May 2, 2022

Why the over 50s are leaving the workforce in huge numbers

by Carlos Carillo-Tudela et al • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK economy has a problem with its over 50s: following the COVID pandemic, they have been leaving the labour force en masse, causing headaches for businesses and the government. Roughly 300,000 more workers aged between 50 and 65 are now “economically inactive” than before the pandemic, leading a tabloid paper to dub the problem the “silver exodus”. Being economically inactive means that these older workers are neither employed nor looking for a job. Of course, it could simply be that workers saved more during the pandemic and can now afford to retire in comfort earlier than planned. More →

April 27, 2022

A third of workers think their jobs are at risk from automation

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

A new poll claims that one in three (37 percent) employees consider their current job to be at risk from automation and digital transformation. HR software provider CIPHR has compiled a list of the occupations that are the most and least likely to be replaced by technology or machines, based on the results of a survey of more than 1,000 UK workers: www.ciphr.com/jobs-at-risk-from-automation. Survey respondents were asked to rate the likelihood that their own occupation could become automated in the future, due to advances in smart technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and robotics. More →

April 22, 2022

Great Resignation: nearly half of job quitters think they were better off in the old job

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Nearly half of people (43 percent) who quit their jobs as part of the so-called Great Resignation during the pandemic now think they were actually better off at their old job. This revelation comes from a six-country survey of nearly 4,000 people by UKG that examines sentiment about quitting during the Great Resignation, including if job leavers felt that they made the right decision, the disconnect between managers and employees about why people quit, and the chances workers would boomerang back to their old job. More →

April 19, 2022

Four-day working week can improve wellbeing and reduce social inequality

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Research from the University of Kent has shown how a national four-day working week can positively impact workers and their families’ wellbeing, improve social cohesion and reduce social inequality. In a paper published by the Journal of Social Policy, Professor Heejung Chung from Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research discusses how a shorter working week can help tackle issues by giving workers the ‘right to time’, shifting a balance between work and non-work activities in daily life. More →

March 17, 2022

Work cultures to focus on people and purpose this year

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new poll from the ADP Research Institute (ADPRI) claims that 64 percent of the global workforce was negatively impacted by coronavirus. However, 66 percent of UK workers feel optimistic about the next five years at work, and a third think COVID-19 will have a positive effect on work cultures including through greater flexibility (34 percent) and better work-life balance (28 percent). More →

March 3, 2022

Bereaved employees feel added pressure of job insecurity

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Empathy, a platform helping families navigate the journey they face after losing a loved one, today released the first edition of its annual Cost of Dying Report (registration). The report reveals results from a new survey exploring the real cost of dying in the US and the impact on bereaved employees. The report includes a foreword from Goldman Sachs, as well as reflections from experts in the end-of-life space including David Kessler, Chief Empathy Officer at Empathy & Grief Expert, BJ Miller, MD, Compassion Advisor at Empathy & Co-Founder of Mettle Health, and Shoshanna Ungerleider, MD, Founder of the End Well Foundation. More →

February 28, 2022

Half of employees say their job is main source of mental health challenges

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

More than half of employed people in the UK (58 percent) say their job is the main source of their mental health challenges according to new research from Qualtrics which also claims that more employees in the UK would prioritise the ability to choose which hours of the day they work (55 percent) and what days of the week they work (22 percent) over the ability to work remotely from any location (14 percent). More →

February 15, 2022

Despite the talk of the Great Resignation, most people actually enjoy their jobs

by Neil Franklin • Jobs, News, Workplace

While many people may be busy considering their career options as part of the ‘Great Resignation’, a new poll claims that the majority of Brits actually enjoy their jobs. According to data from HR software provider CIPHR around two-thirds (65 percent) of the 1,031 employees polled said they either love or like their current jobs (19 percent and 46 percent respectively). CIPHR took the findings of how people feel about their jobs and grouped people with related job titles together (using the Office for National Statistics’ standard occupational classifications) to compile a list of the UK’s best-loved – and also least-liked – occupations: www.ciphr.com/uks-favourite-jobs. More →

February 15, 2022

Skills crisis intensifies as demand for white collar jobs outstrips supply

by Neil Franklin • Jobs, News

Demand for people to fill permanent and contracted white-collar jobs while the UK continues to battle a skills crisis. That’s according to the latest Recruitment Trends Snapshot report from The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The data provided by Bullhorn, claims that demand for contractors was also up year-on-year, increasing 38 percent. Month-on-month figures also showed a spike in jobs, with permanent and contract vacancies increasing 104 percent and 78 percent between December and January, which can be attributed to a bounce back following a seasonal lull. More →

February 11, 2022

Women demand employer support to work through menopause

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Research commissioned by Gympass claims that many women are struggling to work through menopause, with empathy and support at the office in short supply. According to the survey, 81 percent of the women aged 45-64 say their employer doesn’t provide help and 66 percent didn’t feel able to speak to their boss about the challenges they face at work. More →

January 25, 2022

Hybrid working? Let’s put on a show

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

I’m currently rereading Art Kleiner’s masterful book The Age of Heretics which describes the history of ground-breaking thought in management in the 20th Century and the lessons we forget. It remains a relevant book for the new era of ‘hybrid working’ because the book draws a distinction between two fundamental schools of thought in management theory. One of these sees management as a numbers game in which people are inherently problematic and so must be directed what to do based on data and routines of desirable activity and behaviour. And the other sees people as well meaning, capable and adaptable with managers there to facilitate and channel their abilities and help them develop. More →

January 18, 2022

Women working from home four times more likely to think career is stagnating

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

A new report reveals that more than half of women (54 percent) employed in the UK believe their employer isn’t providing them with enough opportunities for career progression. As working from home has become more permanent over the last year, women are now four times as likely than men to feel their career has stagnated. More →