Search Results for: employee

Flexible working is delivering the gift of seasonal productivity

Flexible working is delivering the gift of seasonal productivity

business leaders are still keen to maintain productivity with flexible working amidst the seasonal rush while allowing their team to enjoy the holiday periodEmployees have made it clear that they are keen for flexible working arrangements to stay. In fact, according to the Owl Labs 2023 State of Hybrid Work report, 40 percent of employees would decline a job if they were required to be in the office five days a week. With the festive season in full swing, employees will look to utilise the benefits of flexible working as they return home to their families. More →

How employers should navigate the ICO’s guidance on monitoring workers

How employers should navigate the ICO’s guidance on monitoring workers

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, so does the prevalence of firms monitoring workers and the sophistication of the tools available to employers to monitor their staff's activitiesAs technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, so does the prevalence of firms monitoring workers and the sophistication of the tools available to employers to monitor their staff’s activities. Hand in hand with the increasing prevalence of workplace monitoring tools are concerns that their excessive use may infringe workers’ data protection and privacy rights. Employers must take heed of recent ICO guidance to ensure they do not fall foul of the law in pursuit of the hoped for benefits of workplace monitoring, such as boosting productivity and profit. More →

Hybrid working: the importance of having the right strategy

Hybrid working: the importance of having the right strategy

To make hybrid working work successfully, we need changes in the way people need to be managed, trained and inductedHybrid working changes everything it seems. To make it work successfully we need changes in the way people need to be managed, trained and inducted. It changes the needs for communication and social connectivity, goal setting and connection to vision. It requires greater clarity on what is acceptable and what isn’t. Employees must take on new grown-up obligations and organisations are required to ‘trust’ and employees to be ‘trustworthy’.  More →

New flexible working rights to come into force next year

New flexible working rights to come into force next year

Plans to allow employees to request flexible working from their first day of employment are due to come into force from April 2024Plans to allow employees to request flexible working from their first day of employment are due to come into force from April 2024. Regulations have been laid before Parliament this week removing the requirement for 26 weeks’ service to ask for flexible times and places of work, due to come into effect on 6 April next year. Under the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations any requests made from 6 April do not need any service requirement, meaning that employees will be able to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. More →

Workplace and property firms must wake up to the new era of networked businesses

Workplace and property firms must wake up to the new era of networked businesses

the networked workplaceWhile millions of words have been dedicated to the expected changes in post-Covid workstyles – how will people work, where will they work, how will they be supported – very little has been said about their employers: companies and corporations. Yet the anticipated changes to work and the workplace raise questions about the role of the company. Is it one just half of a transaction between employer and employee? Or is it something more? Indeed, what is the role of the company in the modern economy? Is the nature of the company likely to change? The answers could have a greater impact on workstyles than the pandemic. More →

Inclusive office design is essential if we want offices to be worth the commute

Inclusive office design is essential if we want offices to be worth the commute

Organisations now understand the immense potential for sustainable, inclusive office design, and people-centric real estate strategies to drive positive change and fuel growth.Corporate culture has fundamentally changed since the pandemic and with it, so has the way employees interact with the office. This has put leaders under pressure to create experiences for employees that complement, and in some ways even compete with, the comforts of home. Organisations now understand the immense potential for sustainable, inclusive office design, and people-centric real estate strategies to drive positive change and fuel growth. More →

Hiring people with patience is good for productivity

Hiring people with patience is good for productivity

Patience plays a crucial role for team performance, reveals new research by the University of ColognePatience plays a crucial role for team performance, reveals new research by the University of Cologne. The study, conducted by Professors Felix Kölle and Thomas Lauer, investigated cooperative behaviour, as well as its underlying mechanisms, in a setting in which the benefits from successful teamwork accrue only in the future. More →

Curtail zero hour contracts and give workers guaranteed work hours, say researchers

Curtail zero hour contracts and give workers guaranteed work hours, say researchers

the increase of zero hours contracts over the last 20 years has created significant risk for workersAn evidence review led by the University of Warwick has concluded that the increase of zero hours contracts over the last 20 years has created significant risk for workers. They found that unreliable work can result in a sudden loss of hours and earnings, and an inability to access legal advice for unfair or potentially unlawful employment practices. Along with colleagues from the ReWAGE expert advisory group, academics at the Institute of Employment Research at the University of Warwick examined the legal and workplace practices associated with zero hour contracts, along with data covering flexibility, pay insecurity, workers ability to assert their rights and workers health and wellbeing. More →

Has digital transformation led to an upsurge in workplace disinformation?

Has digital transformation led to an upsurge in workplace disinformation?

You don’t have to look far to find misinformation. Just a few weeks ago, amid the aftermath of the coup in Niger, online platforms were being inundated with false information, intensifying tensions surrounding the nation’s future. This included erroneous videos on TikTok and Twitter suggesting the presence of Wagner Group (Russian state-funded) fighters, false claims about Algeria’s military involvement, and inaccurate assertions about banning uranium export to France. More →

There will be a near universal adoption of generative AI in businesses, say bosses

There will be a near universal adoption of generative AI in businesses, say bosses

An overwhelming majority (91 percent) of executives say that their companies are now using generative AI or are planning to do so within the next 18 monthsAn overwhelming majority (91 percent) of executives say that their companies are now using generative AI or are planning to do so within the next 18 months, according to a new poll from Thomson Reuters. The Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals C-Suite Survey reported on responses from 148 C-Suite leaders (CFOs, CEOs etc) from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The survey suggests that use of AI across businesses is becoming ubiquitous as leaders start to recognize the true potential of the technology, such as in developing new products and driving operational efficiency. More →

Work notifications make it harder for people to spend time with friends and family

Work notifications make it harder for people to spend time with friends and family

Out of hours work notifications on devices are having a significant impact on people's work-life boundaries, according to a new reportOut of hours work notifications on devices are having a significant impact on people’s work-life boundaries, according to a new report from Ring Central. According to the poll, work notifications are on the rise with 31 percent stating that notifications outside of work have increased in the past year. As a result, employees are also feeling the pressure to respond to work notifications immediately (14 percent) or within 1 hour (33 percent). The survey also suggests that notifications cause the same amount of anxiety for Brits as spiders (54 percent) and almost as much as going to the dentist (59 percent). More →

New academic research identifies the four emotional stages of your career. Spoiler – it ends in disillusion

New academic research identifies the four emotional stages of your career. Spoiler – it ends in disillusion

The study of UK legal professionals showed they progressed from excitement and anticipation at the start of their career, followed by fear and anxiety as they pursue promotion, to pride and joy at having secured a senior post, and finally experiencing disillusionment and disappointment at the lack of further changeLawyers progress through four distinct emotional stages in their fight to get to the top and secure a coveted partnership role, according to new research from the University of Bath’s School of Management. The study of UK legal professionals showed they progressed from excitement and anticipation at the start of their career, followed by fear and anxiety as they pursue promotion, to pride and joy at having secured a senior post, and finally experiencing disillusionment and disappointment at the lack of further change. More →