Search Results for: retention

Women working in construction sector three times more likely to miss out on promotion

Women working in construction sector three times more likely to miss out on promotion

by • Architecture, Facilities management, Legal news, News, Property, Workplace

Women working in construction sector three times more likely to miss out on promotion

The built environment still has some way to go to achieve gender parity a new report suggests, as women in construction are paid up to 45 percent less than men and are three times more likely to miss out on promotion than men due to perceived gender discrimination. According to the survey by Randstad of more than 5,500 construction workers and 540 employers across all job functions and levels – 75 percent of those passed over for a more senior role were women compared to 25 percent men. The findings  suggests women in the industry typically are not being given the same opportunities to progress as their male counterparts even though almost every respondent (93 percent) said having a female manager either wouldn’t affect their way of working or would in fact have a positive impact. More →

About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal

About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal

by • Comment, Coworking, Flexible working, Workplace design

Ask someone to list innovative companies which have become notable disruptors in their market and they invariably respond with two names – Uber and Airbnb. That is because both brands are positioned squarely and successfully at the retail consumer: for people who use a taxi or take an occasional short break in a foreign city, they have become the automatic default options. But there is another equally successful business targeting the corporate space, aimed particularly at small businesses and millennial tech start-ups: WeWork. Just like Uber and Airbnb, it is less than a decade old. In that time, WeWork’s ambition of being the world’s leading coworking company has been realised. Championing itself as a disruption revolutionary, it has succeeded more prosaically by ‘creating environments that increase productivity, innovation, and collaboration,’ according to its website. WeWork’s model involves renting office space cheaply via long-term lease contracts. Small units are then re-rented at higher rates to start up companies which are happy to pay a premium because they need very little space.

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Report outlines the impact of universities on regional economies and entrepreneurship

Report outlines the impact of universities on regional economies and entrepreneurship

by • News, Public Sector

Although universities contribute to one in every hundred new business births in the UK, but 35 percent of universities did not contribute to the production of a single graduate start-up last year, according to a new report from Localis. It claims that while there are pockets of excellence in the way universities support enterprise and entrepreneurship across the country, too many of them are doing too little. Published in partnership with University College London (UCL) and the University of Huddersfield (UoH), the report explores what more can be done to encourage university entrepreneurial activity and its role in local economies.

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If you are flourishing under a psychopath boss, it may be because you are a psychopath too

If you are flourishing under a psychopath boss, it may be because you are a psychopath too

by • News, Wellbeing

It’s still perfectly possible to flourish under a psychopath boss, provided you are one too, according to new research that found the people best placed to cope with a psychopathic manager are those who are psychopaths too; largely because they are not as upset at the bad treatment.  In the workplace, employees respond differently to abusive management styles, in part due to their varying levels of psychopathy, according to a new study from the University of Notre Dame. Certain types of psychopaths actually benefit and flourish under abusive bosses, according to Are ‘Bad’ Employees Happier Under Bad Bosses? Differing Effects of Abusive Supervision on Low and High Primary Psychopathy Employees. The study is published in the Journal of Business Ethics by Charlice Hurst, assistant professor of management in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

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Business in the community aims to improve the quality of work for lowest-paid staff

Business in the community aims to improve the quality of work for lowest-paid staff

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Business in the community campaign to address workers' financial concerns

Financial concerns are increasingly affecting the performance of workers across the UK, with one in eight UK workers (3.7 million) now living in poverty. According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, a quarter of the UK workforce are, to some extent, experiencing financial insecurity. One in five employees (21 percent) report that they are just about managing financially, while a further 5 percent say they are finding things difficult. Aside from the undue stress this causes families, this can also have significant repercussions for employers, in terms of recruitment, retention and productivity. This has prompted Business in the Community, (BITC) with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to make the case for all employers to improve the quality of work for their lowest-paid staff. Its new campaign, Good Work for All draws on best practice from forward-thinking organisations including Starbucks, Royal Mail and Sodexo, and over a third of BITC members have reported taking company-wide action on low-paid work with successful outcomes.

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Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Bad managers who fail to support employees are driving talented staff away

A new survey suggests that bullying, aggressive behaviours and micro-management is endemic within the British workplace. The research by YouGov on behalf of MHR found that 80 percent of employees having experienced what they consider poor management, or a poor manager, at least once during their career; 73 percent of employees who have experienced poor management or a poor manager have considered leaving a job and, among these, a staggering 55 percent actually left their job because of bad management. When asked whether managers are equipped to deal with the human or emotional side of management, 58 percent of respondents said that they are not. Bad managers were described as often inexperienced, out of their depth, lacking the necessary people skills, expressing favouritism, failing to offer recognition and feedback and failing to communicate effectively. But the most shocking comments were around the subject of mental health, with several respondents citing a complete disregard or lack of awareness of issues surrounding mental health in the workplace. As well as failing to support employees suffering from anxiety or depression, several respondents claimed that their manager was directly responsible for causing the decline in their mental health.

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Employee engagement tops poll as biggest human resources challenge for 2018

Employee engagement tops poll as biggest human resources challenge for 2018

by • News, Workplace

Human resources forecastA study commissioned by Cascade HR claims to reveal the topics most likely to keep Human Resources professionals awake at night in 2018. Employee engagement topped the list of upcoming challenges for 44 percent of the 447 participants, followed by staff retention (36 percent). Absence management and recruitment came in as the joint third biggest worry for 33 percent of respondents, with succession planning in fifth place (26 percent). And it appears the same themes have posed the biggest headache for HR in 2017. When asked to reflect on their toughest encounters from the past 12 months, professionals ranked recruitment as the clear front-runner (52 percent), followed by absence management, (43 percent), employee engagement (39 percent), and retention (37 percent), with learning and development the only difference(20 percent).

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Employers want to grow workforce next year, but concerned about Brexit impact

Employers want to grow workforce next year, but concerned about Brexit impact

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Employers want to grow workforce next year but concerned about Brexit impactJust over half (51 percent) of firms across the UK will grow their workforce in the year ahead, with confidence highest amongst small and mid-sized firms (58 percent) according to the latest CBI/Pertemps Network Group Employment Trends Survey. But the survey warns that delivering further jobs growth depends on businesses being confident they can remain competitive if they choose to base staff in the UK. Nearly two thirds (63 percent) currently believe that changes in the UK labour market will contribute to Britain becoming a less attractive place to invest and do business over the next five years – up from 50 percent last year and 25 percent in 2015. Skills gaps were the single most prominent worry facing firms, with nearly four in five (79 percent) respondents highlighting this as a worry – up from 64 percent in 2016. Access to overseas workers is a big contributor to this, with nearly half of respondents (49 percent) identifying uncertain access to labour supply – up from 35 percent in 2016 as a concern.

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One in three UK workers unhappy at work and a quarter plan career change

One in three UK workers unhappy at work and a quarter plan career change

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

One in three UK workers are unhappy in their jobs and a quarter plan to move onThe majority (72 percent) of employees in the UK go to work just to afford to live rather than for job satisfaction and one in four are considering a career change in 2018, claims a new survey. According to  research conducted by Paymentsense, over half of those questioned say money is their biggest motivation, 67 percent say their degree went to waste and they work in an unrelated role, and 25 percent are considering a whole career change in 2018. According to the 2,000 UK participants in the survey, a career peak occurs at 42 years old, which is when you start to lose passion for your work. At this age, opportunities to progress seem to be rare which is why when asking those in their 40’s ‘why do you go to work every day’?  76 percent say to be able to afford to live. 51 percent say they need to just pay the mortgage and 57 percent have responsibilities to support the family.

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Employer bias is undermining business innovation and potential says OU

Employer bias is undermining business innovation and potential says OU

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Employer bias is undermining business innovation and potential says OU

Over a quarter of senior managers hire people just like them, and this bias is still rife in some organisations, according to new market research commissioned by The Open University. The study amongst business leaders and employees finds that three in 10 (29 percent) senior managers admit they hire people just like them, and warns employers may be overlooking candidates from different social and educational backgrounds, impacting access to talent, and hindering business innovation and performance as a result. Employers place significant importance on educational attainment (86 percent), cultural fit (77 percent), tastes and leisure pursuits (65 percent), and even social background (61 percent). Considering the typical social make up of managers, this raises concerns about diversity, a key driver of innovation, and hints at a glass ceiling for those from less privileged backgrounds, with the re-enforcement of the historical class system. The issue is prevalent in both recruitment and employment, with bias creating a ‘degree premium’, particularly at entry level.

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Third of applicants turn down jobs due to lack of flexible work options

Third of applicants turn down jobs due to lack of flexible work options

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

With employment at record levels and the labour market the fiercest it’s been for years, candidates have more choice about where they work than ever before. This is putting substantial pressures on companies to impress talented individuals through the entire recruitment and onboarding process if they want to keep them for the long term. But new research suggests that nearly half (45 percent) of job candidates have turned down a position because they weren’t impressed by the company during the interview process. According to the research by NGA Human Resources other common reasons for declining a position include having a better offer from another company (56 percent), lower than expected salary offer (49 percent) and finding out the role was not as originally described (44 percent). Modern job seekers are now looking for more than just a decent salary. In fact, 33 percent of candidates have declined a position because they didn’t have flexible work options, 29 percent due to the lack of a good benefits package and 27 percent because they didn’t feel they would fit in with their new colleagues.

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Shifts in occupier behaviour and attitudes to real estate pave the way for a workplace revolution

Shifts in occupier behaviour and attitudes to real estate pave the way for a workplace revolution

by • News, Property, Technology

flexible real estate at Station F ParisThe rise of the flexible office is the result of dramatic changes in the way corporate occupiers approach their real estate decisions, and will open up opportunities for landlords able to adapt and respond to these shifts. These are some of the claims from The Flexible Revolution (registration required), a pan-European report from CBRE exploring the flexible office market. Over the past decade the global flexible office market has been growing at an average of 13 percent per annum. Growth rates in EMEA (excluding UK) and APAC have averaged around 20 percent per annum, while the more mature and larger markets of the UK and the USA have seen average growth of 10 percent per annum over the same period. Key European cities like Berlin, Paris and London have all seen strong year-on-year growth of 12 – 21 percent between 2016 and 2017, which is comparable with markets like New York and San Francisco, where the flexible office concept has existed for longer.

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