Search Results for: economy

What’s wrong with adopting a more positive approach to work and workplaces?

by • Comment, Facilities management, Public Sector, Workplace, Workplace design

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Has there ever been a UK government more interested in the workplace than this one? Most of it has been about cutting costs of course, so the majority of announcements emanating from the Cabinet Office have been about procurement, design and environmental performance. David Cameron even at one point announced that he wanted to measure people’s happiness. The questions needed to work out how happy we are proposed by the Office for National Statistics as a result would have had a very familiar feel for anybody who has ever completed a workplace satisfaction survey even if they miss the most blindingly obvious point that when you’re skint and in mortal fear of losing your job, most other things about work lose their lustre.

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Record number of managers in the UK, but who or what are they all managing?

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodesThe number of managers in the UK has reached record levels according to a new report. But who or what they are all managing is slightly less clear as structural changes in the UK economy mean there are fewer people in full time and skilled work, especially in the public sector, as well as a growing number of the self-employed. An analysis of ONS statistics by the Jobs Economist reveals the number of people defined as managers in the UK is now 3.1 million, up 7.8% in just two years and now more than 10% of the entire workforce. By contrast the number of skilled trades people has fallen by 2.2%, the number of people working full time has fallen to 21.4 million, public sector employment has fallen by 437,000 in three years while the number of self-employed has grown by 367,000 since the 2008 downturn.

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UK’s leading political parties criticised for a lack of environmental leadership

by • Environment, News

UK's leading political parties criticised for a lack of environmental leadership Britain’s leading political parties are failing to provide visible and consistent green leadership, threatening two decades of steady environmental policy progress in the UK, warns an influential group of charities today. In The Green Standard 2013, seven leading charities, including WWF, the Green Alliance, Greenpeace and Campaign for Better Transport, assess the green performance of coalition ministers and Labour shadow ministers since the last general election, reviewing the parties on four key areas: the economy, communities, nature and international leadership. The report concludes that none of the parties has a coherent environmental programme and there is no consistent public leadership on the environment from any of the party leaders. More →

UK employees not getting enough sleep due to workplace stress

by • News, Workplace

UK workers not sleeping on the job - but because of the jobThe death last month of an intern at a major City bank drew attention to the ridiculously long hours worked by those attempting to carve out a career within the banking sector. Now a new report has confirmed that workers within the banking profession have the least amount of sleep across the UK, coping on average with just five hours and 50 minutes every night. But the annual sleep and professions report conducted by Travelodge reveals that British workers are surviving on just six hours and 27 minutes sleep every night – one hour and thirty three minutes below the recommend sleep quota of eight hours of sleep per night. Three out of ten workers have reported that they get less sleep now in comparison to a year ago, whilst a fifth of employees regard sleep a luxury.  More →

Construction sector awarded £60m for development of more energy efficient buildings

by • Environment, News, Property

New Government funding announced to develop more energy efficient buildings£60 million to help the UK construction industry design and develop more energy efficient buildings is to be awarded by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board. The projects, which address the challenges of both new and existing buildings, are expected to leverage in an additional £60 million of industry investment and £30 million extra funding from across government and other agencies. The board has already invested £83 million of funding through the Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform, (LIBIP). It aims to help the UK construction industry deliver buildings with a much lower environmental impact by investing jointly with industry and other funders in projects to bring innovative solutions to a growing market for more environmentally friendly buildings.   More →

EU Governments urged to maximise the potential of older workers

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

EU Governments urged to maximise the potential of older workers

The rise in the number of older workers in the UK has been well documented, and the reason is clear, they are a much needed resource. Over the next ten years there are 13.5 million job vacancies which need to be filled, but only seven million young people predicted to join the job market in that time. And the UK is not alone; the EU faces significant skills gaps due to demographic change. But according to a new International Longevity Centre –UK (ILC-UK) report, Working Longer: An EU perspective, supported by Prudential, EU countries urgently need to skill up the older workforce, support more older women in work and address the particular health issues associated with employing older workers. More →

Facilities managers should harness information to show the value of what they do

by • Comment, Facilities management

empty-toilet-rollOf the various myths that plague the facilities management profession, the most pernicious may well be that the role of facilities managers is largely to carry out what the early feminists called shit-work – the kind of job that only becomes visible when it is done badly or isn’t done at all. Conversely, when it is done well, nobody seems to notice or even care that much. The proto-feminists of the 50s and 60s applied the term to housework, but the term is equally apposite for the work of many facilities managers who may only come to the attention of their organisation when the air-conditioning stops working, the toilet floods or there is a problem with the car park.

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More than half of UK firms expecting to increase capital spending over next year

by • Knowledge, News


Investment

The latest good news for the UK economy comes from a poll conducted by Edison Investment Research of 200 medium sized companies which shows that over half (56 percent) claim they will increase capital expenditure over the next year. In the same poll in January, only a quarter made the same claim, reflecting the sharp upturn in optimism in UK businesses. In the latest EIR poll, 69 percent said they felt positive about the coming year. In the Eurozone things aren’t quite so rosy as confidence has dropped over the course of the year with 17 percent expecting growth, down from 26 percent six months ago.

Investor confidence in commercial property highest in five years

by • News, Property

Investor confidence in commercial property highest in five years

The news this week that work is to begin on the former Lumiere site in Leeds is a clear indicator of how investor confidence in commercial property has reached its highest level since Q2 2008, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Its latest UK Real Estate Investor Confidence Survey, which canvassed the views of nearly 100 principals and lenders in the UK commercial property investment sector, found investor confidence has jumped by 7 per cent in the second quarter of 2013 compared with Q1, a 63 per cent increase on Q2 last year.  The report’s findings also showed even greater competition for assets amongst property investors is anticipated with 61 per cent of respondents expecting more buyers than sellers, up from 42 per cent last quarter. More →

CBI raises growth forecasts, but cautious on sustainable recovery

by • Knowledge, News, Property, Workplace

CBI raises growth forecasts but cautious on sustainable recovery

A pick-up in confidence across a broad range of sectors, including services and construction and a better than expected second quarter has led the CBI to raise its growth forecasts, with GDP growth of 1.2 per cent predicted in 2013, up from 1.0 per cent in the May forecast. In 2014, the business group expects the economy to gather pace, forecasting 2.3 per cent GDP growth, up from 2.0 per cent in May. However, unemployment rates look set to stick at around 7.8 per cent. John Cridland, CBI Director-General said: “The economy has started to gain momentum and confidence is picking up, but it’s still early days. We need to see a full-blown rebalancing of our economy, with stronger business investment and trade before we can call a sustainable recovery.” More →

Pressure to fill roles as employers struggle to persuade cautious workers to switch jobs

by • News, Workplace

Challenge to fill roles as employers struggle to persuade cautious workers to switch jobs

More good news on the economy today with the Summer 2013 CIPD/Success Factors Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey report showing that for the sixth quarter in a row, employers expect jobs growth. However, while this means more opportunities for job seekers the pressure is mounting for employers to attract the right talent. It seems that despite employment confidence being at its highest level since the 2008 recession, this isn’t shared by those already in work, who are showing a marked reluctance to change jobs, leading to a struggle for employers to find the right candidates. More →

UK construction and manufacturing buoyant but mixed picture in global property market

by • Knowledge, News, Products, Property

Construction savingsThere are signs that the UK’s faltering economy is on the road to recovery.  Construction activity in the UK jumped sharply in July to hit its highest level in over three years, according to the latest Markit/CIPS  survey of purchasing managers. This may have been driven primarily by a surge in house building, but even the recently moribund commercial construction sector saw an increase in activity. However a new report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has highlighted that while the UK may have reason to smile, the picture of global commercial property markets is very patchy.

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