Search Results for: employee experience

November 19, 2017

Fresh advice on tackling sexual harassment at work published by Acas

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

In response to the proliferation of high profile cases of abuse over the past few weeks which has drawn attention to sexual harassment in a variety of settings – workplace experts Acas publishes fresh advice today (19th November) aimed at both employers and employees that outlines what kind of workplace behaviours could be considered sexual harassment and how to report it. Acas’ new advice includes examples of how sexual harassment can happen at work such as; written or verbal comments of a sexual nature such as remarks about a colleague’s appearance, questions about their sex life or offensive jokes; displaying pornographic or explicit images; sending or forwarding on emails that contains content of a sexual nature; unwanted physical contact and touching; and sexual assault. The advice states that organisations and businesses should be clear to workers about what sorts of behaviours are unacceptable and would be considered sexual harassment.

November 16, 2017

Fear of change is putting British companies at risk, Microsoft report claims

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A fear of change among staff is putting British companies at risk, according to new research that looks at how businesses are preparing for a technology-led future. A significant number of workers from across the UK admitted to anxiety and concerns over job security when their firms introduced technology to help them in their roles. Just under half (49 percent) of the people surveyed by Microsoft, Goldsmiths, University of London and YouGov said they feared the change that comes with digital transformation. Sixty-one percent said they felt anxious when bosses brought in new technology, while 59 percent were worried about the impact the automation of tasks would have on their job.

November 15, 2017

Workplace wellbeing is focus of new report from British Psychological Society

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A new report from the British Psychological Society, Psychology at Work: Improving Wellbeing and Productivity in the Workplace examines issues around work, health, and disability and recommends ways that policy makers and employers can tackle poor employment practices using interventions that work with human behaviour, not against it. The report has been launched today, Tuesday 14th November, at the BPS All-Parliamentary Group for Psychology’s (APPG) ‘Healthy Workplaces’ event hosted by Dr Lisa Cameron MP in the Houses of Parliament. Psychology at Work: Improving Wellbeing and Productivity in the Workplace’ was co-authored by Dr Ashley Weinberg, CPsychol AFBPsS, and Nancy Doyle CPsychol AFBPsS.

November 9, 2017

Gig economy workers need more workplace protection claims report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Businesses and employees are calling on the UK Government to provide more protection for those who work in the gig economy. In a survey of nearly 5,000 workers and over 100 businesses by jobs site totaljobs, 90 percent of employees and 87 percent of employers said that more regulations were needed to protect the rights of gig workers. In addition, 64 percent of employers believe the gig economy’s importance will only continue to grow in the next year, as individuals turn to self-employment in favour of more flexible working arrangements.

November 7, 2017

New research identifies nine distinct segments of the self employed workforce

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Far from being a homogeneous group, nine distinct segments of the solo self-employed workforce have been identified in new research published by the Centre for Research on Self-Employment, in partnership with IES. This segmentation furthers understanding of the solo self-employed population, including the levels of independence and security, and variation in earnings across this broad section of the UK workforce. The solo self-employed are those who do not employ other people and therefore work on their own account, and makes up 84 per cent of the self-employed workforce.

November 7, 2017

Over half of remote workers say their colleagues don’t treat them equally

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Over half (52 percent) of people who work remotely feel their colleagues don’t treat them equally, claims a new study. Working remotely has become a highly sought-after job perk and having the flexibility to live and work where you please, regardless of corporate headquarters, often draws people to take one job over another. But a survey from VitalSmarts produced by David Maxfield and Joseph Grenny, authors of the bestsellers Crucial conversations and Crucial Accountability, found that remote employees have a significantly harder time with a number of workplace challenges than their onsite colleagues. 67 percent of remote employees complained that colleagues didn’t fight for their priorities compared 59 percent of onsite employees. 41 percent of remote employees believed colleagues say bad things about them behind their back compared to 31 percent of onsite employees and 64 percent of remote employees had changes made to a project without warning vs. 58 percent of onsite employees. Over a third (35 percent) of remote employees thought colleagues were lobbying against them vs. 26 percent of onsite employees.

November 3, 2017

Growing need for a flexible workplace creates fresh challenges for employers

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Many businesses are misaligned with their people, with nearly half of employees not understanding their company’s strategic objectives, according to new research published by The Ludic Group, which claims that the changing nature of workforces and the growing need for a flexible workplace are creating fresh challenges for communication, collaboration and engagement. The research suggests that the impact of technology is causing digital chaos, with businesses struggling to get the communications balance right. With the number of channels and tools increasing almost half of people (44 percent) want to hear more from employers. Perhaps surprisingly, one in five (20 percent) individuals said that their firm has not used any tools or techniques to communicate with them. This lack of communication results in people being disconnected from the business strategy, with only half of individuals (50 percent) reported fully aligned with their company’s objectives and 44 percent not knowing or understanding what these are. Alongside this, people increasingly want to design their own working experience and expect more flexibility from their employers.

November 2, 2017

Pressurised staff say level of wellbeing in their workplace is insufficient

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A majority (80 percent) of employees perceive the level of wellbeing within their organisation to be moderate or low and a quarter are struggling to manage the pressures of the workplace, a new survey claims. Although 64 percent believe their overall happiness as happy or very happy two thirds of UK workers admit to coasting or struggling at work, with just 18 percent reporting they’re flourishing, finds the survey published by Barnett Waddingham. Why BWell 2017 also found a third of UK workers admit their job has a negative impact on their mental health, with the same number believing their overall wellbeing is not important to their employer. Moreover, 22 percent say negative attitudes from their managers at work hinder their ability to balance work and family commitments. The survey also looked at employee retention alongside employers’ understanding of staff engagement in the company objectives. Overall 25 percent admitted they couldn’t see themselves working for the same company in five years’ time and 36 percent feel they either didn’t understand their company’s overall strategy or didn’t know if they understood it or not.

October 31, 2017

Over a third of workers have left a job because of the stress it caused them

by Sara Bean • Events, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research released to mark International Stress Awareness Day tomorrow (Wednesday 1st November) has revealed that more than one third (36 percent) of the working population have left a job because of the stress it caused them, according to research conducted by Citation. It claims that women are almost 10 percent more likely to leave because of stress than men, and those aged between 25 to 34-years old were most likely to struggle with workplace stress. Worryingly, more than half (53 percent) of employees feel too afraid to show signs of stress at work. More than a quarter (27 percent) think it’ll make them look weak, one in five (18 percent) worry it will affect their career and the remaining 7 percent feel uncomfortable approaching their manager with the problem. Those aged between 18 to 24-years old were most likely to fear for their career and worry about looking weak. Employees between 45 and 54 were notably more likely to feel at unease approaching their manager.

October 27, 2017

The working week now starts on Sunday afternoon for the average British worker

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The average British employee now starts their working week at 16:22 on Sunday, according to a study from investment firm Bestinvest. According to the survey of 1,000 people, 76 percent of people admit that they have previously experienced the Mondays blues. Those working in accountancy and banking were seen to be the least inspired about going to work on Monday mornings, with 83 percent stating that they find it difficult to pull themselves out of bed on the first day of the week.

October 26, 2017

Gender, race, age and sex bias still pervades UK working life

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

Gender, race, age and sex bias still pervades UK working life

One in four (27 percent) women have been victims of sexism in the workplace and ageism, racism and homophobia continue to mar the working lives of minority groups claims new research. With high-profile reports of sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry dominating headlines, the Office Culture report, from Opinium Research, examined gender, race, age and sex biases that pervade modern UK working life and found that over 2.5 million women (20 percent) report being a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, yet two thirds (67 percent) of women who have experienced this have not reported it to their company. Similarly, despite a perceived cultural improvement in race relations, only half (55 percent) of those subjected to racial discrimination have reported such incidents to somebody in their company. However, ageism is the least reported of all with almost three-quarters (72 percent) of incidents going unnoticed; of those that did report ageism, a quarter (25 percent) of cases were not acknowledged. Action taken on incidents of homophobia were also low; with over a third (43 percent) of cases not being dealt with after the acknowledgement.

October 23, 2017

Freelancers to make up a majority of US workforce within a decade

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Freelance website Upwork and the Freelancers Union have published the results of a report called Freelancing in America: 2017, which the sponsors claim is the most comprehensive measure of the US independent workforce, (but given their vested interests probably needs you to add a pinch of salt and always worth reading Trustpilot reviews). The fourth annual study estimates that 57.3 million Americans are freelancing (36 percent of the US workforce) and contribute approximately $1.4 trillion annually to the economy, an increase of almost 30 percent since last year.