March 16, 2020

Higher female state pension age causes an increase in older women at work

The number of women aged between 60 and 64 in work has increased by 51 percent since the 1995 Pensions Act came into effect which increased the female state pension age from 60 to 65 since 2010, claims research from Rest Less, a jobs, volunteering and guidance site for the over 50s.

Between October and December 2009, there were 644,674 women aged between 60 and 64 in work. In the same period in 2019, there were 976,376 women aged between 60 and 64 in work – an increase of 331,702 or 51 per cent. This contrasts with an increase of only 127,882 (or 13 percent) in the number of men working aged between 60 and 64 over the same period. (more…)

March 13, 2020

Digital transformation becomes number one skills issue

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology

Organisations across Europe are facing a skills challenge caused by digital transformation, with many struggling to keep pace with learning and development (L&D) needs, claims research from Skillsoft. Carried out in the UK, France and Germany, the research suggests that reskilling in the face of changing and increasingly digital working environments is the biggest single issue for L&D professionals across all three countries (42 percent of respondents on average). (more…)

March 13, 2020

Commercial property energy use fell by over 3 percent last year

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

Operational energy consumption in the UK commercial property sector fell by 3.3 percent during 2018/19 compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures from the “in-use” benchmark published by the UK’s Better Building Partnership (BBP). The Real Estate Environmental Benchmark (REEB) compared operational energy performance between 2017/18 and 2018/19, based on 1,038 UK properties covering 11.7m sqm belonging to 31 of the partnership’s 34 member companies. (more…)

March 12, 2020

Workers and employers differ on progress towards workplace equality

by Jayne Smith • News

A gap exists between the way leaders and employees view progress toward equality in their organisations, according to new research from Accenture. Closing the gap will yield benefits for companies and their employees. The report, “Getting to Equal 2020: The Hidden Value of Culture Makers,” which includes research across 28 countries, claims that organisations are at an inflection point. Today’s UK workforce cares increasingly about workplace culture and believes it is critical to helping them thrive in the workplace (reported by 80 percent of women and 66 percent of men), and a majority of leaders (62 percent) believe an inclusive workplace culture is vital to the success of their business. (more…)

March 11, 2020

Flexible offices are not just an issue for the next generation

by John Williams • Comment, Flexible working

For as long as I have been in the industry, workspace has focused on the “next” generation whether that has been the overly-discussed millennials or Gen-Z. As it has grown, the market for flexible offices has inevitably followed the same path, but in doing so its providers could have taken their eyes off the ball by lacking focus on the most cash-rich and flexible generation of all – Generation X. (more…)

March 11, 2020

Office politics major source of work related stress

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

Perkbox commissioned a new study of 1,815 employed people to present a examination into the changing landscape of work-related stress in 2020. The study compared results to 2018 data in order to identify how sources of work-related stress and the solutions offered by employers are changing. The study claims that 79 percent of adults in employment commonly experience work-related stress. (more…)

March 10, 2020

Expectations at work are changing

by Jayne Smith • Environment, Flexible working, News, Working lives

New research from Aon, claims that 94 percent of employers believe their employees’ expectations of work experience are changing. In Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2020, employers say their employees expect flexible working hours, the ability to work from home, better awareness and handling of mental health, better approaches to diversity and inclusion and better parental policies. A surprise in this year’s report is the strength of opinion on environmental and sustainability policies, coming in at the seventh most important expectation in its first year in the survey. Fifty-four percent of employers believe that employees want clarity and positivity on this subject.

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March 9, 2020

Out of the shadows – and staying out?

by Neil Usher • Comment

Our understanding of the positive contribution a fantastic workplace can make to the people and organisations that inhabit them has come a long way since the Hawthorne experiments almost a hundred years ago. The conclusions of the study were that the physical workplace was a mere hygiene factor, able to make little difference. Claims to its almost mystical powers we frequently hear today would have been unthinkable for the majority of the century that the workplace spent in the shadows. (more…)

March 6, 2020

CIBSE issues new guidance on wellbeing in buildings

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

CIBSE has updated its Technical Memorandum 40: Health and wellbeing in building services (paywall), to reflect what it says are “significant changes in the environmental conditions we are exposed to and advances in our knowledge of how these environments affect our health, comfort and cognitive performance.” (more…)

March 5, 2020

To many major firms, work is becoming just a game

by Eve Grau • Comment, Workplace

Corporate gamification is a growing trend in the business world. This trend uses all of the techniques that make video games so entertaining and engaging to improve day-to-day business functions. From incorporating point awards to leveling up, gamification hacks the most effective qualities of gaming to deliver educational programs and training courses. Because of the success of these methods, gamification has been growing in popularity and is a good policy for businesses to adopt. (more…)

March 5, 2020

UK outpaced by other nations when it comes to women in work

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

Despite holding firm in 16th place, the UK is being outpaced by greater improvements in female employment prospects in other OECD countries, according to PWC’s latest Women in Work Index, which analyses female economic empowerment across 33 OECD countries. While the UK performs above the OECD average and is second only to Canada when compared to other G7 economies, its position has barely budged since 2000 when it stood in 17th position, despite improving its performance across all five indicators. (more…)

March 4, 2020

Agility may be the key to surviving uncertainty, but what does it mean?

by Victoria Normark • Comment

Amid continued economic and political uncertainty, following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the adoption of agile practices will be more important than ever for businesses to survive and adapt to market change. But when we talk about agility in a business context, what do we really mean?