Search Results for: employee

June 16, 2016

Most likely scenario of a Brexit vote is minimal impact on employees ⁰

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

A more nuanced and balanced view from both leave and remain campaigns on how the EU Referendum will affect employees is needed, a leading HR authority has warned. Commenting on how the outcome of the EU Referendum will affect employees, Professor of Human Resources Chris Rowley, at Cass Business School, said: “The deluge of increasingly extreme polar dichotomy arguments and claims regarding possible post-Brexit life also applies to the critical area of work and employment where the Remain and Leave camps have some of their greatest internal tensions and contradictions. Both sides betray a lack of historical and contemporary grounding and analysis of both employee relations and politics. One problem is that there is much counterfactual argument of causation – what would have happened anyway.” In the short term and possibly even in the longer term he says that a Brexit vote would be unlikely to impact employment law, as so much is already enshrined at work.

June 14, 2016

Winning over employees during the great Summer of sport ⁰

by Jamie Mackenzie • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The summer brings about many challenges for both employers and employees. The longer days, warmer weather, and reduced staff numbers are an annual occurrence that managers need to factor in; 2016 also brings a particularly exciting season of sport. High profile events such as Wimbledon, Euro 2016 and the Olympics are already upon us, with many of the events taking place during working hours. Research from Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services suggests that 1 in 5 people say they typically feel the least motivated during summer or when there is a sporting event taking place. Managers need to combat this in order to maintain productivity levels throughout the summer – but how can this be achieved? And how can they use the opportunity presented by the Summer of sport to build closer relationships with employees that will have longer term benefits for the business than the immediate challenges they present?

June 9, 2016

Employers urged to use sporting events to help engage employees ⁰

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

With the European Championships about to begin, employers are preparing themselves for the consequences. A new report from Robert Half reveals that three quarters (73 percent) of UK Human Resources (HR) directors believe their employees will call in sick or make an excuse for skipping work, the day after a major sporting event such as the UEFA EURO 2016, and more than a fifth (21 percent) considering it ‘very likely’. With England’s and Wales’ first midweek European Championship fixture on the 16th June, companies are likely to be anticipating a significant increase in the number of employees missing work on Friday 17th June as a result of ‘sporting sickies’. A large majority (88 percent) of HR executives believe there are benefits of using sporting events to engage employees. Many companies are seeing the cohesive benefits of coming together to enjoy a sporting spectacle and emotionally invest in the event.

May 26, 2016

Two in five managers oppose employees working from home ⁰

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

Flexible working may be growing in popularity among employees but there is evidence of a gap in expectations between employers and employees on where work should take place. A new report from Randstad found that only around a third of UK employees (35 percent) still want to work in the office every day of the week, with a majority (62 percent) wanting the option of working from home. Employers it seems feel very differently, as a report by Cornerstone OnDemand and IDC reveals that cultural attitudes are a major obstacle for the full acceptance of flexible ways of working, preventing employers from viewing it as a legitimate work practice. Two in five line managers (40 percent) admit that they do not want their employees to work from home, and crucially, even if a company facilitates remote working, bosses’ attitudes are keeping their employees in the office, with just 13 percent of employees actually choosing to work from home when given the option.

April 27, 2016

Half of employees say mobile working makes them more productive ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology

Most employees now have access to mobile devices in the workplace and this ability to work anytime anywhere means that 49 percent of respondents in a new global study by the Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU) say mobile working has the greatest impact on productivity, while for 38 percent it determines how satisfied they are with their employer. The study, sponsored by Aruba, claims that companies rated by employees as ‘pioneers’ in how they support mobile technology saw a rise in productivity (16 percent), creativity (18 percent), satisfaction (23 percent), and loyalty (21 percent) when compared to organisations that were poorly rated at supporting mobile tech. While a respondent’s age was not found to be a factor of how mobile technology impacts their performance and engagement, four out of ten Millennials did admit they would never work for a company that didn’t allow them to use their own devices for work, compared to 22 percent of all employees.

April 22, 2016

Recognition as well as reward is key to employee engagement ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Recognition and appreciation may play a major part in driving employee engagement, but money continues to be a driving force in people feeling appreciated at work; according to a new survey of more than 1,000 US-based employees conducted by BambooHR. However, money isn’t everything as 1 in 5 employees would prefer to receive a promotion to a higher title without a 3 percent raise in salary, instead of a 3 percent raise in salary without a promotion to a higher title. The research also found that employees who consistently contribute to successful teams and have the most responsibility are looked at as being more successful (in the eyes of their peers) than those who make the most money. Yet many employees never get that recognition, as just 40 percent only getting positive recognition a few times a year (or less). Unsurprisingly, one out of four of those employees are unsatisfied with their job.

April 21, 2016

Employees squander a month each year checking email outside of work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

A study published today by enterprise service management firm Samanage, confirms that US employees are spending a significant amount of time checking email after hours. What is perhaps more surprising is the amount of time they spend on this. The report claims that a significant proportion of workers are spending far more time emailing outside the office than they do taking vacation. Among the 1,500 US adults surveyed in the Email Overload Survey, more than one in three (35.2 percent) check email at least one hour a day outside of work hours, totaling more than 30 days of extra work per year. Given the average US worker receives 10 days of vacation annually, employees are spending triple that amount of time emailing after work hours. It’s also clear that Americans have a hard time putting down their mobile device and stepping away from email as respondents reported checking their work email instead of sleeping or eating.

April 19, 2016

‘Only’ a third of employees take part in corporate wellbeing programmes ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Although the vast majority of employers (89 percent) say that the wellbeing of employees is important to them, participation in corporate mandated health programmes remains ‘low’ with only 38 percent of employees worldwide participating in any wellbeing activity or health-related management programmes in the last year, according to research from insurers Willis Towers Watson. In addition, 41 percent of European employers say they lack the budget and resources to deliver an effective programme. The research claims that the top five health related issues of most concern in Europe are stress (74 percent), sedentary lifestyles (45 percent), presenteeism (33 percent), obesity (32 percent) and nutrition (31 percent). In response to these issues, organisations have initiated a range of programmes, the most common of which are onsite vaccinations (62 percent), diet and exercise (61 percent), health risk assessments (58 percent) and biometric screening (53 percent).

March 30, 2016

Career satisfaction and work-life balance are top employee draws ⁰

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

Although a competitive salary, company perks and an exceptional office culture may seem enticing to the American workforce, a new study shows there are more important motivational factors. A survey conducted by Kelton Global for Cornerstone OnDemand reveals that career satisfaction and work-life balance are the top reasons American stay at their current jobs (38 percent combined), while nearly three in ten (29 percent) resign due to work overload and lack of healthy work-life balance. Employees said they’d make life-altering decisions and considerable sacrifices in order to find a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and purpose in their careers. In fact, 89 percent of employees would consider making a lateral career move with no financial incentive for multiple reasons, including to start an entirely new career (41 percent) or take on a professional challenge (40 percent). Additionally, relocating to a different city, state or country is a desirable career move for 77 percent of employees. More →

March 25, 2016

Career development most important driver for employee engagement ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

With a lack of career development opportunities being the number one reason why employees leave organizations; employers are increasingly recognizing alternative rewards as an essential component of a competitive total employee rewards strategy. In fact, companies prioritise career development more than other alternative rewards, benefits and bonuses, according to new research by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry (KFY). Nine in ten organizations (90 percent) surveyed employ four or more alternative methods of rewarding employees (including career development programmes, health and welfare benefits, additional paid time off and other benefits) as part of their HR strategy. More than 8 out of ten organizations surveyed said that alternative rewards are key to being an employer of choice (89 percent), remaining competitive (87 percent) and engaging employees (81 percent). Eighty-seven percent of respondents also agreed that alternative rewards are an important tool in retaining the organization’s existing talent.

March 24, 2016

Flexible working is a more important perk than nap time for employees ⁰

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

Headline grabbing employee perks such as free catered lunches and massages; whether Google’s free nap times during the day or Netflix’s free unlimited holidays are all very well, but they are hardly the norm. Back in the real world, over half (61 percent) of people in the UK believe they don’t get near enough employee incentives at work. Yet, when losing and hiring employees is far more costly than keeping current employees happy and motivated – for instance, an Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) study revealed that 17 percent of employees claimed they were looking for a new career due to feeling under-appreciated in their place of work – it might be wise to find out what employees really want. Workplace services supplier Direct365 did just that and discovered that workers want perks that they can relate to and enjoy, and which cater towards and take into consideration their individual needs. Unsurprisingly, flexible working is at the top of the list.

February 2, 2016

Stress is now a fact of life for the vast majority of employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Excessive stress threatens the wellbeing of employees across the UK and the rest of Europe, with 88 percent of British workers regularly experiencing stress at work, according to research by payroll software firm ADP. Nearly half (43 percent) of UK employees go further to say that stress is a constant factor in their roles and that they feel stressed ‘often’ or ‘very often’. In fact, just 12 percent of employees feel that they never experience workplace stress while 79 percent of UK workers feel that their employer is trying to help them manage stress levels. The report, The Workforce View in Europe 2015/16, surveyed 11,257 working adults across Europe, including 1,500 employees in the UK. It found that many employees now believe flexible working will help them deal with stress and achieve a better work life balance while over three-quarters (79 percent) of UK respondents feel their employer is trying to help them manage stress.