Search Results for: automation

Improving employment of older people could boost UK GDP by £180bn 

Improving employment of older people could boost UK GDP by £180bn 

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

GDP could be boosted by around £180 billion a year if the UK could match New Zealand’s employment rates for the over-55s. While employment of older workers has improved in the UK in recent years, it still ranks only 21st out of 35 OECD countries according to new analysis from PwC. The consultancy’s Golden Age Index is a weighted average of indicators – including employment, earnings and training – that reflect the labour market impact of workers aged over 55. Iceland tops the rankings followed by New Zealand and Israel. For the OECD as a whole, there is a potential $3.5 trillion economic prize from matching New Zealand’s employment rates for the over-55s.

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UK skills shift as organisations digitise and automate operations

UK skills shift as organisations digitise and automate operations

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

UK skills shift as organisations digitise and automate operationsAlmost half (49 percent) of companies are struggling to find skilled workers as digitisation and automation cause significant change in the skills businesses look for in professionals, according to new data from Robert Half UK. As a result, one fifth (21 percent) are now looking to recruit candidates with exceptional soft skills, with a view to developing the desired technical skills on the job. In the Robert Half research, UK business leaders consider an openness to new ideas (28 percent), an openness to change (26 percent) and good communication abilities (19 percent) as key attributes and will prioritise these areas when considering new talent. Digitisation and automation are rapidly evolving the business world. Companies are having to quickly adapt to the changing world of work, and are looking for employees who can keep pace,” says Matt Weston, UK Managing Director at Robert Half.

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Employees who work in digitally advanced workplaces are more productive and motivated

Employees who work in digitally advanced workplaces are more productive and motivated

by • Facilities management, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Companies that are less technologically advanced are at risk of falling behind the competition and not attracting top talent, claims a new global study from Aruba. By contrast, employees who work in digital workplaces are not only more productive but also more motivated, have higher job satisfaction, and report an overall better sense of well-being. The study, Digital Revolutionaries Unlock the Potential of the Digital Workplace, outlines both the business and human benefits of more digitally-driven workplaces, and how. Almost all respondents (97 percent) thought their workplace would be improved through greater use of technology, while 64 percent said their company will fall behind the competition if new technology isn’t implemented. The same portion (64 percent) believe the traditional office will become obsolete due to advances in technology. However, the survey also warns that companies must be vigilant as more digital-savvy employees are taking greater risks with data and information security.

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Seven workplace stories that caught our attention over the last week

Seven workplace stories that caught our attention over the last week

by • Facilities management, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Why telling an adult they are a hard worker can backfire

Facebook takes on entire WeWork location on Soho

Are these the world’s best tall buildings?

How one Chinese city is spending more on AI than the EU

Evidence that daylight can make a positive difference in the workplace

Automation is starting the clear the clutter from offices

Considering the merits of universal basic income

A 21st Century take on the idea of the time capsule that tells us something about the way we work

A 21st Century take on the idea of the time capsule that tells us something about the way we work

by • Comment

Last December, National Geographic published a story about the discovery of one of the oldest known time capsules. It was concealed by a chaplain of the Cathedral of Burgo de Osma in Spain, in the buttocks of a statue of Jesus Christ. Hidden inside were some documents that detailed life in Spain in the late 18th Century, along with some thoughts on the political and religious systems of the time. Historians have concluded that this was one of the very first time capsules, given that the creator clearly intended it to be discovered at some point in the distant future. This has been the standard approach to time capsules for hundreds of years; a chance to leave behind some artefacts or thoughts for a future generation to learn about the past.

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Seven stories to get your week off to a flying start

Seven stories to get your week off to a flying start

by • Facilities management, Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Why great employees leave great cultures

Are flexible short term leases the new future?

Four mega-trends for the future of work

The revolution will not be transactionalised

Bjarke Ingels joins WeWork as Chief Architect

The road to automation, the joy of work, and the ‘Jen problem’

How Soho House transformed BBC Television Centre (registration required)

The workplace week in seven stories you should read

The workplace week in seven stories you should read

by • Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

The need to work less is a matter of life and death

House-hunters resort to commercial property in Madrid

The return of the traditional workplace for tech firms?

Ten million British jobs could be gone in 15 years and no one knows what happens next.

Embracing technology to move facilities management forward

Tiny robots will deliver your lunch, because we hate human interaction

The lapsing of Finland’s universal basic income trial (registration)

Digital media overload as over half of workers unable to find information easily

Digital media overload as over half of workers unable to find information easily

by • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Over half of UK workers (57 percent), are regularly experiencing an inability to locate information easily across a range of digital media, including emails, apps, messages and the internet, a new survey claims. The survey conducted via YouGov, for Evernote, also revealed that 87 percent of digital workers use up to four devices such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, and/or a smart watch on a daily basis to access information. The majority (83 percent) of people use at least one app a day to source information. 31 percent of workers are accessing between five to nine apps per day and 18 percent are utilising over 10 apps a day. However, when it comes to face to face communications rather than digital, respondents were much more positive, with nearly half of those asked (45 percent) expressing that they felt they had the right number of meetings at work, and just 16 percent of those saying they feel their work day is filled with too many meetings.

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Nearly half of London Law firms are already utilising AI

Nearly half of London Law firms are already utilising AI

by • AI, Cities, News, Technology

Nearly half of London Law firms are already utilising AIThere have already been warnings from workplace experts that the legal profession isn’t one to choose for those starting out on their careers as it’s ripe for automation, and a new survey claims these changes are happening fast. According to a survey of over a 100 law firms by CBRE, nearly half (48 percent) are already utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a further 41 percent have imminent plans to do so. Of the firms already employing AI, 63 percent of firms are using it for legal document generation and review, and the same proportion for e-discovery. Due diligence (47 percent) and research (42 percent) were also common applications, along with compliance and administrative legal support (each 32 percent). The use of AI will affect employment levels, with the greatest impact predicted at the junior and support levels, where nearly half (45 percent) of firms believing that there will be a reduction in headcount. In contrast, only 7 percent of firms believe that senior headcount levels will be reduced.

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Business leaders struggling to keep up with demands of individuals and technological developments in the workplace

Business leaders struggling to keep up with demands of individuals and technological developments in the workplace

by • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Organisations are struggling to keep pace with workplace shifts including skills gaps, the development of artificial intelligence, the demands of employees and new social expectations, according to the latest Human Capital Trends report from Deloitte. In its 2018 edition, The Rise of the Social Enterprise, Deloitte focuses on the growing expectations of individuals and the pace at which technology is shaping organisations’ human capital priorities.

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Robots will lead to increased productivity without stealing jobs, but wages will fall

Robots will lead to increased productivity without stealing jobs, but wages will fall

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

AI will take time to lead to higher productivity but it may also depress wagesRobots will not as feared steal people’s jobs and will eventually improve productivity, but they will undercut workers’ contribution sufficiently to depress their wages. According to the third report in Barclays Impact Series, titled Robots at the gate: Humans and technology at work, technology is fundamentally re-shaping the nature of work, and the implications of this re-shaping process will accelerate in coming decades. The report authored by Barclays’ Research team and supported by the Barclays Social Innovation Facility sets today’s technological advancements in the context of historical precedent and argues that robotics and Artificial Intelligence do not portend a jobless future. However, these new technologies have important macroeconomic consequences, such as wage disinflation, which will likely continue in the years or even decades to come. The report also argues that productivity spurts lag behind technological leaps, as it can take years or even decades for an economy to figure out how to best use a new technology. Eventually, economies of scale are reached, consumer behaviour adapts, companies refine their business models and productivity growth finally kicks in. More →

Quarter of people are ready to welcome robots as our new overlords

Quarter of people are ready to welcome robots as our new overlords

by • AI, News, Technology

Around a quarter of British people would happily replace MPs with robots, according to a study of 6,000 individuals from Reboot Digital Marketing and  Mindshare. The surveys asked people whether they would prefer machines or humans in eight different occupations and scenarios. It found that when making car comparisons with the intention to eventually purchase, a significant percentage of Brits would want robots (60 percent) aiding them instead of humans (40 percent). Thereafter, Brits would be most inclined to accept music and film recommendations from artificial intelligence at 49 percent – though 51 percent would still opt to do so from other people. Even though most respondents (75 percent) would still prefer humans to be MP’s, 25 percent would elect robots to be in this position of power.

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