October 4, 2023

Generative AI will outperform humans on traditional recruitment processes

by Jayne Smith • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

A new report from Arctic Shores, a psychometric assessment provider, claims that the use of Generative AI is already common among students, younger workers and job applicants, with around seven in ten of 2,000 respondents to a survey expecting to use ChatGPT while completing a job application or assessment over the next 12 months, and 17 percent already using it. With 72 percent of students and candidates using some form of Generative AI on a regular basis – a number that has increased by 50 percent in just four months – the implications for employers and talent acquisition leaders are profound, the report argues. More →

October 4, 2023

Younger workers ready to embrace their new robot overlords

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Despite warnings that AI could lead to widespread redundancies, younger workers across Europe believe that the recent advances in the technology will ‘supercharge’ the industry in which they work. According to the second Young Generation in Tech survey, commissioned by HiBob and Venture Capital fund Eight Roads, almost four in five of the 2,000 20-30-year-olds surveyed in tech across Europe believe AI will have a positive impact on their work. More →

September 25, 2023

Women continue to struggle with the return to work after maternity leave

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new poll suggests that while 98 percent of women want to return to work after maternity leave, only 13 percent say it’s actually viable for them. The survey of 848 mothers commissioned by Careers After Babies looked at what happened to their careers after having children. The survey looked into four areas – maternity leave, returning to work, career progression and what women actually want. More →

September 21, 2023

Workers increasingly concerned that AI will come for their job in the very near future

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working

Two thirds of IT workers and nearly half of office workers think that generative AI may come for their jobs within five years, according to a new report from Ivanti. The poll of nearly 8,000 respondents worldwide also suggests that 57 percent of people report ‘serious friction’ with workplace technology at least weekly and 61 percent say negative experiences with work tech affects their morale. More →

September 20, 2023

Most people have no connection to what they do for a living

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Over two thirds of UK employees do not feel a sense of connection and belonging at work, according to a new poll from Reward Gateway. Loneliness, disconnect, and isolation are all in a day’s work, according to the study. It suggests that almost a quarter of respondents (24 percent) often experience loneliness at work. More →

September 14, 2023

Is the Flexible Working Bill a game changer or paper tiger?

by Sam Ross • Comment, Flexible working

As LinkedIn data has shown, demand for work flexible working is high. And it outpaces the current availability of remote work offers. In the UK alone, listings for remote jobs have increased by 277 percent. Job postings for hybrid or remote positions received an increase in applications (189 percent) over in-office roles. People want to work remotely for various reasons. So they can live in their chosen home rather than in a tiny flat in London without sacrificing their career. So they can care for family – children, parents, grandparents. The demand for flexible work is driven by a desire for balance. The need has been clearly voiced – and the workforce is hungry for new modes of work. Looking at this background – the cheerful response to the passing of the bill is understandable. More →

September 7, 2023

Exploring the gender pay gap in Germany: a closer look at salary inequality

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Workplace

In Germany, just like in numerous other nations, the gender pay gap remains a subject of significant worry and discussion. The persistent issue of unequal pay between men and women, where women frequently earn less than their male colleagues for the same job, persists. This article seeks to explore the gender pay gap in Germany in more detail, investigating the underlying factors that contribute to this gap and considering possible remedies to tackle this problem. More →

August 8, 2023

Government scales back plans for regional office hubs as more people work from home

by Jayne Smith • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK government has announced it will be scaling back plans for thirty office ‘hubs’ outside of London by 25 percent and letting out surplus floor space to other departments as more civil service workers are choosing to work from home. In 2022 the government’s property strategy highlighted plans to relocate 22,000 posts out of London by 2030, creating 30 new regional ‘government hubs’ as it closes its older offices across the UK. However, currently just over half of that figure have been relocated. More →

August 7, 2023

Rummaging through the workplace memory hole

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

…talking of Orwell, I recently whiled away an idle hour checking which of the more deranged pronouncements from the period of peak workplace hysteria in late 2020 have been memory holed. There was some weird, wild stuff, often coupled with a feverish response to anybody urging caution. At one point somebody (I know who but won’t say) suggested I should be banned from LinkedIn for pushing back on the idea that any firm that didn’t go fully remote would be out of business within five years. More →

July 31, 2023

Best practice for maintaining an agile workforce through upskilling

by Kirsty Greene • Company news, Workplace

Workforces need to evolve now more than ever. A report from the World Economic Forum claims that around a quarter of jobs will shift in the next five years. Its ‘Future of Jobs Report for 2023’ notes that though an estimated 69 million new jobs will be created, another 83 million will be eliminated. A few factors contributing to creating and eliminating jobs are macro trends—such as a rise in sustainability efforts among businesses, the localisation of supply chains, high inflation, and slower economic growth. More →

July 26, 2023

Cost of living crisis and other employee concerns are top risk concerns of businesses

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The managers and owners of firms across the UK now believe that the cost of living crisis is the top risk to their business, closely followed by a range of employee related issues, according to a new poll. Employee related risks in the top five include lack of skilled talent, employee retention and cost of salaries. Despite the cost of materials continuing to rise over the last 12 months, this risk has dropped back from first place in 2022. Risks relating to debts, late payments and fraud all make an appearance in the top ten for the first time. More →

July 22, 2023

Flexible working bill gains royal assent, but doubts remain

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

Employees across the UK will be given even more flexibility over where and when they work, according to the government, as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill receives Royal Assent. Originally a 2019 manifesto commitment to encourage flexible working, and now a private members bill from Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi, the Act will require employers to consider and discuss any requests made by their employee – who will have the right to two requests a year – within two months of a request, down from three.

However some employment law experts have highlighted some of the Act’s limitations. “It is absolutely crucial to bear in mind that this is still only a right to request – not a right to receive flexible working’, warns Hina Belitz, Partner and employment law specialist at Excello Law. “In that sense, in order to assess its efficacy and whether it will truly make a difference to the day-to-day lives of employees struggling with flexibility issues, we need further information and consideration on whether this will actually lead more people to get the flexibility they need.”Will we just see employers get better at finding clever and ostensibly fair ways to refuse these things? Will we see an increase in discrimination or similar claims linked to supposedly unfair refusals of flexible working requests? Potentially, which may prove a strain on our already full to bursting employment tribunal system.”

CIPD research shows that 6 percent of employees changed jobs last year specifically due to a lack of flexible options and 12 percent left their profession altogether due to a lack of flexibility within the sector. This represents almost 2 and 4 million workers respectively.

Workers will benefit from the following new protections once the Act is in force:

New requirements for employers to consult with the employee before rejecting their flexible working request.
Permission to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (rather than the current one request).
Reduced waiting times for decisions to be made(within which an employer administers the statutory request) from three months to two months.
The removal of existing requirements that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with.

Alongside the measures in the Bill, millions of workers will be given the right to request flexible working from day one of a new job. This will bring an estimated 2.2 million more employees in scope of the entitlement following a change in regulations.

The Government is also today launching a call for evidence on non-statutory flexible working to improve on knowledge of the extent of flexibility in the labour market. The aim is to increase understanding of the role of informal flexible working in meeting the needs of both employers and employees.

In response to this legislation, Acas will be updating its statutory Code of Practice following a consultation, which was launched on 12 July. The aim of the Code is to provide employers, employees and representatives with a clear explanation of the law on the statutory right to request flexible working, alongside good practice advice on handling requests in a reasonable manner.