Search Results for: employment levels

Employer hiring optimism leaps to eight year high, claims research

Employer hiring optimism leaps to eight year high, claims research

hiringUK employers are the most optimistic about hiring in eight years, according to the latest CIPD/Adecco Labour Market Outlook report. The survey claims that all sectors are experiencing a jobs recovery, alongside an improvement in pay prospects. (more…)

The workplace industry needs to think outside its ever-shrinking boxes

The workplace industry needs to think outside its ever-shrinking boxes

People are outgrowing the boxes the workplace industry offersIs the workplace industry stuck in the past, in a 20th century model of how and where work is done? The separation of work and the rest of life during the Industrial Age has shaped the structures of modern life: the houses we live in, the offices, factories and shops we work in, and the transport networks that shuffle us from one location to another for different activities. It has also shaped the planning system, the institutional and financial structures of how places are designed and built, and perhaps most of all the mindsets of just about everyone involved in creating places to work and live. (more…)

Hybrid working must be at heart of plans for regeneration and growth, claims new report

Hybrid working must be at heart of plans for regeneration and growth, claims new report

hybrid workingA new report from think tank Demos and Legal & General calls on the UK Government to back policy change that supports growth of hybrid working and local offices to drive forward its plans for regeneration and economic growth. The report, Post Pandemic Places, claims that huge increases in home working, coupled with a desire for continued flexibility, could support significant increases in local spending. On the back of the findings, the report calls on the government to incentivise the establishment of more local offices and hybrid working initiatives. (more…)

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employmentThe recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce.  (more…)

Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies

Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies

employeeNew research from Opinion Matters, commissioned by SocialChorus, claims there is a stark disparity between desk-based/wired and frontline workers when it comes to Digital Employee Experience (DEX) with a fifth of HR and Internal Communications (IC) respondents admitting to focusing on employees in the office, and just 12 percent prioritising deskless workers. (more…)

From the archive: Flexible working may improve productivity, but does it diminish creativity?

From the archive: Flexible working may improve productivity, but does it diminish creativity?

flexible working and creativityOriginally published in December 2014. Homeworking seems to have become a bit of a hot topic this year, but one sentence published on the www.gov.uk website brought a cold sweat to the brows of many managers and employees across the United Kingdom. “From 30 June 2014, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working – not just parents and carers.” (more…)

‘Make flexible working requests a day-one right’ says the CIPD

‘Make flexible working requests a day-one right’ says the CIPD

flexible workingWorkers in Britain are facing inequality due to a stark difference in employers’ approaches to flexible working, with nearly half (46 percent) of employees saying they do not have flexible working arrangements – such as flexi-time, part-time working, compressed hours or job shares – in their current role. This is according to new research from the CIPD. (more…)

Money troubles are more damaging to wellbeing of the self-employed

Money troubles are more damaging to wellbeing of the self-employed

wellbeingFinancial distress is more damaging to the wellbeing of the self-employed than those in employment, claims new research from Trinity Business School. According to the research, authored by Dr Martha O’Hagan-Luff at Trinity Business School, alongside fellow Trinity academics, financial problems are more strongly associated with lower levels of wellbeing for those that are self-employed. (more…)

UK tech workers prefer better work-life balance to a pay rise

UK tech workers prefer better work-life balance to a pay rise

work-life balanceWhen it comes to job satisfaction, Denmark tops the list of the best places to work in digital in Europe – beating the UK, Germany and France – according to the 2020 Digital Talent Global Work Happiness Index. The Nordic country scored highly for work-life balance, family-friendly working models, purpose, personal safety and personal impact, which describes how much impact an individual feels they are making to their business.  (more…)

WorldGBC and global leaders call for historic Built Environment Day at COP26

WorldGBC and global leaders call for historic Built Environment Day at COP26

EnvironmentThe World Green Building Council joins nine international organisations to sign a letter to COP26 President, Alok Sharma, requesting a Built Environment Day at the climate summit in November 2021. The day at COP26 would be dedicated to the action pathways to accelerate the decarbonisation of the built environment, and it will demonstrate how business and governments are catalysing solutions to the climate crisis. (more…)

Third of people working from home worry about mental health

Third of people working from home worry about mental health

mental healthIn a recent survey of 4,000 office-based employees and 1,000 employers in the UK, U.S, Singapore and the UAE, a third of employees expressed concern for their mental health whilst working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, conducted by health benefits provider, Aetna International, examines the perceptions of both employers and employees when it comes to corporate health and well-being. (more…)

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

Work really has become much harder during the pandemic

The burden of work, Sisyphus by TitianThe pandemic has seriously altered how we work. According to statistics published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in September 2020, US$35 trillion (£26 trillion) has been lost globally in labour income. There has also been an estimated loss of 17 percent of working hours worldwide since 2019, with young people and women being hit hardest. And many of those still in jobs are working under very different conditions. (more…)