Search Results for: workplace

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

Seven workplace stories that fired up our synapses this week

Three myths about the future of work and why they’re not true

Chronic fatigue trial results ‘not robust’, new study says

Coworking is the new normal and the stats that prove it

Is mindfulness just hype?

What makes employees happy?

The workplace is killing people and nobody cares

The office sector is failing to keep up with business growth

Image: The Cluster, Melbourne

Excessive workloads and lack of communication is increasing workplace stress

Excessive workloads and lack of communication is increasing workplace stress

UK office workers are under a tremendous amount of stress, and much of it is directly related to the way their work is being managed. That is the conclusion of a report by Workfront, which finds that office workers are becoming frustrated and burned out by poor work tools, processes, and communication. Four out of five office workers confessed that they feel burnt out and 73 percent expect their stress levels at work to increase in the near future. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) admit to feeling unrecognised and un-useful at work. With lack of communication and not knowing what others are working on (37 percent) cited as the number-one pain point across the board for stressed UK workers, it’s clear that businesses need to break down current silos, allowing people to engage more freely with senior staff members and see how their efforts impact the wider team. The study found that poor communication and visibility into work is UK workers’ number-one pain point in terms of work stress. It also reveals that 42 percent of office workers put in more than 6 hours of overtime per week and that 7 out of 10 office workers expect their stress levels at work to increase into the future.

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Occupiers seeking tech, flexibility and wellness in a newly consumerised workplace

Occupiers seeking tech, flexibility and wellness in a newly consumerised workplace

Nearly two-thirds of  corporate occupiers (62 percent) plan to increase their investment in real estate technology over the next three years, most of them in the next year, according to the 2018 EMEA Occupier Survey from CBRE. Companies are intending to invest more heavily in new real estate technologies over the short to medium term in order to enhance the user experience and raise workforce productivity. This represents a clear move away from aiming real estate technology at purely operational goals such as energy management.

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Working fathers are being let down by workplace policies, claims Government report

Working fathers are being let down by workplace policies, claims Government report

The Government’s Women and Equalities Committee has published its report on fathers in the workplace. Its main conclusion is that current policies supporting fathers in the workplace do not deliver what they promise, despite good intentions and this is particularly the case for less well-off fathers. It claims that the Government must reform workplace policies to ensure they meet the needs of the 21st century family and to better support working dads in caring for their children, say MPs. The report concludes that the right to request flexible working has not created the necessary cultural change and the Government itself admitted to the inquiry that its flagship shared parental leave scheme will not meet its objective for most fathers.

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Men and women experience workplace communications anxiety very differently

Men and women experience workplace communications anxiety very differently

There is a disparity between the causes of communications anxiety between men and women, claims new research conducted by RADA in business. Male employees are 45 percent more likely than women to feel anxious when socialising with their work colleagues, while women are most scared of giving a presentation. Team building events were also found to be more challenging for men, with almost a fifth (19 percent) reporting feelings of communications anxiety. Work social events followed, with 17 percent reporting the same feelings. In contrast, the report found that female employees experience greater levels of anxiety when giving presentations in front of a group, to colleagues, or to management. The evidence suggests that while men require more help with skills around spontaneous communication, for women it is about standing their ground and getting their voice heard when stepping into the spotlight – often in situations that may have a significant impact on their career path. Notably, the research shows that women are also 39 percent more likely to experience workplace anxiety than men when in a job interview, and 37 percent more likely when negotiating a pay rise.

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Many businesses doing little or nothing to alleviate workplace stress

Many businesses doing little or nothing to alleviate workplace stress

New research by Perkbox claims that almost half (45 percent) of UK businesses do nothing to help alleviate workers’ stress, putting themselves in danger of having their workforces reach total burnout. This is despite work being the cited as the most common cause of stress (for 59 percent) and in light of 1 in 4 (25 percent) struggling to be as productive at work when stressed. What’s more 1 in 10 will call in sick and 7 percent will look for a new job. Businesses within the hospitality industry are the least likely to provide any kind of guidance or aid to help employees deal with workplace stress (64 percent), followed by the leisure sector (63 percent) and transport industry (55 percent).

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Rigid cultures, lack of vision and poor tech are main barriers to workplace agility

Rigid cultures, lack of vision and poor tech are main barriers to workplace agility

A new study commissioned by Ricoh Europe claims to reveal the factors that European business leaders believe are keeping them from achieving workplace agility. The list is topped by regulation (39 percent), lack of investment in new technologies (37 percent) and inescapably rigid internal hierarchies (35 percent) according to the 2,140 business leaders surveyed. These barriers limit what the report calls ‘the fluid, agile nature of a digitally empowered workplace that enables companies to quickly capitalise on changes in the market’.

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New Liverpool HQ of the Royal College of Physicians set to be one of the UK’s healthiest workplaces

New Liverpool HQ of the Royal College of Physicians set to be one of the UK’s healthiest workplaces

Plans for the new northern headquarters of the Royal College of Physicians have been unveiled this morning at MIPIM. The 160,000 sq ft building, currently in development at the Knowledge Quarter, Liverpool will be one of the healthiest workplaces in the UK for mental and physical wellbeing and among the first to achieve the international WELL standard of modern building design, according to its designers. The £35m northern building will be known officially as The Spine, taking its name from a staircase on its north elevation that resembles human vertebrae. The building has been designed by AHR Architects.

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Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

Workplace Matters Podcast: Neil Usher on the elemental workplace and a possible new era for BIFM

Workplace author, blogger and consultant Neil Usher joins 3edges director Ian Ellison again on the day of his ‘The Elemental Workplace’ book launch; also the day the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) announce their proposal to become the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM). Both of these very different, but exciting developments for the workplace discipline are discussed at length, and Neil offers insightful critique as always. The conversation ends up at one of the new frontiers for the way we work and the places we do it – and global society in general – the ethical challenges we face from emerging digital technologies. Further links from the discussion can be found in the show-notes on the podcast page of www.3edges.co.uk, where you can also find a free download of the Workplace Leadership Manifesto which 3edges co-wrote and published with Neil this January.

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Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

Seven great workplace stories that have inspired and intrigued us over the past week

Do people really get promoted to their level of incompetence?

Emotional Intelligence: an integrative meta-analysis

Male and female bosses share the same “masculine” personality traits

How to read less news but be more informed

The Jurassic Park problem – tech and ethics

The 911 transcripts of times Apple employees walked into glass walls

Landlords woo office tenants with worker perks

UK progress on opportunities for women in the workplace slows

UK progress on opportunities for women in the workplace slows

New PwC research claims that the UK is not making progress fast enough to improve female economic empowerment in the workplace. Despite improvements since 2000, these gains have been outpaced by other countries’ efforts, according to the report. In particular, slow progress in closing the gender pay gap, coupled with a persistent low share of females in full-time employment, has put the brakes on the UK making bigger strides towards gender equality in the workplace. The latest Women in Work Index claims the UK has fallen slightly from 14th to 15th place in a ranking of 33 OECD countries based on five key indicators of female economic empowerment. Although labour market conditions for women improved, the UK was outpaced by better performance from other OECD countries. Since 2000, the UK’s position has improved from 17th place and it compares well to other G7 economies, being second only to Canada. The Nordic countries continue to lead the Index – with Iceland, Sweden and Norway rated as the top three countries for opportunities for women in the workplace.

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Employment law is out of step with flexible work and the changing workplace

Employment law is out of step with flexible work and the changing workplace

Anyone who works in employment law or HR is certainly living through interesting times. With the removal of employment tribunal fees, litigation over the correct calculation of holiday pay and Brexit planning there is much to keep us busy. In addition, In addition, the impending GDPR is highly topical.  However, for me, the most intellectually stimulating but also practically difficult area to advise on often remains employment status. Put simply, the law is out of date. Legislation drafted in the 1990s, and to some extent based on cases from much earlier, simply does not cut it in an increasingly flexible and developing work place.

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