Search Results for: employers

May 10, 2019

A balanced approach to stress has its benefits

Stress is an unavoidable part of everyday life and our bodies are hard-wired to respond to it. It’s often wrongly labelled as a sign of being unable to cope, but in reality, manageable stress can give us the boost to perform better at work. When we view the demands placed upon us as close to/exceeding the resources we have to cope, a sense of stress occurs. The situation is seen as threatening. When we experience stress, our brains release chemicals and hormones that prepare us for danger. They elevate our heart rate, sharpen our senses and get us ready to act. In the short term, it can boost our ability to perform, giving us more energy and increased concentration. (more…)

May 9, 2019

Report calls for investment in line management training

by Marie Hillen • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

More than two-fifths (45 percent) of workers believe their line manager don’t help morale at work and one in three (32 percent) feel uncomfortable approaching management about work problems, according to a poll published today. The TUC report, Improving Line Management claims that while the majority of UK workers feel supported by their bosses, more than a third (35 percent) don’t think that their line manager treats them and their colleagues fairly. The TUC says the findings expose the patchiness of management training in the UK, as despite being crucial to workers’ well-being and productivity, less than half of UK managers got any training in the last year, according to most recent government statistics.

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May 8, 2019

Some of the great ways progressive firms are increasing productivity in the workplace

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Productivity in the office is a big thing, as the more productive employees are, the more successful the business will be as a result. While most people go through peaks and troughs of productivity during their working life, it’s important for employers to give it their all when it comes to trying to keep the workforce as productive as possible. Therefore, many have come up with ways to make this happen.

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May 8, 2019

The dark side of wearables and wellbeing

by Freddie Steele • Features, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

While the use of wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are worn or inserted as implants, in smart building applications will give people completely new ways of interacting with their surroundings, their potential could be tempered by an increased risk to privacy due to the type and quantity of data being collected. The good news is that, combined with automated building controls, occupants will be able to control and automate their own ‘personal’ environment as well as improve their wellbeing. (more…)

May 8, 2019

Workers tend to choose job happiness over pay

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Wrike has published a report From Positivity to Productivity: Exposing the Truth Behind Workplace Happiness (registration), which claims to offer new insights on what makes employees happy in a rapidly changing, digital workplace. The report sets out to challenge what it says are common myths about levels of happiness at work. The happiest employees – those that identify as being “elated” with their job – report diversity is above average in their workplace and say “doing meaningful work” is the most critical factor in their happiness, ranking even higher than compensation. (more…)

May 3, 2019

People with epilepsy twice as likely as average to be unemployed

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

In the UK approximately 1 in 100 people (600,000) have a diagnosis of epilepsy, yet despite anti-discrimination legislation, people with epilepsy in the UK are more than twice as likely as those without the condition to be unemployed. That is the main conclusion of a report from IES which included a literature review, interviews with for experts in employment support, clinical practice and applied research, interviews with six employers of different sizes across a range of industries and two focus groups of individuals with varied symptoms and employment histories. (more…)

May 2, 2019

Team activities more engaging for young professionals

by Marie Hillen • News, Workplace

Team activities designed to boost morale and strengthen relationships, are more successful in engaging younger talent than individual ones, a new report suggests. The research carried out by Perkbox and Talentpool claims that employer recruitment techniques are adapting incentives accordingly in a bid to attract top young talent, as young professionals today seem to like to prioritise ‘team’ over ‘individual’ in all of their everyday working practices. (more…)

May 1, 2019

The impact of technology, cyber-risk and the future of corporate real estate ⁰

by Kate Langan • Features, Property, Technology, Work&Place, Workplace design

It’s no surprise to say that technology is having a significant impact on the workplace and the use of corporate real estate. The fast pace of change has seen technology impact all aspects of business, government and culture, as well as personal life, with a constant flow of new innovations and solutions helping us to do things more quickly and efficiently. Equally, technology also provides a challenge to business and, more specifically, corporate operations, with a whole array of disruptive technologies.

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May 1, 2019

Tech workers would quit jobs for better work-life balance

by Marie Hillen • Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

The tech sector is facing high departure rates as employees’ complain of work impinging on their home life, coupled with a lack of learning & development opportunities. It’s been estimated that vacancies already outweigh skilled talent in the UK tech industry, where there are an estimated 600,000 vacancies. Yet nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of tech workers say they would quit their job to achieve a better work-life balance. The research from CWJobs of over 1,000 IT workers also discovered that this is even more important to Gen Z (aged 16-24), where seven in 10 (72 percent) would leave a company if this was compromised.

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April 30, 2019

Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

Last week, news emerged that an automated system at Amazon had started firing low performing workers, highlighting the new role of AI and automation in traditional HR practices. Now a new report from the CIPD claims that the use of such systems will have a widespread but mixed impact on jobs. According to the study, the introduction of these new technologies at work will see job opportunities grow, by enhancing roles, employee skills and their pay. However, lack of thought and planning on how people and technology work together is reducing productivity improvements and increasing the risk of people being left behind.

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April 29, 2019

UK productivity slump linked to employee experience and lack of meaning, claims Deloitte report

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

Only half of UK employees consider their organisations to be effective at creating a positive work environment and only two fifths consider their employer to be effective at creating meaningful work. With 84 percent of workers stating that employee engagement and productivity are linked and 68 percent say their organisations do not measure the correlation between employee engagement and productivity – suggests UK business leaders need to think differently to prevent productivity slumps. The findings are from the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2019 survey, which tracks the top trends shaping the agenda for HR and business leaders both in the UK and globally. Employee experience, leadership and learning, respectively, led this year’s top 10 UK trends.

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April 29, 2019

Governments must do more to prepare people for the future of work

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Governments need to overhaul their approach to employment and jobs to reduce further social and economic tensions, according to a new report from the OECD which explores the future of work. Without rapid action, many people, particularly the low skilled, will be left behind in the fast-changing world of work. The OECD Employment Outlook 2019 is part of the OECD’s Future of Work initiative and the “I am the Future of Work” campaign, which aims to make the future of work better for all, helping to transform learning and social protection systems and reduce inequalities between people and across regions.