July 3, 2019

Gig economy and freelance workers would prefer secure work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Freelancers, the self employed and workers in the so-called gig economy may like the flexibility but they would prefer a steady job, according to new research from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP). The rise of non-traditional work arrangements is not due to workers wanting or demanding these jobs, but rather because they have no other choice the report concludes. What’s more, workers would agree to earn less in order to increase their employment security. The results come from analysis of data from over 4,000 UK and US workers, who were surveyed on their current work arrangements and the job attributes they most want. (more…)

July 3, 2019

Getting a sense of productivity and motivation

by Jeff Revoy • Comment, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When business operators are planning their company’s office, price is often chief among their priorities. Keeping the fixed cost of real estate low helps companies project—and increase—their expected income. Price is not just a consideration when it comes to rent; assets such as office furniture are often purchased en masse and for purely utilitarian reasons. Sure, a business is saving money by designing a no-frills, utilitarian office, which some Feng Shui experts would agree with, but what they are ignoring is how space affects productivity, motivation and enjoyment. (more…)

June 20, 2019

Peace and quiet at work? Here are ten of the best and most far out solutions ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Features, Furniture, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Any survey that sets out to establish what people believe cuts their productivity and annoys them most about their workplace almost invariably throws up the same result; the noise and distractions generated by other people. So it will come as no surprise to learn that the same surveys usually find that employees believe that peace and quiet and freedom from distractions is the most important factor when it comes to getting some decent work done. (more…)

June 18, 2019

Freelancers project economy now larger than creative sector

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Freelancers working on projects now contribute more to the economy than the creative industries, new research from the CRSE (Centre for Research on Self-Employment) claims. The ‘project economy’, made up of freelancers brought in for individual projects such as new products, innovation and infrastructure, contributes approximately £104bn to the UK economy every year, according to the CRSE’s Freelance Project and Gig Economies report. That is more than the £100bn of the creative industries and close to the £110bn contributed by the construction sector. The ‘project economy’ accounts for 73 per cent of the UK’s skilled freelancers – nearly five times the 15 per cent working in the so-called gig economy. (more…)

June 17, 2019

Worker confidence in the UK jobs market falls

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The Monster Jobs Confidence Index, published for the first time by jobs board Monster.co.uk and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), claims that workers and job seekers confidence in the UK labour market has dropped by 10 percent, from 77 percent to 67 percent. The report defines confidence as how an individual feels about their ability to find a suitable job in the short-term, realise their career potential and build a better future for themselves.

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June 12, 2019

Women and older workers drive record employment

by Marie Hillen • News, Workplace

The number of people in employment in the UK increased by 32,000 to a record high of 32.75 million in the three months to April 2019, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). This was driven by women whose numbers increased by 60,000 on the quarter to a record high of 15.46 million.

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June 10, 2019

More disabled people opt for self-employment

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

More disabled people than ever before are choosing self-employment, but are being let down by poor support from government, according to new research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and the Community trade union. The study, Making self-employment work for disabled people, claims that 611,000 UK disabled people now work for themselves in their main job. The report also found that although they overwhelmingly see self-employment as a positive way of working, they do not get the support they need from government. (more…)

June 6, 2019

BT to dispose of 90 percent of real estate

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

BT has announced that it plans to close more than 270 offices as part of a five-year programme to cut costs by around £1.5bn. The firm says it will retain 30 sites in its real estate portfolio, primarily those “containing modern, future-fit buildings, including corporate offices, contact centres and specialist sites”. BT has announced the first eight locations for its new consolidated offices as part of what it calls the “Better Workplace Programme”, which was first announced in May 2018. The offices will be located in London, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Ipswich. (more…)

May 31, 2019

Jobs and pay on the rise, despite economic uncertainty

by Marie Hillen • News, Workplace

The last three months have seen steady growth in the number of advertised jobs on offer, despite Brexit uncertainty, according to the latest UK Job Market Report from Adzuna. Pay rates are also on the rise, as average UK advertised salaries have outpaced inflation rates of 2 percent. Compared to the average salary on offer in April 2017 (£32,678), wages have been boosted 9.3 percent. Competition for jobs has also fallen to a record low, with a ratio of 0.21 jobseekers per vacancy in April. This means there are around five times more jobs being advertised than workers looking for new roles, the highest rate recorded since Adzuna began collecting the data seven years ago. Competition for jobs is now significantly lower than the ratio of 0.43 jobseekers per vacancy recorded a year ago, with the talent war showing no signs of letting up.

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May 28, 2019

Number of over-70s in work doubles

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

Record numbers of over-70s are choosing work over retirement, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a membership community site in the UK to offer work and volunteering opportunities specifically targeted at the over 50s. Using bespoke data provided to Rest Less by the Office for National Statistics, Rest Less’s analysis claims that the number of over-70s in full or part-time employment has been steadily rising year on year over the past 10 years, reaching a peak of 497,946 in the first quarter of this year – an increase of 286,000 or 135 per cent since 2009. Today, nearly 1 in 12 (8.1 percent) of those in their 70s are working, a significant increase from the 1 in 22 (4.5 percent) there were 10 years ago.

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May 27, 2019

Workplace happiness levels plummeting

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

According to a survey of employees, most people are unhappy and dissatisfied in our jobs and almost half struggle to get out of bed in the morning to go to work. The survey by Personal Group, a provider of human resources services, claims that there has been a 20 percent drop in workplace happiness over the past three years. Today, only 41 percent of the workforce are happy most of the time at work, down from 43 percent in 2018 and 51 percent in 2017. (more…)

May 21, 2019

Mental health “epidemic” amongst charity workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A confidential survey of 850 members of Unite, the UK and Ireland’s largest union, claims that there is an epidemic of stress related illness and massive mental health issues among people employed by charities and non-governmental organisations. The survey found that 80 percent of respondents said that they had experienced workplace stress in the previous 12 months, while 42 percent of respondents said their job was not good for their mental health.