Search Results for: employee

March 6, 2018

How to reboot an activity based working project that has ground to a halt

by Karin Stahl • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace design

We moved and then nothing happened, is one of the typical problems while evaluating the ups and downs of an activity based working (ABW) journey. The key to success is to kick off and re-start a change that has stopped. A second problem is that the layout of the office not quite meets up to expectations and needs, and a third is that too few feel engagement. It doesn’t necessary work badly, but something itches. What and how to do then? Clearly showing to those in charge what is not working or not has been carried out as it was meant, and showing the arisen consequences due to that, is one of the things that must be done to enable a re-start. But that will not be enough. (more…)

March 5, 2018

About time we simply accepted that coworking and flexible working are the new normal

by Sarah King • Comment, Coworking, Flexible working, Workplace design

Ask someone to list innovative companies which have become notable disruptors in their market and they invariably respond with two names – Uber and Airbnb. That is because both brands are positioned squarely and successfully at the retail consumer: for people who use a taxi or take an occasional short break in a foreign city, they have become the automatic default options. But there is another equally successful business targeting the corporate space, aimed particularly at small businesses and millennial tech start-ups: WeWork. Just like Uber and Airbnb, it is less than a decade old. In that time, WeWork’s ambition of being the world’s leading coworking company has been realised. Championing itself as a disruption revolutionary, it has succeeded more prosaically by ‘creating environments that increase productivity, innovation, and collaboration,’ according to its website. WeWork’s model involves renting office space cheaply via long-term lease contracts. Small units are then re-rented at higher rates to start up companies which are happy to pay a premium because they need very little space.

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March 5, 2018

Automation will lead to greater inequality rather than job losses

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

The total level of wages associated with jobs that have the technical potential to be automated in the UK is £290 billion per year, which represents 33 percent of all wages and earnings from labour in the economy, according to a new report published by IPPR for the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice. The report further claims that low-wage jobs have more potential to be automated than high-wage jobs and so it’s not just automation’s impact on the number of jobs that need to be considered but the impact on inequality. If automation leads to lower average wages or working hours, or loss of jobs in aggregate, a significant amount of national income could be transferred from wages to profits. And while increased automation of activities will replace some workers and labour earnings, employment and wages will rise in other areas of the labour market due to higher output and productivity, offsetting some of the original £290 billion lost but increasing pay inequality.

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March 5, 2018

UK progress on opportunities for women in the workplace slows

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New PwC research claims that the UK is not making progress fast enough to improve female economic empowerment in the workplace. Despite improvements since 2000, these gains have been outpaced by other countries’ efforts, according to the report. In particular, slow progress in closing the gender pay gap, coupled with a persistent low share of females in full-time employment, has put the brakes on the UK making bigger strides towards gender equality in the workplace. The latest Women in Work Index claims the UK has fallen slightly from 14th to 15th place in a ranking of 33 OECD countries based on five key indicators of female economic empowerment. Although labour market conditions for women improved, the UK was outpaced by better performance from other OECD countries. Since 2000, the UK’s position has improved from 17th place and it compares well to other G7 economies, being second only to Canada. The Nordic countries continue to lead the Index – with Iceland, Sweden and Norway rated as the top three countries for opportunities for women in the workplace.

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March 2, 2018

Employment law is out of step with flexible work and the changing workplace

by Leon Deakin • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Anyone who works in employment law or HR is certainly living through interesting times. With the removal of employment tribunal fees, litigation over the correct calculation of holiday pay and Brexit planning there is much to keep us busy. In addition, In addition, the impending GDPR is highly topical. However, for me, the most intellectually stimulating but also practically difficult area to advise on often remains employment status. Put simply, the law is out of date. Legislation drafted in the 1990s, and to some extent based on cases from much earlier, simply does not cut it in an increasingly flexible and developing work place.

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March 1, 2018

Under 35s most likely to have felt discriminated against in the workplace

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Over a third of UK employees (37 percent) have felt discriminated against in the workplace, more than one in ten (12 percent) believe they have suffered age discrimination and 8 percent feel they’ve been discriminated against due to their gender. This rises to 11 percent amongst women, claims a new study of 1,300 working adults by ADP. The study also suggests that standards and perceptions of behaviour have shifted across the generations, with those in so-called ‘Generation Snowflake’ more sensitive to unfair treatment than their more mature colleagues. According to the findings, half (50 percent) of those under 35 say they have felt discriminated against, compared to just a quarter (26 percent) of those over the age of 45. The contrast is visible across both age (15 percent vs 14 percent), gender (11 percent vs 5 percent) and other types of discrimination.

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February 28, 2018

The very idea of good work in a gig economy remains a distant ideal

by Tonia Novitz, Alan Bogg et al • Comment, Flexible working

Don Lane’s employment contract for his work as a courier described him as an “independent contractor”. This meant he was neither an “employee” nor a “worker”, so not entitled to legal rights such as protection against dismissal, paid holidays, or statutory sick pay. The 53-year-old also suffered from diabetes, and had previously been fined £150 by the delivery firm he worked for for missing work to attend a hospital appointment. He died in January 2018 after working through the Christmas season despite his illness. The following month, the British government revealed its response to an earlier official report on modern working practices and the gig economy. That report, by Matthew Taylor, contained 53 recommendations to improve the working environment, or achieve the report’s title, namely ‘good work’.

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February 28, 2018

Workplace health and wellbeing initiatives do not go far enough say staff

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Employers’ efforts in the US to improve staff health and wellbeing are falling short of employees’ expectations, claims a new report. Nearly two-thirds of employees (65 percent) in a report from Willis Towers Watson agree that managing their health is a top priority, but while the majority of employers (56 percent) believe their wellbeing programmes have encouraged employees to live a healthier lifestyle, only 32 percent of employees agree. Eighty-seven percent of employers who participated in the 22nd annual Best Practices in Health Care Employer Survey say increasing employee engagement in health and well-being is a top priority and the research warns that employees in poor health are twice as likely to be disengaged at work and take almost three times as many days off as employees who are in very good health. Employers can improve health behaviour through designing the workplace environment to make it easier for employees to stay fit, eat well, breathe fresh air and address stress adds the report.

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February 26, 2018

Almost a third of UK workers would prefer flexible working to a pay rise

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Nearly a third of UK employees would prefer flexible working to a pay rise, with three quarters saying that the option of working flexibly would make a job more attractive to them, claims a new study. The research, conducted by Powwownow found that 75 percent of workers would favour a job that gives their employees the option to work flexibly – up from 70 percent in 2017. A majority, (81 percent) of women say that flexible working would make a job more appealing – with almost half (45 percent) strongly agreeing that they would favour a job that offers flexible working. Male workers also find the option to work flexibly attractive when considering a role, with 69 percent saying that they would view employers who offer flexible working more favourably. The research also found that Millennials are the most likely to want the option to work flexibly, with 70 percent wishing they were offered it, compared to less than half (47 percent) of over 55’s.

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February 23, 2018

Diversity shown to help drive business performance but discrimination is still widespread

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

The economic cost of workplace discrimination to the UK Economy is £127 billion a year, claims new research. Of the £127 billion, £123 billion is due to gender discrimination, £2.6 billion as a result of discrimination against ethnic minorities and £2 billion due to discrimination as a result of sexual orientation. These are the claims of a new report commissioned by INvolve, a membership organisation that champions holistic diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and Cebr, an economics consultancy which analysed over 500 workplaces uncovered a significant positive correlation between diversity and financial performance.

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February 23, 2018

Nearly a third of UK staff feel disengaged and stressed due to inefficiencies at work

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly a third (29 percent) of UK workers say that they have become disengaged and a third (33 percent) have gone as far as looking for a new job due to the frustrations of dealing with workplace inefficiencies. Alongside functional frustrations, 50 per cent of the most stressed UK workers said that they felt undervalued by their boss. With 67 percent of them doing more hours in the office, 46 per cent working more on weekends and 56 per cent taking fewer breaks, nearly half (47 per cent) of the most stressed respondents believed, given the opportunity, they could do a better job than their managers. These are some of findings of the Digital Work Survey 2018 which was commissioned by Wrike that highlight frustrations over inefficiencies at work and the worrying impact this is having on how engaged, productive and happy employees are in their roles. Of those who were feeling most stressed, 66 per cent said that over the last two years they’ve seen increased expectations around the speed at which they must deliver work.

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February 22, 2018

Bisley announces plans to elevate the humble locker

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Products

Bisley has launched Bisley LateralFile Lodge, a new range of lockers in response to the increased need within contemporary agile offices for personal, transient and temporary storage space. Bisley’s new range of personal storage provides a timely evolution to this essential element of office design. Key features include:

Power

Mobile technology is an essential tool for a majority of workers and running out of power can be disruptive. Bisley’s new lockers are powered, making it possible to take a laptop away to a desk, only to be charged again when it goes back in the locker overnight, locked safely away behind a simple barrel lock, digital combination locks or an RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) lock.

Zoning

A range of seamless back and surface material options such as acoustic performance panels or dry-wipe boards, and the absence of tie bars, results in a slick and contemporary finish.

The aesthetic appeal and multi-use of the of these lockers means that they do not need to be located on the perimeter of the floorplate, but become an integral part of the interior design, zoning spaces, enhancing breakout spaces and encouraging movement amongst employees.

Personalisation

The ‘hard to reach’ bottom section of the locker stack can be modified to include a retractable personal drawer, maximising its capacity and accessible use. There is also the opportunity to further personalise each locker with business card/photo holders included as standard to increase the sense of ownership and belonging.

Choice and versatility

The range is available in a multitude of sizes (single or double height to suit requirements), colours, finishes and lock type. Planting tubs can be integrated on to the top of the storage units, enabling the incorporation of storage in biophillic workplace designs, increasingly popular due to the proven benefits for the wellbeing of employees. The wide range of aesthetics available for the tops and shelves, and the option of wood finish doors, mean the new locker range can be specified in any design scheme.

Helen Owen, Director of Business Development at Bisley says: “We accept that change is the only certainty in business but human nature will always dictate the need for employees to have a space that they can call their own. Lockers are a simple, effective and efficient way to provide this. The resurgence of the locker as the perfect storage solution for agile, dynamic workplaces, as well as supporting the co-working phenomenon is to be welcomed.”

The full range of lockers can be seen here:

https://www.bisley.com/products/storage/personal/lateralfile