Search Results for: employee

December 8, 2017

Reduced hours do not necessarily lead to reduced workloads, study finds

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Professionals who want to work part-time have to do more than renegotiate their working hours; they also have to redesign their jobs to reduce outputs. Research published in the journal Human Relations, by Dr Charlotte Gascoigne from the Timewise Foundation and Professor Clare Kelliher from the Cranfield School of Management, shows that employers often do not reduce workload when professionals transition to part-time. This is not an insignificant problem for employers: one in five professionals and managers in the UK works part-time already, with more than two in five working part-time in the Netherlands. According to previous studies, a quarter of full-timers in the UK would prefer to work part-time, and are prepared to earn less, but don’t believe it’s possible.

December 8, 2017

Employers not doing enough to help staff reach their full potential says HR

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

It appears to have been a challenging year for HR professionals, as a new survey suggests nearly three quarters (72 percent) of participants in a recent survey feel slightly or significantly more over-stretched in their role compared to last year. Forty four percent believe the workforce does not have enough support to thrive, and a further 23 percent don’t feel confident that their organisations are doing enough to address this issue. Research from a survey of HR people conducted by Cascade HR found that 32 percent of HR managers have found employment legislation harder to navigate. However, a reassuring 61 percent of HR professionals now feel ‘somewhat prepared’ for GDPR, which has understandably taken up a lot of preparatory time and resource as 2017 has unfolded. In fact, only 15 percent of HR professionals surveyed feel significantly or slightly underprepared, which seems to contradict national statistics on a business-wide level.

December 7, 2017

Flexible hours best way for employers to reduce staff stress Christmas lead up

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

Over 50 percent of respondents to a recent survey want their bosses to offer more flexible hours in the weeks leading up to Christmas to help them deal with the stress of the season, while a significant minority do not want to attend their office Christmas party and see little value in building friendships with colleagues from such events. These are the key findings from the latest survey conducted over the past month by Peldon Rose which claims that 54 percent of people feel stressed in the lead up to the holidays. Yet, while many employers off the typical well-intentioned holiday benefits, such as Christmas parties, office decorations, team outings and lunches, what employees really value are perks that have a direct impact on improving their workload and allowing them to work in a more relaxed manner at this very busy time of the year, such as more flexible hours, finishing early on agreed days and a dress down code.

December 7, 2017

Over half of workers say they are more productive working from home than a chilly office

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

Chilly offices mean that over half (57 percent) of office workers say they’d be more productive working from home when the weather gets colder. Their main reason is that too many workplaces (50 percent) do not handle weather complaints effectively. According to Office Genie’s survey of 1,105 British office workers, only 6 percent of employers encourage staff to work remotely in the colder weather. Bosses are also reluctant to let employees work flexibly instead of freeze, with only 16 percent of companies adopting flexible working patterns in the colder months. Even simple provisions such as supplying additional heaters are not in place in 70 percent of offices – failing to comply to the government’s Health and Safety Executive’s advice. Of the 1,105 office workers we surveyed, 50% said complaints about office temperatures aren’t dealt with effectively by management. And while HSE guidelines state workplaces shouldn’t dip below 16°C but when we asked workers their ideal office temperature, 20°C was the resounding answer.

December 6, 2017

Gig economy workers should not be criticised for defending their rights

by Michael Farrelly • Comment, Flexible working

The gig economy and workers’ rights are among the most prominent themes of our age. In the future of employment – in particular, what it means to be employed or self-employed – they are critical. Catapulted to the heart of this debate is Uber, which has deployed its ride-hailing platform app in nearly 500 cities around the world since its San Francisco launch seven years ago. But in the UK and elsewhere, it has run into myriad legal problems. Most recent among them, Uber lost a hearing at an Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in London in a case brought by co-claimants, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam. The verdict in favour of the two Uber drivers poses a threat to the fundamental premise that has fuelled the meteoric rise of the gig economy: that workers work for themselves and not for the apps which rely on them.

December 6, 2017

Just half of UK businesses have the right skills to combat a cyberattack

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

Only half (50 percent) of UK companies believe they have the right skills to address a cyberattack, despite some high profile cyberattacks this year against the NHS, Uber and Equifax. A lack of cybersecurity skills may be due to a wider skills gaps facing the UK tech industry, claims new research from IT jobs board, CW Jobs. Nearly a third of tech employees reported feeling they were insufficiently trained in coding, cybersecurity and cloud migration. The gaps in employees’ skills is translating to the businesses they work for with 23 percent saying their business is missing programming and cybersecurity skills. A little over half (51 percent) of IT workers said that cybersecurity was included in their training, and almost one in four (23 percent) say they are not confident in handling a cyber security attack. Despite the growing threat and lack of in-house expertise, only half (50 percent) of employers look for cybersecurity skills when recruiting new IT talent. However, despite awareness around the risk of cybersecurity and the lack of preparedness, only 22 percent of employers are currently training their existing staff in cybersecurity.

December 5, 2017

How do you really go about creating a great place to work?

by Jo Sutherland • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The topic of workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly prevalent. And for good reason. In the UK, 45 million working days are lost due to stress, anxiety and depression and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Absence Management survey reveals that over two fifths of organisations have seen an increase in reported mental health problems over the last year. What’s more, a recent government report found that up to 300,000 people leave their jobs each year due to mental health-related issues. Last month, Symposium hosted the “Workplace Wellness & Stress Forum 2017”, back for its twelfth year, to help employers step up and tackle the greatest inhibitor of growth, innovation and creativity – stress. Medical professionals have their definition of “stress”, health and safety execs have theirs, and the academic community promulgate another. Forum host Neil Shah, chief de-stressing officer of The Stress Management Society, offered a definition that resonated with the entire audience: “where demand placed on an individual exceeds their resources”.

December 4, 2017

There is no clash of the digital and analogue worlds

by Steve Brewer • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Take no notice of the headline grabbing writers in the media. No battle lines are being drawn up between advocates of the analogue world of the 1960s/70s and those promoting the pioneering ideas for a bold digital 21st century. Despite the rhetoric written about driverless cars, being able to make phone calls by just thinking about who we want to call and the advance of artificial intelligence, we will almost certainly benefit from advances in technology.

December 1, 2017

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

by Mark Eltringham • 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

December 1, 2017

New Government plan to address employment barriers for disabled people

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

The Government has announced a new 10-year strategy to address employment prospects for disabled people and people with health conditions. In response to its Work, Health & Disability Green Paper consultation which closed earlier this year, the White Paper, Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability sets out how the Government will work with employers, charities, healthcare providers and local authorities to break down employment barriers for disabled people and people with health conditions over the next decade. This will be delivered through in-work programmes, personalised financial and employment support, and specialist healthcare services. Currently, ill health that keeps people out of work costs the economy an estimated £100 billion a year, including £7 billion in costs to the NHS. Two new employment trials will also be launched in the West Midlands and Sheffield City Region combined authorities to provide employment support. The Government is also investing around £39 million to more than double the number of Employment Advisors in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.

November 30, 2017

Tech faults and slow Internet speeds negatively impact productivity

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

Almost eleven working days are lost every year as a result of technology faults and failures a new report claims and complaints of slow Internet speeds compound the issue. A survey of 2,000 UK workers commissioned by IT provider Probrand.co.uk claims that 262 hours and 43 minutes are lost every year due to technology faults and failures, the equivalent to almost 11 working days each year. The majority of workers (76 percent) said that the technical faults they experienced directly impacted their productivity in work. More than half (54 percent) of workers said that most of the faults they endure are due to their computers crashing or running slowly. But the research also found that 48 percent of respondents blame poor internet speeds and connectivity problems for working hours lost. When faced with a technical issue, more than 1 in 3 (35 percent) workers would turn to a colleague first instead of an IT support provider, while 32 percent would search for solutions to technology related issues before contacting their technical support team.

November 28, 2017

Employers holding back on publishing gender pay for fear of standing out

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Most employers have already calculated their pay gap, but research by XpertHR suggests they’re holding back on reporting their findings for fear of standing out if they publish early. Organisations with 250 or more employees have to publish their gender pay and bonus gaps by April 2018 in order to comply with Regulations that came into effect this year. However, with less than six months to go, only 6 percent of the estimated 4,000 employers covered by the new law have complied. Despite the low reporting rate to date, more than one in four ( 26.5 percent) mid-sized companies (those with 250-999 employees) and more than half (51.5 percent ) of larger companies (with 1,000+ employees) have already calculated their pay gaps. Anecdotally, some have told researchers that they are waiting to see what other companies in their sector do before publishing – or that they want there to be a large number of reports in the public domain before they release their own figures.