Search Results for: jobs

Businesses should focus on the greater good of people and society

Businesses should focus on the greater good of people and society

Modern corporations should work in the best interests of society and people rather than focusing primarily on making money for shareholders as they may have in the past, according to an influential group of chief executives. The body Business Roundtable, which represents the heads of some of America’s largest companies, including Apple, Amazon and Exxon Mobil, has issued a statement of its updated corporate governance principles. (more…)

Firms need to place more value on older workers

Firms need to place more value on older workers

Older workers are now a key part of the workforceAs we live longer lives, it’s inevitable that more of us want to work for longer. It makes good business sense too: with fewer younger people starting work to replace those set to retire in future years, coupled with uncertainty over Brexit and labour shortages, employers can’t afford to lose older workers.

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Knowledge workers feel out of step with their own organisation

Knowledge workers feel out of step with their own organisation

Many knowledge workers don’t feel they share common goals with their employer and colleagues, according to a study of 17,000 people by Slack. The State of Work Report summarises the findings, including the effect of this feeling of a lack of ‘alignment’ on organisational and personal performance and the role of technology in aligning people around shared goals. (more…)

Skills for the future of work laid out by new task force

Skills for the future of work laid out by new task force

Mind map of the variety of skillsBecause qualifications are only part of the story for employers, who are placing more emphasis on essential skill sets, like teamwork, presenting and problem-solving, but these are often difficult to assess at the recruitment and selection stage. In response, leading organisations from the education and employment sectors (the CIPD, The Careers & Enterprise Company, Business in the Community, the Gatsby Foundation, EY Foundation and the Skills Builder Partnership) have come together for the first time to agree a universal framework for essential skills. It will build on the Skills Builder Framework, already used by over 700 organisations, and set out the skills needed to thrive at work, as well as how these can be assessed and developed. It can be used by students, workers and employers. (more…)

Younger workers believe flexible working is essential for mental health

Younger workers believe flexible working is essential for mental health

A young woman enjoys flexible working in a cafeNearly 40 percent of people under the age of 45 who have flexible working believe it has offered marked improvements in their mental health, a survey from Wildgoose claims. The firm conducted a survey of the workers to ask for their thoughts on working culture and the impact it has on a range of life outcomes. Employees from 114 companies from all backgrounds gave their answers anonymously. According to the study, the results highlight the reasons employees are looking for jobs that offer a degree of flexibility in terms of times and places of work. (more…)

Increase in non-EU workers eases skills challenge

Increase in non-EU workers eases skills challenge

The sharp increase in non-EU citizens coming to work in the UK has helped to ease recruitment difficulties for medium and high-skilled roles, according to new research from the CIPD and Adecco Group. Despite employment growing strongly over the past year, the number of applicants chasing each medium and high-skilled vacancy has fallen relatively modestly compared with the same period last year. However, the number of people applying for low-skilled roles has dropped by a fifth over the past year, suggesting that some employers may face significant recruitment challenges for skills in the coming months. These are the findings of the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and the Adecco Group, a survey of 2,104 employers which explores their pay and hiring intentions. (more…)

Changing nature of work revealed in official data

Changing nature of work revealed in official data

The changing nature of workMany aspects of the changing nature of work in the UK are highlighted in a new official report into the number of hours worked in the country. The UK’s ongoing productivity challenges, highlighted by another ONS report last month, are well known, but the new data suggests that a number of common suppositions about the way we work should be challenged, especially those related to demographics, the types of work people do and who does it. (more…)

Voices from the age of uncertain work

Voices from the age of uncertain work

A woman crosses on a tightrope, illustrating the problem of uncertain workOn 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…)

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

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

Queuing for workEmployment 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.

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Maternity leave progressing around the world

Maternity leave progressing around the world

With studies claiming almost as many women with children (74.1 percent) participated in the labour force as women without, in 2014, women who are juggling careers and motherhood benefit from flexibility at work the most. Recent research claims women account for 40 percent or more of the total labour force in several countries, making flexible working hours, extended maternity leave, breastfeeding rooms, free education and free healthcare just a few of the ways that some countries build the best working environments for mothers. (more…)

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

Remote workersBased on an analysis of American Community Survey data by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of remote workers in the US increased 159 percent between 2005 and 2017.  This new data is based on an analysis of the most current US government data available (from 2017, released in 2018), and represents the most up-to-date statistics about remote work in the United States. 3.4 percent of the total US workforce currently telecommute, up from 2.9 percent in 2015. The terms telecommuters and remote workers are defined in the report as non-self-employed people who principally work from home at least half-time. (more…)

Political chat dominates watercooler moments

Political chat dominates watercooler moments

Political chat gets heatedUK workers are becoming increasingly saturated with political chat with just under half (46 percent) claiming they’ve noticed a significant increase in discussions had by colleagues since the EU Referendum. Despite once being considered the ultimate professional faux pas, new research from Jobsite.co.uk claims that political chat has now entered our workplaces in a big way with 3 in 5 comfortable discussing political matters. (more…)