Search Results for: people

Stop whinging about robots taking your job and develop the skills you need for a new era of work

Stop whinging about robots taking your job and develop the skills you need for a new era of work

by • AI, News, Workplace

A report from researchers at Pearson, Nesta and the University of Oxford called The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030 claims that while the new era of robots, automation and artificial intelligence in the workplace will be disruptive, it will not spell the end of work and people need to develop new skills to meet its challenges. The study claims to take an entirely new approach to forecasting employment and skill demands in the US and UK. In contrast to many recent headlines, the study finds that many jobs today will still be in demand by 2030 and beyond. However, while jobs may remain, the skills needed for success are changing. The researchers combined diverse human expertise with active machine learning to produce a more nuanced view of future employment trends. Using this innovative approach, the study forecasts that only one in five workers are in occupations that face a high likelihood of decline.

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Rising numbers of employees face demotion, disciplinary action or dismissal for disclosing mental health issues

Rising numbers of employees face demotion, disciplinary action or dismissal for disclosing mental health issues

by • News, Wellbeing

Most UK employees have experienced mental health issues because of work yet over a million people face negative consequences after disclosing, according to a new report, Mental Health at Work published by the charity Business in the Community in advance of World Mental Health Day.  YouGov surveyed over 3,000 people in work across the UK for the study and found that three in five (60 percent) employees have experienced mental health issues in the past year because of work. Yet despite 53 percent of people feeling comfortable talking about mental health at work, a significant percentage of employees risk serious repercussions for disclosing a mental health issue. 15 percent of employees face dismissal, disciplinary action or demotion after disclosing a mental health issue at work (almost twice the number identified in similar research undertaken in 2016). Scaled up to the general working population, this could mean as many as 1.2 million people negatively affected for disclosing mental health problems.

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New research explores how the brain needs sleep to reorganise itself

New research explores how the brain needs sleep to reorganise itself

by • News, Wellbeing

A new study from researchers in Berlin and Surrey offers insights into how sleep contributes to brain plasticity – the ability for our brain to change and reorganise itself – and could pave the way for new ways to help people with learning and memory disorders. The team of researchers at the Humboldt and Charité Universities in Berlin, led by Dr Julie Seibt from the University of Surrey, applied cutting edge techniques to record activity in a particular region of brain cells that is responsible for holding new information – the dendrites. The study, published in the open access journal Nature Communications, found that activity in dendrites increases when we sleep, and that this increase is linked to specific brain waves that are seen to be key to how we form memories.

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Convergence of work and life defines September London workplace design shows

Convergence of work and life defines September London workplace design shows

by • Comment, Events, Flexible working, Furniture, Workplace design

It has always been a characteristic of the 100% Design exhibition that it has segmented along the demarcations of workplace, home, interiors, kitchens and bedrooms. This used to make perfect sense as the same distinctions existed in our lives, reflected in the form and function of the products we allocated to those spaces. This is no longer the case to anywhere like the same extent and consequently, the workplace section of the show is full of products that could make the crossover into a domestic, cafe or hotel setting with not an eyebrow raised. That is not to say that the mainstay products of the workplace – desks, task chairs, storage, screens – are no more. They are still specified in vast numbers. It is just that the interesting aspects of workplace design are to be found in its shared and public spaces. It is here where we witness the convergence that characterises modern working life. We might still talk about work life balance (too much) but there is a growing realisation that the distinction grows more meaningless with each passing year.

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VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

by • Case studies, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When you think of a call centre you probably picture a line of people seated in row upon row of desks in a featureless room. But call centre design is changing. As companies recognise their growing importance, the boiler room approach is disappearing and call centres are beginning to morph into a corporate centrepiece. Dutch telecoms company Ziggo is a case in point. The company merged with Vodafone in 2017 and today offers broadband and mobile services to both residential and commercial customers across the Netherlands. It has a large call centre and like many companies invests significant resources in training call centre employees in both technology and interpersonal skills. VodafoneZiggo’s call centre in Rotterdam, designed by Evolution Design is spread over several large open plan areas, which were converted into series of smaller work spaces, using low cost solutions such as simple wooden frames, acoustic panelling or a change of flooring to demarcate different zones. Staff can now choose to work in areas as diverse as a plant covered ‘greenhouse’, open plan spaces with bright yellow accents and colourful floor tiles or in a more urban-style zone that uses reclaimed wooden pallets to divide and decorate. Throughout the centre, desks are height adjustable so employees can choose whether to sit or stand. There is also a central reception area with meeting and training rooms and a colourful break out space with comfortable sofas, a café and a games zone complete with table football and video games.

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Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

by • Flexible working, News

Around nine out of 10 Scots who work flexibly say it improves their quality of life and makes them happier, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Family Friendly Working Scotland.  However, the study also found that fewer than half of Scottish workers (46 percent) said they are offered flexible working by their employer. The figures are published to coincide with National Work Life Week, which sets out to encourage firms to explore flexible working options and help their staff find a better work-life balance. The poll of more than 1,000 Scots claims that among those who already work flexibly, 77 percent say they are more productive and are willing to “go the extra mile” for their employer. Almost half of people who took part (49 percent) say changing their start and/or finish time would help while nearly a third (32 percent) would like occasional time off for family emergencies, deliveries or school events. Just one in five (21 percent) say reducing their hours, or going part time, would be valuable.

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List of the UK’s most family friendly workplaces announced

List of the UK’s most family friendly workplaces announced

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A list of the organisations across the UK who are ‘leading the way in building flexible, family friendly workplaces’ has been published by the charity Working Families. The list is devised by asking employers to answer questions which are scored in four key areas, to build a comprehensive picture of their flexible and family friendly working environment. These are: integration which looks at culture, attitude and how far flexibility has become embedded; policy which looks at the creation, development and deployment of flexibility; consistent practice which considers how well flexibility is supported and measurement and results which looks at the effects of flexibility on the organisation, and their ability to understand those effects.

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Small business owners are overworked and struggle to take a break

Small business owners are overworked and struggle to take a break

by • News, Wellbeing

A poll from software firm FreeAgent, published to tie in with National Work Life Week, claims that many self-employed people in the UK are working excessively long hours without taking any holidays. In the poll of more than 500 freelancers and micro-business owners, nearly a third of respondents (30 percent) said they worked more than 48 hours per week on their business, while 5 percent admitted that they spent more than 64 hours each week working.  A separate poll carried out earlier this year by the same firm claimed that more than a third (38 percent) of respondents said they had not felt able to take a week or more’s worth of holiday in the previous six months.

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Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

by • Comment, Wellbeing

mental wellbeing at workAs a recent Workplace Insight story reported, UK workers are still uncomfortable about having honest conversations at work, with nearly two thirds (61 percent) feel they keep an aspect of their lives hidden in the workplace. Family difficulties (46 percent) was the most likely hidden issue at work, followed by mental health (31 percent). Talking about mental wellbeing worries to employers can be very distressing for individuals and not only make a person’s condition worse, but also, leave their career in a worse place according to our latest thought leadership research report: Mind Culture. Our latest research study shows that more than half (51 percent) of survey respondents who had confided in their line manager about a mental health issue did not receive any extra support. Even worse, 8 percent respondents faced negative consequences, including being sacked or forced out, demoted or subjected to disciplinary action.

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Insight Briefing: the business case for design and build

Insight Briefing: the business case for design and build 0

by • Briefing, Facilities management, Insight Briefings, Premium Content, Workplace design

office-reception-design-and-buildThe best way of getting what you want is invariably to follow the simplest route. Research, experience and common sense tell us that in most cases, simple systems achieve better, faster and less expensive results and that the success of any project will often be in inverse proportion to the number of people involved in the system used to implement it, the number of decisions these people have to make between them, and the number of times they have to communicate with each other. Complexity is the enemy of success. Simplicity is all. And it is this that is the underlying principle behind ‘Design and Build’; often the best, fastest and least expensive method of developing and implementing an office design project, yet also one of the least understood, especially with regard to its ability to deliver exceptional design. This White Paper is aimed both at those who want to find out more about this uniquely effective method of completing a project, but also at those who may have mistaken preconceptions about Design and Build. This is an idea whose time has come and it is all based on the most fundamental of all fundamental principles: by keeping things as uncomplicated as possible, it can often deliver the best value, best design and the best response to a brief in the quickest time and at the lowest cost.

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Charles Marks is the Managing Director of office design and fit-out company Fresh Workspace. www.freshworkspace.com

How smart workplaces increase performance and attractiveness 0

by • Case studies, Facilities management, Premium Content, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

The workplace can and should be used as a strategic tool to support work and cooperation, to shape the experience of the brand and to produce competitive advantage for the organization. Even when not used as a strategic tool the workplace still affects all these parts and there is always a risk that the workplace has instead a negative impact if we are not aware of the relationship and really use workplace as a strategic tool to affect attractiveness, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. The workplace makes a great difference and it is becoming an important differentiator between successful and less successful organizations. I also strongly believe that the workplace management area is a key for us in the FM industry to bring FM to a higher level, to shift from cost focus to more value focus, and this is something we need to do together within the FM industry and we really should take the driver’s seat. But, let’s start from the beginning.

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Millennial stereotypes debunked as research confirms they display a full range of personality types

Millennial stereotypes debunked as research confirms they display a full range of personality types

by • News, Workplace, Workplace design

Millennial stereotypes debunked and they might even have a variety of personality typesWith a plethora of reports around that generalise the behaviour of an entire generation of people, yet another exploration of the Millennial has to be approached with caution. But for this latest study, “The Millennial mindset: Work styles and aspirations of the most misunderstood worker”, Deloitte Greenhouse analyses the Business Chemistry types of millennials and (thank goodness) dismisses some of the most common stereotypes. Among the key findings, 60 percent of millennials identify with two of the four primary Business Chemistry types: Guardians, detail-oriented pragmatists, and Drivers, who focus on outcomes and goals. It also found that 59 percent of millennials identify with a workstyle that is more introverted and less comfortable with ambiguity in the workplace—very different from traditional thinking about millennials. In contrast, the study reveals that baby boomers are represented by millennials’ opposing Business Chemistry types – Pioneer and Integrator, the two most nonlinear, ambiguity tolerant and networked work styles. Twenty-nine percent of baby boomers identify as Pioneer – with an equal number identifying as Integrator – while 22 percent identify as Driver and only 20 percent as Guardian.

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