Search Results for: employees

March 10, 2017

Over three quarters of UK employees use their smartphones in the workplace ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

A majority (84 percent) of British employees use their smartphones at work, with 78 percent regularly responding to text messages during working hours and on average spending as many as 120 hours per year using their smartphones during the working day claims new research. The data, compiled by LaptopsDirect.co.uk, also found that 59 percent regularly take personal phone calls whilst working; 52 percent admit to answering instant messages via platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook, and 9 percent have sent a Snapchat from their workplace. Employers are not completely against the use of smartphones, though under half (44 percent) permit the reasonable use of smartphones, according to the research; but 14 percent of respondents admit to having been told off for using smartphones at work, and 4 percent have been disciplined for use of their own tech during work time. Of most concern for employers is the fact that more than a third (38 percent) of respondents regularly check their social media accounts while at work.

March 2, 2017

Technology can help encourage employees make healthier lifestyle choices ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Fostering behavioural change among employees to encourage them to make healthier lifestyle choices could deliver both productivity gains and economic growth, a new report claims. According to Human-Centric Health: Behaviour Change and the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Willis Towers Watson, behavioural economics will be critical to encourage healthier lifestyles and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular disease, mental illness, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes) that account for approximately 16 million premature deaths annually and will cost an estimated cumulative loss of $47 trillion in economic activity worldwide over the next two decades. According to the analysis, technology such as mobile phones with accelerometers that make activity challenges easier and engage individuals in a community of supportive peers will improve people’s understanding of health-related knowledge and encourage them to reshape their behaviour. Linking individuals to ‘commitment contracts’ to exercise, quit smoking, or adhere to medicine prescription schedules will also be easier to monitor using sensors and mobile technology.

February 27, 2017

UK firm asks 16,000 employees whether their jobs could be done by robots ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

UK insurance firm Aviva has asked 16,000 of its employees whether they believe their jobs could be done better by robots. The consultation process will see those people who answer yes retrained for a new role within the business. Research by Oxford Martin School recently warned that 35 percent of jobs in the UK were in danger of automation over the next 20 years. Insurance underwriters were at the top of the list, rated 98.9 percent at risk. Despite frequent warnings that automation will disrupt a wide swath of industries, many workers believe that their own job is safe. This is in spite of warnings such as that from Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, who claimed recently that automation could put 15 million British jobs at risk, equivalent to nearly half of the 31.8 million people who work in the UK. Most recent research backs this up. A White House report from 2016 concluded that between 9 percent and 47 percent of all American jobs are vulnerable, including around 80 percent of jobs paying less than $20 an hour. Image: SoftBank Robotics

February 22, 2017

Big disconnect between employees, business leaders and IT when it comes to innovation ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

Most North Americans believe their employers and IT teams should be doing more to unleash their capacity for innovation, according to a new study by Softchoice, a North American provider of IT solutions and managed services. The study, Enabling Innovation: When Actions Speak Louder Than Buzzwords, found just 37 percent of employees believe their employers are very innovative, and even fewer felt their organisation did a good job with other leading innovation indicators, such as anticipating market trends, taking risks, and investing in technology that enables innovation. The study is based on a survey of 1,000 full-time employees and 250 IT decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada to uncover whether workplaces really walk the walk when it comes to having the right leadership, culture, processes and technology tools to drive innovation.

February 17, 2017

Employees demand end to rigid structures and siloed working practises ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employees would like more freedom and flexibility at work with over half believing that the structure and culture of their workplaces are holding them back from doing their job more effectively (55 percent and 53 percent respectively). That’s according to new research from ILM, which has launched a new report calling for workplaces across the UK to foster a more collaborative culture in order to boost business success. The research found that more than a third (34 percent) of UK employees felt they worked in a regulated and controlled structure. When asked how they’d like to change their company culture, the top answer was more freedom and flexibility (35 percent) followed by more innovation and creativity (32 percent). Three quarters (74 percent) of employees say they would like more freedom at work. Although employers tend to agree with the need for teams to have more freedom, with two in five (40 percent) saying they’d like a more flexible culture, more would prefer to champion innovation and creativity (46 percent), indicating a disconnect between the way that businesses and their people are keen to work.

February 16, 2017

Employees prefer effective workplace technology to wacky office design ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

The majority (79 percent) of workers say reliable and modern technology is more important to them than office aesthetics, while accessories such as ping pong tables, slides, hammocks and wacky office designs may look good in pictures, but they don’t necessarily make employees any happier or productive. The is according to a survey, conducted by storage firm Kiwi Movers, which found that 86 percent of UK adults who work in an office said fun features were of no specific value to their working life, 11 percent said they were nice-to-have and of some value and 3 percent said they were very valuable. The most popular office perks are those offer an immediate tangible benefit to the employee, but even so, as many as 23 percent don’t take advantage every day; while 71 percent overall said they’d like more space in their office and of those, 58 percent believe that could be achieved by removing non-essential items. The research also found that younger workers were more likely on average to take advantage of ‘environmental’ perks like chill out areas and recreational equipment.

January 16, 2017

Nearly half of the stressed employees of SMEs want to move jobs ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Two-thirds (67 percent) of employees in small to medium employers (SMEs) are currently fed up at work and lack motivation, but the large majority of their employers (81 percent) believe they aren’t affected by the January blues, claims new research by Moorepay. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) feel their colleagues are also affected by the January blues, which sit in stark contrast to the perception of managers and small businesses owners, who are unaware of how their staff feel. Work-related stress is considered the primary reason for feeling demotivated by most employees (36 percent), followed by the long wait to pay day (17 percent) and the financial fallout of the Christmas celebrations (10 percent). Consequently, almost half (46 percent) of all employees say they are likely to look for a new job in the next three months. Only 19 percent of small to medium businesses (SMBs) realise what impact the January blues has on their business.

January 13, 2017

Growing number of UK employees demanding flexible working cultures ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

A growing number of employees in the UK are prepared to move jobs unless their employers introduce more flexible working arrangements, according to a new study from ILM. The survey claims that over half (53 percent) of all British workers are considering a change of job unless things change. The study claims that three-quarters (74 percent) of UK employees want a more flexible working culture – citing more flexible hours and opportunities for creativity as part of an ideal working environment. The research also highlights a growing demand among employees for a greater say in business decisions with around two thirds of survey respondents claiming they want to have more of an influence at work. Around a third (34 percent) of workers claim that the working culture at their present employer is overly regulated and controlled. When asked how they would change the company culture, around a third (34 percent) said they would like more freedom and flexibility, and 32 percent said they’d like to see more innovation and creativity.

January 6, 2017

Over half of employers struggled to find newly graduated employees last year ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Over half of graduate employers are struggling to fill their graduate vacancies, partly due to students reneging on offers. A poll by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) claims that 52 percent of employers did not fill all of their graduate vacancies last year and while one in five offers were declined, 7.1 percent of offers made were accepted and then reneged. The size of the challenge differs by sector. Accountancy, banking and engineering firms are the most likely to find reneging an issue. It is less of a problem in the public sector and among law, utility and IT businesses. However, employers are finding ways to tackle the issue with 97 percent communicating and 78 percent holding events for graduates between offer and join date. As a result the proportion of job offers reneged is falling – in the AGR’s 2015 poll 8.2 percent were reneged. Employers are also being advised to take more of a digital approach to reaching ‘tech savvy’ graduates.

December 2, 2016

Fifth of employees are negatively affected by political talk in the office ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

It’s been a tumultuous year for political change, and in the UK, none more so than that of whether to stay or leave the European Union. We were still getting over the reactions to Brexit when Donald Trump secured the Presidential election. These events have made political discussions in the workplace near inescapable. But talking politics with colleagues can lead to all sorts of problems, particularly when there is a disagreement in political points of view. Probably more than any other year, the political results during 2016 have been increasingly divisive, with political discourse raised to an entirely new level of fractiousness and disagreement; leaving employees feeling stressed, more isolated from their colleagues, and less productive as a result. Unsurprisingly then, a survey of 1,000 employees conducted by HR and employment law specialist Peninsula claims that 1 in 5 employees are negatively affected by political talk in the workplace. The survey also discovered that 65 percent of employees avoid talking politics at work and 32 percent of employees reported that workplace hostility has increased because of political discussions at work.

November 30, 2016

Public sector employees ‘stressed’ but remaining optimistic following Brexit ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Levels of stress among public sector workers remain higher than any other sector, despite job satisfaction being at its highest level in four years amidst a tide of wider post-referendum optimism. This is according to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report of more than 2,000 employees which found that 63 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs, rising to two-thirds (66 percent) in the public sector, the highest level for that sector since autumn 2012. However, public sector employees still report higher levels of pressure and exhaustion at work than any other sector. Two in five public sector workers (43 percent) say they are under excessive pressure at work at least once a week (all employees: 38 percent), and nearly half (46 percent) say they come home from work exhausted either always or often (all employees: 33 percent). The survey also suggests there is ample room for improvement in employee development and career progression which employers must address quickly so as not to lose valuable talent.

November 29, 2016

Organisations that invest in creativity have happier and more productive employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

Adobe has released the State of Create: 2016, the latest edition of its global survey of some 5,000 people worldwide to assess the state of the creative sector and gauge the impact of creativity on businesses. The headline finding of the latest study is that organisations that invest in creativity are more likely to increase employee productivity (78 percent) and have happier employees (76 percent). The report also claims that respondents believe that those employers who invest in creativity are more likely to foster innovation (83 percent), be competitive (79 percent), provide better customer experience (78 percent), have satisfied customers (80 percent) and be financially successful (73 percent). Around three quarters (74 percent) of respondents also claim that it is important for businesses to focus on good design, with another 70 percent feeling that design drives a strong brand experience. 45 percent claimed that in the past year they had paid more for a product or service that had good design.