Search Results for: engagement

June 19, 2018

We should not be quite so quick to demonise the open plan office

by Nigel Oseland • Facilities management, Features, Furniture, Workplace design

There is a witch hunt on in the workplace. “Open plan” has become a dirty word and the national press are leading the mob in vilifying this so-called scourge. The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Business Week have all reported that “we can’t get anything done in an open-plan office” as it affects our concentration, our performance and our health. These news items are all damning, but perhaps not as damming as the Wikipedia entry on open plan which states: “A systematic survey of research upon the effects of open plan offices found frequent negative effects in some traditional workplaces: high levels of noise, stress, conflict, high blood pressure and a high staff turnover… Most people prefer closed offices… there is a dearth of studies confirming positive impacts on productivity from open plan office designs”.

June 18, 2018

Employers and government need to work together to address looming Brexit skills gap

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

As the UK continues to navigate a period of uncertainty ahead of its exit from the European Union, new research published by the City & Guilds Group and Emsi claims that nine in 10 employers already struggle to recruit the skilled staff they need. With most industries expected to grow between now and 2024, a significant number of skilled workers will be needed to meet demand. However, People Power, a study based on City & Guilds Group interviewing over 1,000 C-Suite employers in the UK and work with Emsi to undertake extensive economic modelling, has found that two thirds of UK employers think that the skills gaps in their businesses are likely to get worse or remain the same in the next three to five years.

June 13, 2018

British employees less confident and more stressed over last three years

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

UK employees could be heading for crisis, according to a three-year study by ADP, which has found that three key measures of employee wellbeing – optimism, stress and skills confidence – have taken a hit since 2015. The exact reason for the changes is unclear, however the timings suggest that Brexit may have played a part, along with the rise in new technologies entering the workplace.

June 12, 2018

Pay rates for senior management reflect longer working hours argues CMI

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

Business Secretary Greg Clark proposed new laws in Parliament yesterday (June 11^th) that new large firms will have to justify their chief executives’ salaries and reveal the gap to their average UK worker. It means that for the first time, UK listed companies with more than 250 UK employees will have to disclose and explain this difference – known as ‘pay ratios’ – every year. However, according to data published today by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR, basic salaries for senior managers have fallen in real terms, with inflation overtaking pay increases for the first time in five years. At a time when government are shining a light on executive pay, and linking it via a ratio to workforce pay, separate CMI research has found managers worked an extra 44 days a year last year over and above their contracted hours – up from 40 days extra in 2015. The same research found 59 percent of managers are ‘always on’, frequently checking their emails outside of work and one in 10 had been forced to take sick leave because of stress.

June 4, 2018

Your happiness at work is not just down to your employer

by Cary Cooper and Ivan Robertson • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When Google promoted a software engineer named Chade-Meng Tan to the role of “Jolly Good Fellow”, his career – and the entire culture of Silicon Valley – took a sharp turn. Meng, a cheerful employee valued for his motivational qualities, went from developing mobile search tools to spreading happiness across the organisation. Happiness became his job. Google wasn’t the first to hire someone with the sole remit of enforcing employee contentment. In 1999, when Google was still a start-up, French fashion brand Kiabi hired Christine Jutard as its chief happiness officer. She was one of the first to perform the role. But once Google did it, happiness at work became a key metric and other organisations quickly adopted their approach. Three years after Meng’s appointment, fast food giant McDonald’s even promoted Ronald McDonald from brand mascot to CHO.

May 31, 2018

Upcoming tasks and appointments may make us less productive, claims new research

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Available time seems shorter when it comes just before an appointment, say scientists who found that an upcoming task may make us less productive. In a series of eight studies, both in the lab and real life, researchers found that free time seems shorter to people when it comes before a task or appointment on their calendar. The study appears online in the Journal of Consumer Research. In an online study of 198 peopl were asked to imagine they had a friend coming over to visit in one hour and “you are all ready for your friend to come by.” The others were told that they had no plans for the evening. All participants were asked how many minutes “objectively” they could spend reading during the next hour and how many minutes they “subjectively” felt like they could spend reading during that same hour.

May 30, 2018

Australia is leading the world in the adoption of activity based working

by Max Luff • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Over half of those employed in the banking sector in Australia now find themselves in agile and dynamic activity based workplaces. The banks have set the pace. The overall growth of the phenomenon has been exponential in the last 5 years, with sources suggesting two thirds of Australian organisations will have adopted Activity Based Working (ABW) by 2020. Furthermore, by looking at the number of Activity Based Working projects in the pipeline this move away from the 20th century office seems unstoppable. Despite global economic challenges the banking sector in Australia is particularly strong and stable, which contributes to the organisations’ ability to take a long term view. Alongside this robust financial picture we are also seeing a shift in purpose emerge, where the banks move away from a purely financial role to one where they embrace a sense of community and stewardship thus developing a broader contribution to society.

May 18, 2018

Employees’ overwhelming view is they are being held back from developing their career

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees' overwhelming feedback is they are being held back in developing their career

Half (49 percent) of UK workers believe their current job offers little to no chance for career progression and out of 1,000 UK workers asked about the state of their career progression including the prospects for advancement, not one felt they had the right level of support from managers. The survey by Qualtrics claims that just 7 percent believe there is a great deal of opportunity to progress their career in their organisation. It’s a marked difference from October 2017, when the number of employees saying they had a significant opportunity for career progression was 17 percent. The research suggests the pessimistic outlook could be down to a lack of acknowledgment and support at work. Of those claiming to have little or no opportunities for career progression, the data found that 71 percent are given little to no change to trying out new things that interest them, all of them (100 percent) say they don’t receive the right level of support from managers and 49 percent rarely receive consistent acknowledgement for doing good work.

May 17, 2018

What exactly is driving the global workplace conversation?

by Andrew Mawson • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

There is a growing body of research and understanding on the impact that working environments, workplace habits and culture have on people and broader business performance. The very best workplaces in the world – some of which will be on show at Workplace Week in New York next month – are changing our expectations around the look, function and purpose of office space. These workplaces are designed much like ecosystems – every inch designed with the comfort, wellbeing and productivity of the people who occupy them in mind. The new world of ‘workplace management’ is about designing and delivering multi-faceted, minute-by-minute, multi-sensory experiences that create an emotional response. It is about designing workplace experiences to deliver a specific mission. It encompasses thinking about journeys and destinations, the fusion of space, information, and services – and how these reflect organisational personality, support human effectiveness, and lure in talent. But, as those in the industry will be all too aware, this hasn’t always been the case. So, what’s to thank for this fresh approach to workplace design and management?

May 15, 2018

Workplace aggression can lead to vicious circle of misconduct

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) claims that frequently being the target of workplace aggression not only affects the victim’s health but can also cause them to behave badly towards others. Workplace aggression is a significant issue particularly in the healthcare sector, where nurses can be targeted by both their colleagues and co-workers through bullying, and by patients and their relatives through ‘third-party’ aggression. While workplace aggression has been examined in relation to the health-related consequences for victims, less is known about the possible negative impact it may have on their own behaviour at work. The findings of this study suggest that the experience of anger and fear associated with being the target of aggression at work could lead some nurses to translate the emotions that are triggered into misconduct, possibly disregarding professional and ethical codes. More →

May 1, 2018

No surprises in new report on future workplace trends

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The latest Global Workplace Trends report from Sodexo focuses on the ‘workplace experience’ and how it affects levels of engagement, wellbeing and corporate performance. It’s an undemanding study that sets out seven trends covering familiar themes in a familiar way, even though the authors claim it offers ‘fresh insights’. As well as the idea of ‘experience’, it touches on ideas about the intersections of digital and physical space and the implications for people and organisations as well as the workplace professions. It uses the standard vocabulary, various buzzwords and the usual presuppositions to look at the impact of Millennials, AI, the sharing economy and so on. The visuals are the usual parade of smiling, diverse – but no unattractive, disabled and old – hipsters sharing screens and being creative in sun-dappled interiors. Sauce it with some virtue signals and it’s job done.

May 1, 2018

Quarter of UK managers would take a pay cut for a job with a clear purpose beyond profit

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

More than a quarter of managers (27 percent) in British companies would likely accept a salary cut to work for a company that has a clear purpose beyond profit a new report claims. A third (32 percent) would actually consider leaving their job if a greater purpose was unclear, while more than half (53 percent) would if their company’s values and purpose didn’t align with their own. The YouGov survey, commissioned by Danone UK, highlights the importance of having a defined company purpose that marries commercial success with social progress. The findings support a new report by not-for-profit think tank Tomorrow’s Company and Danone UK, that explores the importance of having a purpose beyond profit in helping companies to prosper in the face of workplace challenges created by an uncertain world. The Courage of their Convictions is built from interviews with senior leaders from within some of the UK’s biggest purpose-driven brands, including Danone, John Lewis, Mars, Philips, Tata Consultancy Services and Unilever.