Search Results for: economic

UK gets new £5 million climate change research centre

UK gets new £5 million climate change research centre

by • Environment, News

Cardiff University has been selected as the main hub for a £5 million research centre to explore how we can live differently to achieve the rapid and far-reaching emissions cuts required to address climate change. A collaboration between Cardiff, Manchester, York and East Anglia Universities, and charity Climate Outreach, the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) will work closely with industry, local/national governments, and charities to tackle climate change. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. (more…)

What a 90 year old study teaches us about flexible working and productivity

What a 90 year old study teaches us about flexible working and productivity 0

by • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

uncertainty Flexible working has developed a reputation as something of a silver bullet for a range of workplace challenges. It is the perceived solution to almost any of the major workplace problems you care to mention, including the gender pay gap, work life balance, churn, property costs, staff engagement, personal autonomy, stress, physical wellbeing, productivity and – of course – as a way of meeting the needs of those alien beings we refer to as Millennials. There is some truth in all of this, as we have known for some time, but things are far more complicated than often presented.

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Pressing self-destruct, a final solution to workplace noise, a broken psychological contract and some other stuff

Pressing self-destruct, a final solution to workplace noise, a broken psychological contract and some other stuff

by • Features

I’ve never really wanted to go to MIPIM. I’m suspicious of it all for a number of reasons I won’t go into although you might reasonably guess what they are. So, I enjoyed this piece from Polly Plunket-Checkemian about her own misgivings. I understand that the testosterone level has been dialled down recently, but like Polly I’d like to see a re-examination of its format and intent, especially given that the real estate sector is having to rethink where it fits into the new era of work and meets the challenge of coworking.

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UK ranks third globally for innovation, disruption and technology

UK ranks third globally for innovation, disruption and technology

by • Cities, News

The UK has risen one place, to third, in a global ranking of most promising countries in the world for technology breakthroughs that have a global impact. KPMG’s 2019 Technology Innovation Hubs report sees the UK trailing slightly behind the US and China, in a ranking of countries expected to produce the most disruptive technologies. The UK and Japan were almost tied in last year’s survey with the UK coming in 4th place. This year however, the UK moved ahead to secure the bronze place, whilst Japan was ranked fourth, Singapore was ranked fifth and India dropped from third place to sixth. (more…)

How artificial intelligence changes occupant experience

How artificial intelligence changes occupant experience

by • Facilities management, Features, Technology

If a robot received a signal that you had entered the building, it might bring you a fresh cup of coffee just as you reach your desk. If the front door recognised your face, it might unlock itself for you without requiring you to use a fob to gain access. If your desk knew you had left for the day, it might offer itself to a colleague who is looking for a quiet workspace. Throughout history, the interaction of humans with technology has been pretty much one-sided. We turn our technologies on and off, operate and guide them in their tasks, and use our senses to monitor their functioning and detect anomalies.

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Neither bosses nor staff feel confident about future UK business environment

Neither bosses nor staff feel confident about future UK business environment

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Two new reports published this week, show a lack of confidence amongst employers and employees within the UK business environment. The latest data in Gartner’s Global Talent Monitor report shows employee confidence in near-term business conditions and long-term economic prospects reaching an index score of 55.6 for the last quarter of 2018, a decline of 7.5 percent from an index score of 60.09 in 3Q18. These results follow a worldwide trend that has seen global business confidence sink to its lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2017. Meanwhile a survey of business leaders in the UK by management consultancy Lane4 found that bosses do not feel prepared to lead through future challenges like artificial intelligence and political volatility. (more…)

UK jobs boom set to end as finance and business sectors lose confidence

UK jobs boom set to end as finance and business sectors lose confidence

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

The boom in the UK jobs market is coming to an end just as the Brexit countdown reaches its final stages. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the national Outlook for the second quarter of 2019 has fallen to +4 percent, on a par with the weakest levels of confidence seen in recent years. More worryingly, the negative Outlook in the Business and Financial services sector – which employs nearly a fifth of all UK workers – suggests jobs are set to be lost in Britain’s most important sector. The report found that the Finance and Business Services sector has fallen five points to -1 percent, only the second time in the last decade it has been in negative territory.

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Northern English cities held back by lack of opportunities for low skilled workers

Northern English cities held back by lack of opportunities for low skilled workers

by • Cities, News

Despite higher living costs, southern English cities such as Oxford and Exeter lead the country in their ability to provide opportunities for people with low skills.  A new report from the Centre for Cities on low-skilled workers claims that employment opportunities are greater for people with fewer or no qualifications in southern English cities than those in the North or Midlands. The report Opportunity Knocks? claims that, despite higher living costs in cities in southern England, their stronger economies create significantly more jobs for people with fewer qualifications. (more…)

UK employers struggling with recruitment and retention of service workers

UK employers struggling with recruitment and retention of service workers

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace

UK employers struggling with recruitment and retention of service workersThe recruitment and retention of manual and elementary service workers has become a significant challenge for UK employers, claims a new study. The research by Quinyx in collaboration with Development Economics and Censuswide, found that factors such as low pay and a lack of flexibility are key issue, resulting in nearly half (49 percent) of UK employers finding it difficult to recruit these workers, and the same percentage reporting challenges around retention. Issues with recruitment and retention were discovered to be most acute in industries such as hospitality, catering & leisure and retail. In addition, larger businesses (those with a workforce of 250 to 500) are more likely to face challenges compared to smaller-sized businesses. Regionally, businesses in London and the East of England are most likely to struggle to recruit workers into manual or elementary service roles. The findings come at a time when UK employers are expressing growing concern around access to manual and elementary service workers post-Brexit.

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Construction and property firms call on Government to set binding environmental targets

Construction and property firms call on Government to set binding environmental targets

by • Environment, News

Twenty-three of the UK’s most influential built environment businesses have signed an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for the Environment Bill to provide the foundation for economic growth that is restorative and regenerative by design. In the letter, which was coordinated by UK Green Building Council in collaboration with GreenerUK, the signatories highlight the depletion of nature in the UK and call for a strong response to the challenge this presents. They urge the Government to use the upcoming Environment Bill to set legally binding targets for the achievement of environmental objectives – including tackling biodiversity loss, improving water and air quality and cutting down resource use and waste. (more…)

On International Woman’s Day – why advancing women is still not a business priority

On International Woman’s Day – why advancing women is still not a business priority

by • Comment, Legal news, News, Workplace

It has probably not escaped your notice that today is International Woman’s Day, which for Workplace Insight means a plethora of studies on the topic of women/jobs/salaries and ways women might work differently to men. We’ve decided not to waste anyone’s time and ignored most of them (particularly the patronizing ones on how ladies are so intuitive) but managed to find a few kernels of information. First, the good news that women have doubled their share of top jobs at technology companies, pulling in higher salaries than men last year, according to executive search firm Odgers Berndtson. (more…)

Flexible working means longer hours and different outcomes for fathers and mothers

Flexible working means longer hours and different outcomes for fathers and mothers

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

cartoon of man working on laptop in open airFlexible working and especially the ability to work from home mean that people tend to work longer hours, a study published by the Hans Böckler Foundation in Germany claims. According to the study, working mothers and fathers make different uses of flexible working practices. While fathers spend substantially more time working, mothers work only a little more overtime, primarily because they are more likely to be balancing work with extra childcare duties. The report concludes that while flexible working should help to balance work and family life, in practice it can also reflect and cement traditional gender roles. The report calls for greater clarity and more onus on fathers to take a greater responsibility for childcare, although it notes that flexible working does not offer workers of either sex more free time. (more…)

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