Search Results for: economy

November 26, 2018

Reducing commuting times could drastically reduce CO2 emissions

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, Flexible working, News

A decrease in commuting times in the UK will reduce levels of carbon dioxide by 7.8 million tonnes per year by 2030, according to a new study by Regus. The economic study, carried out by independent researchers, found that if the growth in flexible workspace continues to increase, commuters in the country could save 115 million hours of commuting time per annum by 2030 from a turn to flexible working. Meanwhile, the nation which would see the largest annual carbon emission saving by 2030 is the United States. It is predicted to save nearly 960 million hours in commuting time, and with US commuters relying heavily on cars, this time saved translates to over 100 million tonnes of CO2.

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November 25, 2018

Mental health problems are rife across Europe

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Greater efforts to promote mental health and improve early diagnosis and treatment of those with mental illness would improve the lives of millions of Europeans and contribute to stronger economic and employment conditions, according to a new joint OECD/European Commission report. Health at a Glance: Europe 2018 says that mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders and alcohol and drug use disorders, affect more than one in six people across the European Union in any given year. Besides the impact on people’s well-being, the report estimates the total costs of mental ill-health at over EUR 600 billion – or more than 4 percent of GDP – across the 28 EU countries.

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November 23, 2018

Communities are the key factor to rapid growth of coworking

by Petr Boruta • Comment, Coworking, Property, Workplace design

London, New York, Los Angeles. These are top three cities in number of coworking centres globally. But as coworking map is evolving rapidly, you might as well read about Warsaw and Prague as new hotbeds for shared offices soon. And the surprising reason behind that is not flexibility, but the power of communities.

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November 22, 2018

Workers waste too much time in poorly designed offices

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

One in five UK workers has around two unproductive hours every week caused by poor or inadequate office and work environments, claims new research published today. Disruptive colleagues, no natural light, a lack of coffee and tea facilities and noisy offices are just a few factors cited in the report from Mace and its facilities management arm Mace Macro. Across the whole of the UK the average number of hours lost to unproductive workplaces is 2.4 hours a week, and using Office of National Statistics value of time data, this translates to a cost of £4bn in lost output every year to the UK economy. (more…)

November 21, 2018

UK on target to reach one million women working in STEM fields by 2020

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

According to new research by WISE, the campaign for gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the UK is on track to have one million women working in core STEM roles by 2020. The research shows that there are over 900,000 women working in STEM currently and an estimated 200,000 women with STEM qualifications will reach working age within the next 2 years. The news was announced at WISE 2018 Awards presented by the Patron of WISE, HRH, The Princess Royal.

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November 21, 2018

Career opportunities with SMEs are growing, but graduates not convinced

by Sara Bean • Cities, News, Workplace

Small and mid-sized businesses have hired three times more people than larger businesses over the past five years and could overtake large companies by 2030, according to new analysis of the latest ONS data commissioned by Santander Business Banking. However, separate research commissioned by the bank has found that significant numbers of young people are failing to recognise the significant job opportunities that SMEs offer. Just a third (35 percent) of Generation Z and Millennials leaving full time education say they wish to work for an SME, while an even smaller proportion, just one in six (18 percent), want to work for a start-up or micro business. (more…)

November 19, 2018

Business leaders call for legislation ensuring compulsory mental first aid at work

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Business leaders have called today for the Government to update health and safety legislation to protect mental health in the workplace. In an Open Letter to the Prime Minister signed by more than 50 leaders of some of Britain’s biggest employers including PwC, Royal Mail, WHSmith, Mace, Ford and Thames Water calls on the Government to prioritise its manifesto pledge to amend health and safety legislation to put mental and physical first aid on an equal footing. With mental health issues estimated to cost the UK economy almost £35 billion every year as 15.4 million working days are lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety the letter, signed by the Chairman of Mental Health First Aid England and the CEO of Bauer Media Group, along with leaders of some of the UK’s biggest employers, are asking that workplaces are required to make provision for mental as well as physical first aid.

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November 16, 2018

More needs to be done to bridge the digital gender divide, says OECD

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

Barriers to access, education and skills, as well as ingrained socio-cultural biases, are driving a digital gender divide that is holding back women’s participation in the digital economy, according to a new OECD report. Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include, Upskill, Innovate says women are not currently empowered to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. While G20 economies have taken important actions to narrow gender gaps in general, more needs to be done to increase the participation of women and girls in the digital economy so that they too can contribute to and benefit from the digital transformation that is under way.

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November 14, 2018

Proportion of flexible space within corporate portfolios to increase dramatically

by Sara Bean • Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property

Despite the proliferation of coworking and serviced office operators the majority of global corporates still occupy office space on a traditional lease model, with two thirds of companies in a survey by Knight Frank reporting that co-working, serviced and flexible office space comprise 5 percent or less of their current office space. Knight Frank’s Your Space report, which surveys senior executives at 120 global companies which collectively employ in excess of 3.5 million people worldwide and occupy an estimated 233 million sq ft of office space, found that just a small minority, less than 7 percent, said that flexible workspace exceeds a fifth of their total workspace. (more…)

November 12, 2018

Two thirds of HR professionals say working environment contributes to sickness levels

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

New research carried out by HR consultant AdviserPlus claims that two thirds of HR professionals say that a poor workplace environment can ‘substantially’ contribute to sickness levels. The survey, which asked 300 HR professionals their opinions on the state of absenteeism in the UK, found that factors such as lifestyle and environment played a big part in the levels of absence in their workplace. Absenteeism is said to cost the UK economy £18 billion a year, and an average sick day costs a company around £100 a day.

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November 9, 2018

Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

A new survey of professional, mainly management-level women has revealed a lack of support for maternity returners by employers. According to the survey by working parents website MMB, more than four fifths of pregnant women begin their maternity leave unhappy and lacking in confidence about work – and over a third feel so isolated when they return that they want to hand their notice in. The survey of more than 1,000 mothers, 72 percent of whom were in jobs at management level or above found that only 18 percent of maternity returners felt happy and confident about work – having seen the way previous maternity returners had been dealt with by their employer. Over a third (37 percent) felt so unsupported and isolated on their return that they wanted to leave and just 17 percent felt they received good communication and support through the maternity process.

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November 8, 2018

Modest goals are more appealing to people than maintaining the status quo

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Thanks to a quirk in the way our brain evaluates goals, people feel it’s easier to achieve a small incremental goal than to maintain the status quo, when both goals are assessed in isolation. This is especially true if the context is seen as unfavourable. This finding, which contrasts with the popular belief that no change is easier than any change, is the main conclusion of research led by marketing professors from INSEAD, IE Business School and Pamplin College of Business.