Search Results for: change

August 18, 2017

Artificial intelligence to become most important workplace tech trend over next decade

by Mark Eltringham • AI, News, Technology

Technology analyst Gartner claims in a new report that artificial intelligence (AI) will become the biggest technology megatrend of the next decade, suggesting that organisations need to focus their main efforts on AI based technology in the short to medium term. The study suggests that ‘digital business execution’ requires more frequent and complex decision making, continuous problem solving and rapid pattern recognition, all of which require workforce digital dexterity. In most organisations, however, responsibility for helping employees develop the desire and ability to exploit a wide range of transformative technologies — highlighted in the Gartner, Inc. Hype Cycle for Digital Workplace, 2017 — does not have to rest with any group or individual.

August 18, 2017

Almost a quarter of Millennials are unhappy in their current work situation

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A majority (85 percent) of 18-34 year olds feel they are not putting their professional ambitions into practice and almost a quarter are unhappy at work, claims a new survey of Millennials by one of the UK’s largest independent higher education institutions, GSM London. By 2020, millennials will make up 35 percent of the global workforce, but despite being the generation told that they can have it all, nearly a third (32 percent) of those surveyed described their work as a ‘means to an end’, with 64 percent describing themselves as having just a ‘job’ rather than a meaningful ‘career’. However, when it comes to pursuing a more meaningful career path, a quarter of respondents cited the pressure of uncertainty (25 percent), disruption to lifestyle (24 percent) and lack of confidence (22 percent) as the main barriers stopping them from fulfilling their goals.

August 17, 2017

Precarious flexible working lives create toxic relationships between managers and workers, claims study

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Millions of British workers are having their health and home life put at risk and are having to beg for extra work to make ends meet because bosses are not offering them regular work patterns, a new study from Oxford and Cambridge Universities suggests. According to the study, Powerful times: Flexible discipline and schedule gifts at work published in the journal Work, Employment and Society, around 4.6 million people are subject to ‘precarious scheduling’ from employers which means that their hours are so inconsistent and unpredictable that they cannot make plans, leading to stress and problems in their home lives. The researchers said that many workers now find themselves in ‘degrading’ relationships with managers in which they are obliged to constantly ask for more work and changes to allow them to care for children and plan their domestic and recreational lives.
More →

August 17, 2017

How workplace design shapes and reflects organisational hierarchies

by Angela Love • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

The roots of the open plan office can be traced back to the 1960s when post-capitalism was beginning to emerge as a political and intellectual movement. The social and political upheaval that followed World War Two and the emphasis on the autonomous, motivated and engaged worker combined to inspire designers and architects to develop a new and more “modern” way of working. A mode of work characterised by an increased emphasis on social relations and flattened hierarchies. The open plan office was heralded as the ‘office of the future’; a progressive, transformative and near utopian design concept which would enable its occupants to thrive and succeed in a more socialist world. Yet the proponents of the open plan do not appear to have been fulfilled in large corporate businesses in the UK. I’d like to suggest that this failure is not a design fault but rather a problem caused by a clash of ideologies. Upon closer inspection, it appears that these larger corporations have not fully been able to shift into the social-democratic model of collaborative, open working styles.

August 15, 2017

Shake up of working culture and practices recommended to reduce pay gaps

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

All jobs should be advertised as available for flexible working, and greater support should be given to fathers to play more of a role in child care, in a shake-up of culture and working practices to reduce pay gaps, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said today. The call comes as the Commission’s strategy for tackling gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps is released. A strategy to reduce pay gaps in Britain makes six recommendations outlining the action needed by government, in society and in our businesses to improve equality in earnings for women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. According to the EHRC, offering all jobs as flexible will remove the barriers faced by women and disabled people, who are more likely to have to negotiate flexible working or accept part-time jobs that are often low-paid. Creating work places with flexible cultures will increase opportunities for everyone, giving people greater choice about the role they play both at work and home. More →

August 15, 2017

London Mayor launches strategy to make the city “one of the greenest on the planet”

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, News

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has launched a new environmental strategy which he claims will help make the capital the world’s first ‘National Park City and one of the greenest cities on Earth’. The strategy includes plans for a new £9million Greener City Fund to boost trees and green infrastructure; improved planning policy proposals to encourage more green roofs, green walls and rain gardens; the creation of a ‘Challenge Map’ to prioritise areas in need of green infrastructure; and a series of measures to tackle pollution, promote cleaner energy & make more than 50 per cent of London green by 2050. As part of the strategy, the Mayor will use planning regulations to protect the Green Belt and incorporate into new developments more ‘green roofs’ (roofs covered with grass and plants which are excellent for soaking up rainwater), green walls (which can be added to the outside walls of buildings by busy polluted roads and are covered in plants to help boost air quality), ‘rain gardens’ (small green spaces which help prevent flooding), and habitats for wildlife.

August 14, 2017

Google wins approval for new London headquarters

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Property

Google’s much talked about plan to build a new London headquarters in King’s Cross has been approved by Camden Council. The building, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and BIG in collaboration with BDP replicates some of the campus facilities now associated with a tech campus including a garden, 200m jogging track on the roof, swimming pool, massage parlours exercise rooms and facilities for badminton, five-a-side football and basketball. The finished 11-storey building will be more than one million square feet in size of which Google will occupy 650,000 sq ft. Motorised timber blinds on the outside of the building keep direct sunlight out. Solar panels on the roof will deliver an annual output of 20MWh. The main contractor Lendlease will start on site next year on a contract believed to be worth around £350m.

August 11, 2017

Reducing the risk of personal gambling becoming a corporate fraud issue

by Andrew Durant • Comment, Workplace

A recently leaked confidential report for the betting industry says that, if introduced, the new rules to encourage responsible gambling in the UK would lead to closure of half of the country’s bookmakers and the loss of around 20,000 jobs. The report follows widespread concerns about the controversial use, and misuse, of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) in betting shops which, have been shown to be one of the major causes for problem gambling behaviour (due to their addictive play). They allow customers to place wagers as high as £100 every twenty seconds. With gambling becoming ever more accessible through the spread of FOBTs, the growing number of online betting platforms and access to casinos on the high street, the pressure of funding a gambling habit has become one of the main reasons why people commit corporate fraud.

August 10, 2017

Could a four-day week help improve UK productivity?

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

Over half (61 percent) of office workers believe they’d improve their performance levels if they worked a four-day week; and 40 percent believe they would be more productive working remotely. This is according to new research which claims that UK productivity has fallen dramatically, with one in three (31 percent) office workers admitting they are unproductive for a huge two hours every day. The report, commissioned by office products firm Fellowes, argues that despite being the fifth largest economy in the world, the UK sits 15th in the productivity table, lagging behind the likes of Sweden (31 hours p/w), Denmark (27.2 hours p/w) and Norway (27.3 p/w) – who all work, on average, less hours per week than Brits (32 hours p/w). As a third of workers are essentially working a six-hour day, many believe it’s time to look towards Scandinavian countries like Sweden – who recently trialled a 6-hour working day – where employees have more flexibility to choose when and where they work. More →

August 9, 2017

Over a quarter of employers are struggling to keep their workforce engaged

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

Nearly one in three (28 percent) of employers are struggling to keep their employees engaged, claims new research from totaljobs, with staff spending too much time internet browsing, being constantly late and chatting with colleagues. Over half of employers said lower productivity (59 percent) and internet browsing (55 percent) were clear signs of lower engagement they were seeing in the workplace. Worryingly, 62 percent said poor performance was a common problem as a result of a lack of engagement. Almost half (48 percent) of employers also report disengaged employees continue to arrive late and leave early, while 41 percent said chatting with colleagues suggested a lack of workplace engagement. The same number again said taking too many breaks during work hours might also indicate disengagement, as well as employees appearing distracted. But when it comes to tackling a lack of employee engagement, one in two employers (51 percent) said clear communication, via email, newsletters and team meetings for example, was an effective strategy to improve engagement. Nearly half (46 percent) of employers said setting out clear objectives for both individuals and teams was also effective.

August 7, 2017

New analysis reveals shrinking pool of younger workers in the UK workforce

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

An increase in the number of UK-born employees leaving the UK’s workforce, either through retirement or emigration is coinciding with a shrinking pool of younger workers, which a fall in immigration can no longer fill, a new report warns. An analysis of the UK’s workforce showed that the UK’s workforce grew in 2016-2017 only because of an increase in EU and non-EU workers. Mercer’s Workforce Monitor showed that retirement, opting out (i.e. due to caring responsibilities) or emigration saw around 143,000 UK-born employees leave the UK workforce with the loss of workers only being offset by the entry of around 147,000 EU-born workers and around 232,000 Non-EU workers. In sum, the UK’s workforce grew by an estimated 234,000 over 2016-2017. From Q1 2016 to Q1 2017, the number of workers over 50 in the UK economy grew by 230,000, the under 35’s grew by 50,000 while the number of workers aged 35-49 shrunk by 48,000. According to the analysis, if net migration into the UK levels off at 100,000 per year from 2020, the number of under 50s in the workforce will fall by 200,000 by 2025; the over 50s would increase by over 1 million while the number of under-25s in the population would fall by 100,000. This means apprentices and graduates numbers will be less.

August 7, 2017

Workplace menopause study claims women need more support from employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from the UK Government and University of Leicester has called for menopause-friendly workplaces and culture change programmes. In what the authors claims is the most comprehensive study of its kind, the report claims that ‘many women tend to feel that they need to cope alone’ – because of ‘a reluctance to speak up at work’. The report ‘The effects of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK’ was funded by the Government’s Equalities Office. The research, published by the Department for Education, was carried out by Joanna Brewis, Andrea Davies and Jesse Matheson of the University of Leicester School of Business and Vanessa Beck of the University of Bristol School of Economics, Finance and Management.