Search Results for: Gen Z

December 6, 2016

The Work Foundation launches Commission on Good Work ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Workplace, Workplace design

The Work Foundation, part of Lancaster University, has launched a new Commission on Good Work. The commission will seek answers to key questions such as ‘why is a focus on good work so important now?’, ‘what does good work mean in a modern economy?’ and ‘how do we achieve good work?’ The initiative was launched by Work Foundation Director Lesley Giles who invited stakeholders from businesses, trade unions, professional bodies, and the public and voluntary sectors to be part of a ‘Good Work Taskforce.’ Supporting the launch were Sir Charlie Mayfield (John Lewis Partnership), Dame Fiona Kendrick (Nestle),Douglas McCormick (Sweett Group), Mark Keese (OECD), Gail Cartmail (Unite), Peter Cheese CIPD, Scott Johnson (a small business owner) and Professor Paul Sparrow (Lancaster University Management School).

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December 6, 2016

Leading companies around the world show support for LGBT workplace equality ⁰

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

Record number of major companies and law firms are advancing vital policies and practices to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workers around the world. This is according to the 2017 Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the US’ largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. This year, a record-breaking 517 businesses earned the CEI’s top score of 100, up from 407 last year. That’s a single-year increase of more than 25 percent — the largest jump in the 15-year history of the United State’s premiere benchmarking tool for LGBT workplace equality. Leadership demonstrated by these businesses, reflect more than a decade of work inside these companies to expand LGBT, and particularly transgender, workplace equality. The Corporate Equality Index (CEI), launched in 2002 to assess LGBT-inclusive policies and practices at Fortune 500 companies, also highlights how corporate leaders are increasingly stepping up to play a leading role in opposing anti-equality legislation. Through their actions, taken as LGBTQ workers and customers have been facing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills in state legislatures across the US, business leaders are building on their longstanding commitment to expanding workplace equality for LGBTQ people.

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December 1, 2016

Study highlights the main causes of workplace disruption and irritation ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

New research released by Samsung Electronics claims that UK small business workers are losing 5.5 hours a week because of workplace disruptions and irritations. Unsurprisingly, technology issues caused the most lost time, at an average of 27 minutes a day (or just over two hours per week). Crashing computers (92 percent) and slow internet (92 percent) were the two biggest technology factors annoying small business workers, closely followed by no access to emails (85 percent). Distractions caused by co-workers caused 22 minutes a day of downtime (just under two hours per week). Moaning (which annoys 84 percent of small business workers), eating loudly or messily (83 percent) and interruptions while talking (80 percent) were the biggest irritations. General office issues contributed 19 minutes a day (1.5 hours a week) in lost time. Being too hot or too cold (82 percent), uncomfortable seating (81 percent) and a messy workplace (80 percent) were the top frustrations.

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November 30, 2016

Public sector employees ‘stressed’ but remaining optimistic following Brexit ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Levels of stress among public sector workers remain higher than any other sector, despite job satisfaction being at its highest level in four years amidst a tide of wider post-referendum optimism. This is according to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report of more than 2,000 employees which found that 63 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs, rising to two-thirds (66 percent) in the public sector, the highest level for that sector since autumn 2012. However, public sector employees still report higher levels of pressure and exhaustion at work than any other sector. Two in five public sector workers (43 percent) say they are under excessive pressure at work at least once a week (all employees: 38 percent), and nearly half (46 percent) say they come home from work exhausted either always or often (all employees: 33 percent). The survey also suggests there is ample room for improvement in employee development and career progression which employers must address quickly so as not to lose valuable talent.

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November 30, 2016

Germany slides down rankings as one of world’s top employment talent hotspots ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Germany has slipped down the rankings as one of the world’s top employment talent hotspots, with other established economic powers such as the UK and France playing only minor roles in sustaining Europe’s pre-eminence. According to the World Talent Report by IMD Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands occupy the top five places in the rankings – the first two retaining their standings from last year. Finland, Norway, Austria, Luxembourg and Hong Kong complete the top 10, with Germany 11th, Iceland 16th, Ireland 18th, the UK 20th and France down in 28th. The objective of the World Talent Report is to assess how countries sustain the talent pool necessary for businesses to maximize their performances. Austria was one of the biggest movers over the past 12 months, climbing 11 places to break into the top 10, while Belgium rose by six positions to take third spot. By contrast, Germany slipped out of the elite, dropping from 7th to 11th, after being impacted especially heavily by the economic crisis affecting much of Europe.

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November 29, 2016

Slow broadband prevents thousands of Brits working from home ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Although the vast majority of British people who work from home need a fast internet connection, around a quarter of them are hampered by slow broadband, according to a new survey from comparison website Broadband Genie. The news comes on the day the Government finally announces that BT is to divest its Openreach arm which looks after the nation’s broadband infrastructure. The timing is welcome news for broadband users who have been frustrated for years by the UK’s second rate technological infrastructure. According to the Brodband Genie study the majority of people who work from home believe it has a positive impact on their happiness, work life balance, productivity and motivation. Yet while 90 percent rely on broadband in order to work from home almost a quarter of homeworkers are limited by slow connections.

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November 29, 2016

Rigid attitudes to flexible working prevents lawyers raising it with employers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Flexible working may be gaining ground across the professions but it remains so rare in the legal industry that more than one in three (35 percent) lawyers say they would not feel comfortable even beginning the conversation about flexible working with their employer. The reason for this, suggests new research from My Family Care and recruiters Hydrogen, is down to a rigid culture which encourages working anti-social hours; as almost a third (29 percent) of the 140 of lawyers asked, saying that the majority of their colleagues think that people who work flexibly are simply “having an easy life.” Yet despite this, over two thirds (67 percent) would rather choose flexible working over a 5 percent salary increase. The research also found a large gender divide when it comes to flexible working. While significantly more female lawyers work part time (34 percent of women compared with 10 percent of men), female lawyers say they work considerably more than their contracted hours: 35 percent compared to just 28 percent of males.

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November 26, 2016

The workplace puzzle + Feeling blue about work + Commuting more than ever ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Property, Technology, Wellbeing, Work&Place, Workplace, Workplace design

In this week’s Newsletter; Ian Ellison says there are no silver bullets for workspace design, but it’s worth the effort; Justin Miller explores the workplace implications of seasonal affective disorder (SAD); and Jeff Flanagan explains why workplace design and management teams should look towards consumer-facing industries for inspiration. Asia set to lead the world in the uptake of artificial intelligence in the workplace; Staples announces tomorrow’s workplace design winners; and UK Government to invest properly in the next generation of technological infrastructure. One in seven UK employees now commute over two hours each day; Millennials reject the gig economy; Autumn statement could adversely affect London’s tech firms; and global report finds that flexible working is a necessity for younger workers. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

November 25, 2016

Reducing paper-weight is the key to maintaining a healthy business in the digital age ⁰

by Chas Moloney • Comment, Technology

The idea of creating a paperless office has been circulating for at least 40 years. Business Week famously forecast its arrival in 1975, predicting that paper would be on its way out by 1980 and dead by 1990. However, it’s almost 2017 and even with new and innovative digital technologies that enable us to operate in a highly connected world, the paper-light office is still far from our reality. Yet institutions from a variety of different sectors are leading the way when it comes to driving initiatives forward to going paperless and paper-light. For example, to address the need of approximately 12 million people in the UK that annually fill in a self-assessment tax form, plans have been put in place by the government to give individual digital accounts, aiming to allow more than 50 million individuals and small businesses to manage their tax affairs online. As a result, costs will be significantly cut by erasing expensive and laborious bureaucratic processes in the long-term, whilst fundamentally streamlining and simplifying intricate business services and applications.

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November 25, 2016

Dissatisfaction with work-life balance is more and more likely to be a reason to quit ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

The term ‘work-life balance’ has been promised by large corporations for years – and it now could finally become a key factor choosing a career. According to a worldwide survey, the upcoming generation of Y and Z workers demand more flexibility, less face-time, and rather than having to account for half-day annual leave, attending school plays or meetups, expect to be trusted to do the job on their terms. However, the research by Emolument also claims that in some industries, implementing such a shift in perception and practice is still a long way off, as client demands in terms of reactivity and timeliness remain unchanged. Employers do understand that dissatisfaction with work-life balance is more and more likely to be a reason for quitting though, and that higher pay struggles to compensate for time spent away from family and friends. With more pressure on women to cover for childcare commitment, housework and logistics, 42 percent of women say they’ve a bad work/life balance compared to 33 percent of men.

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November 24, 2016

Autumn Statement could undermine the growth of London’s tech firms ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, Legal news, News, Public Sector, Technology

Changes in business rates announced in yesterday’s Autumn Statement are likely to hit hardest the areas in the Capital such as Shoreditch and Fitzrovia where innovative tech companies are located, commented Jon Neale, head of UK Research, JLL. “The impact will no doubt undermine government plans to boost tech investment under its ‘Industrial Strategy’ announced earlier this week,” he said. “Meanwhile, office costs are high in London and post Brexit we need to minimise the risk that companies, will see cheaper continental cities such as Berlin as better bet place to set up shop.” He did add however that the promised “£1.3bn to improve roads and ease congestion is welcome and is likely to unlock development sites and promote economic development in many parts of the country. If the UK is to really address the challenges and opportunities of Brexit, investment in infrastructure needs to be more ambitious as well as more focused on an increasingly digital, hi-tech future. Green and smart city technology, new tram and underground networks and truly high-speed broadband would help provide precisely the platform UK business needs.”

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November 23, 2016

Asian HR executives ready to welcome our new robot overlords ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

Asia is set to lead the world in the uptake of artificial intelligence in the workplace and human resources managers expect to be in the vanguard when it comes to managing in the new era. According to a report in the MIT Technology Review, two thirds of HR managers in the region expect to be dealing with AI within five years and nearly three quarters believe the technology will lead to substantial job losses over the same period. Although the report is based on interviews with just 60 executives it highlights a growing awareness among HR managers worldwide that they will have to adjust very soon to a new era in which people are working alongside the next generation of AI. The report also highlights the different perspectives that HR professionals have on the subject compared to the boardroom.