Search Results for: employment

Flexible working bolstering employment growth in UK

Jobs

Employment will continue to grow in the first quarter of 2013, despite stalled economic growth. According to the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)/SuccessFactors Labour Market Outlook the proportion of employers that intend to increase total staffing levels remains positive for the first quarter of 2013. Gerwyn Davies, Labour Market Adviser at the CIPD, said: “While muted pay growth is playing a part, we also see continued evidence that employers are reluctant to lay-off skilled workers.” He added: “Some employers are clearly using flexible working and reduced hours to adapt to trading conditions.” (more…)

Stress accounts for a quarter of UK short term workplace absence

Stress accounts for a quarter of UK short term workplace absence

Stress now accounts for more than a quarter of short term workplace absence in the UK, according to new research from Simplyhealth and the CIPD.Stress now accounts for more than a quarter of short term workplace absence in the UK, according to new research from Simplyhealth and the CIPD. The latest edition of the Health and Wellbeing at Work report, one of the most extensive surveys of its kind, shows that 26 percent of short term absences are attributed to stress. The authors also suggest that almost two thirds of HR professionals reported stress related absence in their organisation during the past year. (more…)

Most people think work has a positive effect on their overall wellbeing

Most people think work has a positive effect on their overall wellbeing

A large majority of workers believe that being in employment has a positive effect on their health and wellbeing, according to a new pollA large majority of workers believe that work has an overall positive effect on their health and wellbeing, according to a new poll from Cirencester Friendly. The survey, carried out by Opinium Research in August among 2,420 working adults, found that seven in ten respondents felt that work benefits their health, with just over a third strongly agreeing. The findings suggest a broadly consistent view across generations and genders. Almost seven in ten Gen Z workers said work has a positive impact on their health, a figure only slightly lower than the three quarters of Baby Boomers who expressed the same view. Women were marginally more likely than men to agree, although the difference was slight. (more…)

Tony Attard named as new chair for British Furniture Confederation

Tony Attard named as new chair for British Furniture Confederation

After ten years in the hot seat, Jonathan Hindle is stepping down as chairman of the British Furniture Confederation (BFC). The new chairman is Tony Attard, OBE, DL, founder and chairman of the Panaz Group. The BFC was set up in 2006 by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers Company (WCFM) to be the voice of the industry to government. Since its formation, its chairs have traditionally been Past Masters of the WCFM– Tony was Master in 2022-3 and President of the Furnishing Industry Benevolent Association (FTBA) prior to its merger with the FMC in 2012. (more…)

Lords Committee calls for clearer policy to address the future of home working

Lords Committee calls for clearer policy to address the future of home working

home working is now firmly embedded in the UK’s labour market but requires more coherent policy, better evidence and improved supportA House of Lords committee has called for a more coherent national approach to remote and hybrid work, warning that unclear responsibilities, inconsistent data, gaps in employer guidance and uneven access to flexible work risk undermining the UK’s ability to adapt to long-term changes in working patterns. According to the report, Is Working From Home Working?, published today (13 November) the rapid rise in home-based working since the pandemic has outpaced the Government’s ability to coordinate policy or collect reliable data. Responsibility for remote work is “split across government departments”, the Committee notes, with implications for employment, transport, digital infrastructure and housing policy. (more…)

Employers increasingly see AI as a way of reducing headcount

Employers increasingly see AI as a way of reducing headcount

UK firms are bullish about the use of GenAI but their employees are not so certain, according to a new pollOne in six (17 percent) employers expect AI to shrink their workforce over the next year, with junior roles most at risk, according to the CIPD’s latest Labour Market Outlook which surveyed over 2,000 employers on their hiring, redundancy and pay plans.  Of those, almost two thirds (62 percent) believe that clerical, junior managerial, professional or administrative roles are most likely to be lost because of AI. The risk is highest in large private sector firms, where one in four (26 percent) expect headcount to fall, compared with 17 percent in the private sector overall and 20 percent in the public sector. (more…)

Government report warns of growing health-related economic inactivity

Government report warns of growing health-related economic inactivity

The Government has published its final Keep Britain Working report, warning that the United Kingdom faces a continuing rise in economic inactivity linked to ill health, disability and long-term sicknessThe Government has published its final Keep Britain Working report, warning that the United Kingdom faces a continuing rise in economic inactivity linked to ill health, disability and long-term sickness. The report, issued by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business and Trade, sets out evidence that more people are leaving the workforce because of health conditions, reducing productivity and increasing costs for employers and the state. (more…)

Not just cuckoo clocks. Why Switzerland is the world’s most innovative country

Not just cuckoo clocks. Why Switzerland is the world’s most innovative country

Switzerland retains its long-standing position as the world’s most innovative economy, followed closely by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and SingaporeIn Orson Welles’ famous scene-stealing cameo in The Third Man, his character Harry Lime comes out with that (in)famous speech about Swiss culture. “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance,” he says. “In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” This does the Swiss a disservice in a number of ways, not least that a major new report claims that Switzerland is maintaining a long tradition as the most innovative country in the world. (more…)

Yale study finds little evidence that AI is taking people’s jobs

Yale study finds little evidence that AI is taking people’s jobs

A new analysis from the Budget Lab at Yale University has found little sign that AI is having a measurable impact on the composition of the US workforceA new analysis from the Budget Lab at Yale University has found little sign that artificial intelligence is having a measurable impact on the composition of the US workforce, despite widespread debate about its potential to transform the jobs market and reduce levels of employment. The study, led by Martha Gimbel, Molly Kinder, Joshua Kendall and Maddie Lee, examined monthly labour market data since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022. (more…)

Mitsubishi Estate announces £800 million London Southbank mixed use development

Mitsubishi Estate announces £800 million London Southbank mixed use development

The Japanese developer will deliver a 600,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme, to be called Vista, which will combine offices, studios, galleries and exhibition areas. As part of the development, 40,000 sq ft has been allocated as affordable workspace for creative businesses, a measure intended to support start-ups and smaller firms in the sector.Mitsubishi Estate has announced plans to invest £800 million in the redevelopment of the former ITV Studios site on London’s South Bank, a project that is expected to create 4,000 jobs and provide significant new space for the capital’s creative industries. The Japanese developer will deliver a 600,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme, to be called Vista, which will combine offices, studios, galleries and exhibition areas. As part of the development, 40,000 sq ft has been allocated as affordable workspace for creative businesses, a measure intended to support start-ups and smaller firms in the sector.

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Young people aren’t lazy or disloyal. They just expect different leadership

Young people aren’t lazy or disloyal. They just expect different leadership

As they join the workforce in greater numbers, this new cohort is helping to redefine what work and leadership meanFor decades, the idea of a “good job” was measured with a simple formula: a stable contract and competitive salary. That rule does not seem to hold in the same way for Generation Z, broadly understood as those born between 1995 and 2010. As they join the workforce in greater numbers, this new cohort is helping to redefine what work and leadership mean. Salary still matters, of course, particularly when it comes to gaining independence in a time of high living costs, but many young people no longer see pay as the decisive factor in choosing or staying in a job. Instead, they are attentive to whether companies are genuine in their values, whether their work carries purpose, and whether employers are aware of their social impact. (more…)

Revolut opens new London HQ as part of long term plan for the UK financial services sector

Revolut opens new London HQ as part of long term plan for the UK financial services sector

Fintech firm Revolut has announced the opening of its new global headquarters in London, underlining a week that has seen more than £110 billion committed to the UK financial services sector.Fintech firm Revolut has announced the opening of its new global headquarters in Canary Wharf, in a week that has seen more than £110 billion committed to the UK financial services sector. The company confirmed it will invest £3 billion over the next five years and create around 1,000 new skilled jobs. (more…)