Search Results for: Gen Z

September 1, 2016

New report sets out four key challenges for the workforce of the future ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new report from The Future Laboratory and UBS Wealth Management claims to identify the key factors that will drive workplace change in the near future. According to The Future of the Workforce report, the next two decades will see the way we work completely reshaped by forces such as artificial intelligence and an increasingly multigenerational workforce. The report claims that the entry of more Millennials into the workplace, their differing values to older workers, a growing propensity to turn freelance and the dissolution of the old bonds of loyalty could mean that employers struggle to create a strong culture. The report also claims that there will be a growing emphasis on the provision of wellness programmes, driven partly by growing demand from employees as well as a greater focus on improving productivity from employers. It also suggests that employers need to act to remove any biases they may have to appeal to the values of the new generation of workers.

August 31, 2016

Open and honest communication boosts staff engagement levels ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees who feel communication within their organisation is open and honest are nearly 15 times more likely to be engaged, and those who are encouraged to share ideas and opinions are 11 times more likely, claims a survey which suggests that staff want a more human experience, grounded in loyalty, recognition, respect, and honesty. Areas viewed as the best opportunities to differentiate in terms of staff engagement include above-average pay and benefits, a fun place to work, workplace flexibility, a strong fit with individual values, stimulating work, and a spirit of innovation. But according to results of the survey from Aon Hewitt what employees want in a workplace is not what they experience. And these gaps are having an impact on employees’ intent to stay. Of the 52 percent who would leave their current company for another job, 44 percent are actively looking. Opinions about what makes an employer stand out from other companies are similar across generations.

August 31, 2016

Addressing the five negative influences on organisational culture ⁰

by Matias Rodsevich • Comment, Flexible working, Knowledge, Workplace

Organisational culture should represent a clear vision from a firm about its very nature and identity as well as its values. A culture one that everybody within the organisation should understand and share. But this is not always the case as a growing number of firms are discovering to their cost. According to a paper published last year by Deloitte University Press, only 12 percent of employees believe their company is effective at driving their desired culture. Another study from employee feedback software provider Stackhands, around two thirds of people (64 percent) feel they do not have a strong work culture within their organisation. Even so, whether people are aware of it or not, their company has its own culture. Without direction and positive influences, negative factors can take hold, shaping culture in a way that can become harmful for a business. These elements can hinder your company’s development of an effective culture:

August 30, 2016

Overwork leads to sleeplessness and lower workplace productivity ⁰

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

A new study claims that there is a direct link between sleep and productivity. A survey of more than 97,000 employees in 33 industries and 139 countries from Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), found evidence of a link between sleep and performance. Currently, one in three adults regularly fail to get enough sleep, according to the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Harvard Medical School estimates that the cost adds up to USD $63.2 billion annually. This includes money lost through absenteeism as well as the accidents, mistakes, and impaired productivity employees suffer when they do show up to work. And the one of the primary causes is working long hours and forms of presenteeism such as checking emails at home. To help combat this problem the report urges those at the top of the organisation to set an example and demonstrate that working long hours in exchange for reduced sleep is counterproductive and won’t be encouraged.

August 25, 2016

Research suggests individual responses to stress at work vary widely ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

No matter how compelling the evidence on the impact of stress at work there are always individuals who dismiss the very idea as self-indulgence. New research suggests this isn’t down to lack of empathy but simply because some people just don’t experience stress the same as others. The survey by the Deloitte Greenhouse Experience team found statistically significant variation in how respondents react to stressors which indicates that workplace stress is relative and not everyone experiences stress in the same way or to the same degree. The majority of respondents reported modest levels of stress. Fourteen percent reported being stressed only rarely and 57 percent reported being stressed sometimes, while 26 percent reported being stressed often, and 3 percent reported being always stressed. Different scenarios were also mooted to identify stress triggers. Making mistakes topped the list of stressors, with 82 percent of respondents indicating errors caused stress.

August 25, 2016

More organisations worldwide offering parental leave rights to employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Despite the complexities of parental leave legislation, a growing number of organisations worldwide are making the benefit available to their workforce, according to the new Global Parental Leave report from human resources consultancy Mercer. According to the study – which is behind a paywall – more than one third of organisations have one centralised global policy. Around 38 percent provide paid paternity leave above the statutory minimum and several countries mandate a parental leave programme that may be used by either parent or carers. A growing number of organisations have extended the right to part time employees and see it as a valuable tool for attracting and retaining talent regardless of the gender or contract of employees. While almost two-thirds (64 percent) of companies provide maternity leave for only the birth mother, 24 percent of companies provide this leave to a primary caregiver.

August 24, 2016

Nearly three quarters of UK staff say their workplace is a health hazard ⁰

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

Personal injury lawyers may have helped fuel the UK’s overzealous health and safety culture, but the truth is that their services are often called for to challenge negligent employers. Now a new piece of research by Hayward Baker claims that many employees are not only stuck in unsafe workplaces but with unsanitary working conditions, which is putting their health at risk. The research into over a thousand workers on the conditions of Britain’s offices, shops, factories, warehouses and building sites found that 69 percent believe their workplace to be a health hazard. The study revealed 35 percent of working Brits have picked up an illness from their place of work – with 18 percent claiming to have been struck down with food poisoning or caught a stomach bug because of dirty conditions. A further 39 percent have suffered an injury at work – with two in ten (20 percent) having been to hospital due to a work-related illness or injury.

August 23, 2016

US Millennials ‘martyred’ behaviour helps drive culture of presenteeism ⁰

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

As the school holidays draw to a close, those Brits who’ve enjoyed their annual two-week holiday break will probably have squirreled away some days to take them through to the end of the year. Not so easy for the average US worker who earns on average just ten paid vacation days per annum, for each year of service. According to a survey carried out last year, many Americans even fail to take that allocated leave for fear of being seen as slacking. And now a new piece of research claims that far from breaking this tradition of presenteeism, US Millennial workers are the most likely generation to forfeit time off, even though they earn the least amount of vacation days. These findings, from Project: Time Off’s new report, The Work Martyr’s Cautionary Tale: How the Millennial Experience Will Define America’s Vacation Culture suggest that Millennials stay at work because they feel more fear and greater guilt about taking time away from the office than any other generation.

August 22, 2016

Managers and staff in creative sector disagree on what makes a creative office ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace design

According to a survey by recruitment firm The Creative Group, managers and employees in US based ad agencies don’t see eye to eye on the essential characteristics of a creative office. When asked what the ideal work environment is for on-the-job innovation, the top response among advertising and marketing executives was an open plan workplace. Employees, however, seem to prefer more private, concentrated time, with a private office being the most popular option. According to the study of 1,400 US based ad agency managers, executives and employees, over a third of managers favour open plan environments compared to just a quarter of employees. Twice as many employees as managers would also rather have a private office. Around a fifth of both groups opt for a cubicle. Perhaps the most interesting finding of the report is that just 4 percent of both groups think the best option is remote working.

August 19, 2016

Over a third of office workers complain about poor air quality ¹

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Almost 70 percent of office workers believe poor air quality in their place of work is having a negative effect on their day-to-day productivity and wellbeing, claims a survey commissioned by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA); and a third of workers are concerned that poor air quality could be having a negative effect on their health. Opening windows is the most commonly used form of ventilation with 60 percent of workers saying it is the first thing they do if they need fresh air. However, although this is seen as a natural response, opening windows runs the risk of further polluting the working environment by letting in outdoor toxins, the survey claims. Given that we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and on average, 212 days a year at work, BESA has called on firms, managers and employees to ensure proper, effective, well maintained ventilation systems are operating in all offices across the UK.

August 19, 2016

Employers must lose ‘stiff upper lip’ culture to promote workplace wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude towards wellness by UK bosses needs to change in order to advance employee wellbeing, argues a survey by Bupa. It is business leaders who are the key to overcoming the challenges facing employees’ health and wellbeing, it claims. The vast majority (94 percent) of those questioned believe there will be significant change in the employer-employee relationship in the next ten years. 91 percent of business leaders agree that technology will continue to impact the wellbeing of their workforce over the next decade and 71 percent agree the standard 9am-5pm working day is a thing of the past. Seven in ten (68 percent) noted a ‘stiff upper lip attitude’ at executive level, creating barriers to conversations about wellbeing, and three fifths (62 percent) of leaders think they need to show that they don’t suffer from ill health.

August 18, 2016

Uncompromising job candidates’ demands don’t include flexible work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Job candidates are becoming more demanding claims a new survey, with three quarters (79.2 percent) of UK workers polled not willing to compromise on certain areas when looking for a new role. Unsurprisingly, 18.2 percent say that a low advertised salary would put them off a role entirely, but other less tangible issues would also dissuade them from pursuing an application. This includes unclear job descriptions (20 percent) and a long recruitment process (10.2 percent); while 7.8 percent revealed that poor communication throughout the recruitment process would drive them away from a company. The research, which was conducted by CV-Library, surveyed 1,000 UK workers and found that candidates are growing increasingly impatient with their job hunt. Other key deterrents cited were poor traits about the businesses themselves, including a bad reputation (9.5 percent), a high staff turnover (7.1 percent) and poor management (6.1 percent).