February 7, 2022

Half of unemployed men aged 50+ out of work for at least a year

There were nearly 200,000 men aged 50 and older out of work between September and November 2021 – an increase of 24 percent in two years – and 50 percent of them were unemployed for at least a year, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for older people. Rest Less analysed the latest labour market data from the Office of National Statistics to find that unemployed men aged 50+ are significantly more likely to be in long-term unemployment, defined as out of work for at least a year, than any other age group. (more…)

January 25, 2022

Hybrid working? Let’s put on a show

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

I’m currently rereading Art Kleiner’s masterful book The Age of Heretics which describes the history of ground-breaking thought in management in the 20th Century and the lessons we forget. It remains a relevant book for the new era of ‘hybrid working’ because the book draws a distinction between two fundamental schools of thought in management theory. One of these sees management as a numbers game in which people are inherently problematic and so must be directed what to do based on data and routines of desirable activity and behaviour. And the other sees people as well meaning, capable and adaptable with managers there to facilitate and channel their abilities and help them develop. (more…)

January 11, 2022

Great Resignation offers firms a chance to create the Great Retention

by Erin Eatough • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Working culture

The last 18 months have seen unprecedented change. Covid-19 has forced people to re-evaluate every aspect of their lives, including their career. As a result, we’ve seen a surge in workers taking charge of their careers and leaving their jobs as part of the so-called Great Resignation. Recent data from the ONS shows that there were nearly 1.2 million job vacancies in the UK this quarter, with 15 of 18 sectors reporting record numbers. (more…)

January 10, 2022

Risk of job losses has been falling for years, but at a price

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Decades of declining change in the UK labour market has reduced the risk of damaging job losses, but also limited opportunities for pay-enhancing job moves, according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation for The Economy 2030 Inquiry. (more…)

December 20, 2021

Startups fuelling growth in demand for flexible offices

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property

According to data from The Instant Group 584,097 companies have been registered in the UK since the start of 2021 – this equates to 1,781 per day. The most companies registered in 2021 so far have been in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The growth in start-ups has fuelled an increase in demand for flexible offices across the UK’s cities, with large proportional increases outside London. Requirements for coworking and serviced offices has grown significantly in cities such as Bristol (41 percent), Manchester (28 percent), and Reading (27 percent) over the past year. (more…)

December 7, 2021

Fifth of business leaders ‘unlikely’ to hire candidates with known disabilities

by Neil Franklin • News

Recruitment firm PageGroup has releases a study which claims to shine a light on the wide range of perceived barriers facing disabled individuals in the world of work. The findings reveal how far UK businesses still have to go to level the playing field for disabled candidates. According to Parliamentary Briefing Papers on Disability Equality in the Workplace, 8.4 million people in the UK are disabled and of working age, yet only 4.4 million are in employment. During a period of candidate shortages across multiple sectors, PageGroup polled 1,000 business leaders to understand the obstacles their business faces when looking to hire disabled candidates. (more…)

November 30, 2021

Pandemic-driven shifts have made the workforce smaller, younger and more female

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working lives

The pandemic has not led to mass unemployment as many feared, but has instead driven wider shifts that have increased employment among younger women, but pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market altogether, according to new research. (more…)

November 15, 2021

Social mobility is restricted by lack of confidence and support in careers

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new report from Totaljobs and the Social Mobility Foundation claims that the social mobility of millions of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds is hampered by a lack of confidence in choice of career and lower levels of support from families and friends. Of those that started their first job in the last two years, only 50 percent from lower socioeconomic backgrounds said they were confident about eventually being able to do the job they want. This contrasts with the 71 percent of those from more privileged, professional backgrounds. This gap has widened since the pandemic. (more…)

October 25, 2021

The power of science can help companies create better menopause policies

by Gosia Bowling • Comment, Wellbeing

According to research, nearly 8 out of 10 menopausal women are in work, at a time when many are likely to move into top leadership positions. Despite the challenges and difficulties faced by those experiencing menopause in the workplace, it remains largely invisible, undiscussed, and unsupported. That’s why it’s important for businesses create menopause-friendly workplaces using the principles of behavioural science and health psychology. (more…)

October 20, 2021

Risk of generational progress grinding to a halt unless young job seekers can level up too

by Jayne Smith • News, Working culture

A new report highlights a combination of regional disparities in access to jobs for young people, a shrinking youth labour market and an unequal recovery. This could result in young people being ill-equipped to meet the future demands of the labour market, further compounding skills shortages currently faced by employers. (more…)

September 23, 2021

One in five employers have changed employees’ terms and conditions since pandemic onset

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

One in five employers (22 percent) have made changes to employees’ terms and conditions of employment between March 2020 and July 2021, according to new research from the CIPD. The most common changes were to location of work (49 percent), followed by hours of work (47 percent) and pay levels (44 percent), redundancy/terms pay (22 percent) and access to enhanced contractual entitlements/incentives (20 percent). (more…)

September 20, 2021

The four day week won’t necessarily help us cope with workplace stress

by Abigail Marks • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Scotland is to become the latest nation to trial a four-day working week, after the SNP government announced it was setting up a £10 million fund to enable some office businesses to cut workers’ hours without reducing their pay. Similar trials are underway in Ireland and Spain, following on from trials in Iceland several years ago. Some firms have also been experimenting with a four day week, while other nations such as Japan are encouraging their employers to think about it too. (more…)