Search Results for: benefits

January 19, 2017

One in five people say the workplace is where they are most unhappy ⁰

A new report from the charity Central YMCA claims to highlight the major role employers have to play in supporting the nation’s wellbeing. The report is based on a study of 1,000 UK adults undertaken by the charity which found that being at work is the most common situation in which people feel their happiness is decreased – with a fifth of people stating this. The research also found that finding free time for leisure, family and friends, and socialising was key to achieving good levels of wellbeing. Respondents stated they feel wellbeing at its highest when on holiday (66 percent), when spending time with family (56 percent), or whilst socialising with friends (49 percent) – signalling the importance of creating a healthy work-life balance. Despite these stats, recent studies show that the average British worker puts in the equivalent of 38 working days over and above their contracted annual hours.

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January 19, 2017

Employers should offer flexible working to solve recruitment crisis in EMEA ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Employers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are facing an increasingly competitive recruitment landscape in 2017, but what might help candidates choose one organisation over another will be more opportunities for flexible working, claims a new global study by the Futurestep division of Korn Ferry. Specifying which qualities they thought would entice candidates to choose one organisation over another in five-years-time, respondents reflected that flexible working (27 percent) would likely lead the charge. In Part One of Talent Forecast Futurestep’s global survey of more than 1,100 hiring professionals almost half (48 percent) of EMEA respondents report that it has become harder to source qualified candidates over the past 12 months. Additional findings compiled for the report suggest that ongoing disruption and changing candidate demands will combine to create an increasingly volatile market for talent in 2017.

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January 17, 2017

The truth about artificial intelligence and the hype of job losses ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Much of the current focus of the debate about the impact of artificial intelligence has been on how the ‘rise of the robots’ will spend the end for many job roles. Yet that mischaracterises the true effects according to a new report from Infosys, released today, to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos. The report, Amplifying Human Potential: Towards Purposeful Artificial Intelligence, concludes that the implementation of AI doesn’t necessarily mean job losses. In fact, 80 percent of businesses adopting AI which have replaced, or plan to replace, workers with technology, will be far more likely to retain, retrain and upskill those employees impacted. The study also claims that the adoption of AI will mean a number of other important benefits for organisations including a predicted 39 percent revenue rise by 2020 as a result of the implementation.

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January 17, 2017

Third of working mothers rely on school breakfast clubs to keep their jobs ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Public Sector, Workplace

Nearly 60 per cent of parents rank breakfast clubs as ‘very important’ for their families survival and routine; and a third of working British mothers say they would have to give up work if they weren’t available, claims a new report. The Kellogg’s study ‘The Parent’s Lifeline’, which looks into the role school breakfast clubs play in the lives of working families reveals that just a fifth of working mums and dads claimed they found time to enjoy breakfast with their children – describing their mornings as ‘tiring’ and ‘stressful’. While more than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents felt the absence of a breakfast club would mean at least one parent would be forced out of work, it is working mothers who would bear the burden (33 per cent). One in five recognised the cost for alternative morning childcare would mean they would have to tighten their purse strings, with nearly 20 per cent of parents claiming they save more than £50 every week by sending their children to breakfast clubs.

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January 12, 2017

New report highlights potential of technology to wipe out jobs and businesses ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

Unregulated technological progress is one of the greatest threats to global prosperity, peace and stability, claims a new report from the World Economic Forum. The WEF’s Global Risks Report, published before 3,000 business leaders and politicians gather for its annual conference in Davos, claims that regulation is trailing far behind technological innovation and that without action, it could lead to the destruction of untold jobs and businesses and catalyse major social upheaval. Economic inequality, societal polarisation and intensifying environmental dangers are the top three trends that will shape global developments over the next 10 years, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2017 claims. The report says that collaborative action by world leaders will be urgently needed to avert further hardship and volatility in the coming decade.

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January 12, 2017

Workplace design can combat ill effects of winter on workers’ mental wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

The January blues are well documented but aside from the usual clichés which abound around this time of year, there is some evidence of the impact of winter on people’s mental health and wellbeing, According to a new survey from Peldon Rose over two-fifths (44 percent) of employees say winter has a negative effect on their mental wellbeing, half (51 percent) believe it adversely affects their mood and 30 percent state winter affects their productivity. Over a third of respondents (35 percent) even identify themselves as suffering or having suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – a type of depression that becomes more severe in the winter and three-quarters (76 percent) have experienced or are currently experiencing stress in the workplace. But the report concludes, effective workplace design can help combat some of these ill effects.

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December 23, 2016

Presenteeism doesn’t aid productivity, so employers should set workers free ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

At this time of year, the days are short, the morning commute can be hellish and traffic grid-locked. Wouldn’t it be ideal if more employers recognised this and offered a solution involving flexible hours, remote collaboration or even home-working? And not just at Christmas, but the whole year round? More and more companies are switching on to the benefits this can bring in terms of their employees’ well-being and productivity. Firms can allow colleagues to occasionally work from home or a third place, provide tools that enable them to work remotely and support an agile working agenda. This can be done in parallel with making provision for a hi-tech and collaborative workplace where colleagues can get together regularly to connect, get work done and be part of an effective team.

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December 21, 2016

Employee retention and engagement was top of mind for employers this year ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee retention was the top workforce management challenge in 2016, claims a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), with almost one-half of surveyed organizations (46 percent) citing it as a top challenge in 2016. Other top workforce management challenges for at least one-third of organizations were: employee engagement (36 percent), recruitment (34 percent) and succession planning (33 percent). SHRM’s survey Influencing Workplace Culture Though Employee Recognition and Other Efforts, which was produced in collaboration with and commissioned by Globoforce, found that as employers look for ways to deal with the challenges of low employee retention and high turnover, more organizations are tying employee recognition efforts to their core values.The majority of respondents indicated that their employee recognition programs had positive impacts on employee engagement, workplace culture, retention and employee happiness.

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December 20, 2016

Technology industry leads the way in adoption of flexible working ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

New research from My Family Care and global recruitment firm Hydrogen claims that when compared with all other industries, the technology sector has the most number of employees taking advantage of flexible working practices. Over four in five (81 percent) of employees who work in tech say they work flexibly to some degree – around 15 percent higher than the average of 66 percent and over half of the 265 people surveyed said they worked remotely at least one day last week – 18 percent higher than the average for all employees. The research also claims that people who work in tech put a high value on flexible working when considering a job offer, with 88 percent of professionals considering it to be more important than other benefits like private healthcare insurance, enhanced pension scheme or commission or bonuses.

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December 19, 2016

UK employers predict workforce growth in 2017 along with more inclusive hiring ⁰

by Sara Bean • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Four in ten (41 percent) of firms across the UK will grow their workforce in 2017 but uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship with the EU has shaken overall business confidence in the labour market claims a new report. According to respondents to the 19th CBI/Pertemps Network Group Employment Trends Survey, for the fourth year running, growth in permanent job opportunities will outstrip temporary recruitment. But the balance of those expecting the UK to be a more attractive place to employ people in the next five years has flipped from +16 percent in the 2015 survey to -21 percent in this year’s results. In terms of engagement, over three quarters (76 percent) of respondents reported that a diverse and inclusive workforce is vital or important to the future success of their organisation. They report a range of benefits of inclusive workplace practices including increased skills (73 percent), attraction and retention of staff (60 percent) and engagement levels (46 percent).

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December 16, 2016

Millennials more tuned-in to discrimination at work than other generations ⁰

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

Millennials have widely divergent experiences and attitudes toward diversity and inclusion within the workplace than older generations, claims a new US-based report. In the research from the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) and Weber Shandwick into the importance that people place on diversity and inclusion (D&I) when considering a new job found that 47 percent of Millennials consider it an important criterion in their job search compared to 33 percent of Gen Xers and 37 percent of Boomers. Nearly six in 10 of all employed Americans (58 percent) report that they see or hear about some form of discrimination and/or bias at their workplace, most frequently racial or ethnic in nature (22 percent). Millennials are significantly more likely than older generations to be attuned to such behaviour at work, and also much more comfortable discussing these issues at work than their older colleagues. The survey also asked respondents why they believe employers emphasise diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All three generations cited “To make it a better place to work” among their top three reasons. Millennials also recognize increased opportunities while reputational benefits and outside pressures are noticed by Gen Xers and Boomers.

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December 15, 2016

Commuting – stressful, annoying or just another opportunity? ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Unless you work at home you will have to commute to work in some form or another and for many people this part of the day can become such a negative factor it can impact on productivity, job satisfaction and even cause depression. However, what if we tried to look at commuting in a different light? What if we took a step back and attempted to turn all those wasted hours into something good and maybe even something productive? Depending on what source you read and when the study was done the average commute in the UK is between 50 minutes and 1 hour 38 minutes. This mean in any given working week most people are spending around 10 to 16 hours getting to and from work. If this amount of “down time” appeared during the working day business owners and managers would take it very seriously indeed. However, as the time falls outside of the employees work remit and essentially the company doesn’t need that person before and after work it is not discussed. The problem is, employees do feel like it is part of the working day and this leads to resentment, stress, fatigue and possible depression not to mention lower productivity.