Search Results for: employees

November 26, 2013

BYOD is not a temporary problem generated by a few errant staff

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology

While most organisations are increasingly feeling the imperative to “do mobile,” many don’t know where to begin. Today’s employers have diverse workforces, made up of full-time staff, external contracting agencies, independent professionals, and part-time staff. In addition to the changes in the workforce, all enterprises (business, government and community) have been pushing their IT processes beyond their own organisational boundaries and it is increasingly clear they don’t have absolute control over the tools used to access their corporate systems and data. All this means, advises the experts at Gartner, bring your own device (BOYD) is not just a purchasing issue, but should be approached more broadly with the applications and strategies necessary for a changing world.

November 25, 2013

How a 70 year old happiness model is still helping us to define wellness

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Workplace

This year marks the seventieth anniversary of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the model that still introduces most of us to notions of what makes people happy and fulfilled. Maslow first proposed the model in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” in Psychological Review, developing his ideas throughout the rest of his life. His work has been parallelled and built upon by other researchers since, but few have had the influence and longevity. Maslow’s hierarchical characterisation of human needs by category is ingrained into the minds of students all over the world. In the first of two pieces to mark this anniversary, Cathie Sellars of Workspace argues that Maslow continues to offers us the ideal definition of wellness.

November 25, 2013

Over half of managers ‘constantly worried’, with real estate most stressed sector

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Workplace

Over half (51 percent) of managers say they feel ‘constantly worried’ and a disturbingly high number (40 percent) have experienced depression as a result of being stressed. The research, which was carried out by YouGov to support Bupa’s Healthy Minds programme polled the views of 6,000 employees across a range of industries, job levels and regions. It found that real estate is the UK’s most stressed sector, with more than half of workers (54 percent) feeling the pressure and a further one in five struggling to cope (20 percent) and worried about the effect of stress on their health (22 percent). With one in six adults experiencing a mental health problem at any given time, the impact on businesses is significant in terms of staff absence, productivity and performance.

November 22, 2013

Generation X leads the world in embracing social media recruitment

by Sara Bean • News, Technology, Workplace

Nearly half (44%) of respondents to a new global survey on social media and workforce have been contacted about a job via social media over the past year. All generations of workers are taking part in this trend, with surprisingly Generation X (47%) just slightly in front of Gen Y and Baby Boomers (42%) in receiving job information via social networks. However the latest Kelly Global Workforce Index finds the UK lags behind many other European Countries, with just 40 per cent of UK respondents contacted through social media about an employment opportunity in the prior year, compared with 55 per cent in Germany and Poland, and 52 per cent in Ireland. More →

November 20, 2013

Lawyers often view flexible working as ‘career suicide’, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

As we reported just a few weeks ago, when it comes to implementing flexible working practices, one of the UK’s most obdurate sectors is the legal profession. While an increasing number of law firms are implementing flexible working of one sort or another, progress remains slow compared to other types of organisation and is offered primarily to certain echelons of employees. Now a new survey from commercial solicitors Fletcher Day explores the reasons for this recalcitrance and suggests that many law firms are culturally reluctant to offer flexible working, may only agree to it as a short term measure and believe that flexible working is not compatible with a successful career. This view also appears to be held by over three-quarters of the lawyers surveyed, including those who may have requested flexible working arrangements recently.

November 18, 2013

Gallery: first images of interior of Apple’s $5 billion campus in California

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Company news, Facilities management, Workplace design

Following last week’s final sign off of the plans for the new Apple Campus 2 building in northern California, the local council has issued the first interior shots of the new building. The $5 billion Foster and Partners designed campus includes a 2.8 million sq. ft. building and will be home to over 14,000 Apple employees. The late Steve Jobs originally submitted the plans to Cupertino City Council in 2011 claiming they had the potential to be the “best office building in the world”. The building is just 4 storeys high and is designed to have zero net energy consumption thanks to 700,000 sq. ft. of solar panels. As well as the main donut-shaped campus building the site includes extensive parklands, a visitor centre, R&D labs, a corporate auditorium and parking, as shown in the gallery and slideshow below.

November 18, 2013

Interview: Dave Coplin of Microsoft on Big Data, engagement and culture

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Dave Coplin joined Microsoft in 2005, and is now its Chief Envisioning Officer, helping to envision the full potential that technology offers a modern, digital society. He is a globally recognised expert on technological issues such Cloud computing, privacy, big data, social media, open government, advertising and the consumerisation of technology and is the author of a recent book called “Business Reimagined: Why work isn’t working and what you can do about it”. He is also one of the main speakers at this year’s Worktech conference in London on 19 and 20 November. In this exclusive interview with Insight he offers his thoughts on the lack of engagement between firms and employees, the most common misunderstandings about flexible working and the challenges facing managers in IT, FM and HR.

More →

November 15, 2013

Quarter of the UK workforce report they’re suffering long-term ill health

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Workplace

Administrative and support activities, which includes facilities management, is one of five UK industries where employees have reported the highest levels of long-term ill health. However across all the sectors a staggering eight million people, or a quarter of the UK’s workforce (27%) say they suffer from a health problem that’s lasted more than a year. According to the new Health at Work Index from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) one in ten workers (12%) – approximately 3.5 million people – said their ability to do their job is limited by poor health. This includes over half of diabetes sufferers (58%) and the same proportion of people suffering from depression, mental illness or panic attacks (58%). More →

November 13, 2013

Working Time Directive – why the CBI calls for a permanent opt-out

by Pam Loch • Comment, Legal news, Workplace

The UK’s opt-out of the maximum 48 hour working week being proposed by the EU is yet again under the microscope. This follows the recent publication by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) of a report which highlights the frustration felt by UK businesses regarding the Working Time Directive. “Our Global Future: The Business Vision for a Reformed EU”; focuses specifically on the continuing concerns for UK businesses around the extensive level of involvement EU legislation has on how they operate their business. It shows that the majority of businesses still favour the opt-out and the flexibility it provides. Interestingly however, many did not see the need to change the current entitlement to paid holidays or rest breaks. More →

November 12, 2013

Leading management bodies launch initiative to help employers value their talent

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Measuring the value of an organisation’s talent and its people management practices has remained stubbornly elusive. This has prompted a group of leading professional bodies to join forces to help businesses measure the impact of their people on organisational performance and better equip them to improve workforce skills and productivity. The ultimate goal of the ‘Valuing your Talent’ initiative by the CIPD, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Investors in People (IIP) and the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA); is to develop an open framework for the measurement of human capital that will make good people management practices more visible, and encourage businesses to invest more strategically in their workforces.

November 12, 2013

UK leads the world in talent, but it needs the right culture in which to thrive

by Philip Ross • Comment, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

We should never take the UK’s talent base for granted. According to a new report from Deloitte, when it comes to employment levels of people in knowledge based jobs in high skill sectors such as digital media, banking, legal services, software development, telecoms and publishing, London is comfortably the world’s leading city. The study found that London employed 1.5 million people in the 22 sectors surveyed, compared with 1.2 million in New York, 784,000 in Los Angeles, 630,000 in Hong Kong and 425,000 in Boston. The report also predicts that London will enjoy rapid growth in employment levels in these sectors over the next seven years, adding around 100,000 more people and that while a decline in employment is foreseen in financial services, this will be more than offset by strong growth in creative and media businesses.