Search Results for: generation z

November 23, 2016

UK government announces plans to invest in next generation technology ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Technology

The UK Government is at last to invest properly in the next generation of technological infrastructure to ensure the company keeps pace with developments in broadband, the Internet of Things and 5G. It is to invite the country’s major cities to bid for a chance to pilot 5G from next year. The technology is a key enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT) because it is up to a hundred times faster and more reliable than existing 4G connections. In turn, the IoT will boost the application of game changing technology such as driverless cars and smart building systems. Although the Government has recently focussed on headline physical projects such as HS2, it has come under sustained criticism for the country’s often creaking technological infrastructure.

October 14, 2016

Stress levels among Gen Y workers higher than other generations ⁰

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

Younger workers are more affected by workplace stress than their older colleagues, with half of Generation Y UK workers (50 percent), reporting heightened levels of stress in the workplace, compared to 44 percent for generation X and 35 percent within the baby boomer generation. The Global Benefits Attitudes Survey of 1,895 employees in the UK by Willis Towers Watson suggests that the top causes of workplace stress for Millennials were inadequate staffing and low pay, which mirrored the top two causes across all generations in the survey. This is followed by a lack of work/life balance and unclear and/or conflicting job expectations, whereas for baby boomers it is company culture and excessive organisation change. The report also shows Gen Y workers are more worried about their finances than older workers, with 64 percent of younger workers reporting being worried, compared to 55 percent of generation X workers and 38 percent of baby boomers.

September 23, 2016

Employers urged to support ‘sandwich generation’ of older workers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, HR, Legal news, Wellbeing

Over a third (36 percent) of managers are unaware of anything their organisation does to attract, retain and engage older employees despite two-thirds (66 percent) believing the average age of retirement will increase in the next five to ten years. This is according to a new white paper from AXA PPP healthcare – Supporting fuller working lives – How organisations can embrace older employees and those with caring responsibilities. It warns that with the proportion of people aged 50 to 64 and aged 65+ in employment on the up (from 55 percent to 70 percent and from 5 percent to 10 percent, respectively, since 1984) and an estimate by Carers UK that nearly two-thirds of people are likely to end up caring for someone at some point in their lives. Yet the research claims that many businesses are not sufficiently adjusted to the changing nature of the workforce and not tuned in enough to helping workers who are often sandwiched between caring for older relatives and their offspring.

September 12, 2016

Overwork and burnout affects all the generations in the workplace ⁰

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

Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers are all feeling overworked and burned out, which is motivating many to look for another job; and according to the latest Staples Business Advantage 2016 Workplace Index it’s the older workers who are most motivated at work by a sense of purpose, with Baby Boomers (46 percent) and Generation X (32 percent) having more of a sense of purpose at work than their younger Millennial counterparts (24 percent). Fifty percent of Millennials, 47 percent of Gen X, and 35 percent of Boomers however, say burnout is driving them to look for another job; with Boomers wishing their employer would decrease their workload and provide more time to complete tasks, while Gen X and Millennials are looking for a more flexible schedule and work-life blend. Aesthetics in the office are also key, regardless of age, as 51 percent of Millennials, 44 percent of Gen X, and 33 percent of Boomers would like to see more attention paid to office design.

August 26, 2016

Bridging the generation gap is the key to a happier workforce ⁰

by Sara Bean • HR, News, Wellbeing

People who work in multigenerational teams are much more engaged and likely to deliver higher levels of customer service a new report suggests. In a survey of over 32,000 of McDonald’s own UK employees, their people who work with a cross-section of ages registered a 10 percent increase in happiness levels compared to those who work with their peer group. With the GCSE results just in, the fast food retailer wanted to gauge attitudes among potential future employees, so McDonald’s UK commissioned a census of 5,000 people representing each of the five working generations. It revealed that adults of all ages are united in wanting to be part of a multigenerational workforce. In fact, the opportunity to work with people of different ages was the top priority for more than half of all respondents (58 percent) and this factor was important for older people born between 1900 and 1964 (67 percent), as well as 16-year olds (57 percent).

August 1, 2016

Small firms remain sceptical about next generation technology ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

New research from AXA suggests that small firms are sceptical about the prospects of technologies such as 3D printing, robotics and driverless cars affecting their workplace in the near future. While more than 40 per cent of small businesses still don’t have a website, the study of 898 firms claims that most of these plan to move online in the next twelve months. If these plans are fulfilled, only seven per cent of UK businesses will remain offline by this time next year. However, just one in five plan to migrate to the Cloud and only six per cent say they expect to adopt smart technologies. Driverless cars, which are set to hit UK roads as early as 2020, have an equally low resonance, as just eight per cent of business owners expect they will travel in one. Businesses were also highly sceptical when it comes to 3D printing. Just two per cent of UK businesses who might use the process expect to see it used here ‘during their lifetimes’.

March 23, 2016

Younger generation of staff want workplaces to utilise ‘live’ technologies ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

The next generation of employees believe that if employers they want to attract and retain the best talent, they need to change their approach to new ‘live’ technologies which enable people to communicate in real time. According to new global research (albeit from a video comms company) despite 85 percent of employees using video as part of their everyday lives, only 28 percent say their employers are proactively encouraging them to use video at work to communicate. 72 percent feel that live video has the power to transform the way they communicate at work and 69 percent believe that increased use of video conversations would help employee retention at all levels within the organisation. The research, conducted among 4,000 employees across the UK, Germany, France and the US, also found that only one in seven (14 percent) employers is good at providing communications tools at work which mirror those employees use at home.

March 8, 2016

Gen X most interested in just doing a good job than other generations ⁰

by Sara Bean • HR, News, Workplace design

We reported the other week that the hardest working generation in the UK is Generation X (born 1965-1980). It seems this applies all around the world, as a global survey by Korn Ferry Futurestep shows that this generation cares most about making an impact on the business and are the most engaged demographic. When asked which generation is the most engaged in the workforce, more than half of respondents of any generation (52 percent) said Generation X. Baby Boomers and Millennials were tied at just under 25 percent. The heads down, get-the-job-done attitudes and priorities of Gen X employees means they care more about the job than the environment and culture of the organisation than other age groups. Well over a third (39 percent) of respondents said that the “ability to make a difference in their organization” is most important to Gen Xers in the workplace. That’s nearly double the percentage that cite “job stability” or “development opportunities.”

January 28, 2016

The future of next generation TMT workplaces explored in new report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

A new report from property adviser Cushman & Wakefield claims to outline the key future property trends for TMT workplaces based on the views of decision makers from global Fortune 500 organisations, architects, designers, founders of start-ups and high-growth businesses. The Future of the TMT Workplace report produced in association with Unwork, identifies the key forces ‘driving change and necessitating TMT players to fundamentally rethink their workplace strategies’. These include frictionless growth, engineered serendipity, the ‘gig’ economy, the pace of technological change, demand for top technological talent far outstripping supply and where to locate in order to succeed.At this week’s launch event for the report, a panel of expert speakers agreed that workplaces have a critical for TMT firms to respond to challenges such as the need to attract the most talented tech workers.

September 24, 2015

Unhelpful generalisations about generations based on hype, claims report ⁰

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

For the first time, the age span of people in any workplace is now routinely between 16 and 75, as more people work past 60 than ever before. This means the UK is experiencing the widest working demographic in living memory. Yet generalisations about generations may simply be unhelpful, a new study into employee benefits has concluded. The report by Martha How, reward partner at Aon suggests a trend towards generational segmentation is much too simplistic and not necessarily supportive of employees or employer’s needs. She argues that the common view that we now have five generations in the workforce, each with differing needs and preferences are being overplayed. In fact, there is often too much of a tendency drift into caricature – for example, that twenty-somethings aren’t interested in pensions, while fifty-somethings worry mainly about pension and health.

June 23, 2015

Design must support knowledge circulation in the next generation workplace

by Lee Parsons • Comment, Knowledge, Workplace design

Businesses thrive because of their workforces, and the ideas, work and creations they bring to an organisation. But despite the fact that sharing knowledge and thoughts is vitally important, most designers focus on providing individual space for workers, while little thought is given to creating spaces that support knowledge circulation. Separate offices for one or two people, cubicles and individual desks are just some of the factors included in what is perceived to be an average building, but very often is the reason why there is a lack of knowledge sharing and co-creation. New methodologies are emerging on how to get the most out of employees, by providing an environment that encourages them to work together. These new strategies, such as swarm intelligence, place focus on the entire workforce rather than the individual, encouraging them to work together and share their knowledge and ideas.

June 15, 2015

Generation Y isn’t as tech savvy as it and everybody else likes to think

by Mark Eltringham • HR, Technology

The shaky idea that the members of Generation Y are somehow different to the rest of the human race tends to rest on their characterisation as ‘digital natives’. However, according to a new report from US campaign organisation Change the Equation, just because Millennials have grown up with digital technology and are very attached to it doesn’t mean they are particularly tech savvy, especially when it comes to using technology to solve challenges in the workplace. The report, based on na analysis of the OECD’s Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies, found that although Millennials spend an average of 35 hours a week using digital devices, more than half of them (58 percent) are still unable to use their tech to help increase their productivity. They are still better in this regard than previous generations where 70 percent of people have low skills, but not significantly better.