Search Results for: employers

Are you ready for the world of agile working we will experience in the 2020s?

Are you ready for the world of agile working we will experience in the 2020s?

Some organisations believe they have ‘done’ Agile Working. They have increased the ratio of people to desks and achieved a saving in accommodation costs. They have provided flexible working arrangements across the organisation and have enabled their people to work at home for part of their working week. Staff surveys show employees are pleased with the opportunities and benefits this provides them. But organisations cannot afford to become comfortable or complacent, there are greater opportunities to grasp. As in any transformation initiative, Agile Working is more than a project it is a cultural journey involving continuing change to achieve continuous improvement. Agile Working is moving on.

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Two new studies set out business case for contemporary office design

Two new studies set out business case for contemporary office design

A brace of new reports sets out to identify the challenges organisations set themselves by inhabiting dated offices and how modern office design principles could address them. According to the Meeting Expectations report, released by K2 Space, workplace productivity is being impeded as a direct result of dated office design. The second study from Saracen Interiors focuses more on the role of office design as a recruitment tool. The reports follow the recent publication of a major report on similar themes from Worktech Academy and Fourfront Group.

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Quarter of UK workforce have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

Quarter of UK workforce have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

A new study claims that UK workers of all ages have shown a demand for flexible working. According to the research of 2,300 people commissioned by communications technology firm TeleWareemployees are actively turning down jobs that don’t offer flexible working. A quarter of all employees have turned down a job in the past for this reason. Whilst a further third (31 percent) would actively do so. Although the proportion of those that have done so is higher amongst millennials (40 percent), three in 10 (29 percent) employees over 45 would turn down a job if flexible working options were not on offer. More →

Fostering creativity within organisations through space and culture

Fostering creativity within organisations through space and culture

In organisations around the world, hierarchical structures are breaking down, replaced by deeply interconnected, constantly shifting networks, linked by innovative technology. Meanwhile, huge leaps forward in artificial intelligence promise to fundamentally change the nature of work, either by enhancing or replacing human-beings. Research by McKinsey suggests that half of today’s work activities could be automated by 2055, with repetitive and process-based roles the first to go. For employees, this looks likely to mean a greater focus on creative skills, where humans retain an advantage. These skills are not restricted to being purely artistic, as creativity describes the process of problem-solving in a new way. The rise of creativity is also being driven by new generations entering the workplace with different demands and expectations than those before them.

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Gig economy set to boom to meet growing need for digital skills

Gig economy set to boom to meet growing need for digital skills

Gig economy set to boom to meet increasing need for digital skillsOver a quarter of businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next 12 months to help plug skills shortages created by digitalisation as more than half of CEOs are concerned about a lack of digital skills within their organisation. This is according to the Robert Half 2019 Salary Guide which argues that technology is reshaping businesses; with two in five UK organisations (38 percent) considering digitalisation as the main evolving force in the workplace today. This shift has created demand for a new set of skills, such as DevOps, data visualisation, data management and analytics. While softer skills such as resilience, adaptability and critical thinking remain key characteristics in potential employees, a third (31 percent) of employers state that a candidate’s technical skillset is their most important consideration when making a new hire. Around 1.6 million1 (28 percent) UK businesses plan to hire temporary or contract staff in the next twelve months, to combat the lack available talent required, which is creating a critical skills gaps in the workplace.

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Annual commuting time is up 18 hours compared to a decade ago, finds TUC

Annual commuting time is up 18 hours compared to a decade ago, finds TUC

Commuting to and from work now takes 5 minutes longer than a decade ago, according to a new analysis published by the TUC to mark the annual Commute Smart Week organised by Work Wise UK. Rail commuters face the longest journeys, taking an average of 2 hours and 11 minutes every day – an increase of 4 minutes on the last decade.  Drivers spend 52 minutes on the road to work and back (up by 3 minutes), while bus commuters must set aside 79 minutes a day (up by 7 minutes). Cyclists (44 minutes) and walkers (29 minutes) have the quickest daily journeys.

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New Acas guide to performance management for staff with disabilities

New Acas guide to performance management for staff with disabilities

New Acas guidance on performance management for staff with disabilitiesOnly one in four organisations have adapted performance management processes to consider staff with disabilities and special needs, including conditions such as dyslexia and autism. These are the findings of research carried out by Acas which has today published new advice to address the issue. The research report entitled ‘Improvement required?’ included a survey, which asked employers about performance management systems within their workplaces. The study found that one in ten employers said that their performance management system was demotivating for staff; and only one in ten employers said that their systems were used for planning and monitoring training and development.

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Activity in leisure time does not compensate for sedentary workplace behaviour

Activity in leisure time does not compensate for sedentary workplace behaviour

Employees are wrongly assuming that keeping active outside of the workplace and during leisure time will protect them from the danger of sitting for long periods when working in an office, a new study has found. The report defines an ‘active coach potato’ as a person who is physically active in their leisure time, but who also spends long periods of time sat down. Such sedentary behaviour increases the risk of chronic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and strokes. The study is published in the scientific journal Occupational Medicine. The researchers asked 222 desk based workers and 121 managers to rate the healthiness of various combinations of sitting and physical activities during work and leisure time. They found that if a scenario included being physically active during leisure time, the employee didn’t appreciate the detrimental effect of workplace sitting alongside it.

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UK skills and labour shortage being driven by a fall in non-EU migrants

UK skills and labour shortage being driven by a fall in non-EU migrants

UK skills and labour shortage being driven by a fall in non-EU migrantsA sudden reversal in the growth in the number of both EU and non-EU migrants in employment in the UK could hit employer plans to take on more staff and worsen skills and labour shortages, according to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and The Adecco Group. While the net employment balance – a measure of the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staff levels and those who expect to decrease staff levels – has remained extremely positive at +22 (compared to +23 in Q3 2018), among employers which currently have vacancies, seven in ten (70 percent) report that at least some of their vacancies are proving hard-to-fill, higher than in Summer 2018 (66 percent) and Spring 2018 (61 percent).  More →

Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave

Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave

Little support for professional women returning from maternity leaveA new survey of professional, mainly management-level women has revealed a lack of support for maternity returners by employers. According to the survey by working parents website MMB, more than four fifths of pregnant women begin their maternity leave unhappy and lacking in confidence about work – and over a third feel so isolated when they return that they want to hand their notice in. The survey of more than 1,000 mothers, 72 percent of whom were in jobs at management level or above found that only 18 percent of maternity returners felt happy and confident about work – having seen the way previous maternity returners had been dealt with by their employer. Over a third (37 percent) felt so unsupported and isolated on their return that they wanted to leave and just 17 percent felt they received good communication and support through the maternity process.

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Gen Z are technologically literate but not actually robots, Dell study confirms

Gen Z are technologically literate but not actually robots, Dell study confirms

Generation Z is entering the workforce, bringing with it a tech-first mentality that will propel businesses further into the digital era while potentially deepening the divide among five generations in the workplace. According to global research commissioned by Dell Technologies, post-millennials – those born after 1996 and known as Gen Z – have a deep, universal understanding of technology and its potential to transform how we work and live.

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Flexibility of home working must be balanced with a need to connect

Flexibility of home working must be balanced with a need to connect

Flexibility of home working must be balanced with need to connectOver half of home workers say they appreciate the benefits that home working offers but nearly a quarter complain of loneliness too, a new survey from BHSF claims. When asked how working from home makes them feel, the top three responses were: free (50 percent), in control (47 percent) and calm (46 percent). However, a significant number of those surveyed chose more negative words to describe their feelings. Just over a quarter (26 percent) said that working from home made them feel remote, 24 percent felt isolated and 21 percent lonely. More →