Search Results for: salary

December 11, 2015

Global salaries will rise to highest levels for three years in 2016 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Workers around the world will see real wage increases of 2.5 percent, the highest in three years in 2016, as pay increases combined with historically low inflation leave employees better off. The forecast issued by Korn Ferry Hay Group found that workers across Europe are set to see an average salary increase of 2.8 percent in 2016 and, with inflation at 0.5 percent, will see real wages rise by 2.3 percent. While salary rises will stay at 2.5 percent in the UK (the same as the last two years), low inflation means that real wages are to increase by 2.3 percent in 2016 – above the Western European average. In Asia, salaries are forecast to increase by 6.4 percent – with real wages expected to rise by 4.2 percent – the highest globally. In the United States, with low inflation (0.3 percent), employees will experience real income growth of 2.7 percent.

December 9, 2015

Glassdoor announces lists of the best places to work for 2016 ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Case studies, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Job site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its annual Employees’ Choice Awards, honouring the best places to work across Europe and North America. The Awards are based on the input of employees who provide anonymous feedback by completing a company review about their job, work environment and employer. This year, Glassdoor has expanded the awards programme to include six categories, highlighting the Best Places to Work across the UK, France, Germany, US and Canada. This is the second time Glassdoor has identified the best places to work in the UK and the first time in both France and Germany. Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year based on a five point scale. According to Glassdoor, the top five UK Best Places to Work in 2016 are, in order: Expedia (average 4.4 rating), Hays Plc (4.4 rating), AKQA (4.2 rating), GE (4.2 rating), Schuh (4.1 rating).

December 8, 2015

Six human resources costs you might avoid by choosing the right office ⁰

by Darren Bilsborough • Comment, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

According to a report from Colliers International, the majority of commercial office space in Australia and New Zealand is occupied by government departments and firms working in the business services, finance and insurance sectors. Other than government and the Not for Profit (NFP) sector, a prime motivation for every CEO, business owner and manager is the search for increased profitability. In most instances, a business has three pathways to increasing profitability. The first is through increasing turnover or sales (assuming the cost base remains equitable), the second is through reducing costs, and the third is by improving productivity. I have previously written quite a lot about the relationship between office space and productivity increases, but this article will explore one of the most insidious elements associated with any businesses cost base (including government) and that is staff turnover.

December 3, 2015

Dog-friendly offices more appealing to Millennials than play rooms ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Only a third of US workers believe that promotion offers the potential to advance their career with more than a third of all workers and 44 percent of Millennials preferring to jump ship if the right opportunity arises. Addison Group’s second annual generational workplace survey found that regardless of generation, healthcare benefits was most important benefit (70 percent), followed by a high salary (59 percent). However, Millennials would choose one company over another that paid a higher salary if free meals, beverages and snacks (40 percent) and tuition reimbursement (36 percent) were provided. Millennials also rank a dog-friendly office (14 percent) higher than a napping room, concierge services and a play room with ping pong, billiards and video games. They also value the social aspect of the workplace highly, with nearly twice as many (15 percent) marking work-sponsored happy hours as important compared to Baby Boomers (8 percent).

November 17, 2015

Office politics, heavy workloads and poor managers create anxious workers ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A third (33 percent) of UK workers cite office politics as a major contributing factor to feelings of unhappiness in the workplace. According to new research from recruiter Adecco over half (57 percent) of workers name a heavy workload as the cause of stress and anxiety, whilst 33 percent cite a lack of managerial support. The research revealed that negative feelings are having a significant impact on people’s working lives with nearly a third (29 percent) of UK workers spending every Sunday dreading the coming working week. A third (33 percent) of workers described their workplace as unhappy and a worrying 28 percent of workers admit that they fear going into work so much that they have called in sick. An additional third (36 percent) would now consider leaving their employer due to such severe anxiety and more worryingly, one in ten (9%) have already taken that step due to such overwhelming feelings of unhappiness.

November 1, 2015

Firms use workplace improvements to invest in their human capital ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace, Workplace design

A survey by CoreNet Global and Cushman & Wakefield claims that 88 percent of EMEA corporate real estate professionals are actively investing in workplace improvements, and 95 percent are addressing workplace technology as part of those upgrades. The results emphasise the importance of human capital, suggesting that factors such as office environment, flexible working and company culture continue to be seen as critical to attracting and retaining talent. The global Talent Agenda Survey, completed by 250 respondents, addresses how occupiers are managing their talent pool against an ever-changing and unpredictable business environment. The survey focused on categories such as the cost of human capital and its value; the key challenges relating to talent access, assembly and retention and the critical role that real estate plays in workplace innovation, efficiency and talent retention.

October 21, 2015

Far fewer working women than men receive an annual bonus ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace

Nearly three quarters of the UK’s working women don’t receive any form of annual bonus. Glassdoor’s latest UK Employment Confidence Survey found that only 29 percent of women at work receive a bonus, compared to 44 percent of men, which presumably is one reason why 44 percent of men remain positive about the outlook for their employer as opposed to just one in three women. The survey, which is carried out twice a year, also found that over the last six months, nearly half of all businesses in the UK that had made negative changes in the workplace (49 percent) had made employees redundant/and or communicated plans to implement further redundancies. The result is that nearly a third of employees (32 percent) are concerned that they will be made redundant over the next six months, up from 21 percent from the beginning of last year.

October 16, 2015

Sydney leads the way in activity-based working finds global cities report ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

If employers want to attract the best, they need to create spaces where their staff want to work, because providing an inspiring and enjoyable office is now the most critical, cost-effective way to successfully attract the world’s most talented employees. Knight Frank’s Global Cities: The 2016 Report highlights a shift in thinking by the newest generation of workers who expect the same kind of environment which historically, was the preserve of technology and media firms. This new office combines collaborative spaces with individual work areas, as well as providing amenities that encourage people to think of work as an extension of home. Sydney is leading the way with just under a third (28 percent) of all offices already offering activity-based working (ABW) for employees, where the workspace is specifically designed to suit the whole range of activities which will be accommodated.

September 30, 2015

Majority of people believe employers should publish gender pay gap ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Over half of respondents to a new report into the gender pay gap are doubtful that men and women working at the same level or doing similar work earn the same – even though unequal pay is unlawful. Most of those who took part in the survey believe that employers should publish not only their overall gender pay gap but also pay data broken down by grade and job type. The new report by Business in the Community found that closing the gap matters to employees and its extent may impact how people feel about their employer, with respondents saying they may use publicly available data to inform decision making about their career. However, they would not act impulsively – instead employees want to discuss the pay gap openly with their employer, understand its causes and find out what action their employer is taking.

September 16, 2015

UK pay rates predicted to overtake rest of Western Europe ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Latest figures from the ONS show that after several years of pay rises at or below the level of inflation, the UK has seen average pay rates grow at the fastest rate since 2009. Unemployment rates are unchanged at 5.5 percent compared with February to April 2015 but lower than for a year earlier (6.2 percent). Comparing May to July 2015 to a year earlier, both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) for employees in Great Britain increased by 2.9 percent. According to the latest Salary Budget Planning Study from Towers Watson’s, this upward trend will continue, with British workers set to enjoy a boom in real-terms pay increases in 2015. The study, primarily covering private sector companies, shows that average UK pay rises of 3 percent, coupled with record low annual inflation of 0.2 percent, will outstrip those enjoyed by workers in all other major European economies.

September 11, 2015

London’s allure for Millennials is less than it was, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The allure of London for Generation Y appears to be fading, according to a new report from Lloyds Commercial Banking. According to the study of 200 Millennials and 400 SMEs, the most talked about Generation appears increasingly happy to work for a small firm, wherever they are located. The survey claims that relocating to London is not on the agenda for half (51 percent) of Millennials, who would be happy to move anywhere for the right job. Over a third (35 percent) don’t want to move away from home, while less than a tenth (eight percent) insist they will only work in the capital – which the report claims is good news for SMEs located outside of London (assuming they want to employ Millennials in the first place, obviously). According to the report, location ranked seventh on the list of factors that would attract Millennials to a business.

September 9, 2015

Five unconventional ways to attract and retain Millennial talent ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Almost one third of millennial staff (29 percent) claim that a higher salary is the biggest contributor to their loyalty, despite only 20 percent of the broader American workforce reporting the same; the Staples Advantage Workplace Index, a study of office workers in the US and Canada claims. US office workers consider title and work responsibilities (38 percent) and work-life balance (30 percent) as leading contributors to their loyalty, but Millennials favour less traditional benefits including more flexibility; generous office amenities, such as gyms; a company which promotes and supports sustainable practices; a more sociable working environment with plenty of breaks; and finally, lots of positive feedback from their direct line manager. Unsurprisingly, unlike other generations of workers, Millennials say that the use of social media enhances rather than detracts from their productivity.