Search Results for: employees

February 20, 2019

Work life balance remains greatest challenge for owners of growing businesses

A new survey from Vistage claims that work-life balance is the biggest challenge facing what it refers to as scaleup business leaders in the UK. Defined as a business with an average annualised return of at least 20 percent in the last three years – and with a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the period – scaleup businesses are seen as key to the success of the UK government’s Industrial Strategy. Of the 2,800 respondents who took part in the poll, Vistage found a whopping 46 percent believe juggling a healthy home life with the demands of work is the biggest challenge owners of fast-growing businesses face. Access to talent came in a distant second with 22 percent of the vote, while sustaining momentum ranked third.

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February 19, 2019

Gendered label of maternity leave may contribute to parental earnings gap

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

It’s been argued that one of the main drivers behind the gender pay gap and inequality in the workplace is when it comes to having children. Now new research from Money Guru has revealed that 70 percent of UK employers believe that women should declare their pregnancy during the recruitment process with one in seven (14 percent) of employers admitting to being reluctant to hire someone who may go on to have children. Studies show that 39 percent of young mothers have been illegally asked in job interviews about how being a mother would affect their ability to work.

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February 18, 2019

Employers need to become active listeners to improve mental health at work

by Brendan Street • Comment, Wellbeing

Time to Talk Day takes place every February and encourages people to open-up about their emotional wellbeing, but in a workplace setting this can be challenging. Despite 80 percent of employers believing employees would feel comfortable talking about their mental health, only 5 percent of employees would do so. Clearly there’s a disconnect between talkers and listeners which needs to be addressed if we’re to improve mental health at work. (more…)

February 18, 2019

Organisations are overwhelmed by innovation, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

Companies are being overwhelmed by innovation projects, fewer than half of which even make it to market. That is according to a new report from Oracle, based on a poll of more than 5,000 decision makers from 24 countries. Despite what the report claims is a clear link between growth and innovation, organisations are being held back by poor processes and a lack of focus. The report suggests that innovation barriers are particularly pronounced amongst big companies, as well as companies experiencing higher growth rates.

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February 17, 2019

More than 600 people quit work to look after older and disabled relatives every day

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research by Carers UK claims that 2.6 million have quit their job to care for a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill, with nearly half a million (468,000) leaving their job in the last two years alone – more than 600 people a day. This is a 12 per cent increase since Carers UK and YouGov polled the public in 2013. The findings also show that more people are caring than previously thought, with almost 5 million workers now juggling their paid job with caring – a dramatic rise compared with Census 2011 figures of 3 million.

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February 17, 2019

Century Office begins experiment into six hour working day

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Flexible working

Century Office will soon be commencing an experiment into a shorter working day. In collaboration with the University of Essex, Century Office will be shortening the working day down to 6.5 hours. They expect that, although it remains to be proven, that employees will become more focussed and productive as the desire for more leisure times and time for self-care, family, hobbies etc outweighs the tendency for idle chat and periods of low productivity. It is also hoped that participants will feel less anxious or tired as they have more time to pursue personal endeavours and come out of work mode.

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February 17, 2019

Personal and social factors impact return to work after ill-health

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Support from managers and colleagues, as well as a positive attitude, are most likely to enable a more long-term return to work for employees after a sickness absence, according to a new review of research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The review evaluated the impact of personal and social factors on sustainable return to work after ill-health due to musculoskeletal disorders, such as joint and back pain, and common mental health conditions, for example stress, depression or anxiety.

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February 15, 2019

A sense of belonging is crucial factor for employee engagement

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

A sense of belonging is just as important an employee retention tool as good pay and benefits, a new academic paper has found. In his paper Creating a committed workforce: Using social exchange and social identity to enhance psychological attachment within an ever-changing workplace, Dr Ali Fenwick of Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Breukelen, the Netherlands., argues that identifying with the team, leader, brand and organisation is paramount to workplace commitment as well as work performance. (more…)

February 14, 2019

Digital transformation requires more than just new technology

by Arnab Banerjee • Comment, Technology

Digital transformation has been a priority for businesses for many years, primarily to benefit from the opportunities presented by a mix of digital technologies and their impact across all aspects of society. Customer-facing functions such as sales, marketing and procurement, in their quest for new revenue sources and information-powered ecosystems of value, have led the way on digital transformation, while HR has historically taken a back seat. But in order for the entire organisation undergoing transformation to work together holistically, HR needs to take the lead and embed a digital DNA within the organisation.

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February 12, 2019

Lack of cohesion in many organisations on adoption of digital workplace

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

The majority of organisations (58 percent) do not have a have a clearly defined strategy in place when it comes to adopting and integrating digital workspace technology which suggests that implementing and making use of such technology is still being carried out in something of a haphazard manner. The findings of the research are summarised in SoftwareONE’s Building a Lean, Mean, Digital Machine report, which also claims that, despite the fact that almost all organisations (99 percent) employ some form of digital workspace technology, respondents have encountered a host of challenges when it comes to using them. These include higher security risks (cited by 47 percent) and a lack of employee knowledge in how best to use the solutions (45 percent). (more…)

February 12, 2019

Staff are still largely sedentary and want benefits that will help improve wellbeing

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Despite the fact that a large number of employees continue to be relatively sedentary during their working day, there a growing demand for benefits that could help them achieve a healthier lifestyle, claims new research from Personal Group. More than 40 percent of employees surveyed want health insurance to be added to their workplace benefits programme; more than a third (34 percent) would like their employer to introduce discounted gym memberships, and more than one in four (28 percent) want to have access to rewards linked to physical activity. Almost a quarter (24 percent) want physical health-based incentives, such as interdepartmental step challenges or competitions added to their company-wide benefits programme. However, data shows that 70 percent of those surveyed who sit down to work only get up from their desk or workstation every hour at best, and 38 percent only move every two hours or more. Furthermore, a large proportion of employees eat at their desk or workstation on a regular basis (32 percent) and the majority choose to drive to work (60 percent) over walking (15 percent) or cycling (3.5 percent).

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February 8, 2019

A worthwhile workplace trends list, permanent beta, nudge nudge, think think and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

If there’s just one thing that makes my heart sink more precipitously than the word ‘trends’, it’s when it’s preceded by the words Top and Ten. So it’s nice to have been surprised by this list of workplace trends that displays the wherewithal and insight to call on those people in the sector who might have something informed and interesting to say about where it all might be headed this year. Don’t be put off by the headline, even if you’re as jaded as I am.