Search Results for: employees

Sickness causing germs at the office desk mainly due to poor personal hygiene

Sickness causing germs at the office desk mainly due to poor personal hygiene 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The number of sick days taken by office workers could be reduced if companies implemented a better cleaning routine and staff improved their personal hygiene, finds a new academic study. The workplace is ranked as one of the unhealthiest places you’re likely to inhabit on a daily basis, says Dr Lisa Ackerley, hygiene expert and visiting professor at the University of Salford, whose study revealed that the main cause of germs at the desk and keyboard is poor personal hygiene, with nearly 50 percent of office workers responding to her survey admitting they do not wash their hands after going to the toilet. Your hands and the surfaces you touch, including your office chair are germ motorways, she warns. Crumbs and spills encourage the growth of bacteria that can lead to stomach bugs, coughs, flu and even food poisoning. Bacteria and viruses that people bring back from the toilet multiply on the hard work surfaces of the desk and chair and remain infectious for 24 hours. More →

A nuanced approach to the design of the coworking office

A nuanced approach to the design of the coworking office 0

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

coworking spaceThe coworking segment of the real estate business is poised for exponential growth in the coming years, as the number of market players around the world today continues to increase. With humble beginnings in an economic recession, the shared workspace trend has captivated both the start-up entrepreneur and the remote corporate worker, alike. This success is due, in large part, to the fact that the coworking model provides an opportunity for a wealth of amenities that go far beyond the traditional office’s standard desk space. These shared, multi-functional facilities are carefully designed to be both vibrant and personable, with endless opportunities for community collaboration and innovation.

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Good working relationships and less stress are key to workplace happiness

Good working relationships and less stress are key to workplace happiness 0

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Less stress and better workplace relationships are the reason why the happiest regions to work in the UK are Yorkshire and the Humber; while uninteresting work is the reason why employees in Scotland and the South are the most unhappy. Research into workplace happiness by Happiness Works on behalf of Robert Half UK claims that 77 percent of employees in Yorkshire and the Humber are the happiest employees in Britain, well above the national average of 63 percent. Those questioned find their work more interesting (74 percent), get on with their team (88 percent), have good friends in the office (72 percent) and suffer less stress (38 percent). Britain’s most unsatisfied employees are those working in Scotland and the South of England, with 17 percent of employees saying they are unhappy at work and one in six expressing their work is not interesting. Over a quarter of those in South (27 percent) don’t have good friends in the office or don’t get on with their teams and one in seven (14 percent) in Scotland feel the same. However, employees in Scotland (63 percent) and the South (65 percent) do believe they have a good work-life balance.

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Automation starting to generate productivity gains, but no major job losses yet

Automation starting to generate productivity gains, but no major job losses yet 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Business process automation is enabling companies to realise significant productivity gains in such areas as finance, accounting and HR, but it is not yet leading to broad job losses, according to a new study from tech research firm Information Services Group (ISG). Beyond automation’s impact on enterprises, the first ISG Automation Index report also claims that IT service providers are extensively introducing automation into their offerings, leading to dramatic improvements in productivity and service levels. This accelerated pace of change is prompting the vast majority of IT and business leaders to say that IT will be the business function most impacted by automation in the next two years.

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Workplace reforms become a key element in the election debate

Workplace reforms become a key element in the election debate 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News

The workplace has become one of the key battlegrounds in the UK general election debate, as the main political parties seek to court mainstream opinion and with the imminent publication of the Taylor Review into the gig economy. The Labour Party will today announce in its manifesto a commitment to provide 30 hours of free childcare for all two to four-year-olds, covering 1.3 million children. Yesterday, the Conservatives announced that employees will be offered the right to take up to a year off work to care for family members with illness or disability as well as commitments to introducing statutory child bereavement leave and the right to request time off work for training. There are also expected to be other announcements into the workings of the gig economy with new rules to extend maternity and sickness pay to workers who are currently classed as self-employed.

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Pay levels are falling but job market remains robust, despite Brexit relocation plans

Pay levels are falling but job market remains robust, despite Brexit relocation plans 0

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

The UK economy is about to be hit by a fall in basic pay awards and real wages warns the CIPD, which has found that employers’ median basic pay expectations in the 12 months to March 2018 have fallen to 1 percent compared to 1.5 percent three months ago, which is lower than at any time during the past three and a half years. The findings from the latest CIPD/The Adecco Group Labour Market Outlook survey are consistent with recent Labour Market Outlook reports, which have indicated a slowing in the rate of basic pay growth, and with official labour market data. The report also found that 12 percent of private sector firms say the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has led them to consider relocating some or all of their business operations abroad. Popular relocation destinations include the Republic of Ireland (18 percent), Germany (17 percent) and France (13 percent).

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From footprint to footfall: how the experiential workplace is set to take over the world

From footprint to footfall: how the experiential workplace is set to take over the world 1

by • Briefing, Facilities management, Premium Content, Property, Workplace design

collaborative_main_dof_v5From the archive. This piece was originally published in 2016. The culture within which we work determines how effective, successful, fulfilled and well we are in both our professional and personal lives. The organisations for which we work – on whatever basis that might be – the physical surroundings they create, and the other places in which we choose to work are now woven into the fabric of our lives as never before. The technological immersion that allows us to work in new ways also means that each day becomes a series of experiences. Because we are free to work wherever and whenever we choose, we are increasingly able to determine the nature of those experiences. For those who design and manage offices this represents both a great opportunity and an unprecedented series of challenges.

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Three quarters of people expect to work beyond the age of 65, claims report

Three quarters of people expect to work beyond the age of 65, claims report 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

For all the talk about the growing number of Millennials at work, most of the interesting stuff about workplace demographics appears to be happening at the other end of the age scale. A record number of employees now expect to work past the official retirement age and many expect to work up to the age of 85, according to a new study by Canada Life. It claims that 73 percent of UK employees will work past the age of 65, up from 67 percent in 2016 and 61 percent in 2015. More than a third (37 percent) of these could be older than 70 before they retire and 10 percent expect to be at least the age of 85 when they retire, if they can retire at all. Younger workers are particularly likely to expect to work past the age of 65, rising to more than four in five (84 percent) of 25-34 year olds. Many expect to be unable to afford to retire but a growing number will continue to work because they want to.

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CIPD calls for range of measures for British workforce ahead of General Election

CIPD calls for range of measures for British workforce ahead of General Election 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

The next Government needs to put ‘good work’ at the heart of its thinking in order to improve the economy, boost individual welfare and prosperity – creating the conditions for good work in organisations across the country, says the CIPD ahead of the General Election. In its ‘Manifesto for Work’ the CIPD is calling for publication of pay ratios, additional rights for zero-hours workers and increased investment in adult skills. The manifesto’s package of aim to address the systemic problems in the UK economy by focusing on the positive influence the world of work can have on productivity and wellbeing. As well as an overhaul of the UK Corporate Governance Code, the CIPD is also calling on the next Government to protect and raise awareness of employment rights, make skills the centerpiece of their industrial strategy and take steps to improve gender diversity in the boardroom. It also calls for organisations to focus more on greater organisational transparency so that businesses are more accountable for incorporating the principles of good work across their organisations.

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Two fifths of UK workers feel burnt out, but 35 to 44 year-olds lose most sleep

Two fifths of UK workers feel burnt out, but 35 to 44 year-olds lose most sleep 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Two-fifths (40 percent) of UK workers have suffered high workloads or felt burnt out during the past 12 months a new survey claims and six million people in the country are losing sleep over work issues on a weekly basis – more than the entire population of Scotland. According to research from Rungway, men have faced fewer issues at work than women, with over two-fifths (42 percent) of women enduring high workloads or feeling burnt out compared to 38 percent of men. Among age groups, 25 to 34-year-olds are the most worried about work, with more than a quarter (28 percent) saying work issues affect their sleep every week. Yet, it is the 35 to 44-year-olds who are facing the most problems at work. More than half (57 percent) of 35 to 44-year-olds have felt burnt out or had to deal with high workloads in the past 12 months. By contrast, employees over 55 have the most peaceful nights’ sleep, with only one in 10 saying that worries about work affect their sleep on a weekly basis. Still, in the past 12 months more than a fifth (21 percent) of this group have still faced high workloads or felt burnt out.

 

People in the gig economy need autonomy and good work too, argues RSA

People in the gig economy need autonomy and good work too, argues RSA 0

by • Flexible working, News

Gig economy workers should be given more power to hold companies to account under the law as a first step to making the new er of work fit for the future, according to a new report and survey published by the RSA. Good Gigs: A fairer future for the UK’s gig economy recommends the burden of proof be shifted to companies to prove gig workers are not employees, and that penalties should be strengthened against companies who use clauses that prohibit employment status litigation. As part of the project, the RSA undertook the largest ever survey on Britain’s gig economy, which reveals that there are currently 1.1 million people working in Britain’s gig economy, making it almost as big as NHS England.

 

 

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Just five out of 9,000 UK employers have published gender pay gap details so far

Just five out of 9,000 UK employers have published gender pay gap details so far 0

by • News, Workplace

Only five out of the 9,000 eligible companies have so far reported details of their gender pay differentials on the website set up as a plank of the Government’s discourse on equality. Although the Government has confirmed that the policy does not reflect pay for comparable jobs, but wider issues, there has always been a degree of scepticism within the business community about the need for reporting. The rules oblige all private and public sector organisations with more than 250 employees to publish annual figures for both their mean and median gender income levels based on gender. They must also publish the number of men and women in each salary quartile. Reporting must be completed by April of next year, but there hasn’t been a rush to comply since the rules came into force on April 6.

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