November 15, 2018

Are you ready for the world of agile working we will experience in the 2020s?

by John Eary and Paul Allsopp • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

Some organisations believe they have ‘done’ Agile Working. They have increased the ratio of people to desks and achieved a saving in accommodation costs. They have provided flexible working arrangements across the organisation and have enabled their people to work at home for part of their working week. Staff surveys show employees are pleased with the opportunities and benefits this provides them. But organisations cannot afford to become comfortable or complacent, there are greater opportunities to grasp. As in any transformation initiative, Agile Working is more than a project it is a cultural journey involving continuing change to achieve continuous improvement. Agile Working is moving on.

November 14, 2018

Quarter of UK workforce have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new study claims that UK workers of all ages have shown a demand for flexible working. According to the research of 2,300 people commissioned by communications technology firm TeleWare, employees are actively turning down jobs that don’t offer flexible working. A quarter of all employees have turned down a job in the past for this reason. Whilst a further third (31 percent) would actively do so. Although the proportion of those that have done so is higher amongst millennials (40 percent), three in 10 (29 percent) employees over 45 would turn down a job if flexible working options were not on offer. More →

November 13, 2018

Annual commuting time is up 18 hours compared to a decade ago, finds TUC

by Mark Eltringham • News

Commuting to and from work now takes 5 minutes longer than a decade ago, according to a new analysis published by the TUC to mark the annual Commute Smart Week organised by Work Wise UK. Rail commuters face the longest journeys, taking an average of 2 hours and 11 minutes every day – an increase of 4 minutes on the last decade. Drivers spend 52 minutes on the road to work and back (up by 3 minutes), while bus commuters must set aside 79 minutes a day (up by 7 minutes). Cyclists (44 minutes) and walkers (29 minutes) have the quickest daily journeys.

November 6, 2018

Working parents lead the charge of British workers into the side hustle

by Neil Franklin • News

A new study published by GoDaddy and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), claims that ‘side hustling’, in which people have small business ventures running alongside their main job, has risen by around a third over the last decade. The study claims that the UK’s side hustlers make a substantial contribution to the economy, with every 1000 side hustles creating 876 extra jobs. The report, Side hustle: a way of life, not work also claims that 44 percent of side hustlers are parents with at least one child under 19 living at home.

October 23, 2018

Flexible working to contribute £148 billion to UK economy by 2030

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

A predicted boom in flexible working could contribute £148 billion to the UK economy by 2030, equating to 16 times the cost of the London 2012 Olympics, according to the a socio-economic study of changing workplace practices. The analysis, commissioned by Regus and conducted by independent economists, studied 16 key countries to delve into the state of flexible working now and predictions for 2030.

October 15, 2018

Lack of flexible working means people miss major life events

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new survey claims that 67 percent of employees have missed major life events due to a lack of flexible working within their organisation. The survey conducted by Liberty Mind, was commissioned to explore the impacts on employees who do not have the opportunity of flexible working. From those surveyed it was found that 40 percent had missed hospital or health-related appointments due to a lack of flexible working, while 15 percent had missed moving house, 10 percent had missed a child’s school activity and 8 percent had missed a family funeral.

October 1, 2018

Fathers seek more flexible working, but remain concerned about impact on career

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

As more and more women are staying in the workplace after having children – and often full time – parents are demanding greater access to flexible working, but dads are still being held back by old-fashioned policies and fears that their employer will react negatively to requests to work flexibly, according to two new Workingmums.co.uk surveys.

October 1, 2018

National Work Life Week research reinforces appeal of flexible hours

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

National Work Life Week (1st – 5th October 2018) starts today with the aim of encouraging companies to think about their employees’ wellbeing and happiness. To mark the week new research asked British workers about the things they most want from their work. The YouGov surveyof 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Oxford Open Learning Trust, found that while money is predictably the biggest motivator behind career choice (64 percent), over half of the respondents cited working hours and flexible working as an important factor (55 percent). More →

September 25, 2018

Around half of workers expect to have multiple careers throughout their working life

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Just under half of UK workers (46 percent) expect to have multiple careers throughout their working life, as opposed to one structured and lifelong career, according to a new report from employee benefits firm Unum and researcher The Future Laboratory. The Future Workforce (registration required) sets out to examine the motivations and priorities of UK workers, to understand how the nation’s workforce will change over the next decade. Insights were drawn from a survey of more than 3,000 UK workers, as well as from interviews with a range of industry experts and business leaders.

September 20, 2018

Working parents would like more flexible working, but most don’t have the option

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

According to new research commissioned by McDonald’s UK, working parents want to move to a more flexible working culture, but around three quarters simply don’t have it as an option. The study was conducted over the summer by YouGov with 1,100 parents across the country. The research found that over three quarters of respondents think flexible working would allow them to juggle work with home commitments, yet 73 percent say they do not have that option in their current role.

September 17, 2018

AI will be commonplace in the working lives of staff very soon

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Experts at Henley Business School have announced that the majority of the graduate workforce in the UK will be working with artificial intelligence on a daily basis by 2030, with technology such as ‘AI assistants’ expected to be commonplace in the next decade. New research released at the Henley annual World of Work 2030 conference, claims that a third (35 percent) of UK workers are excited about the prospect of their own personal AI assistant. With the average worker currently spending 3.5 hours a week on admin tasks, assistants’ could give workers back 12 working days a year (over two working weeks) by taking on these activities and freeing up time for more productive tasks.

September 17, 2018

Flexible working legislation has failed to change anything

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Legislation giving employees the right to request flexible working has failed to increase take-up, new research from the University of Manchester shows. The research, presented at the British Sociological Association conference in Belfast last week, has found that there has been no significant overall increase in the number of employees working flexibly since the legislation came into effect in 2014.