Search Results for: labour market

February 10, 2017

Gender pay gap for Millennials is closing, but for the wrong reasons ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Millennial men are earning less than Generation Y did in their earlier careers reflecting a shift towards young men doing low paid work traditionally carried out by women. In his Grigor McClelland lecture on 21st century inequality to Manchester Business School yesterday, Resolution Foundation Director Torsten Bell drew on upcoming research for the Foundation’s Intergenerational Commission on the labour market prospects for younger generations, which highlights the stark gender differences on inter-generational progress on pay. According to the data, Millennial men have earned less than Generation X men in every year between the ages of 22 and 30, resulting in a cumulative pay deficit during their 20s of £12,500. In contrast millennial women have experienced neither generational pay progress or decline. This has narrowed the gender pay gap for millennials, but for the wrong reasons, a shift towards lower-skilled jobs, often part-time, which have stunted the pay progress of young men.

January 25, 2017

The office of the future should be defined by the age of its inhabitants. But not in the way you think ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

The office of the future is most commonly seen as the habitat of Millennials. But there are all sorts of flaws in this assumption. Apart from the casual stereotyping of a diverse demographic of people, the most glaring is the fact that the workforce is ageing rather than getting younger, and that most offices must now meet the needs of a wider range of age groups than at any time in their history. A new report from Totaljobs seeks to redress the balance in this regard. It suggests that some of the key features of the office of the future will not be slides and ping pong tables but flexible working areas, quiet spaces, spas and private medical rooms. The study claims that the fixation with Millennials means that a large number of older workers now feel that the design of offices does not meet their needs.

December 19, 2016

UK employers predict workforce growth in 2017 along with more inclusive hiring ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Four in ten (41 percent) of firms across the UK will grow their workforce in 2017 but uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship with the EU has shaken overall business confidence in the labour market claims a new report. According to respondents to the 19th CBI/Pertemps Network Group Employment Trends Survey, for the fourth year running, growth in permanent job opportunities will outstrip temporary recruitment. But the balance of those expecting the UK to be a more attractive place to employ people in the next five years has flipped from +16 percent in the 2015 survey to -21 percent in this year’s results. In terms of engagement, over three quarters (76 percent) of respondents reported that a diverse and inclusive workforce is vital or important to the future success of their organisation. They report a range of benefits of inclusive workplace practices including increased skills (73 percent), attraction and retention of staff (60 percent) and engagement levels (46 percent).

December 19, 2016

Direct causal link between wellbeing and corporate performance, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A new report published by IZA World of Labor claims that a rise in workers’ happiness and wellbeing leads to an increase in productivity. The study from economist Dr Eugenio Proto, of the University of Warwick’s Department of Economics and Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) concludes that companies would profit from investment in their employees’ wellbeing. It cites the experience of large companies that have recently highlighted the importance of employee wellbeing in their company profiles. The authors claims that, until recently, evidence for a link between employee wellbeing and company performance has been sparse and that their own study shows a positive correlation between a rise in happiness and an increase in productivity. Proto believes that finding causal links between employee wellbeing and company performance is important for firms to justify spending corporate resources to provide a happier work environment for their employees and that the available evidence suggests that companies can be encouraged to introduce policies to increase employee happiness.

December 14, 2016

Lack of free childcare dissuades workers from shared parental leave ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Just 5 percent of new fathers and 8 percent of new mothers have opted for Shared Parental Leave (SPL) since its introduction in April 2015 a new report claims. Just one organisation in five (21 percent) said they had received requests from male employees to take up SPL since April 2015 and in two-thirds (67 percent) of organisations with mothers eligible for SPL, none have opted in. This low take-up of (SPL) and the lack of affordable childcare options for parents with 0-2 year-olds are both major problems that need to be addressed to support working parents more effectively, according to ‘Labour Market Outlook: Focus on Working Parents’ from the CIPD. The survey of over 1,000 HR professionals also suggests that the lack of free childcare for 0-2 year-olds could be having a negative impact on women returning to work after maternity leave.

November 28, 2016

Britain is missing a trick by not getting workplace training right ⁰

by Steve Hill • Comment, Workplace

New research from PwC highlights Britain’s failure to provide opportunities for young people. The study brings attention to the fact that the country ranks a lowly 21st out of 35 OECD members for its ability to get 15 to 24 year olds into work, education or training. If the UK could equal Germany’s low youth unemployment rate it would stand to gain around £45 billion, a 2.3 percent increase in GDP. The PwC report compares numerous countries, however Germany, Austria and Switzerland come out on top when it comes to providing career opportunities and workplace training to young people. Perhaps a clue to their success is that these nations all have so-called ‘dual education systems’ where work-based learning sits with equal stature alongside traditional academic study.

November 14, 2016

Vast majority of UK employers are against a ‘hard Brexit’ finds CIPD ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Workplace

The implications of Brexit are raising concerns over a reduction in employers’ intentions to invest in their staff and its effects on access to migrant labour. As a result, according to the latest quarterly CIPD/Adecco Group Labour Market Outlook, while employment growth looks set to continue in the UK, there are signs that this is beginning to slow and that real wages are likely to fall during 2017 for many employees. The data shows that the net employment balance, while remaining in positive territory at +22, based on the difference between the share of employers expanding their workforce and the share of employers reducing their workforce, has shown a slight negative decline from the previous quarter’s figure of +27. Although 42 percent of employers believe that future restrictions on EU labour could damage their UK operations, just 15 percent have started to prepare for this eventuality; which is probably why the vast majority are against a ‘hard Brexit’.

November 2, 2016

Employers increased focus on wellbeing lacks adequate training and support ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly half (46 percent) of employers say that their organisation has increased its focus on wellbeing over the last 12 months; and when asked the reasons for this, 63 percent of respondents to the 2016 CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management Survey said they want their organisation to be a great place to work, 47 percent said their organisation believes employee well-being is linked to business performance, and 43 percent said their organisation believes it’s the right thing to do. Additionally, nearly two-fifths (37 percent) of organisations that invest in wellbeing say they have increased their well-being spend over the last twelve months and almost two-thirds (64 percent) have improved communications to staff about the wellbeing benefits on offer and how to access them. However, the survey found that while more employers are recognising the value of line managers in managing absence at work, they are not giving them the tools and support necessary to do it effectively.

October 26, 2016

Larger employers much more optimistic about post-Brexit outlook than SMEs ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

A gap is emerging between UK businesses regarding the impact of Brexit, with large businesses significantly more optimistic about the future than their small business counterparts, joint research by NGA Human Resources (NGA HR) and its SMB division, Moorepay suggests. Six in ten (59 percent) respondents working for large businesses expect Brexit to have a positive impact on their business, but only 35 percent of SMBs share this view. In fact, a quarter of (25 percent) SMB employees in the UK actually believe their situation will worsen after the UK has left the European Union. Looking ahead, the majority (79 percent) of larger UK businesses are ready to address the challenges and exploit the opportunities resulting from Brexit, whereas just over half of small businesses (56 percent) feel the same. Asked about their wish list for a post-Brexit economy, all UK businesses agree that access to the single market is the biggest advantage of the EU membership and one that both large businesses (64 percent) and SMBs (54 percent) would like to retain. Additionally, opening up trade to new countries and markets is seen as the main advantage of Brexit for both large (70 percent) and smaller businesses (54 percent), followed by freedom from EU laws and regulations (both 48 percent).

September 28, 2016

Offering flexible working to mums could boost economy by £62.5 billion ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

More than two thirds of stay-at-home mothers with young children would go back to work if flexible working was an option, a new study from Digital Mums and the Centre for Economics and Business Research claims. The survey of 1,600 mothers also suggests that more than a third of those already in work would put in more hours if they had better childcare arrangements based around flexible working. The WorkThatWorks report claims that women (and presumably some fathers) would contribute billions to the economy if more organisations were to offer parents more flexible work conditions. The report claims that currently, some 2.6 million mothers are out of the labour market although two thirds (68 percent) feel unable to return to work because of the lack of flexible working options. In addition, 60 percent of mothers already in work do not have access to flexible work despite the introduction of legislation in 2014 that offers them the right to request it.

September 23, 2016

Mass media job promotion spells global staff engagement challenge ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

As the global labour market warms up and active job seeking increases, employees’ plans to stay with their current employers are declining. This is due to a shift in attitudes by employees who’ve long believed that the job opportunities they were seeking did not exist in the labour market; but are being convinced otherwise as companies increasingly turn to mass media to promote appealing employment brands and job opportunities. While this is good news for companies looking to attract new talent, employers looking to retain their best people must also take notice. This is according to data from CEB’s Global Talent Monitor, which claims that employees are also putting in less effort at work in all regions except North America and suggests that to keep top talent in place, companies will need to better promote internal job opportunities and benefits, rather than letting employees think they must go elsewhere to find the jobs they want. The research did find though that UK employees are feeling generally less confident due to Brexit uncertainty.

September 22, 2016

The dramatic rise of the online gig economy revealed in new study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News

There has been a rapid increase in the online gig economy worldwide, according to new research from the University of Oxford. The study is based on the results of the University’s Online Labour Index which measures vacancies and activity on websites and apps related to the gig economy. It found that employers in the US are the biggest users of the online gig economy, defined as the use of workers procured over the internet for short term, piecemeal and project based work. Between May and September, US firms posted 52 percent of vacancies on the platforms followed by the UK at 6.3 percent, India at 5.9 percent, and Australia at 5.7 percent. The market grew by 9 percent over the tested period with growth fastest in the UK which saw a 14 percent increase in activity. The data also showed that software development and technology are currently the most sought-after skills. Creative and multimedia work is the second largest category, followed by clerical and data entry work.