Search Results for: education

We need to have an honest conversation about presenteeism

by • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

We have talked before about the risks of over thinking problems. It is not just something that consultants, designers and the workplace intelligentsia are guilty of – everyone does it.  It is why we do not switch off when we are ill and still insist on going to work. We over think the consequences of not being in our workplace. Likewise, many traditional line managers simply cannot get their head around their teams working from home. After all, modern management mantras all talk about creating a great atmosphere in which teams all work together – in the same space at the same time? We all tend to over complicate most things and that is one of the main reasons in the UK we struggle with the concept of working from home. A consequence of this is the rise in presenteeism, which is mainly linked to illness, people ignoring how bad they feel and because of a perceived pressure, still turning up for work.

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Soft skills are vital for organisational success, say business leaders

by • News, Workplace

A majority of business leaders see a positive impact on revenues following soft skills training investment as Apprenticeship Levy gathers pace, new research claims. Almost two-thirds (60 percent) of senior decision-makers said training employees in communication, leadership and sales skills leads to business growth. The findings suggest the new government-funded apprenticeship schemes introduced in April will improve companies’ bottom-lines, with 63 percent of respondents already seeing an increase in revenue from an investment in staff training. ‘Hard’ skills such as technical abilities were more of a focus under old apprenticeship schemes, but the data reveals business leaders want to invest in less quantifiable skills such as communication, leadership and customer service since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy.

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Women and flexible workers significantly more at risk of illegal and inappropriate sexual behaviour at work

by • Workplace

Two in five women and one in five men in the UK say they have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour at work and only a minority ever report it, a BBC survey of 6,206 people has found. The study also claims that people in flexible work are significantly more likely to be subject to assault, rape, unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate behaviour. Around 42 percent of gig economy workers, the self-employed and freelancers reported that they had been subject to or exposed to such behaviour. Respondents were asked if they agreed with the proposition that: “Looking back over my working life, I have witnessed behaviour that I now believe to constitute sexual harassment but didn’t think it at the time.” Four in 10 (42 percent) over-55s agreed. Among those near the start of their working lives (18 to 34-year-olds), three in 10 felt the same way. The poll found that overall, 40 percent of women reported they have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work.  (more…)

Employer bias is undermining business innovation and potential says OU

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

 

Over a quarter of senior managers hire people just like them, and this bias is still rife in some organisations, according to new market research commissioned by The Open University. The study amongst business leaders and employees finds that three in 10 (29 percent) senior managers admit they hire people just like them, and warns employers may be overlooking candidates from different social and educational backgrounds, impacting access to talent, and hindering business innovation and performance as a result. Employers place significant importance on educational attainment (86 percent), cultural fit (77 percent), tastes and leisure pursuits (65 percent), and even social background (61 percent). Considering the typical social make up of managers, this raises concerns about diversity, a key driver of innovation, and hints at a glass ceiling for those from less privileged backgrounds, with the re-enforcement of the historical class system. The issue is prevalent in both recruitment and employment, with bias creating a ‘degree premium’, particularly at entry level.

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Design sector contributes £209 billion to the economy but problems remain, claims Design Council

by • News, Workplace design

The Design Council has published a new report which sets out the value of the design industry to the UK and identifies a number of issues that need to be addressed to enhance its value. According to the Designing a Future Economy: Developing design skills for productivity and innovation, the sector contributes £209bn to the UK economy, almost double that of what the creative industries were previously thought to contribute. The report also claims that people working in the sector are significantly more productive than the UK average worker. However it also cautions that a skills gap costs the UK economy nearly £6 billion annually. The report was compiled using UK and US-based data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and O*Net, a US-based research company offering definitions and data on different jobs.

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Smart cities could lead to cost savings of $5 trillion for firms and governments, report claims

by • Cities, News, Technology

Smart city technologies could save businesses, governments and citizens globally over US$5 trillion annually by 2022 according to a new whitepaper from ABI Research (registration required). The new white paper analyses the scope for cost savings and efficiency as a driver for smart city deployments, smart technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT). According to the report, titled ‘Smart Cities and Cost Savings,’ the use and deployment of IoT and smart technologies will be pivotal to the future success of smart cities, but only if players collaborate to embrace a holistic approach. With higher concentrations of people and enterprises in cities as a result of urbanisation, smart city and IoT technology, along with new sharing and service economy paradigms, will be key for cities to optimise the use of existing assets, maximise efficiencies, obtain economies of scale and ultimately create a more sustainable environment. Automation, artificial intelligence, along with sensors, data-sharing and analytics, will all be critical in helping cities save costs.

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Seven workplace stories that have made us stop and think this week

by • Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Why cities are full of uncomfortable benches

Regulating AI before we reach the tech singularity

What you need to know about Germany’s plans to scrap the 8 hour day

As tech firms mature, so do their headquarters

Managers aren’t doing enough to prepare staff for the future

How the sandwich consumed Britain

A robot has passed a medical licencing exam

Boosting skills is the key to improving sluggish growth and productivity

by • News, Workplace

The United Kingdom has record-high employment levels and very low jobless rates compared to most OECD countries. However, labour productivity growth remains weak and the job prospects of many adults are hurt by their poor literacy and numeracy skills. To boost growth, productivity and earnings, the UK should encourage lifelong learning among adults and promote better skills utilisation, according to a new OECD report. Getting Skills Right: United Kingdom says that educational attainment has been rising in the UK, with 42 percent of adults having a tertiary degree, compared with 34 percent across the OECD. Sixteen per cent graduate in the field of sciences, more than in any other OECD country, and nearly half of science graduates are women. The share of young adults enrolled in vocational education and training has risen to 43 percent but remains lower than in many other European countries. Apprenticeships are also less popular, pursued by around 24 percent of upper secondary students, compared to 59 percent in Switzerland or 41 percent in Germany.

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Government unveils Industrial Strategy to boost productivity and wealth

by • News, Property, Technology

The UK government has published its ‘ambitious’ Industrial Strategy, which it claims sets out a long-term vision for how Britain can build on its economic strengths, address its productivity performance, embrace technological change and boost the earning power of people across the UK. With the aim of making the UK the world’s most innovative nation by 2030, the government has committed to investing a further £725 million over the next 3 years in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) to respond to some of the greatest global challenges and the opportunities faced by the UK. This will include £170 million to ‘transform the construction sector and help create affordable places to live and work that are safer, healthier and use less energy’

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Time for Britain to face up to its post-Brexit skills shortage

by • Comment, Technology, Workplace

A new and dramatic wrinkle seems to be added to the process of Brexit talks every week. But rumbling underneath the political positioning are some fundamental problems for business. Perhaps the most startling challenge is the prospect of a cavernous skills gap. A lot of attention has been paid to the problems of low-skilled workers – the “left-behind” who voted for Brexit in the first place, and the migrants who are currently propping up the agricultural economy and doing the jobs that UK workers don’t want to do. But a more pressing issue is the fact that for too long a large proportion of our skilled labour has been coming from outside the UK. This is not only in the form of skilled individuals who are recruited to work for companies and public sector organisations in the UK, but also in the way Britain outsources the manufacture of complex parts to companies in the rest of Europe. (more…)

The workplace sector responds to the 2017 UK Autumn Budget

by • Architecture, Environment, Features, Property, Technology

Yesterday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the details of the UK government’s latest budget. While Brexit inevitably cast its shadow over the whole thing, there were a number of announcements relevant to the workplace, construction, tech and built environment sectors, many of which have been broadly welcomed by commentators, industry bodies and experts. Among the announcements in the budget were new plans for infrastructure and planning, skills and training, the environment, productivity, AI and regional development.

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Address gender and economic barriers to tech revolution says BT

by • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Young people from less privileged backgrounds and females face greater barriers to joining the tech revolution, a new report suggests. Tech know-how: The new way to get ahead for the next generation, from BT and Accenture could boost the next generation’s tech skills and help charge social mobility and economic growth. The study found individuals with higher levels of tech know-how earn more as their career progresses, with a ‘tech literacy wage premium’ of £10,000 per year.  The implied salary increase if people develop their skills could add approximately £11 billion to UK GDP by 2022. However, young people whose parents have higher levels of education are 26 percent more likely to see themselves as ‘expert’ or ‘creative’ users of tech in the next five years; and those whose parents fall into the top two education levels expect to earn salaries that are 19 percent higher than the bottom two. The report also highlighted a stark gender divide as young men receive 46 percent more encouragement from parents and teachers to build their tech skills than their female counterparts, and are 17 percent more likely to report having had sufficient training at school.

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