June 26, 2023

Four in ten workers do not feel secure in their jobs

Almost four in 10 workers (38 percent) do not feel secure in their jobs, as lay-offs across industries continue to bite, claimsthe ADP Research Institute’s People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View. Feelings of job insecurity are highest among the young. According to the survey of over 32,000 workers in 17 countries, half (50 percent) of Gen Z (those in the 18–24-year-old age bracket) say they don’t feel secure in their job. This is double the proportion of over 55s who say the same (24 percent). More →

June 15, 2023

Younger workers are the least likely to favour hybrid working

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

New research has revealed the nuances in attitudes towards hybrid working and work-life balance in the UK and US. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the appeal of hybrid work is linked to the life and career stage of employees. The poll from United Culture suggests that work-life balance is the factor most valued by employees at work (58 percent), but is much more appealing to women than men (66 percent vs. 52 percent). Flexibility came in second place, chosen by 47 percent. More →

June 9, 2023

Getting back to the idea of a better future

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology

A recent edition of Jon Connell’s daily newsletter The Knowledge included this nugget: “Last month, I heard one of the world’s most successful fund managers admit that the charts and models he previously used “gave almost no clue” as to what to do with money now. (His one firm prediction, that the US dollar would weaken, has so far proved dead wrong.) Same with climate, with migration, with a business world about to be utterly transformed by AI. That, as much anything, will be one of the biggest questions of the coming years and decades: What do we do if we can’t predict the future?” More →

February 22, 2023

Most US employees don’t believe remote working colleagues are really working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Only 24 percent of people trust their remote working colleagues to get work done from home, according to a new poll from Envoy. However, the latest edition of its Return to the Workplace survey also suggests that 94 percent of workers believe their managers trust them to do their work from anywhere, home or the office. And the older the worker, the greater the confidence they have in expressing such a belief. Only 57 percent of ‘Gen Z’ feel strongly that they have their manager’s trust compared with 71 percent of ‘Millennials’ and 77 percent of ‘Boomers’. (Wot? No Gen X? – Ed) More →

February 16, 2023

People will leave jobs that don’t align with their values, author claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Pay and benefits are no longer the only critical factors in deciding where to work, with a majority citing their employers’ values (80 percent) and commitment to the environment (76 percent) and social equality (75 percent) as key criteria, claims a survey commissioned by advocate and author Paul Polman. More →

November 15, 2022

Two thirds of young professionals now have a ‘side hustle’ to make ends meet

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Two thirds of professionals under the age of 24 claim to have a ‘side hustle’ – with 74 percent stating it is ‘too risky’ to focus on just having one job as they may have done pre-pandemic. In a poll – of 6,000 white-collar professionals – undertaken by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters; 54 percent of young professionals expressed a desire for a ‘portfolio career’ – the concept of monetising your skills in several ways and having multiple income sources, rather than a single job at one company. More →

November 14, 2022

Major new report offers snapshot of hybrid and remote work debate in the US

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics have just released their sixth annual State of Remote Work report. Based on a survey of over 2,300 full-time workers across the United States, the report reveals the latest trends and perspectives on a range of issues from remote work and hybrid work, trust, intent to move, training offered, workplace redesign, intent and reasons for quitting, technology needs, employee surveillance, the 4-day workweek, and more.

October 17, 2022

Working habits are changing in response to cost of living increases

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The so-called cost of living crisis is having a fundamental impact on people’s working habits, according to Beamery’s latest Talent Index – Sixth Edition. Almost a third (29 percent) of workers polled for the report are now avoiding the office because of the increasing cost of travel whilst another third cited (31 percent) they were considering leaving their jobs completely due to lack of salary increases. More →

October 5, 2022

Younger workers tend to rely on the office more

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new poll claims that people belonging to “Gen Z” rely heavily on the professional and social structure of the office, with 78 percent finding it easier to bond with colleagues in the workplace and 81 percent feeling disconnected from their peers when working from home. The survey of 3,000 people, from Unispace, claims that the majority (79 percent) of younger workers felt more active when working in the office, while among older workers this figure is 66 percent. More →

September 28, 2022

Work is more visible to managers when people are in the physical workplace

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Although workers think that their work location doesn’t matter, a new poll suggests that their bosses don’t agree. In the poll of US employees from workplace platform Envoy, 96 percent of respondents described as leaders say they take more notice of people’s work contributions when they are in the office. Just 42 percent of respondents described as employees agree. Gen Z employees, more than any other generation, value workplace visibility, with 73 percent believing their contributions are noticed more in-office than at home. Only 64 percent of Millennials, 53 percent of Gen X, and 45 percent of Boomers feel the same. Among executives, women are more likely than men to recognise work and contributions accomplished from home. More →

September 21, 2022

Poor acoustics hamper productivity and deter people from spending more time in the office

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Noisy offices are lowering productivity, with 60 percent of office workers unable to concentrate and delivering poor quality work due to loud workspaces, is deterring people from returning to offices more often, and can even lead to violence. Those are the key findings of a new poll of 2,000 workers from Oscar Acoustics. The survey [registration] suggests that just 8 percent of people feel they work in a quiet office, with only a quarter of office workers working in a space that has well designed acoustics for their job. More →

August 25, 2022

How Microsoft’s social listening research highlighted changing attitudes to work

by Camila Angio • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing

The current state of the talent market is putting significant pressure on business. Employers are experiencing an acute skills gap, with average vacancies across industries per 100 jobs ranging between 5 and 8, according to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics in June 2022 – the highest average since records began. As more and more roles require digital skills, businesses are looking to younger generations whose upbringing may have been organically framed by digital tools, platforms and devices. More →