August 2, 2019

Work is no more insecure than it was twenty years ago, claims report

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working culture, Working lives

Employment insecurity affects many people but, overall, work in the UK is as secure as it was 20 years ago, with limited evidence of growing casualisation, new research from the CIPD claims. The report Megatrends: Is work really becoming more insecure? finds that at 20 percent, the share of non-permanent employment in the UK – which includes the self-employed and temporary workers (including temporary zero hours contract workers) – has not increased since 1998.

August 2, 2019

Maternity leave progressing around the world

by Jayne Smith • News

With studies claiming almost as many women with children (74.1 percent) participated in the labour force as women without, in 2014, women who are juggling careers and motherhood benefit from flexibility at work the most. Recent research claims women account for 40 percent or more of the total labour force in several countries, making flexible working hours, extended maternity leave, breastfeeding rooms, free education and free healthcare just a few of the ways that some countries build the best working environments for mothers. More →

July 31, 2019

Construction industry prepares for a downturn

by Jayne Smith • News, Property

Construction industry bosses are reorganising their workforce in preparation for a potential downturn, with higher levels of sub-contracting and lower levels of direct employment, claims new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). There was a decrease in employment levels among small construction firms with 21 percent of employers reporting a reduced workforce. Workloads for construction SMEs grew with 27 percent of employers reporting higher workloads. More →

July 30, 2019

GDP should be replaced by new indicators of prosperity and wellbeing

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Wellbeing

As the consequences of climate change, social tensions and high levels of inequality are increasingly evident, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, led by Professor Diane Coyle, has published its initial report on how to improve economic measurement by replacing GDP as the standard measure for national prosperity with others that include wellbeing and social and environmental capital. More →

July 29, 2019

The tipping point for flexible working arrives

by James Geekie • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Although people have been talking about flexible working in one way or another for decades – the economist John Maynard Keynes declared in 1930 that technological advances would lead to a 15-hour working week – we may now be at the tipping point where work takes on an entirely different character. More →

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
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July 25, 2019

One dishonest co-worker can disrupt an entire workplace

by Mark Eltringham • News, Working culture

A vicious cycle can begin with one little white lie from a co-worker, diminishing the ability of other employees to read others and then even undermining the entire workplace or business, finds a new study from researchers at Michigan, Harvard, Virginia and Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Dishonest deeds diminish a person’s ability to read others’ emotions, or “interpersonal cognition,” the research found. In addition, the consequences can snowball. One dishonest act can set in motion even more dishonesty. More →

July 25, 2019

SMEs remain in dark about rights of disabled employees

by Neil Franklin • Legal news, News, Wellbeing

Despite ambitious government policies to get a million disabled people into work over the next ten years, the latest ONS data shows a minuscule 5 percent increase since the 2017 goal, which would only see a total of merely 5,800 disabled people in work by 2027 if the pattern continues. In light of the disability employment issue, a new survey of UK SME owners conducted by Bolt Burdon Kemp claims that 95 percent of respondents don’t know the full legal rights of disabled employees. More →

July 24, 2019

New government has unprecedented chance to transform buildings

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Property

The new UK government led by Boris Johnson has an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically shift policy on the built environment and deliver higher standards of safety, sustainability and social justice, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). It urged the new administration to back up rhetoric around climate change with robust legislation; to enshrine the recommendations of the Hackitt Review to improve fire safety in buildings; and tackle the scourge of late payment that is undermining thousands of SME and driving many into insolvency. More →

July 22, 2019

Problems with noise at work? A lot of it is in our heads ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When it comes to working in an office, hell really can be other people. Many staff can have enormous difficulties coming to terms with the sounds that form the backdrop to their working day, especially if they work in open plan areas. The problem of noise at work is particularly acute right now because most UK employees now work in open plan offices and at workstations that are on average about 20 percent smaller than they were ten years or so ago. Yet, on the face of it, the business case for working in open plan offices is pretty clear cut.

July 22, 2019

UK could receive £250 billion boost if labour market matched that of Sweden

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New analysis by economists at PwC claims that, if the UK could match Sweden in terms of its employment rates for women aged 25-54, older workers and the proportion of its young people not in employment, education or training, the potential boost to UK GDP could be as much as 12 percent, or around £250 billion at 2018 values. Although the UK labour market has been strong in recent years – the employment rate is at a record high of over 75 percent and unemployment is at its lowest level since the mid 1970s – new research from PwC indicates that performance is middling compared to other OECD economies. A new composite Labour Market Performance index, combining results from PwC’s Youth Employment, Golden Age and Women in Work indices, finds the UK is 19th overall amongst OECD countries. Iceland and Sweden top the combined index rankings based on the latest available annual data for 2018. More →

July 17, 2019

How Charles Handy changed the way we speak about the workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management

There are writers whose language pervades our discourse so extensively that even those who have never heard of them will echo not only their sentiments but also their means of expression. One of these people is Charles Handy, who has just published his latest book 21 Letters on Life and its Challenges at the age of 87. His work resonates to this day and not least because he was so far ahead of the curve in detailing many of the characteristics of modern organisations and the challenges created for everybody by the changing nature of work and business. More →