Search Results for: employer

Nearly half of occupants say their building’s toilet facilities need some improvement 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Most FMs would tell you that the state of the workplace toilets is often one of the main determinants by occupants on how well the facilities department is doing its job. So it’s disturbing to learn that according to a new survey a significant number of employees have cause to complain about the state of their workplace toilet facilities. The research, carried out by the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors claims that 16.5 percent of people are unhappy at work due to the condition of their employer’s toilets which is having a negative impact on their levels of engagement. Their research found 43.8 percent of the people surveyed felt their workplace toilets needed to be better maintained. And when asked if their workplace toilets require updating or refurbishing, 44.4 percent said they did. London seemingly has the worst workplace toilets with 50.9 percent of workers surveyed believing they need to be better maintained and require refurbishing.

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Coworking and the current French revolution in the workplace

Coworking and the current French revolution in the workplace 0

by • Case studies, Cities, Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

In France, we might have been the first to behead a King and hold a revolution, or to stand on barricades and die for ideals of justice and equality, but when it comes to change – especially in large organisations– we always seem to lag behind. You could blame it on a number of factors: a cultural bias towards tradition, the legacy of an interventionist and ever-present state, spawning bureaucratic models of large state-owned corporations, the everlasting grasp of the elites stifling innovation and the ability to “think outside the box”… Whatever this may be, the debate around remote working – a type of work organisation which allows employees to work regularly away from the office – in France has always been articulated around the preconception that France was behind. And that while its Anglo-Saxon or Nordic European neighbours displayed a boastful 30 percent of the working population as remote workers, France struggled to reach a meagre 9 to 10 percent in 2010.

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Three quarters of HR professionals expect Brexit to escalate the war for talent

Three quarters of HR professionals expect Brexit to escalate the war for talent 0

by • News, Workplace

New research claims that, as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, nearly three-quarters of HR professionals (72 percent) expect the war for talent to intensify, and nearly two-thirds (61 percent) predict further difficulty recruiting senior and skilled employees over the next three years. The latest CIPD/Hays Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey of more than 1,000 HR professionals found that recruitment difficulties are already being reported by three quarters of HR professionals (75 percent), and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) agree that the skills needed for jobs in their organisation are changing. Professionals with leadership (58 percent), digital (54 percent) and commercial awareness skills (51 percent) are most likely to increase in demand over the next 12 months.

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Taking action on climate change will boost economic growth, claims report

Taking action on climate change will boost economic growth, claims report 0

by • Environment, News

Integrating measures to tackle climate change into regular economic policy will have a positive impact on economic growth over the medium and long term, according to a new OECD report prepared in the context of the German Presidency of the G20. Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth claims that bringing together the growth and climate agendas, rather than treating climate as a separate issue, could add 1 percent to average economic output in G20 countries by 2021 and lift 2050 output by up to 2.8 percent. If the economic benefits of avoiding climate change impacts such as coastal flooding or storm damage are factored in, the net increase to 2050 GDP would be nearly 5 percent.

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SME staff admit to faking sick days to help cope with an “always on” culture

SME staff admit to faking sick days to help cope with an “always on” culture 0

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

SME staff admit to taking bogus sick days to help them cope with culture of presenteeismOne in seven SME employees admit to feigning illness and taking at least three bogus sick days off each year in order to cope with a culture which expects them to be available all the time. Nearly half (42 percent) of staff who are pulling sickies do so because they need a rest as just under half (46 percent) of SME employees bother to use up their full holiday allowance. At the end of 2016, SMEs employed 15.7 million people and accounted for 99 percent of all private sector businesses. Due to the piling pressure on small business owners, half (51 percent) of the 1,500 British SME workers and business owners who were polled by breatheHR confessed to contacting an employee while they were on sick leave – this number jumps to 72 percent for younger business owners (18-34-year-olds) showing clear generational differences. Additionally, three-quarters (71 percent) of business owners would expect employees to work if they had a common cold. Why? Because absenteeism impacts the bottom line – 85 percent of business owners say it has an economic effect.

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Workplace mental health support worse for public sector than private sector workers

Workplace mental health support worse for public sector than private sector workers 0

by • News, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplace wellbeing support is worse in the public sector than in the private sector, according to a major survey by the mental health charity Mind. The survey of over 12,000 employees across the public and private sectors found there is a higher prevalence of mental health problems in the public sector, as well as a lack of support available when people do speak up. Of those with a mental health problem, 90 percent of public sector staff disclosed it to their employer, compared with 80 percent in the private sector. When taking time off for mental health reasons, 69 percent of public sector workers were honest about the reason for needing time off, compared with 59 percent of private sector staff. 38 percent of public sector employees said the workplace cultured allowed staff to be open about mental health problems, compared with 29 percent in the private sector.

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Research into office lighting reveals negative impact of poorly-lit workplaces

Research into office lighting reveals negative impact of poorly-lit workplaces 0

by • Facilities management, Lighting, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Issues with the quality of their workplace lighting frustrate the majority (83 percent) of UK office workers; while 80 percent experience negative symptoms due to poor lighting a new study suggests. The survey by Lutron Electronics focused on key areas including the impact of lighting on mood and wellbeing and whether workers had personal control of their lights or were subject to standard lighting control settings across the office. Understandably, 88 percent of UK respondents said that their office lighting is important or very important and one third (32 percent) stated that their existing workplace lighting aids them in the accuracy and visibility of their work. In addition, 27 percent believe it allows them to focus more while 25 percent said it increases their general wellbeing. However, 35 percent of overall respondents said their existing office lighting does not have any positive impact on them at work. This figure is even higher (44 percent) among those in large companies with more than 5,000 employees and amongst the most senior generation (55+), where it reached more than half (51 percent).

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Pressure group calls on incoming UK government to create a new contract with the self employed

Pressure group calls on incoming UK government to create a new contract with the self employed 0

by • News

IPSE, the association set up to represent the needs of the UK’s self employed and freelance workforce, has released a manifesto ahead of the general election. In A Contract with the Self-Employed, IPSE details all the policies it wants to see the incoming government implement for the 4.8 million people currently defined as self employed or freelance. In conjunction with the ongoing Taylor Review into modern employment practices, the manifesto calls for a statutory definition of self-employment to end widespread confusion and ensure self employment remains an attractive and attainable career choice. The manifesto calls for a strategic review of the tax system – which, in its current state, is based upon the traditional employer/employee model. As self-employment continues to boom, the government needs to supplement this 21st century way of working with a fairer, more efficient, 21st century tax system.  Included in the review, it has asked the government to make careful considerations before rolling out IR35 measures in the private sector, create a bespoke tax system for freelancers, simplify Making Tax Digital and maintain the current rate of NICs.

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We will soon all have to work into our 70s, claims World Economic Forum

We will soon all have to work into our 70s, claims World Economic Forum 0

by • News, Workplace, Workplace design

The retirement age in Britain and other developed countries will need to rise to 70 by the middle of the century to head off the biggest pension crisis in history, according to a report from  the World Economic Forum. The world’s six largest pension systems will have a joint shortfall of $224 trillion by 2050, imperilling the incomes of future generations and setting the industrialised world up for the biggest pension crisis in history. To alleviate the looming crisis, governments must address the gaps in access to the pensions system and ageing populations as they are the key sources of the widening pension gap. These are the main findings of the new World Economic Forum report, We’ll Live to 100 – How Can We Afford It?, released today, which provides country-specific insights into the challenges being faced at a global level and potential solutions. The report is the latest study to calculate the impact of ageing populations in the world’s largest pension markets, which include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Canada and Australia. The issue has implications for the workplace that are already becoming evident as the working population ages and more people choose to defer retirement.

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Half of UK employees work one unpaid day a week, but Germans get an even worse deal

Half of UK employees work one unpaid day a week, but Germans get an even worse deal 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Half of UK employees work one day a week for free, but Germans do even more unpaid timeNearly half of UK employees are effectively working an extra day per week for free, claims new research from Powwownow. On average, UK workers spend just under seven hours per week working outside of contracted hours – the equivalent of a nine-to-five working day with an hour for lunch – but nearly half of them (42 percent) receive no pay for this extra days’ worth of work. A quarter of UK workers (26 percent) receive their standard pay for any overtime, while a fifth (21 percent) are rewarded with ‘time and a half’. Only 6 per cent receive ‘double time’. Germans get a worst deal though, as employees spend an average of 7 hours and 54 minutes working extra but a huge 61 percent of workers receive no pay at all for this time. Workers in Sweden spend the least time working outside of contracted hours, with only 4 hours and 9 minutes of extra work per week.

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Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise

Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise

A third (35 percent) of UK office workers fail to get the National Health Service recommended exercise quota of 150 minutes per week,  a new survey commissioned by Pure Gym to mark Global Employee Health and Fitness Month (GEHFM), has revealed. According to the NHS website, it’s advised that adults between the ages of 19-64 should take part in at least two and a half hours of moderate exercise each week. However, approximately one in three office employees in the UK are currently falling short of these guidelines, with just over two thirds (73 percent) citing work pressures as a key contributing factor to this deficit. Top reasons noted for this lack of activity include, stress at work (17 percent), long commuting hours (15 percent) and insufficient lunch breaks (14 percent), with over a third (38 percent) of office workers attributing their exercise short fall to work related tiredness and fatigue.

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British Council for Offices launches competition to imagine the office of 2035

British Council for Offices launches competition to imagine the office of 2035 0

by • News, Property, Workplace design

Participants in a new competition to define the ‘office of the future’ will be asked to consider ‘what it will look like, and how it will support the way we will work’ by the British Council for Offices (BCO). The free-to-enter competition is seeking ‘forward-thinking and innovative responses, challenging the conventionalities of today’s workplaces and anticipating future needs’. The BCO hopes that the NextGen programme will allow it to ‘mentor the next generation of professionals – designers, agents, developers, consultants and others – and provides a platform for emerging talent to share their ideas’. The announcement cites social, economic, cultural and technological factors as the main agents of change, leading to changes in the expectations of employers and workers. It suggests that ‘ubiquitous and instantaneous technology; a growing interest in health and wellbeing; a greater desire for organisational flexibility; and an increased awareness of individual’s needs are now all competing factors within the workplace’.

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