September 18, 2019
Unless the Government steps up efforts to manage the transition to automation, many people and entire regions of the UK face being left behind and British businesses could find themselves becoming less competitive, says the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in a report published today.
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September 16, 2019
Many British High Streets face a bleak future as policymakers are failing to identify a clear economic focus to city centre regeneration strategies. According to the Centre for Cities’ latest research, in partnership with Nationwide Building Society, success is defined by those policies that create skills, jobs and quality office space for businesses rather than currently accepted interventions such as cultural initiatives, business rate reforms and online sales taxes. More →
September 13, 2019
Back in 2015 it was common to see one particular building described as the smartest, greenest and most intelligent in the world. This was the Edge in Amsterdam. There were some very good reasons why it was so well received. It achieved the highest BREEAM environmental rating ever recorded and generated all of its own energy. More →
September 10, 2019
Managers should seriously consider giving their employees the reins for a day to test new research that indicates seven out of 10 employees worldwide (69 percent) say they can do their boss’s job better, despite nearly the same number of workers (71 percent) grading their boss’s competence a B or better.
The Global State of Managers research comes from The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated and Future Workplace, which examined how nearly 3,000 employees in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S. would grade their manager’s effectiveness across five factors: communication, competence, empowerment, professional development, and support.
According to the study, employees grade their managers high on competence but nearly fail them when it comes to work-life balance and job coaching. Overall, people feel managers are good at their jobs, with the majority of employees grading bosses an A or B for competence (71 percent) – the highest grade given – and work ethic (70 percent).
Bosses also received high marks (B or better) for their communication skills, people management skills, and ability to handle performance-related issues (all 67 percent). The older the employee, however, the more critical they are of their boss: Baby Boomers1 and Gen Xers grade managers more harshly with a C, D, or F for overall people management skills (37 percent and 38 percent, respectively). Worldwide, the employee-manager connection remains critically important: 70 percent of employees say their relationship with their manager is an extremely or very important factor when deciding to remain at their current job, with 22 percent agreeing it’s somewhat important. Millennial (79 percent) and Gen Z (73 percent) employees feel strongest about the importance of the manager relationship for retention compared with Gen X (66 percent) and Baby Boomer (62 percent) counterparts.
Other findings
Differences by sector and nationality
Despite rating their managers No. 1 in all categories, 95 percent of Indian employees still say they could do their boss’s job better all of the time (47 percent) or some of the time (48 percent). This sentiment is followed by 87 percent of Mexican workers and 71 percent of French workers. Canada (61 percent) and U.S. (59 percent) workers feel the least confident that they could do their boss’s job better – yet it’s still more than half of all employees.
Managers in the technology industry are on top overall, scoring highest marks (A or B) in people management (81 percent), communication (75 percent), and modeling work-life balance (70 percent). Professional services managers (e.g. accountants, engineers, lawyers) rank second-best, with 70 percent of employees grading them a B or better for people management and communication. Employees in the technology (77 percent) and finance (70 percent) sectors say they have a strong or very strong relationship with their boss, followed by manufacturing (62 percent); education (61 percent); retail (61 percent); and professional services (61 percent).
There is room for managers to model better work-life balance in frontline industries – i.e. those who must be present to do their jobs – with 53 percent of employees in federal government, 42 percent in healthcare, and 42 percent in retail giving their boss a C or worse.
Regarding pure competence, managers are graded worst – C or lower – by public safety (44 percent); federal government (39 percent); transportation/distribution/logistics (35 percent); and healthcare (34 percent) employees. More than one in three employees give poor marks of a C or worse for their manager’s work ethic in federal government (37 percent); healthcare (34 percent); transportation/distribution/logistics (34 percent); and manufacturing (33 percent).
Image by Pixabay
September 6, 2019
Hot-desking is a scourge on modern work. That’s the only conclusion you will draw by reading ‘The hidden hell of hot-desking is much worse than you think’ (published in the FT on 28 July 2019) and dozens more like it that continue to appear in national media and top business titles. The piece contends that organisations are using the guise of agile working to excuse their cost-saving prerogative. In reality it is a penny-pinching ploy that “strips people of their own desk and casts them out to the noisy, chaotic wasteland of shared work spots,” or so we’re told. More →
September 5, 2019
Optimising the human workplace experience to achieve greater productivity and creativity will be explored in depth at the CoreNet Global Summit in Amsterdam this September. Over a dozen diverse sessions will examine multidisciplinary approaches to achieving gains in health, productivity and creativity alongside both academic and commercial research showing measurable benefits. More →
September 4, 2019
A new report supports the idea that when it comes to the workplace and the effect it has on personal wellbeing and productivity, employees want the basics first. According to the Workplace Wellness Study published by Future Workplace, a New York-based research firm, and office technology provider View, the most highly prized features of an office are good air quality, access to natural light, and an ability to personalise immediate workspace. More →
September 3, 2019
The modern world of work is a stressful one, and the goal to progress in our careers brings on even more pressure. Tight deadlines and demanding workloads are the typical order of the day, but just as important is to have the time to wind down and recharge the batteries. Historically, this has been known as work-life balance.
August 28, 2019
There has been much talk of digital, agile and organisational transformation for businesses for many years now. While the intricacies of each are separate discussions, one thing is clear – the world of work and the workplace are changing and as businesses we need to adapt.
August 27, 2019
Taking time off improves the work performance of freelancers, a new study from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims. The research suggests that almost two-thirds of freelancers believe taking holiday improves their work performance in some way. Asked what advantages came with taking more time off, 63 percent said it improved aspects of their work including productivity, energy, creativity and confidence in their work. More →
August 21, 2019
A new white paper from Aon argues that while the vast majority of employers are aware of a range of wellbeing issues, they often don’t act in appropriate ways to address poor health behaviours and chronic medical conditions. The white paper Prevention Is Better Than Cure (registration) claims that 95 percent of employers see a correlation between employee health and performance and believe they have a role in trying to educate and improve poor lifestyle behaviours.
September 13, 2019
There is still time to avoid the regrexit of Brexit
by Anthony Brown • Business, Comment