November 30, 2020
Union body the TUC has today launched a new taskforce to look at the “creeping role” of artificial intelligence (AI) in managing people at work. The taskforce launch comes as a new TUC report, Technology managing people: the worker experience, claims that many workers have concerns over the use of AI and technology in the workplace. More →
November 24, 2020
The UK’s digital skills gap could pose a risk to economic recovery, new research from Microsoft claims, with over three-quarters of UK leaders citing a large digital talent pool as essential to driving UK competitiveness. The study, Unlocking the UK’s potential with digital skills, was conducted in partnership with Dr Chris Brauer at Goldsmiths, University of London to assess the UK’s skills gap and provide practical guidance for organisations on how to tackle it. It predicts the rise of a “Next Gen Worker” that is empowered by low-code and no-code technology, but also finds that a failure to embrace technological skills could leave companies struggling to compete on the global stage. More →
November 23, 2020
The construction of new offices in central London has declined by half (50 percent) in six months as developers and occupiers shift their focus to refurbishment, according to Deloitte Real Estate’s latest London Office Crane Survey. The crane survey analysed office building data over the six months to 30 September, and included a poll of London’s biggest developers conducted at the end of September. The total office space under construction in central London is now 15.1 million sq ft. This is similar to the level recorded in the previous survey (15.3 million sq ft, the highest since 2002) as developments are now taking longer to complete. More →
November 18, 2020
GlobalWebIndex (GWI), together with LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, has launched “Work in BETA: The Rising B2B Decision Maker”. The new report sets out to examine the ‘changing behaviours and attitudes of “the BETAs” – the first cohort of digital natives (21 to 40 year-olds) to assume positions of seniority in business, at a time of dislocation’. More →
November 16, 2020
For a lot of employers, the idea of an employee financial wellness program can be something of an afterthought. That is, beyond providing fair pay and a clear policy regarding taxation and benefits, it can seem unnecessary to take any other action regarding employee finances. What’s becoming more and more apparent, however, is that employers do need to take a more active approach toward implementing employee financial wellness programs. More →
November 6, 2020
Since March, Glint has been creating a dataset which now consists of 7 million survey responses from employees around the world and across a broad range of industries. Our aim is to take the pulse of the global workforce to see how it’s faring with our ongoing global health crisis and to understand its effects on work. The recent August report shows that pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs have hit employees hard. 56 percent of respondents report feeling less happy at work after seeing co-workers furloughed or laid off. Half of respondents say their organisation’s layoffs or furlough plans have had a negative impact on their workload (50 percent) and their sense of belonging or community at work (47 percent). More →
November 4, 2020
According to new research from Pluralsight, Inc. (NASDAQ: PS), the technology skills and engineering management platform, 43 percent of UK office workers are worried they will be left behind as companies seek new skills to cope with the rapid pace of change. Yet, despite these upskilling concerns, 47 percent have neglected learning any new skills since the lockdown began in the UK on March 23rd. More →
October 29, 2020
Cloud-based access control company Kisi has released their 2020 work-life balance city index, highlighting how major cities from the 2019 edition have since been impacted by the global pandemic. While every city in the index suffered economic, social and structural consequences, the results of this year’s edition claim that having a safety net in place for workers made a large difference in how a city navigated the crisis. More →
October 20, 2020
There has been a gradual shift towards increased flexible and remote work patterns in the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has created the perfect storm to force organisations to further consider their working practices, with all but essential physical roles usually involving an element of homeworking – nearly half of people in employment in the UK did some work at home in April 2020, according to the ONS. Many businesses are expecting to operate a largely remote workforce for the foreseeable future. The fear of declining productivity and concerns for people wellbeing has encouraged many employers to increase their employee monitoring arrangements. More →
October 20, 2020
Research carried out by the CBI prior to the pandemic suggests there is an urgent need for the UK to embark on a radical programme of reskilling that goes further and faster than current plans. According to the CBI, the UK faces a stark choice: invest more in lifetime learning and upskilling of millions of employees, or stick to business as usual, and risk sustained higher rates of unemployment and skills shortages. More →
October 15, 2020
A new report from Dynata, a data and insights company, raises global concerns about the economy, and a “down but not out” resilience across the UK. The report claims that we are now a nation of home workers (as opposed to shopkeepers), juggling a work-life balance as the end of furlough approaches, and many predict a steep rise in redundancies. Dynata’s Global Trends Report: The Economy Edition surveyed over 9000 people across 9 countries globally, including over 1,000 respondents from the UK. More →
November 12, 2020
Stepping back into the workplace arena
by Rachel Houghton • Comment