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Half of UK businesses expect 2024 to be easier than 2023

Half of UK businesses expect 2024 to be easier than 2023

by • Business, News

UK businesses are hopeful for 2024 according to new research from Pleo. The CFO’s Playbook for 2024, which polled over +500 UK financial decision makers, found that almost 50 percent of UK businesses believe 2024 will be “easier” than 2023 (vs. 35 percent believing it will be harder and 15 percent anticipating that it will be the same as last year). As such, with a waning concern around inflation – a 20 percent decrease since 2023 –  businesses are targeting more ambitious goals. Nearly three quarters are prioritising cash growth, and while this was also the primary objective of businesses last year, findings show a 163 percent increase in British businesses focussed on this ambition. (more…)

Lab rats – how the UK life sciences sector is struggling to find space to work

Lab rats – how the UK life sciences sector is struggling to find space to work

by • Features, Premium Content, Property

The UK wants to build on its already successful position as a globally important player in the life sciences and pharma sectors. Yet it is struggling to create enough space for growth in the right places and having to rethink wher research and innovation takes place In November 2023, plans to turn part of a golf course next to a motorway into a £340 million science park were refused by South Oxfordshire District Council. Although now classified as greenbelt, the location was the site of a landfill as recently as the 1990s and is just a stone’s throw from both the A40 trunk road and M40 motorway. The developers are expected to appeal. Whatever the details of this story, it is an example of how challenging it can be to meet demand for lab and life sciences space in the so-called Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge in the South of England. This lack of supply is acting as a brake on the UK Government’s dream of making the country a “science superpower”. (more…)

CEOs remain optimistic about short term growth, quarter are planning to replace people with AI

CEOs remain optimistic about short term growth, quarter are planning to replace people with AI

by • AI, Business, News, Technology

A quarter of CEOs intend to cut their headcounts by at least five percent "due to generative AIThe proportion of CEOs who believe global economic growth will improve over the next 12-months has more than doubled. At the same time, the proportion of CEOs concerned about their long-term business viability has risen to 45 percent as tech and climate pressures accelerate, according to PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey. However the survey, published to coincide with the annual World Economic Forum jamboree in Davos, also reports that artificial intelligence will result in dramatic job losses in 2024 and beyond. A quarter intend to cut their headcounts by at least five percent “due to generative AI. (more…)

Number of self-employed falls, except for over-50s

Number of self-employed falls, except for over-50s

by • News, Workplace

the number of self-employed business owners aged 50 and over surged to 1.1 million in 2023 – 89,000 more than in 2020 – despite the total solo self-employed population falling by 154,000 in the same period.Tens of thousands more over 50s are now running their own businesses despite an overall decline in self-employment since 2020, new analysis of workforce statistics shows. The analysis, published by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), found that the number of self-employed business owners aged 50 and over surged to 1.1 million in 2023 – 89,000 more than in 2020 – despite the total solo self-employed population falling by 154,000 in the same period. (more…)

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

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

by • Comment, Technology

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…)

It will take more than government funding for the world to reach net zero

It will take more than government funding for the world to reach net zero

by • Environment, News

The world needs up to $3.5 trillion of additional investments each year to reach net-zero and restore natureClimate finance was central to discussions at COP28 in Dubai and funding to reach net zero and restore biodiversity is still falling short. A new report from the World Economic Forum highlights the priorities for action and sets out how partnerships between organisations from the philanthropic, private and public sectors can create what it refers to as a positive domino effect, cut emissions at speed. (more…)

Angry, stressed and worried. The utter state of the UK workforce in 2023

Angry, stressed and worried. The utter state of the UK workforce in 2023

by • News, Wellbeing

Gallup has published its 2023 Gallup Global Emotions report [registration]  – a study of employee sentiment in the UK workforceGallup has published its 2023 Gallup Global Emotions report [registration]  – a study of employee sentiment in the UK workforce. According to the report’s Negative Experience Index, which tracks how many people experience daily sadness, anger, stress, worry, and physical pain, full-time UK employees are experiencing historically high levels of daily negative experiences. This latest Gallup data claims that full-time UK employees scored a 32 on Gallup’s Negative Experience Index. This is up substantially from 23 in 2020. Full-time employees in the UK are now some of the most emotionally distressed in Europe, second only to employees in Malta. (more…)

Many business leaders inadvertently create a culture of fear at work

Many business leaders inadvertently create a culture of fear at work

by • News, Workplace

A new poll of workplace leaders suggests there is an environment of unconscious fear in modern-day leadership, leading to toxic culture, stunted growth, performance and productivity, and decision inertia. The global study of 2,500 emerging leaders in corporate businesses by consultant Margot Faraci, claims that around one quarter (23 percent) of UK leaders are unconsciously creating an environment of fear with direct reports. Globally, this figure rises to one in three (30 percent), indicating a growing worldwide phenomenon of fearful leadership. Fearful leadership carries significant implications for team morale, performance, and overall well-being within organisations. It’s often attributed to past experiences, creating an ongoing cycle of leadership driven by fear. (more…)

Upcoming webinar: how to make hybrid working a success

Upcoming webinar: how to make hybrid working a success

by • Company news, Flexible working

The answer is a data-powered framework for making high-impact workplace decisions like: how much space workplaces actually need; how workplaces should be designed; and what hybrid working policies should look likeWhat does it take to make hybrid working a success? Many workplace leaders are asking themselves this question as real estate portfolios shrink and companies struggle to get employees back in the office. The answer is a data-powered framework for making high-impact workplace decisions like: how much space workplaces actually need; how workplaces should be designed; and what hybrid working policies should look like. (more…)

Books, smiles and house plants make the best impression on Zoom calls. But maybe not that particular book

Books, smiles and house plants make the best impression on Zoom calls. But maybe not that particular book

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

the best way to create a good first impression on Zoom calls or in any virtual meeting, is a visual background of house plants and books, especially when they are realA new study by psychologists at Durham University claims that the best way to create a good first impression on Zoom calls or in any virtual meeting, is a visual background of house plants and books, especially when they are real. In the recent paper published in the Journal PLOS ONE, Associate Professor Paddy Ross and colleagues from  Department of Psychology, investigated what really matters when it comes to making the best and worst first impressions in a virtual meeting environment. (more…)

How digital platforms are revolutionising the outplacement experience

How digital platforms are revolutionising the outplacement experience

by • Company news

For the first time since the 2008/2009 financial crisis, redundancy rates have risen, and this trend looks set to continue throughout 2024. Just over 42 percent of employers (HR Director) are planning to make redundancies in a year that has already seen a string of high-profile companies announce job cuts. Businesses are reorganising, considering ideas such as outplacement, and the market landscape is changing in more ways than one. With a new wave of Gen Zs raising the bar for issues that matter to them, employers are now facing expectations that are different to that of Boomers. (more…)

SMEs turn to AI and acquisitions to navigate an uncertain future

SMEs turn to AI and acquisitions to navigate an uncertain future

by • AI, Business, News, Technology

More than half of all business leaders (55 percent) believe that the overall economic conditions in the UK and Ireland have worsened compared to a year ago.  Yet, 58 percent of SMEs anticipate an increase in their firm’s sales revenues over the next 12 months; while nearly half (47 percent) expect profitability to improve within a year and 47 percent of SMEs are confident that their firm’s total number of employees will grow in the next 12 months. Business leaders are planning to invest more in AI and acquisitions to help them navigate an uncertain future. (more…)

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