Search Results for: employers

September 21, 2015

Five essential office design trends to look for in the near future ⁰

by Tom Brialey • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

Since the early Twentieth Century, business leaders have been experimenting with office design in an attempt to improve productivity. From the sea of forward-facing desks imagined by Frederick Taylor, to the infamous cubicle of the late 1960s, to today’s open-plan office, each innovation has said something about our changing relationship to work. In a Gensler survey with more than 2,000 participants, 90 percent of respondents indicated that better workplace design and layout result in better overall performance. The greatest developments of recent times have emerged from the tech giants of Silicon Valley, where businesses have blended playfulness, company culture and the collaborative benefits of open layouts to craft unique and engaging spaces. So where are we headed? Here are five major trends that are likely to have a lasting impact on the way we work.

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September 18, 2015

Majority of workers go into the workplace when they should be off sick ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Debates around presenteeism tend to revolve around staff checking their emails while on holiday, but another potentially more destructive behaviour is that of the worker who reckons they’re so indispensable they insist on coming into the workplace when they’re ill. In a recent survey, 89 percent of workers said they had gone into work when they were not well, which is why it is hardly surprising that almost three quarters (71 percent) of employees have reported catching an illness from a sick colleague. According to the research by Canada Life, almost a third (32 percent) said their workload was too great for them to take time off for illness, and 80 percent would not take time off for stress-related illnesses. Employees were also worried about being perceived as lazy (13 percent), inconsiderate (10 percent) and weak (10 percent) if they took time off for a short-term illness.

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September 18, 2015

What Robert Frost can teach us about the changing workplace

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Technology

The great Twentieth Century American poet Robert Frost is arguably best known these days for two quotations that have – usually in bastardised versions – entered into common usage. The first is the final verse of his poem The Road Not Taken, and especially the final three lines: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I /I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference.” The second is a quotation: “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office”; which should be pinned up in every reception area and is usually rendered as something like ‘when you get to work, don’t leave your brain at the door.’ Both come to mind when you read something like the report entitled ‘Next Generation Working Life’ from Ericsson’s Networked Society Lab.

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September 17, 2015

Growth of on demand economy is transforming work and workplaces ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace design

Some of the key characteristics of the workplace of the near future are starting to crystallise pretty rapidly. In many ways, employees are aware of this to a greater extent than employers, legislators and politicians. For example, this week and over recent weeks Uber has been arguing in courts around the world that its drivers are not employees but are in fact self-employed. This is the shape of things to come. In the UK, around a fifth of the workforce is already freelance or self-employed, something which politicians like to misinterpret as small business, possibly because it makes them look better because they associate it with entrepreneurialism and the prospects of these firms employing other people. The idea this is simply not the case is supported by a new report from software provider Intuit which claims that just 13 percent of British workers think they will be in traditional employment in 2025.

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September 15, 2015

Considerable minority of working women report gender discrimination ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace

Whether the new Shadow Cabinet is or isn’t representative of women (there are no women in senior roles on the Labour front bench, but half of the total posts went to women) was a major talking point about the new Labour Party line-up yesterday. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, despite numerous policy and cultural efforts in recent decades to break corporate glass ceilings, integrate women in traditionally male-dominated fields and shine a spotlight on pay equity and advancement, a considerable minority of working women report feeling they have been discriminated against at some point in their career. Gallup’s Work and Education survey found 17 percent of working women believed they had been denied a raise at work because of their gender and 12 percent of women say they have been passed over for a promotion or other opportunity because of their gender at some point in their life.

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September 14, 2015

Staff already dreading the advent of Gen Z at work, claims report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Wellbeing, Workplace

If, like us, you’ve grown tired of the endless media focus on Generation Y and its often unfair portrayal based on a clump of stereotypes, then brace yourself. Generation Z, defined as people currently under the age of 19, is now entering the workforce and, according to a new study commissioned by Ricoh Europe, the three demographics it will join at work are dreading it. Nearly two thirds (63 percent) of Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y employees surveyed in in Europe, Middle East and Asia say they expect workplace tensions to increase with the arrival of a fourth generation and half (52 percent) say their employers are already failing to meet the needs of different generations in the workplace. More positively, there was almost universal agreement (89 percent) amongst the 3,300 respondents that a diverse workforce is an asset to a business.

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September 9, 2015

London firms optimistic, but want improvements to infrastructure ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Property, Workplace

The number of firms planning to expand in London is at its highest level (50 percent) since 2012, though retaining employees and improving the capital’s infrastructure remain key concerns. According to the re-launched CBI/CBRE London Business Survey, over half of companies (55 percent) are increasing head counts, although three in five firms (60 percent) only hire where essential. London firms’ optimism has rebounded from last year, with almost half of companies (47 percent) feeling more positive about the UK’s economic prospects in the next six months – reversing the steady decline seen since the first quarter of 2014 – and 40 percent feel more positive about business prospects. Nearly four in five businesses (76 percent) highlighted improving the capital’s transport infrastructure as the number one issue the new Mayor of London must get down to tackling when they enter City Hall next year.

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September 9, 2015

Wellness policies often ignore the role of the workplace environment ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A new meta analysis compiled by researchers from Harvard Business School and Stanford University raises questions about the way Government and organisational policies designed to tackle the problems of work related health costs in the United States have largely ignored the health effects of ‘psychosocial workplace stressors’ such as high job demands, economic insecurity, and long work hours. The analysis of 228 existing studies assessed the effects of ten workplace stressors on four specific health outcomes. The researchers claims that job insecurity increases the odds of reporting poor health by about 50 percent, high job demands raise the odds of having a diagnosed illness by 35 percent, and long work hours increase mortality by almost 20 percent. They argue that any policies designed to address these issues should account for the health effects of the workplace environment.

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September 9, 2015

Five unconventional ways to attract and retain Millennial talent ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Almost one third of millennial staff (29 percent) claim that a higher salary is the biggest contributor to their loyalty, despite only 20 percent of the broader American workforce reporting the same; the Staples Advantage Workplace Index, a study of office workers in the US and Canada claims. US office workers consider title and work responsibilities (38 percent) and work-life balance (30 percent) as leading contributors to their loyalty, but Millennials favour less traditional benefits including more flexibility; generous office amenities, such as gyms; a company which promotes and supports sustainable practices; a more sociable working environment with plenty of breaks; and finally, lots of positive feedback from their direct line manager. Unsurprisingly, unlike other generations of workers, Millennials say that the use of social media enhances rather than detracts from their productivity.

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September 8, 2015

Over a fifth of working mothers denied flexible hours are forced to quit ⁰

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

Discussions about the gender pay gap and increasing the number of women on Boards need to acknowledge that the greatest obstacle to female empowerment in the UK is balancing home and family. Just last week the TUC revealed that many women felt compelled to take time out of work to care for young children while another survey found over half of working women believe they would need to alter their career in order to have a child. Now the latest figures fromthe workingmums.co.uk 2015 Annual Survey show that over a fifth of working mums have been forced to leave their jobs because a flexible working request was turned down. Although the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees last year, this new policy has a less rigid timetable for employers and no statutory right to appeal if a request is turned down.

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September 4, 2015

Unconscious bias can adversely affect recruitment and retention says CIPD ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

New research from the CIPD has revealed that both male and female managers tend to favour men over women in hiring decisions; while there is an unconscious tendency to hire people like ourselves. The report A Head for Hiring: The Behavioural Science of Recruitment shows that initial perceptions of whether a person will be a good fit can be determined by factors which have no real impact on performance, including visual, cultural, demographic and situational factors. Worryingly, identical CVs seem to get more call-backs when the applicant is typically deemed to have a ‘white’ name as opposed to one that can obviously be associated with an ethnic minority. The report makes a number of recommendations to ensure that employers have consistent hiring practices. Meanwhile, Acas has also published two new free practical guides for employers and managers on how to recruit and settle in staff.

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September 4, 2015

Flexible working plea to support parents of younger school age children ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Although workers with school age children may find things easier now that the summer holidays are drawing to a close, according to the TUC, there are new challenges ahead for the work-life balance of the estimated 400,000 working mothers whose children start primary school across England and Wales this September. Most primary schools in the UK operate a staggered start for children entering reception classes, with youngsters required to attend just for morning or afternoon sessions for the first few weeks and the union is calling on employers to be supportive of working parents and allow them to work flexibly to help manage their childcare over this period. Over half of the working mothers who took part in a joint poll by the Guardian and Netmums earlier this year had decided to take time out from work or go part time when their children started school.