binary either/or situation. The workplace design brief (where it’s actually undertaken, an entirely separate discussion) positions choices similarly – open or closed, focussed or collaborative, modern or traditional – the decision point existing along a sliding scale from one natural extreme to the other. Yet there is a way to consider workplace design as an attempt to achieve the “unity of opposites”, an idea proposed by the pre-Socratic aphoristic philosopher, Heraclitus, the original thinker on change. This holds that the existence of an idea is entirely dependent on the existence of its opposite, that one cannot exist without the other. The framework is considered here in its application to the recently completed Sky Central in Osterley (West London), a newly constructed 38,000m2 NIA activity-based workplace over three floors that is home to 3,500 of the total 7,500 people on the Campus. It may be considered as tool for aiding workplace brief development, or for understanding how a workplace has been conceived and functions.

January 9, 2017

Global lack of female leadership, despite benefits to companies’ performance ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Gender inequality remains high around the world – despite the fact that new research suggests how female leadership increases companies’ performance. A new report published by IZA World of Labor looks at the reasons for the persistence of wage and leadership gender gaps and their causes and consequences and emphasizes the beneficial role of female leaders in reducing gender inequality. The report claims that gender wage gaps and women’s under representation in leadership positions exist at remarkably similar magnitudes across countries at all levels of income per capita. In a new IZA World of Labor report the economist Mario Macis of Johns Hopkins University, USA summarizes recent research which shows that although women in many developed countries have reached parity with men in terms of formal educational attainment and employment, earning disparities between the genders are actually greater in richer countries.

January 6, 2017

Work-life balance trumps pay in workplace new year’s resolutions ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

New research from Office Genie claims that when it comes to career-focussed resolutions, financial desires lose out to a more holistic approach to wellbeing: A better work-life balance is the top new year’s resolution for UK employees (17 percent), closely followed by the wish to learn new skills in the workplace (14 percent). Pay rises (13 percent) are important however, coming in third. Having healthier lunches (9 percent), being more organised (7 percent), and getting a promotion (6 percent) also proved popular. It would appear employees are less concerned with getting more done: productivity (5 percent), working harder (3 percent), and making more friends in the workplace (1 percent) are the three least popular resolutions.

December 22, 2016

Getting ahead at work: social class divide, power and office politics ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

A new study from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business has found that class-based inequality in the workplace persists not only because of external factors like bias and glass ceilings, but also because of structural factors that discourage people from lower social classes from seeking positions of power in the first place. The paper, co-authored by Peter Belmi of the Darden School of Business and Kristin Laurin of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, claims that most people believe that getting ahead requires a mixture of pro-social behavior – such as being competent, hard-working, and a team player; and political behaviour – such as being outspoken, flattering, and treating others as “resources”. According to the research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, inequality begins to thrive in the disparity between which groups are actually willing to put both behaviours into practice. Even though everyone derides political angling, it turns out that relatively high-class individuals are still willing to play the game to get ahead. Not so with lower-class individuals.

December 19, 2016

Direct causal link between wellbeing and corporate performance, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A new report published by IZA World of Labor claims that a rise in workers’ happiness and wellbeing leads to an increase in productivity. The study from economist Dr Eugenio Proto, of the University of Warwick’s Department of Economics and Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) concludes that companies would profit from investment in their employees’ wellbeing. It cites the experience of large companies that have recently highlighted the importance of employee wellbeing in their company profiles. The authors claims that, until recently, evidence for a link between employee wellbeing and company performance has been sparse and that their own study shows a positive correlation between a rise in happiness and an increase in productivity. Proto believes that finding causal links between employee wellbeing and company performance is important for firms to justify spending corporate resources to provide a happier work environment for their employees and that the available evidence suggests that companies can be encouraged to introduce policies to increase employee happiness.

December 9, 2016

New website launched to help promote the Northern Powerhouse economy ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

Major companies including Barclays and Vodafone were among more than 40 leading businesses, universities and business networks which pledged their support and backed the promotion of the Northern Powerhouse economy during a ’partnership’ conference held in Liverpool yesterday (8 December 2016). The North has over one million businesses, seven international airports and four of the world’s top universities, the conference heard. Its economy was worth £304 billion in 2014, similar to the whole of Belgium, while last year employment growth in the North East was the fastest in the UK. To help support the initiative a new dedicated Northern Powerhouse website has been launched to share the latest news, views and opportunities for established businesses and new investors. In addition, a Northern Powerhouse Partnership Programme aims to encourage businesses to focus on the key strengths and areas of development across the North – from connectivity to transport, skills to science and from culture to devolution. More →

November 17, 2016

New advice published on how to better manage mental health at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplaces that create positive environments for mental health are more productive as they can reduce employee absences due to stress and anxiety at work, but managers need to learn the skills needed to help reduce stress and poor mental health among staff. This is according to a new report based on research by Essex Business School commissioned by Acas. The report makes the human case that employers should prioritise mental health in the workplace to include careful management of those with mental health conditions, making reasonable adjustments to working practices where appropriate, and educating their whole organisation to challenge stigma. Leaders and line managers have a crucial role to play in reducing anxiety levels claims the report, and those trained in ‘people skills’ are best equipped to build trust and respect among their teams and individuals. This trust can help staff to disclose their mental health conditions so that appropriate support can be provided. Alongside the report Acas has published specific advice for managers on how to manage anxiety in the workplace.

October 20, 2016

People with MS face ‘disturbing’ levels of workplace bullying and mistreatment ¹

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A study by The MS Society claims that people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) are facing ‘disturbing’ levels of disability discrimination at work, as it releases new survey results. In the survey of 1,018 people living with MS, almost a quarter (24 percent) of respondents say their employer has treated them badly as a result of their condition, and a fifth (20 percent) say their work colleagues have done so. Of the people who say they have faced mistreatment from their employer, an overwhelming majority (91 percent) say their employers knew they had the condition. And 85 percent who faced mistreatment from their work colleagues say their colleagues were aware. The survey reveals distressing examples of mistreatment people have faced at work. This includes facing offensive and humiliating comments, feeling bullied, and being accused of looking too well to have an illness or disability. People also say they have lost out on promotions, been forced out of work unfairly, and have had requests for reasonable adjustments denied (adjustments to working practices or practical support to help people to continue to do their role effectively).

October 19, 2016

Third of new parents in US feel bosses presume they’re less committed ⁰

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

Nearly 70 percent of expectant women and new parents say their employer tops the list of considerations when deciding to start a family. The new US-based study suggests that today’s generation of parents are determined to build families without postponing or abandoning career ambitions, but find themselves faced with an unfriendly and unsupportive environment at work. The third annual report in the Modern Family Index (MFI) series, commissioned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions found that women and men are waiting longer to have children, with the data showing births are down among women in their twenties and up for women over age 35. And though virtually all women surveyed are excited to return to work after a maternity leave, more than one in three new parents report feeling that their boss presumes they are now less committed to work and would prefer if they left.