Search Results for: employers

December 20, 2018

Cyber security fears as employees and ex staff able to access sensitive company data

by Sara Bean • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Cyber security fears as office workers given unfettered access to sensitive company data Huge numbers of employees have or have had access to mission critical company systems which should be reserved only for staff that require it, claims a new study by CyberArk. Specifically, it found that almost half (48 percent) of employees have or have had access to sensitive financial documents; 46 percent to confidential HR information; nearly a third (29 percent) have or have had direct access to company bank account and over a third (37 percent) access to research and development plans or blueprints for new products/services. Credential theft remains the most common and effective route to a successful cyber-attack.

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December 19, 2018

UK Government agrees to code of practice to combat sexual harassment at work

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

The Government has agreed to work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to introduce a statutory code of practice to tackle sexual harassment at work. It also agreed that non-disclosure agreements require better regulation and a clearer explanation of the rights that a worker cannot abrogate by signing one and will consult on how best to achieve this and enforce any new provisions. It also agrees that regulators should make it clear that workplace sexual harassment is unacceptable, and that sexual harassment should be taken into account when considering the fitness and propriety of the individuals and employers they regulate.

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December 19, 2018

ONS says Ill health and caring duties biggest barriers to work for older people

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The two most important barriers to working for those in their 50s and early to mid-60s are health and caring; according to the latest analysis from the ONS. Living longer: Fitting it all in – working, caring and health in later life, advises that although people in their 50s and early 60s have a good level of general health the prevalence of health problems increases over this age range and impacts on the likelihood of being in paid work. Of those potential older workers who are out of work (but would like to work), 38 percent of men and 28 percent of women are unemployed. Women are more likely to be looking after home or family than men (19 percent and 6 percent). Over a third of people aged 50 to 64 years are out of work because they are sick or disabled – with ill health the main barrier to working for both men (37 percent) and women (35 percent).

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December 18, 2018

Government’s new workplace reforms: the world responds

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The UK government has introduced what it claims to be the most significant package of workplace reforms for 20 years in response to last year’s Taylor Report on working practices. The Good Work Plan has introduced a range of measures which the Government claims will improve the rights of agency and part time workers and discourage employers from indulging in unwelcome practices. The reforms are intended to stop businesses opting out of equal pay arrangements for agency employees and improve the conditions for gig economy workers generally, for example by giving workers details of their rights from the first day in a job, such as eligibility for sick leave, pay levels, maternity and paternity leave.

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December 18, 2018

As we enter our darkest hours, quality of office lighting needs attention

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Lighting, News, Wellbeing

As we enter the darkest days of the year, office workers in the UK are set to get virtually no natural light. For instance, today (18 December) sunrise in London is at 08:01 and sunset is 15:52, meaning office workers are commuting to and from their offices in the dark. The quality of lighting within many workplaces is often not much better, as despite 80 percent of UK office workers, saying good lighting in their workspace is important to them, two-in-five (40 percent) say they have to deal with uncomfortable lighting every day and a third (32 percent) said better lighting would make them happier at work. However today some Londoner’s will have the chance to get a much-needed dose of light at an uplifting Light Station supplied by Staples at Southwark Bridge tunnel which will be open to the public from 9:00 to 16:15.

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December 18, 2018

Only small number of workers happy with their office temperature

by Sara Bean • Coworking, Facilities management, News, Wellbeing

Just 16 percent of workers are satisfied with the temperature of their office, while a majority (89 percent) claim they lose productivity if the temperature isn’t quite right, new research suggests. Nearly half (46 percent) experiencing cold office temperatures say this makes them the most unproductive, according to research by Workthere. Only 8 percent of those based in coworking and shared workspace and 10 percent of staff in leased workspace, believe that their office is always the right temperature, while just 3 percent of respondents revealed they have a separate space to work in if they’re too hot or cold. It seems that keeping warm is the biggest challenge for British office workers with 47 percent admitting to wearing additional layers at their desk and 37 percent often making themselves a hot drink to fight the office chill. A surprising 17 percent of respondents even admitted to bringing in a personal heater to warm up which is a worry for employers, given that it costs £3.43 on average to run a 3 kilowatt heater for eight hours.

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December 13, 2018

Lack of understanding continues to compromise employee wellbeing

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Employee wellbeing is being compromised by a lack of understanding of how to implement effective programmes, claims research from the British Safety Council. According to the study, the main reasons for this situation are the difficulties of defining wellbeing, selecting the best tools for assessing programmes and measuring the cost-effectiveness of these interventions. Inadequate people skills of many line managers and low priority given by them to employee wellbeing are also important factors. Responding to these challenges, the British Safety Council has published the report Not just free fruit: wellbeing at work (registration required). (more…)

December 12, 2018

Survey claims increased levels of productivity amongst flexible workers

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible workers claim to work more effectively than those working a traditional ‘nine-to-five’, with a quarter of respondents (27 percent) in a recent poll saying they work longer hours in their new flexible working routine than they did when they worked normal office hours. The research, which was commissioned by the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) found that flexible workers think they put in almost seven hours more each week on average than they did previously. The research, which looked at the productivity of a group of workers who set their own hours or working location against a group of those who are not doing so, found that the former benefit from feeling happier and less stressed. (more…)

December 11, 2018

Generations differ on what makes them happy at work but agree on flexibility

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

A new survey into happiness at work suggests it is viewed differently according to age. Baby boomers: aspire to have job security and think careers are defined by employers. Gen X: aspire to have a work-life balance and although are loyal to a profession will not necessarily stick with the same employer. Millennials or Gen Y aspire to have freedom and flexibility and are digital entrepreneurs while Gen Z aspire to have security and stability. The report by Instant Offices’ considered what is important to each age group, and how employers approach the age gap. It found that eight in 10 millennials look for a manager to act as a mentor or coach; Baby boomers want a boss to be ethical, fair and consistent, while 61 percent of Generation X, and 55 percent of millennials, think team consensus is important. (more…)

December 11, 2018

Debt, relationship breakup and bullying are the top employer concerns about employee mental health

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Debt, separation and bullying are the personal issues of most concern to employers when it comes to employee mental health, according to a report from Aon. It polled employers online and during an Aon seminar called the Contemporary Drivers of Mental Health, in which Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and co-author of a government report, ‘Thriving at Work, a review of mental health and employers’ presented his findings.

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December 10, 2018

The best places to work in Europe and North America as ranked by employees

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Job site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its 11th annual Employees’ Choice Awards, honouring the Best Places to Work in 2019 across North America and parts of Europe. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review about their job, work environment and employer over the past year.

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December 7, 2018

Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

At this time of year, it seems like we don’t have to wait more than a few hours before some or other organisation is sharing its prognosis about how we will be working in the future. The thing these reports usually share in common, other than a standardised variant of a title and a common lexicon of agility, engagement and connectivity, is a narrow focus based on their key assumptions about what the office of the future will be like. While these are rarely false per se, and often offer valuable insights, they also frequently exhibit a desire to look at only one part of the great workplace elephant. While the more informed reports make excellent points and identify trends, across most there are routine flaws in thinking that can lead them to make narrow and sometimes incorrect assumptions and so draw similarly flawed conclusions. Talk of the office of the future tells us rather a lot about how we view offices right now.