Search Results for: population

Stark levels of stress among small business owners as they struggle to stay solvent

by • News, Wellbeing

Chronic work-related stress has risen sharply among small business owners, with a fifth of small business owners look to taking a job elsewhere to stay afloat this year. This is according to new research from AXA, which reveals that many are adopting short-term planning and cutting reliance on external funding ahead of Brexit. Staying agile and light is a common strategy, but may not give businesses the best chance of survival if financial cushions are not in place too. The study finds a sharp increase in financial anxiety amongst business owners. Over the course of 2018, those reporting they felt chronically stressed about their businesses increased by almost 50 percent, reaching 29 percent by year end. (more…)

Are these the 2019 Top Employers to work for in the UK

Are these the 2019 Top Employers to work for in the UK

by • Company news, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Top Employers Institute, a certifier recognising employers that provide world-class employee conditions, has released its list of Certified UK Top Employers for 2019. Over 600 HR professionals gathered at London’s Hilton on Park Lane, on the 31st January 2019, to recognise the best employers in the UK. (more…)

Northern English cities bear brunt of government spending cuts

Northern English cities bear brunt of government spending cuts

by • Cities, News

The UK’s cities, and especially those in the North of England have borne nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of all real-terms local government funding cuts in the last decade despite being home to just 54 percent of the population, according to Centre for Cities’ annual Cities Outlook 2019 report – the Centre’s annual health check on UK city economies. This is equivalent to a reduction of £386 per city dweller since 2009/10, compared to £172 per person living elsewhere. Cities Outlook 2019  reveals a clear geographical divide in where cuts to cities have fallen, with the top five worst affected cities all located in the North of England.

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World Bank report calls for changing approach to working cultures

World Bank report calls for changing approach to working cultures

by • News, Workplace

A new report from the World Bank has call for more investment in people to prepare them for the economies of the future. The 2019 World Development report (WDR) “The Changing Nature of Work” claims that digital technologies are driving the demand for advanced cognitive skills, socio-behavioral skills, and adaptability in labour markets. The digital economy also presents an opportunity to create more jobs.

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ONS says Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people

ONS says Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people says ONSThe two most important barriers to working for those in their 50s and early to mid-60s are health and caring; according to the latest analysis from the ONS. Living longer: Fitting it all in – working, caring and health in later life, advises that although people in their 50s and early 60s have a good level of general health the prevalence of health problems increases over this age range and impacts on the likelihood of being in paid work. Of those potential older workers who are out of work (but would like to work), 38 percent of men and 28 percent of women are unemployed. Women are more likely to be looking after home or family than men (19 percent and 6 percent). Over a third of people aged 50 to 64 years are out of work because they are sick or disabled – with ill health the main barrier to working for both men (37 percent) and women (35 percent).

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Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The UK government has introduced what it claims to be the most significant package of workplace reforms for 20 years in response to last year’s Taylor Report on working practices. The Good Work Plan has introduced a range of measures which the Government claims will improve the rights of agency and part time workers and discourage employers from indulging in unwelcome practices.  The reforms are intended to stop businesses opting out of equal pay arrangements for agency employees and improve the conditions for gig economy workers generally, for example by giving workers details of their rights from the first day in a job, such as eligibility for sick leave, pay levels, maternity and paternity leave.

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Don’t be a turkey, get on the commercial property gravy train

Don’t be a turkey, get on the commercial property gravy train

by • Comment, Property

Last week, the RICS Commercial Property conference tackled the biggest issues impacting the built environment sector, arming delegates with fragments of the formula for future success. The morning CEO Question Time panel put a trio of CEOs in the spotlight. In addition to airing concerns about the current political climate, rapidly shifting societal attitudes, diversity and inclusion, the ageing population coupled with the ongoing housing shortage, climate change and the complexities involved in exploring new business models to drive and diversify revenue, they all zoomed in on the accelerated pace of change we’re witnessing, crowning it the key challenge for today’s C-suite.

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Debt, relationship breakup and bullying are the top employer concerns about employee mental health

Debt, relationship breakup and bullying are the top employer concerns about employee mental health

by • News, Wellbeing

Debt, separation and bullying are the personal issues of most concern to employers when it comes to employee mental health, according to a report from Aon. It polled employers online and during an Aon seminar called the Contemporary Drivers of Mental Health, in which Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and co-author of a government report, ‘Thriving at Work, a review of mental health and employers’ presented his findings.

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Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

by • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

At this time of year, it seems like we don’t have to wait more than a few hours before some or other organisation is sharing its prognosis about how we will be working in the future. The thing these reports usually share in common, other than a standardised variant of a title and a common lexicon of agility, engagement and connectivity, is a narrow focus based on their key assumptions about what the office of the future will be like. While these are rarely false per se, and often offer valuable insights, they also frequently exhibit a desire to look at only one part of the great workplace elephant. While the more informed reports make excellent points and identify trends,  across most there are routine flaws in thinking that can lead them to make narrow and sometimes incorrect assumptions and so draw similarly flawed conclusions. Talk of the office of the future tells us rather a lot about how we view offices right now.

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Asia increasingly challenging economic hegemony of western cities

Asia increasingly challenging economic hegemony of western cities

by • Cities, News

Oxford Economics has published its annual Global Cities research report projecting the shifting landscape of the world’s leading cities from 2019 to 2035. It examine which major cities will be the urban superpowers of the future and which are poised for the most rapid expansions of their economies, populations and business heft. Its main finding is that Asia’s cities, especially those in India such as Surat (pictured) and Agra are making huge strides, although New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles and London stay as the metropolitan superpowers. New York maintains pole position while Tokyo falls below Los Angeles and London in the ranking.  (more…)

A cheap day return to Farringdon, please

A cheap day return to Farringdon, please

by • Comment, Facilities management

Timing is everything. Re-launching a professional body while the country’s politics unceremoniously implode could not have been foreseen, but the vacuous space was full of the registered and invited, many with a trail of string going back a few decades or more. What a lovely gathering of old friends it was. On Monday 12th The BIFM formally changed its name to the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management. This event was to reveal the new creative collateral and celebrate the optimism/excitement/apprehension (delete as applicable).

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Your relationship with your boss may be playing a role in your stress levels

Your relationship with your boss may be playing a role in your stress levels

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Everybody knows how horrible it is to be stressed out at work. Sadly, across the world, employees are being subjected to increasing work demands and, as a result, work stress is on the rise. As we try to understand the root of the problem, we often end up blaming our boss. But is that really fair? Our new study, published in The Leadership Quarterly, suggests that your relationship with your boss does influence how you respond to stress.

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