May 25, 2023

Four million UK employees have changed careers due to a lack of flexible working options

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

New research from the CIPD suggests that an estimated 4 million people have changed careers due to a lack of flexible working options, while an estimated 2 million have left a job in the last year for the same reason. As a result, the CIPD is warning that businesses may face a talent exodus if they fail to offer more flexible choices to people. The CIPD’s latest report, which explores employee and employer perspectives towards flexible and hybrid working practices, highlights that offering them is key to retaining and attracting staff, addressing the current skills shortage and fostering inclusive workplaces. More →

May 18, 2023

Hybrid working averse businesses missing out on €113 billion opportunity

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

European businesses continue to miss out on the full potential of hybrid working, according to a new survey from Ricoh Europe. The research, conducted by Opinium and analysed by CEBR, polled 6,000 workers and 1,500 decision makers across Europe. Business leaders say that workers are, on average, 4 percent more productive in a hybrid culture, equivalent to an additional €113 billion to the European economy compared with pre-pandemic ways of working. More →

May 15, 2023

Fifth of people with fertility issues have considered leaving work as a result

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research from the CIPD suggests there is a significant gap in workplace support for people experiencing fertility issues. Nearly one in five (19 percent) people affected said they had considered leaving their job due to their experience at work while undergoing fertility challenges, investigations or treatment. The CIPD’s accompanying guidance for employers, workplace support for employees experiencing fertility challenges, investigations and treatment, suggests that managing the health impacts of it alongside employment can be extremely difficult without an understanding employer. More →

May 12, 2023

Half of gig workers earn below the minimum wage

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

As the cost of living continues to spiral, a new report shows more than half of gig economy workers in the UK are paid below the minimum wage. The study, led by the University of Bristol, found 52 percent of gig workers doing jobs ranging from data entry to food delivery were earning below the minimum wage. On average respondents were earning £8.97 per hour – around 15 percent below the current UK minimum wage, which rose to £10.42 this month. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of survey respondents also experienced work-related insecurity and anxiety. More →

May 9, 2023

Chance plays a huge role in career success, report confirms

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

If you’ve ever thought that the success or otherwise of a career is a little or largely dependent on getting the right breaks at the right time, new research from academics in the UK and France may confirm it. The study examines the role of chance events, whether positive or negative, on managers’ career success across Europe. While positive chance events typically have a positive impact on careers, 71 percent of those having experienced a negative chance event report nevertheless a positive impact on their careers. More →

May 3, 2023

Around a quarter of jobs will shift over the next five years, WEF report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Almost a quarter of jobs are expected to switch in the next five years according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. Its Future of Jobs Report for 2023 suggests that employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated among the 673 million jobs corresponding to the dataset, a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2 percent of current employment. The data is an extrapolation of data from 803 employers employing around 11 million people. More →

April 26, 2023

Half of parents struggling for work life balance

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new poll from AA Driving School suggests that around half (51 percent) of British parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures. Increases to the cost of childcare have driven UK parents to work either additional hours in their current job (18 percent) or even take another job (12 percent) to financially support their family. More →

April 24, 2023

Reconnecting older workers with the office: have we retired what matters most?

by Julie Lecoq • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Older workers now make up a larger percentage of the workforce than they did two decades ago. Data from Legal and General and the Centre for Economic Research (Cebr) suggests that the number of over 50s in employment has increased by 36 percent in the last 20 years, with 47 percent of this age group predicted to be in employment by 2030. A combination of the increase in retirement age and rising costs of living have made it a necessity for individuals to stay in work longer. From a corporate perspective, the growing skills shortages in a range of sectors has also meant that employers are consistently seeking to attract and retain those in the latter stage of their professional career. More →

April 17, 2023

Women experience more stress than men when working hours are fragmented, claims new research

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Women experience more stress than men when their employment hours are split into different sections during the day, such as with flexitime and working from home, new research claims. Zhuofei Lu, of the University of Manchester, analysed survey data recorded during the pandemic in 2020-2021 on 620 British men and women, 40 percent of whom had children. More →

April 5, 2023

Zürich named as world’s leading smart city in list dominated by Asia and Europe

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Technology

Zürich has been named as the world’s leading smart city according to the latest annual Smart City Index published by IMD business school. Asian and European cities dominate this year’s top twenty. Among them, IMD names six “super champions” because they have been continuously improving their performance since 2019: Zürich, Oslo, Singapore, Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong. More →

April 5, 2023

Three quarters of people who left their pre-covid employer now want to go back

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

According to a new poll from recruiter Robert Walters, almost three quarters of professionals (71 percent) who left their pre-covid employer in search of better pay or working culture say that they are open to returning. Half of the 3,000 people surveyed say that the reasons as to why they left in the first place are no longer applicable. Nearly half (45 percent of workers) who had left their job after lockdown did so for better pay – with a further 35 percent leaving for a better workplace culture or more purpose/fulfilment in their role. More →

April 4, 2023

Flexible working is the new “work-life currency”, claims new report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new report, Future of Work Life, from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab explores the ways in which employees and employers navigate the current work environment and their views on the future of work shaped by the pandemic, digitalisation and the fluctuating labour market. Almost half (48 percent) of the employees in the study say that they enjoy increased flexibility at work. 52 percent consider flexible work hours or locations as key requirements, and 25 percent say that flexibility is the top priority if they would start to look for a new job. Doing work rather than going to work is seen as central in this new way of thinking about work life. More →