Search Results for: communication

January 26, 2016

Unethical employment practices drive ‘Gen S’ professionals away ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Over half of ‘Gen S’ workers would refuse to work for employers who have a record of using slave labour, generating high levels of pollution, employing unsafe working conditions, poor environmental performance, questionable investments and unethical practices. According to the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment’s (IEMA) annual Practitioner Survey these people see environmental roles as the career change of choice, with 42 percent of professionals who now work in these roles considering themselves “career changers”. Those entering the profession come from a variety of backgrounds including finance, operations, marketing and communications and R&D. Gen S workers are typically people in their mid-thirties, above average in their qualifications with 45 percent having a Master’s degree or doctorate, looking for more than just a career and earning money, but actively seeking a career which is primarily “ethical” in nature.

January 22, 2016

Digital media is having ‘largely positive’ effects on professional lives ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The digitization of content and data, along with new digital communication technologies, has fundamentally changed the way work gets done, and affected the nature of the employment relationship. While it has a largely positive impact on peoples’ lives, including individuals’ ability to find work, learn and develop skills, and balance work and life, it can, in some cases, lower worker productivity and increase inequality. These are among the key findings from Shaping the Future Implications of Digital Media for Society – a report by the World Economic Forum conducted in collaboration with Willis Towers Watson and presented at the WEF 2016 annual meeting in Davos. In the study, which included a survey of more than 5,000 digital users from five of the world’s most important markets; Brazil, China, Germany, South Africa and the US, over half (56 percent) reported digital media has transformed the way they work, and two-thirds said digital media has improved their ability to do work.

January 18, 2016

Managerial fairness key to successful business change, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Managers are underestimating the impact they have on their workforce during a period of organisational change, according to a study from EMLYON Business School authored by associate professor Tessa Melkonian. The study claims that employees are more likely to cooperate in the process of a disruptive change if the management is seen to be fair in their treatment of staff. This will increase employees’ willingness to cooperate in long-term transitions and work harder to support the process. Over 600 interviews in 10 countries and thousands of questionnaires were carried out to gauge employee satisfaction and willingness to cooperate with change following the merger of KLM and Air France. During the interviews employees revealed they were more inclined to back change because of the example set by their CEO. Leading from the front remained a strong influence two years into the transition.

January 15, 2016

Three quarters of Millennials will change jobs over the next five years ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

It must be the time of year but we are suddenly awash with surveys and reports suggesting that pretty much everybody in the UK is about to change their jobs. Following our report earlier in the week that suggests older workers are perfectly prepared to just give up on work completely, it was inevitable that we were about to hear something from those pesky Millennials. Sure enough, along comes a report from Deloitte that suggests that nearly three quarters of Millennials plans to leave their jobs over the next five years. Millennials and their employers: Can this relationship be saved? found that the UK has a higher than average percentage of Millennials planning to change jobs in the next five years, with the average in developed economies standing at 61 percent. Worldwide, forty-four percent of Millennials say, if given the choice, they expect to leave their current employers in the next two years.

January 13, 2016

Growth in freelance economy, as people seek better work-life balance ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Nearly one in four employees freelance in some capacity, a recent study of office workers in the US claims. Overall, twelve percent of US employees work as freelancers as their primary source of income, and the same percentage freelance in addition to their primary job. The Staples Advantage Workplace Index reveals that employees freelance for a variety of reasons, including the flexibility to make their own hours (37 percent), make more money (39 percent), and achieve a work-life balance (32 percent). Businesses also benefit from this arrangement by getting access to highly skilled workers needed for special projects. Freelance workers need temporary access to IT services and equipment, designated work spaces, open communication with co-workers, and the right supplies to help deliver projects. As a result, finds the report, smart, collaborative technology is becoming more ‘mainstream’, in helping establish efficient team structures and collaboration models.

January 7, 2016

Constant email checks may increase workplace stress as much as high volumes ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research being presented today at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham suggests that it’s not just the volume of emails that causes stress; but well-meaning habits and a need to feel in control. The research by Dr Richard MacKinnon from the Future Work Centre, suggests many people have developed some bad habits when it comes to managing email. Nearly half of those surveyed have emails automatically sent to their inbox (push notifications) and 62 percent left their email on all day. Those who checked email early in the morning and late at night may think they are getting ahead, but they could be making things worse, as the study showed that these habits were linked to higher levels of stress and pressure. The research also shows the role personality plays in our experience of email and how email has the potential to both positively and negatively impact our work-life balance.

January 6, 2016

Two new studies that highlight the complexities of gender at work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, News, Workplace

The increasingly complex nature of the career and workplace choices made by men and women and the specific challenges they face is the subject of two pieces of research presented at this week’s British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham. The authors of the admittedly small scale studies conclude respectively that men in what are generally considered typically female-dominated occupations tend to value the social aspects of their career more than financial rewards and that ambitious professional women would benefit from a better understanding of how to build, maintain and use their social capital to succeed in their attempts at reaching the top of their professions. Both topics have been raised before but it’s interesting to see yet more research which challenges the often overly simplistic assumptions that seem to go hand in hand with gender issues at work.

January 4, 2016

Workplace bullying, pay, and productivity key workplace trends in 2016 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Acas has published its Workplace Trends 2016 report, which identifies workplace bullying, pay, the new trade union bill and productivity as key trends that will have an impact on employment relations in 2016. In this report, thought-leaders discuss leadership, improving productivity, the art of communication, giving voice to a better way of working, encouraging positive behaviours in tackling bullying at work and the psychology of productivity. Writing in the report, Acas Chair Sir Brendan Barber says that productivity is a real concern for the UK economy. He warns if we were able to match the productivity of the US then this would equate to around £21,000 per annum for every household in the UK, making it an issue that will remain high on the agenda in 2016. The report also features commentary from Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association, Dr Makani Purva, Anti-Bullying Tsar at Hull NHS Trust and Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC.

December 1, 2015

Despite its drawbacks, LiFi has the potential to revolutionise office design ⁰

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

During 2016, we can all expect to be hearing a lot more about a new technology called Li-Fi, which uses light to transmit high speed data. Li-Fi has already been trialled extensively in lab conditions and now for the first time it has been installed in an office in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It may even be substantially quicker than standard Wi-Fi. The people behind it claim it is already able to transmit data at a rate of 1 GB per second, which is around 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. Using light as a medium, however, does mean its main drawback is that it cannot penetrate walls. Designers and managers may also have concerns that the way it transmits data – basically by flickering the light from an individual LED like a massively sped up signal lamp (pictured) – but the developers claim this is completely imperceptible to the human eye and so has no consequences for individuals.

November 25, 2015

Northern Powerhouse office market showing strong performance levels ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

When the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announces the Spending Review today, he’s likely to mention the Northern Powerhouse, the programme to rebalance the UK economy by pushing growth in England’s northern cities. His vision of this form of one nation conservatism may have helped to increase occupier and investor confidence across the Northern Powerhouse office markets, as illustrated by the Northern Powerhouse Office Market Report 2015/16, published by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). It shows strong performance across the eight key markets so far in 2015 – with combined take-up expected to reach 5.2m sq ft by the end of the year compared with 4.6m sq ft in 2014. Manchester city centre is leading the way and is on track for a record year, with almost 1.4m sq ft of office space expected to be let or sold by the end of 2015 – well above the 10-year annual average of 966,000 sq ft.

November 23, 2015

Two thirds of managers have little idea what their organisation’s strategy is ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Workplace, Workplace design

While facilities and human resources managers continue to agonise over their lack of strategic influence, a new study from researchers at the London Business School and MIT confirms what cynics may have suspected all along; a significant number of senior managers don’t have any real idea what their organisation’s strategy is in the first place. According to the study of 11,000 senior executives and managers from 400 companies worldwide, only around a third of respondents were able to correctly identify their employer’s main strategic priorities. “We asked people to list their company’s top three to five priorities”, says Rebecca Homkes, a fellow of London Business School, who led the study. “Even with five tries, on average only around 50 per cent could list the same one priority and only a third can list their firm’s top three priorities. For firms to execute a strategy well, that strategy must be clearly communicated and understood throughout the organisation.”

November 13, 2015

Study claims the Internet of Things will connect 6.4 billion objects next year ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Technology

According to a new report from technology research organisation Gartner, 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up around a third (30 percent) from 2015, and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. The study claims that in 2016, 5.5 million new things will become connected each day. Gartner estimates that the Internet of Things (IoT) will support total services spending globally of around US$235 billion in 2016, up nearly a quarter (22 percent) from 2015. Although the report claims that the technology will make significant inroads in consumer markets, services are dominated by the professional category defined by Gartner (in which businesses contract with external providers in order to design, install and operate IoT systems). However connectivity services (through communications service providers) and consumer services will grow at a faster pace, according to the report.