August 6, 2019

Voices from the age of uncertain work

by David L Blustein • Features, Working culture, Working lives

On the surface, the wellbeing of the American worker seems rosy. Unemployment in the U.S. hovers near a 50-year low, and employers describe growing shortages of workers in a wide array of fields. But looking beyond the numbers tells a different story. My new book, “The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty,” reveals that some Americans are experiencing an erosion in the world of increasingly uncertain work that is hurting their wellbeing, relationships and hopes for the future. More →

August 2, 2019

Work is no more insecure than it was twenty years ago, claims report

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working culture, Working lives

Employment insecurity affects many people but, overall, work in the UK is as secure as it was 20 years ago, with limited evidence of growing casualisation, new research from the CIPD claims. The report Megatrends: Is work really becoming more insecure? finds that at 20 percent, the share of non-permanent employment in the UK – which includes the self-employed and temporary workers (including temporary zero hours contract workers) – has not increased since 1998.

August 1, 2019

Working dads say their schedule means missing out on children growing up

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

One in five dads says their working schedule means they are missing out on seeing their children growing up, claims Quinyx. The research highlights the importance of opening up flexible working to all members of the workforce, including working dads and the impact the rigidness of the current system is having on families. 17 percent of working dads say their work schedule makes them feel like they are missing out on seeing their children grow up. More →

July 31, 2019

CIPD offers new guidance on non-traditional work roles

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Following the recent government consultation on improving the rights of variable hours workers, the CIPD has published new employer guidance to help ensure that ‘atypical working arrangements’ benefit both the organisation and individuals. The guidance, Atypical Working: A guide to successfully implementing atypical work in your organisation, defines atypical working as practices which include the self-employed, temporary workers, agency staff and people on zero hours contracts.

July 30, 2019

GDP should be replaced by new indicators of prosperity and wellbeing

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Wellbeing

As the consequences of climate change, social tensions and high levels of inequality are increasingly evident, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, led by Professor Diane Coyle, has published its initial report on how to improve economic measurement by replacing GDP as the standard measure for national prosperity with others that include wellbeing and social and environmental capital. More →

July 30, 2019

London now has its own Good Work standard

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’. The standard has been developed in partnership with CIPD, claims to bring together good employment practice with resources and guidance written by CIPD experts and tested with London based CIPD members, the framework sets out to support employers of all sizes across the city improve their people management practices and create good work for all.

July 29, 2019

The tipping point for flexible working arrives

by James Geekie • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Although people have been talking about flexible working in one way or another for decades – the economist John Maynard Keynes declared in 1930 that technological advances would lead to a 15-hour working week – we may now be at the tipping point where work takes on an entirely different character. More →

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
More →

July 24, 2019

New government has unprecedented chance to transform buildings

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

The new UK government led by Boris Johnson has an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically shift policy on the built environment and deliver higher standards of safety, sustainability and social justice, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). It urged the new administration to back up rhetoric around climate change with robust legislation; to enshrine the recommendations of the Hackitt Review to improve fire safety in buildings; and tackle the scourge of late payment that is undermining thousands of SME and driving many into insolvency. More →

July 22, 2019

UK could receive £250 billion boost if labour market matched that of Sweden

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New analysis by economists at PwC claims that, if the UK could match Sweden in terms of its employment rates for women aged 25-54, older workers and the proportion of its young people not in employment, education or training, the potential boost to UK GDP could be as much as 12 percent, or around £250 billion at 2018 values. Although the UK labour market has been strong in recent years – the employment rate is at a record high of over 75 percent and unemployment is at its lowest level since the mid 1970s – new research from PwC indicates that performance is middling compared to other OECD economies. A new composite Labour Market Performance index, combining results from PwC’s Youth Employment, Golden Age and Women in Work indices, finds the UK is 19th overall amongst OECD countries. Iceland and Sweden top the combined index rankings based on the latest available annual data for 2018. More →

July 19, 2019

The Age of Blorp, a dead tulip, no muggles allowed and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

First the good news. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has rejected the proposals for Foster+Partners’ godawful 300 metre tall ‘Tulip’ viewing tower in London. The reasons given for the refusal from the Mayor’s office include the fact that the thing didn’t represent the sort of “world class architecture that would be required to justify its prominence”. A nicely dressed up way of saying it’s a terrible idea, a terrible piece of architecture and has absolutely no place in London. More →

July 18, 2019

Govt scheme to retrain people in the age of automation

by Neil Franklin • AI, News

The UK Government in partnership with the CBI and TUC has launched a new scheme to help workers whose jobs change or become obsolete because of advances in technology. Workers will be offered help in retraining or finding a new career amid suggestions that up to a third of jobs could be at risk of changing because of automation in the coming 10 to 20 years. The National Training Scheme will be trialled in Liverpool before being rolled out across England. The CBI and TUC are both backing the initiative as a way of boosting productivity, pay and workers’ skills. More →