Search Results for: benefits

Older workers need more support in the workplace, claims report

Older workers need more support in the workplace, claims report

Longer working lives have become a reality for millions, yet a significant number of older workers feel unsupported in the workplace, according to new findings from Aviva which claim to highlight the need for UK businesses to boost support for their older workforce. Almost two thirds (63 percent) of the 10.2 million over-50s in work – equivalent to 6.4 million people – are planning to retire later than they thought they would 10 years ago. Many of them are extending their working lives due to the rising cost of living (40 percent) and insufficient pension savings (38 percent).

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Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leave

Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leave

Youngest workers prefer simple perks such as free coffee, flexi hours and birthday leaveAs fresh graduates from generation Z, i.e. those born between the mid 1990’s and 2000 are enter the workplace, new research from Perkbox claims that over 1 in 3 (36 percent) admit that the workplace perks are one of the most important deciding factors on whether to accept a new job or not. These post-millennials are also the group most likely (32 percent) to prefer smaller benefits that they can enjoy on a more frequent basis, all-year-round, over one annual event, such as a Christmas party. The top three workplace perks most popular amongst Generation Z included simple benefits, such as receiving a day’s annual leave on your birthday (86 percent), followed by free coffee and hot drinks (85 percent), and flexi-hours (83 percent). Despite this, Generation Z feel less deserving of workplace benefits than co-workers born pre-1995, with fewer than half (38 percent) believing they should benefit from such offerings – which is less than any other age group.

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How will Crossrail impact the office landscape of London and beyond?

How will Crossrail impact the office landscape of London and beyond?

We are now just a few months away from the grand opening of the central section of Crossrail, the 118km long railway line spanning London and the South East which will, once completed, will deliver a direct connection between all of London’s main employment centres; linking Heathrow with Paddington, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf. This ambitious redevelopment plan will bring huge positive change to the City and is estimated to generate over 850,000 new jobs in the Capital, as well as making the lives of those already working in London easier and more efficient.

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Is driver behind the widening parental leave gap a lack of rights in the gig economy?

Is driver behind the widening parental leave gap a lack of rights in the gig economy?

Could the driver behind the widening parental leave gap be the rise of the gig economy?The already low number of fathers claiming paternity leave has fallen for the first time in five years, to 213,500, down 3 percent from 221,000 last year an analysis by law firm EMW has revealed. To help encourage more men to take paternity leave, the Government launched the shared parental leave scheme in 2015. However, take up of the scheme has also been slow, with less than 2 percent of all UK fathers participating. These latest figures suggest that hundreds of thousands of men are not taking up their entitlement to paternity leave. In comparison with low rates of paternity leave, nearly treble the number of mothers (662,700) took maternity leave in 2017-2018, up from 661,000 in 2016/17. (more…)

Over a third of workers are anxious about the impact of automation

Over a third of workers are anxious about the impact of automation

Over a third of workers are anxious about the impact of automationA significant number (37 per cent) of workers (11 million people) in the UK worry their job will change for the worse and 23 per cent (7 million people) are concerned that their current job may no longer be needed, claims a survey into the impact of automation over the next decade. In the survey, carried out to mark the launch of a new Commission on Workers and Technology chaired by Yvette Cooper MP, workers were 73 per cent confident they can adapt to technological change and update their skill if automation affects their job and over half think (53 per cent) are optimistic that technology change will be good for their working lives. (more…)

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

HR offers the key to enhanced employee financial wellbeing, claims report

With poor financial wellbeing impacting on productivity, a new paper claims that, despite growing interest, there remains a lag in employers taking action in this area – and that Human Resources departments are key to building a business case for support. Published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), the paper, Building the business case for employee financial wellbeing, draws on findings from a Money Advice Service-funded study trialling financial wellbeing guidance from IES and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

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Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

The UK government has begun work on its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. First announced in May, the government believes the initiative has the potential to make the UK a world leader in strategies for moving people and goods. The announcement includes two calls for evidence, the first focused on improving first mile/last mile transportation connections, with a focus on electric vehicles and microtransit. The second addresses the more general issue of new technology and trends for urban transport. The government also claims the move will address changes in working cultures including lower levels of commuting and flexible working.

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Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

Flexibility, daylight and a well-designed office are amongst most desirable workplace features

Capital One has published the results of its latest survey of US full-time professionals for their thoughts on workplace design and the working environment as it relates to their productivity, innovation and collaboration with colleagues. According to the resulting 2018 Work Environment Survey of 3,500 office based respondents in urban centres across the US, many value flexibility and workplace design, particularly when evaluating whether to stay at their current job or consider a new employment opportunity. Employees also place a great deal of focus on technology, design elements such as lighting and agile workspaces, and personal wellbeing.

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Half of CIOs say Artificial Intelligence will lead to more jobs and improve productivity

Half of CIOs say Artificial Intelligence will lead to more jobs and improve productivity

Half of CIOs say Artificial Intelligence will lead to more jobs and improve productivity

Fears that Artificial Intelligence will destroy the job market are not shared by more than half (51 percent) of UK CIOs who see AI as a job creator. This is more than three times the number who say that it will diminish workers’ job prospects (16 percent). For the survey UK CIOs were asked, ‘Artificial intelligence is changing the way that companies operate and people work. Do you think AI will have a positive or negative impact on job creation and recruitment?’ Their largely positive response closely reflects that of a recent PWC report which predicts AI could create as many jobs as it displaces in the UK over the next 20 years. (more…)

RICS and IFMA launch Procurement of Facilities Management statement to address “race to the bottom”

RICS and IFMA launch Procurement of Facilities Management statement to address “race to the bottom”

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has today launched its first professional statement to ‘reduce risk, increase transparency and further trust’ in procurement in facilities management. The RICS Procurement of facility management, RICS professional statement, UK 1st edition, was worked on in collaboration with IMFA, and also the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). RICS says it will be looking to make this a global professional statement in due course. All RICS regulated professionals (mandatory from the 1 October 2018) will be expected to follow this guidance, but according to RICS, adoption of the framework would be competitively beneficial for all property professionals involved in the procurement of FM services, including those acting for landlords and occupiers, FM suppliers procuring services from sub-contractors and investors and public and private occupier organisations.

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New report on the future of work argues we are at an inflection point on the journey

New report on the future of work argues we are at an inflection point on the journey

Whatever you make of the Brexit vote, the idea put forward by Jacob Rees-Mogg in a Channel 4 interview that it will take 50 years before we can judge its benefits is extraordinary. No doubt, people will be making those judgements in half a century, but long term predictions of this kind are invariably foolish. Especially when you consider that nobody seems to know what is happening with Brexit at all on a day by day basis. Predictions about the long term future of work can be equally foolhardy. This is a reason why it’s best to make them about the short term, while you still have a reasonable chance of looking prescient. A lesson for the authors of this piece of nonsense published in Fast Company last week.

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Cities should make the most of their digital connectivity

Cities should make the most of their digital connectivity

Cities need more powers and resources from Government to address digital divides – but also need to make better use of existing technology to transform public services. This is according to a report published by the think tank Centre for Cities in partnership with Telefónica UK. It examines how digital technology – in terms of both fixed and mobile connections – is transforming urban Britain, and the steps national and local leaders can take to ensure people and places across the country benefit. However, the report also warns that many UK cities are not taking full advantage of existing digital connections, and the benefits it could offer to residents and businesses – as well as the potential it has to improve public services.

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