Search Results for: employee

December 2, 2019

What you need to know about paying wages in cryptocurrency

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Promotion

Not all of your employees will prefer to have their hard work rewarded with often volatile cryptocurrencies. However, for those already investing in it, having some or all of their salary given as a digital currency may be more appealing and convenient. Below you can find the details of what you will need, some examples of people already doing it and the obstacles you will face.

To make paying your employees a reality, both you and your workers will need to have some additional things. The first is everyone will need a secure wallet to pay the cryptocurrency in. Making sure the best wallets are chosen is vital because there is no backup to the funds stored in them like there is at a conventional bank. Anyone considering their options should not forget to check out the Luno Bitcoin wallet with exceptional safety and stellar reviews.

The other help you will need as a business is a dedicated team of bookkeepers who know how to track payments in Bitcoin – more on that shortly.

Companies already paying in Bitcoin

There are some firms already making the leap to paying employees in cryptocurrency. Notably, a Japanese firm has started using Bitcoin to pay staff. At the moment, this is rare as most firms find the process difficult due to some legalities and taxation issues.

Another way people have been getting paid in cryptocurrency is through freelancing work via apps. There are many apps on the market that will pay freelance workers to complete projects in exchange for Bitcoin and alike. Earn.com is one of the most established, but many similar apps are available.

Legalities and tax

One of the reasons that some of the most trendy fintech startups are not paying in crypto as of yet is because it is an overly complex procedure. For some, it is just not possible as it is against the law to do so, including in many South American and Asian countries. Even in those that do not make it illegal, the taxation and invoicing practicalities of doing so put them off.

For example, in the USA you can legally pay in crypto, but all forms need to show values in US dollars and sophisticated and specialist accountants and bookkeepers would be required, which adds to business expenses.

Will the rules change?

It is possible that as cryptocurrencies become even more mainstream and accepted – as well as regulations are implemented upon them – the idea of paying in crypto will become not only legal, but more feasible. That day may come, but the wait until it is easy to do may be long.

For now, employees may be better swapping their fiat salaries for crypto with a trusted exchange platform and a reliable wallet.

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December 2, 2019

Wellbeing risks remain for majority of inactive workers

by Neil Franklin • News

The vast majority (84 percent) of British workers are failing to achieve the necessary amount of physical activity recommended by the NHS to maintain their health and wellbeing. That is according to the third Wellbeing Index Report from health and wellbeing provider, Westfield Health. The quarterly analysis focuses on the negative impact of desk jobs: over a quarter (26 per cent) spend a dangerous nine hours or more sat down; 65 per cent say they quite or very often sit continuously for one hour or more, clocking up an average of seven hours and two minutes every day. More →

November 29, 2019

Seeing red about the only home we will ever know

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Somewhere in the Utah desert, there is a small living pod designed to emulate conditions on Mars for a group of scientists keen to explore how we might colonise that red planet after messing this blue one up. This came as a surprise to me as did the news that Ikea has been on site recently installing some of its furniture for the occupants. Next up perhaps, an installation of Billy bookcases on the International Space Station as scientists explore the effects on people of a lost screw in zero gravity. I am Jack’s unconstrained rage. More →

November 29, 2019

HR profession needs to modernise if it is to stay relevant

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Following the recent Gartner study describing the unpreparedness of the HR function for the future of work, another report is exhorting managers to step things up. According to the KPMG International global Future of HR survey, close to 3 in 5 (57 percent) Human Resources executives believe that if their function doesn’t modernise its approach to understanding and planning for the future needs of the workforce, it will rapidly become irrelevant within the modern organisation. More →

November 29, 2019

For the love of workplace art, where have all the walls gone?

by Chloe Adams • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A survey exploring art in the workplace (‘Making Art Work in the Workplace’) conducted by the British Council for Offices (BCO) found that almost 88 percent of respondents felt that “art is more relevant in the workplace than ever before”. Yet, with the arrival of the generic modern office, full of open plan space and glass partitions, we frequently find ourselves rather short of walls on which to hang any workplace art in the first place. “There are no bloody walls left’ and those that are left are glass,” protests Jack Pringle of architects Perkins+Will, pointing to the fact that traditional hanging space is on the decline.

November 29, 2019

People need to feel comfortable about being themselves at work

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Over a quarter of people (28 percent) in the workplace suffer bullying and/or discrimination on issues such as gender, age or sexual orientation, according to a new study. The Workplace Wellbeing Census, conducted by leading healthcare provider Bupa, found that such actions are the most harmful factors influencing workplace wellbeing at work. Women in the workplace face significant challenges with over a third (34 percent) experiencing bullying or discrimination, compared to 22 per cent of men. Women are also more than four times as likely to suffer negatively from workplace gender discrimination than men (13 percent vs 3 percent). More →

November 28, 2019

The four day week will make management support more important than ever

by Adrian Moorhouse • Business, Comment, Wellbeing

With work collaboration tools like Facebook Workplace growing more common and constant out of hours access to work emails, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between work and leisure. This lack of separation between the office and home risks creating a situation where we have less time to unwind. So it’s not surprising that the World Health Organisation officially classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon. Rising workloads, limited staff and resources, and consistently long hours are all contributing to half a million people in the UK suffering from work related stress, with 15.4 million working days lost as a result. Business and politics are hoping to buck this negative trend by finding ways of improving people’s work-life balance – most recently by experimenting with a four day week. More →

November 28, 2019

Two thirds of bosses say workers don’t like change. Workers disagree.

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

New research by HR solutions provider People First, part of MHR International, claims that nearly three-quarters of bosses think that their employees do not like change. However, the same research suggests that 1 in 4 employees say that it is in fact their bosses who do not like change and who are holding the business back. Surveying the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees from firms across the UK, the research highlights an interesting disconnect between bosses and their staff when asked about the other’s shortcomings. More →

November 27, 2019

UK falling behind in global skills race

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research published today by City & Guilds Group claims that the UK risks being left behind as employers across the world race to upskill their workers. As digitalisation and fluctuating economies transform the skills needed in the workplace today, employees are less confident than their bosses that they’ll have skills they need for the future. The study, conducted by City & Guilds Group business Kineo, surveyed 6500 employees and 1300 employers across 13 international markets. It found that employers in developing countries with rapidly emerging economies are among the most likely to ramp up investment in upskilling their workforce in the near future, compared to developed economies such as the UK.

November 27, 2019

Worrying disconnect between small business leaders and workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

A new report from Microsoft claims that there is a worrying disconnect between small business leaders and their employees. Over three quarters of leaders (79 percent) say they disclose as much information as possible with their staff and 85 percent agree employees perform much better when empowered with information. However, just 36 percent of employees say their business has a culture of transparency, and even less (18 percent) think their organisation has a clear vision or goal. More →

November 27, 2019

Businesses fear that a failure to embrace automation will make them irrelevant

by Neil Franklin • AI, News

The majority of UK businesses fear becoming ‘irrelevant’ within the next five years through failing to make a successful transition to an automated workplace. To avoid this risk, organisations need to collaborate with their workforces to embrace automation and artificial intelligence, a new report from Capita warns. The report Robot wars or automation alliances? People, technology and the future of work calls for an honest dialogue between business leaders and employees – and urgent, multi-stakeholder action to support employees in the transition to a more automated world. More →

November 27, 2019

Five German Design Awards for Sedus Office Furniture

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Furniture, Workplace design

After Sedus confirmed its status as one of the most important office design innovators in Europe at last year’s ORGATEC trade show in Cologne, several of the firm’s latest generation of ground-breaking products have won prestigious design prizes in the firm’s native Germany.

The se:flex and se:motion swivel chairs as well as se:fit standing seat and se:cube Office Cubes have each been awarded the German Design Award 2020 – Winner by The German Design Council while the se:spot all-purpose chair went one step further receiving the Gold German Design Award for 2020.

The German Design Award is one of the most coveted design prizes in Europe and is awarded every year by a prestigious international jury. The Award honours innovative products and projects, their manufacturers and designers who have proven themselves pioneers in the German and International design sector.

The five award-winning office furniture pieces were developed by the Sedus Design Team, and launched for the first time to the public at the ORGATEC 2018 trade fair. They went fully into production in 2019 and have also been used in the fit-out of the new office building at the firm’s headquarters in Dogern.

In the Sedus Smart Office around 100 employees from twelve disciplines work together in a uniquely collaborative and flexible working environment. The spaces serves as a test laboratory, prototyping and model workplace for designers and customers travelling to the Upper Rhine location from all over the world.