Search Results for: work-life balance

March 9, 2016

The nine workplace trends every organisation must learn to address ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

The latest company to set out its vision of workplace trends is food services provider Sodexo. The company’s 2016 Workplace Trends Report suggests there are nine key areas that managers should address, each linked by the common theme of striking the right balance between the organisation’s commercial objectives and the needs of its stakeholders. The report is a detailed meta-analysis based on primary research, client feedback and research from academics, trade associations and FM providers. The report covers the most talked about themes in workplace design and management including wellness, work-life balance, diversity, green building and workforce engagement. The authors acknowledge the challenge firms face in striking the balance between these complex and conflicting demands and call for an ‘holistic’ approach to resolve them (which may suggest they have as much of an idea about the right answers as anybody else).

February 2, 2016

Stress is now a fact of life for the vast majority of employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Excessive stress threatens the wellbeing of employees across the UK and the rest of Europe, with 88 percent of British workers regularly experiencing stress at work, according to research by payroll software firm ADP. Nearly half (43 percent) of UK employees go further to say that stress is a constant factor in their roles and that they feel stressed ‘often’ or ‘very often’. In fact, just 12 percent of employees feel that they never experience workplace stress while 79 percent of UK workers feel that their employer is trying to help them manage stress levels. The report, The Workforce View in Europe 2015/16, surveyed 11,257 working adults across Europe, including 1,500 employees in the UK. It found that many employees now believe flexible working will help them deal with stress and achieve a better work life balance while over three-quarters (79 percent) of UK respondents feel their employer is trying to help them manage stress.

January 7, 2016

Constant email checks may increase workplace stress as much as high volumes ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research being presented today at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham suggests that it’s not just the volume of emails that causes stress; but well-meaning habits and a need to feel in control. The research by Dr Richard MacKinnon from the Future Work Centre, suggests many people have developed some bad habits when it comes to managing email. Nearly half of those surveyed have emails automatically sent to their inbox (push notifications) and 62 percent left their email on all day. Those who checked email early in the morning and late at night may think they are getting ahead, but they could be making things worse, as the study showed that these habits were linked to higher levels of stress and pressure. The research also shows the role personality plays in our experience of email and how email has the potential to both positively and negatively impact our work-life balance.

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 9, 2015

Generation Z imagines its future workplace design, pods and all ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Research by Leesman Index (among others) shows how the design of learning environments influences a student’s choice of university. This thinking now also applies to offices, with the commercial office design sector creating the kind of facilities available on the modern university campus. A new workshop organised by furniture brand HÅG has discovered how Generation Z imagines its future workplace. For example, in the same way that a college library offers collaborative and silent spaces; the young people in the workshop didn’t share the current trend of shared workspaces but wanted a mix of collaborative areas combined with isolated working pods that they could customise for their own requirements and mood. However, Gen Z goes further than ever, in blurring the boundaries between home and work, with a great deal more emphasis on wellbeing and areas to relax compared to previous generations.

December 4, 2015

Zero-hours contract employees happy as permanent, full-time staff ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

People working on zero-hours contracts have less pressure and a better work-life balance than full time employees, a survey published by the CIPD claims. Zero-hours employees experience similar levels of job satisfaction and personal wellbeing to employees on permanent, full-time contracts and also report comparable satisfaction levels in their relationships with managers and colleagues. However, the report also shows that, while the majority of zero-hours employees choose to work part-time, they are more likely than part-time employees to say they would like to work additional hours. The research also updates the CIPD estimate of the number of employees on zero-hours contracts, which has increased from 1 million in 2013 to 1.3 million in 2015. The proportion of zero-hours contract employees who are either very satisfied or satisfied with their jobs is 65 percent, compared to 63 percent for all employees.

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 13, 2015

Remote workers endure poor communications and working practices ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Poor communication and working practices among remote teams is widespread, a new report by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) claims. Organisations are failing to capitalise on the potential for remote working to improve performance and efficiency with 88 percent of remote workers struggling with inconsistent working practices and miscommunication, while 83 percent feel overwhelmed by emails. Although 84 percent of remote workers report improvements to their work-life balance, a lack of team identity can cause isolation and loneliness. The study with over 1,000 remote workers highlighted a range of potential benefits for organisations with a remote or geographically-dispersed workforce, including increased business reach, improved productivity, cost and time savings, and access to a more diverse set of skills and experience.

October 15, 2015

New research uncovers hours lost due to bad tech, meetings and distractions ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

According to the Productivity at the Office report published this week by comms firm Jabra, UK businesses are continuing to find the creation of a productive workplace challenging. According to the study, although businesses are investing proactively in time and tools for skilled professional office-based staff to effectively collaborate and concentrate with each other, employees continue to face up to 17 different distractions throughout each working day, attend unproductive meetings and struggle to use technology that was originally intended to improve productivity. Amongst the key findings of the report are that 36 percent of respondents think office meetings diminish productivity, 46 percent think noise levels are the most distracting issue in the office and 28 percent are annoyed by too many emails, though 78 percent would rather send an email than make a call to resolve an issue.

October 13, 2015

Working parents suffer in silence, as managers kept in the dark ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new US study of working parents and their managers has found that the combination of work and family responsibilities is causing parents anxiety and depression and keeping them from doing their best at work. The study, the second annual Modern Family Index commissioned by Bright Horizons Family Solutions explored the challenges working parents have in managing their work and family responsibilities and the impact these challenges have on employers. It found that working mothers and fathers feel it’s extremely important to work for a company that supports the needs of working parents (62 percent) and has a culture that addresses their family responsibilities (53 percent). However, there is a growing disconnect between managers and employees about how working parents are feeling. This may be attributed to the fact that even in 2015, most are reluctant to share their concerns with their employers.

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.

September 4, 2015

Flexible working plea to support parents of younger school age children ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Although workers with school age children may find things easier now that the summer holidays are drawing to a close, according to the TUC, there are new challenges ahead for the work-life balance of the estimated 400,000 working mothers whose children start primary school across England and Wales this September. Most primary schools in the UK operate a staggered start for children entering reception classes, with youngsters required to attend just for morning or afternoon sessions for the first few weeks and the union is calling on employers to be supportive of working parents and allow them to work flexibly to help manage their childcare over this period. Over half of the working mothers who took part in a joint poll by the Guardian and Netmums earlier this year had decided to take time out from work or go part time when their children started school.