Search Results for: training

Flexible working key to counteracting female workers’ ‘baby shame’

Flexible working key to counteracting female workers’ ‘baby shame’ 0

Flexible working key to counteracting female workers' 'baby shame'Whether the gender pay gap is more of a motherhood gap is an ongoing debate, but now a new survey has found that when even planning to have children, one in five (18 percent) working women hide their family plans from their employers. In an interview with the BBC yesterday, Labour Party leader candidate Yvette Cooper revealed that when she took maternity leave from her ministerial job in 2001, there was no procedure in place and when she sought maternity leave a couple of years later, things were made very difficult for her. If that’s how a high powered government minister is treated then it is no wonder over half (58 percent) of women feel they would have to alter their career in order to have a child, and why three quarters feel flexible working which doesn’t leave women feeling ‘baby shame’ for working child friendly hours is essential.

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Employee’s entrepreneurial opportunities linked to job satisfaction

Employee’s entrepreneurial opportunities linked to job satisfaction 0

Climbing the career ladderUS employees are seeking opportunities to perform more like entrepreneurs within their organisation, and according to researchers from the University of Phoenix School of Business this is reason enough to add a new word, ‘intrapreneurship’ into the business-speak lexicon. The survey claims that more than one-third (37 percent) of working adults consider themselves entrepreneurial and more than half (56 percent) acknowledge that their current job gives them the chance to apply an entrepreneurial mindset. Over 3 in 5 (61 percent) of those who say they enjoy a degree of job satisfaction say their organisation provides opportunities to be entrepreneurial and of those who are unsatisfied with their career, only one-third (33 percent) cited entrepreneurial opportunities in their organisation. In addition, 34 percent said firms should provide more training and education opportunities.

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Apathy, laxity and ineptitude continue to dog data security issues

Apathy, laxity and ineptitude continue to dog data security issues 0

WhateverHow firms must hanker for the days when the issue of corporate data security could usually be addressed simply by asking what somebody had in their bag when they left the building or were fired. Amongst other things, the practice of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) means that the ways for data to leak out of the organisation are now numerous, if not generally malicious. A new cluster of reports has emerged that highlight how carelessness, indifference, cultural ineptitude and the complexities of unmanaged, privately owned technology make it increasingly difficult for firms to maintain the security of their data. While some of the sources of this leakage are generally well known, a couple that are not generally acknowledged is the apathy of employees when it comes to keeping work files safe and secure and the lax attitude of employers when breaches occur.

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Regional differentiations as job pay gap accelerates worldwide

Regional differentiations as job pay gap accelerates worldwide 0

Regional disparities emerge in worldwide job pay gapSince 2008 the pay gap between lower level employees and senior managers has widened in every region across the world, a global survey has found. The pay gap between lower level workers (comprising skilled manual, clerical, supervisor or graduate entry jobs) and senior managers (heads of departments or equivalent) is now on the rise in as twice as many countries as it is falling (42 to 21). The latest research from global management consultancy Hay Group reveals however that Europe has the smallest gap, with an average increase in the pay gap of only 2.2 percent since 2008. This has been fuelled in part by the use of communal pay cuts to avoid redundancies, whereas US firms prefer to cut jobs and urge remaining senior managers to expand their job roles. The research underlines how a large job pay gap can lead to discontent and disengagement among the workforce.

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Special edition of Ergonomics in Design focuses on sedentary work

Special edition of Ergonomics in Design focuses on sedentary work 0

ergonomics and muffin topsThe Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) has published a special edition of its in-house journal dedicated to the much discussed topics of sedentary working and the need for us to get out of our seats. You’ll have to pay for it however, although individual sections are available for a one off cost. HFES claims to be the  world’s largest scientific association for human factors and ergonomics professionals, with more than 4,800 members worldwide. The July issue of their journal Ergonomics in Design looks at the range of ailments associated with sedentary working, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes, weighs up what can be done to change the way people work, as well as the benefits and possible downsides to the most commonly suggested solutions, including sit-stand workstations, alternative seating designs and – God help us – treadmill desks.

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Employers must support older workers with chronic ill health

Employers must support older workers with chronic ill health 0

Employers must support older workers with chronic ill healthAs a recent profile in the Guardian Magazine of workers in their 70s, 80s and 90s illustrated, people who work well into old age are still viewed as remarkable. Yet by 2020, a third of the UK’s workforce will be more than 50 years old. Following the scrapping of the Default Retirement Age, more than 1.4m people in the UK are working after state retirement age, of whom around 300,000 are aged over 70. Now the Health at Work Policy Unit of Lancaster University’s Work Foundation has issued a White Paper, ‘Living Long, Working Well: Supporting older workers with health conditions to remain active at work’, which warns that 42 per cent of over 50s have often manageable chronic illnesses that – if left unsupported by employers, could undermine their productivity, increase their absence from work or even force them out of work altogether.

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Female bosses enhance workforce engagement and motivation

Female bosses enhance workforce engagement and motivation

Female bossesAs businesses begin to ease out of recession they are starting to feel more confident in the economy and look at how they can increase spend. But while companies adjust to their new found growth they must ensure that their employees are reassured that they have a voice and, more importantly, are listened to. At Pure, we’ve recently taken a look at the wider impact which employee engagement can have on businesses big and small using an analysis of some key research. This included some illuminating data on gender roles, which included the fact that employees who work for a female manager are 6 percent more engaged, on average, than those who work for a male manager; female employees who work for a female manager are the most engaged, at 35 percent and male employees who work for a male manager are the least engaged, at 25 percent.

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OECD nations need to urgently address the coming digital workplace

OECD nations need to urgently address the coming digital workplace

Digital workplaceThere is now an urgent need for the world’s growing number of digital economies to shift their focus to how they help people to manage their own transition to a new form of digital workplace. That is the main conclusion of a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2015 claims that while most countries have moved from a narrow focus on communications technology to a broader digital approach, they now need to address the significant and growing risk of disruption in areas like privacy and jobs. The report – which covers areas from broadband penetration and industry consolidation to network neutrality and cloud computing in OECD countries says more should be done to offer information and communication technology (ICT) skills training to help people transition to new types of digital jobs.

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Occupiers give big thumbs down to service levels from property sector

Occupiers give big thumbs down to service levels from property sector

facebook-thumbs-downThe property sector offers its customers pretty appalling customer service, according to a ‘damning’ new report from the British Council of Offices (BCO).  The study, based on the experiences of just 64 occupiers claims that fewer than one in five (17 percent) rate their property management service as “good” or “excellent” and fewer than one in three feeling that their suppliers understood their business needs. The survey found that although customer service is lacking, satisfaction with the end product itself was high, with two out of three occupiers happy with the quality of their office and three out of four perceiving quality to have improved over the past 10 years. The report sets out a 10-point action plan to improve the service occupiers receive, including adopting a new definition of “building performance” set by the BCO and encouraging more transparency.

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UK property industry ‘lags-behind’ customer service revolution says BCO

UK property industry ‘lags-behind’ customer service revolution says BCO

Customer service lags behindOnly 1 in 5 office occupiers rate their property management service as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, according to new research by the British Council for Offices (BCO). While two thirds of occupiers are happy with the quality of their office and three quarters perceive the quality of office space to have improved over the past 10 years, less than one in three occupiers feel the industry understands their business needs. This clear gap between customer expectation and customer experience has led the BCO to call on the industry to develop a better understanding of what a well-performing building looks like from an occupier perspective. The BCO has developed a new definition of building performance, which sets out to frame a more sophisticated approach for property owners and managers to engage with occupiers, focusing upon value and quality creation, rather than simply cost reduction.

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Productivity starts with people, advises CIPD ahead of today’s Budget

Productivity starts with people, advises CIPD ahead of today’s Budget

BudgetInvesting in people’s development and offering flexible working practices can help organisations boost productivity. This is according to research by the CIPD published ahead of today’s budget, which the Chancellor has said will put the emphasis on improving UK productivity. The report: Productivity: Getting the Best out of People, explores the factors that help to explain why some businesses have higher productivity than others and finds that there are clear links between productivity and how people are managed at work. The report finds that performance tends to be higher in businesses where there is a focus on higher quality products or services rather than only on low cost and where workplace culture is clearly aligned with the future direction of the business. Investment in workforce training and an intelligent approach to the implementation of ‘smart’ or agile working practices also has a positive impact.

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Focus on wellbeing not productivity to improve company performance

Focus on wellbeing not productivity to improve company performance

wellbeingNew evidence has been published that claims workplaces that value employees’ safety and wellbeing as much as productivity yield the greatest rewards. A study from Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health claims that when the organisation promotes productivity and wellbeing equally to workers, employees report having less work-related musculoskeletal pain. However, when workers perceived an emphasis on either performance or wellbeing unequally, regardless of which concept was felt to be more important, workers reported greater levels of musculoskeletal pain. The trend of emphasising workplace wellness and valuing employee health and wellbeing has been a focus in many organisations in recent years. This study adds new evidence to the argument that using principles such as ergonomics to increase wellbeing in the workplace benefits not only the employee, but the business too.

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