Search Results for: Gen Z

June 18, 2018

World Green Building Council launches Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Facilities management, News, Property

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched its new Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment as part of Building Lasting Change 2018 with WorldGBC Congress Canada in Toronto, and called on market leaders in the sector to join as signatories. The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment challenges businesses and organisations across the world to take advanced climate action by setting ambitious targets to eliminate operational carbon emissions from their building portfolios by 2030 in order to meet the Paris Agreement ambition of below 2 degrees of global warming.

June 17, 2018

Fathers Day offers a chance to ponder the disadvantages faced by many working dads

by Julia Waltham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Father’s Day – a day when fathers up and down the UK are supposed to feel valued – whether it’s hand print cards from their 2-year old, a pair of socks from their teenager or BBQ accessories from their fully-grown son or daughter. Fathers looking to the government for an offering will be disappointed. Its response to the Women & Equalities Select Committee’s excellent recommendations on fathers and the workplace is the equivalent of a nicely wrapped box with very little in it. For self-employed fathers, the box appears to be empty.

June 15, 2018

Four key points to consider when creating a digital workplace

by Jonas Andrén et al • Features, Technology

As the use of digital technologies and data to create new value propositions and operating models becomes more commonplace, workplaces across the world are being affected across sectors, from manufacturing to local government. Almost all areas have been touched by the megatrend, whether from own initiatives or to keep up with competitors. However, Arthur D. Little’s Digital Transformation Study reports that almost 80 percent of companies surveyed were only “digitally adaptive”, with digital efforts limited to products and services at best, and no comprehensive approach to adapting their mind-sets. To help traditional organizations adapt sufficiently to compete with digitally minded start-ups, we have identified four key questions to consider when developing digitalization strategies and the creation of a fully digital workplace.

June 14, 2018

Brexit will harm UK infrastructure improvements, say industry professionals

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Six in ten (59 percent) people involved in planning and delivering projects across the UK think that leaving the EU will make it harder to deliver improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, according to exclusive new research from the team behind the Public Sector Show and National Infrastructure Forum. The findings are based on a survey of over 200 professionals from across the public and private sectors, conducted by the National Infrastructure Forum – part of the Public Sector Show – in association with Burges Salmon, exploring the views of the country’s major building priorities for the coming years.

June 13, 2018

US companies are waking up to the benefits of caring for employee mental health

by Colleen O'Day • Comment, Wellbeing

In 2015, the American Psychological Association chose American Express as the inaugural winner of the Organizational Excellence Award, recognizing successful efforts to integrate psychology and prioritize behavioral health and emotional well-being in the workplace. American Express had an employee assistance program (EAP) for workers dealing with depression and other mental health challenges. The EAP was a telephone-consultation system and only about 4 percent of employees utilized it. After the firm added on-site counselors to meet with employees for free—and rebranded the EAP as part of its “Healthy Living” —the usage rate more than doubled.

June 13, 2018

The CIPD says adoption of people analytics in the UK by HR is still too low

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Organisations with a strong people analytics culture are much more likely to report strong business performance claims new global research from the CIPD in association with Workday. However, the survey also highlights that the wide scale adoption of people analytics practice is still low and that more needs to be done to improve skills and confidence in the HR function, particularly in the UK which is lagging behind other markets in both capability and confidence. The research also highlights the importance of access to data. It found that access to people data improves outcomes but only 71 percent of HR professionals have access to this data, and just 42 percent of finance professionals do. For those with access to people data, just 22 percent use it daily in their decision-making and almost a quarter (23 percent) use it in decision-making just once a month or less. The research, People Analytics: driving business performance with people data, surveyed 3,852 business professionals globally – including HR and finance professionals – to understand attitudes towards people analytics and how it is being used in organisations.

June 13, 2018

British employees less confident and more stressed over last three years

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

UK employees could be heading for crisis, according to a three-year study by ADP, which has found that three key measures of employee wellbeing – optimism, stress and skills confidence – have taken a hit since 2015. The exact reason for the changes is unclear, however the timings suggest that Brexit may have played a part, along with the rise in new technologies entering the workplace.

June 12, 2018

BCO to provide definitive guidance on enabling wellbeing in the office

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

A major research study “Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it” by The British Council for Offices (BCO) is being launched today. The study critiques existing Health and Wellbeing measurement and certification, identifies the most recent and relevant medical evidence justifying a proactive approach to Health and Wellbeing in the built environment, and articulates the business case for investment in this space beyond simply improving productivity. More →

June 12, 2018

Firms ignoring employee anxieties about workplace communications

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

UK companies are failing to support employees suffering with work-related performance anxiety, the business world’s equivalent to stage fright, despite it being a regular occurrence for many workers, according to new research. RADA Business, the commercial subsidiary of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art which provides communication skills training for corporate individuals, has published the report Beating Workplace Performance Anxiety, which surveyed 1000 workplaces. The report found that, on average, workers report feeling anxious at least once a week (five times per month). Despite this, few workplaces act effectively to counter incidents of workplace communications anxiety. Only 13 percent of people surveyed said that anxieties round communicating in the workplace are picked up and resolved by the management team.

June 11, 2018

Prevalent ageist attitudes harm the health and wellbeing of everybody

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A report published by Royal Society for Public Health in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has revealed the extent of ageist attitudes across the UK, and how they harm the health and wellbeing of everyone in society as we grow older. RSPH is calling for action to tackle inter-generational isolation, end the stigmatisation of older people, and undo the media clichés that keep ageism alive and well. RSPH evaluated ageist attitudes across 12 main areas of life, finding that the public are most ageist about memory loss, appearance, and participation in activities (both physical and community). The report highlights the extent to which old age is viewed by many as a period of decline and ordeal, and calls on stakeholders in the media, government, voluntary sector, and schools to take action to reframe the way our nation views ageing in a more positive light.

June 11, 2018

Women and younger people are transforming the UK’s freelance economy

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The workforce is changing as more people swap the security of a 9-to-5 job for the flexibility of freelancing, with key demographics and industries leading the self-employed sector, according to a new study from Instant Offices. ‘Millennials’ and UK workers facing significant lifestyle changes, such as motherhood, or nearing retirement, and are looking for more flexible ways to work. According to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), the self-employed sector now includes approximately 4.8 million people, with freelancers comprising 42 percent of that population and 6 percent of the UK workforce as a whole. The IPSE reports that in 2016, freelancers contributed £119 billion to the national economy. This was up from £109 billion in 2015 and experts are predicting that this number will only continue to grow in the years to come.