Search Results for: environment

Good working relationships and less stress are key to workplace happiness

Good working relationships and less stress are key to workplace happiness 0

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Less stress and better workplace relationships are the reason why the happiest regions to work in the UK are Yorkshire and the Humber; while uninteresting work is the reason why employees in Scotland and the South are the most unhappy. Research into workplace happiness by Happiness Works on behalf of Robert Half UK claims that 77 percent of employees in Yorkshire and the Humber are the happiest employees in Britain, well above the national average of 63 percent. Those questioned find their work more interesting (74 percent), get on with their team (88 percent), have good friends in the office (72 percent) and suffer less stress (38 percent). Britain’s most unsatisfied employees are those working in Scotland and the South of England, with 17 percent of employees saying they are unhappy at work and one in six expressing their work is not interesting. Over a quarter of those in South (27 percent) don’t have good friends in the office or don’t get on with their teams and one in seven (14 percent) in Scotland feel the same. However, employees in Scotland (63 percent) and the South (65 percent) do believe they have a good work-life balance.

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UK employees three times more likely to work when ill than to pull a sickie

UK employees three times more likely to work when ill than to pull a sickie 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Seven in ten UK employees – equivalent to 18 million nationally – have gone to work feeling unwell when they should have taken the day off, while less than a quarter (23 percent) say they have taken a day off work sick when they were not actually unwell, indicating that UK employees are three times more likely to go to work unwell than they are to ‘pull a sickie,’ a new report claims. The fourth edition of the Aviva Working Lives Report, which examines the attitudes and experiences of employers and employees on issues affecting the present and future of the UK workplace – also carries a wake-up call to businesses, as more than two in five (43 percent) employees feel their employer puts the results of the company ahead of their health and wellbeing as more than two in five (41 percent) say their work will pile up if they are off sick.

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Three workplace managers walk into a bar … and the rest is no joke

Three workplace managers walk into a bar … and the rest is no joke 0

by • Facilities management, Features, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

This is a long tale, but a worthwhile one to tell, and something that many of you will relate to, especially if you have anything to do with workplace design or management. Three managers walk into a bar. This is always a good place to start. They each have gender-neutral names, so I’ll leave you to work out whether they may be male or female. Not that it even matters in this context. Frankie gets there first. “Hi. Large glass of wine please. What do you have?” The bartender pauses, then replies: “We have … red … or … um … white. Um … oh, and fizzy and pink”. Frankie thinks for a moment, dismisses the idea of a cocktail or a short, then orders a beer. It’s a corporate training centre after all. What would you expect in a place like this? An extensive wine list?

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Organisations out of step with workers in the digital workplace era

Organisations out of step with workers in the digital workplace era 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace design

digital workplaceAlthough we now struggle to imagine living in a world without smartphones and the Internet, organisations appear to be slightly out of step with the digital era, according to a new study of their behaviour by Oxford Economics and Citrix. The research, published in a report called Building the Digital Workplace, measured progress toward digital work at organisations around the world. It found that there is a pressing need for organisations to develop a coherent digital strategy especially with regard to work. Although all the common concerns remain about security, costs and skills remain, the report suggests that firms need to do more to reap the benefits of a digital workplace. It cites the example of firms who have done most to develop a digital workplace strategy and the positive outcomes they have enjoyed.

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The new normal arrives for the commercial property sector

The new normal arrives for the commercial property sector 0

by • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

wework-coworking-new-yorkTraditionally, the two principle vectors for change in the commercial property market have been lease lengths and space standards. Both have shrunk markedly over recent years, subject to the miniaturising effects of technological and cultural change. Even so, the effects of this contraction have taken place within an existing paradigm so have been easily understood, if not always acted upon.So it has been that major property organisations such as the British Council for Offices and CoreNet have been able to produce guides and reports based on well understood principles and without challenging the business models and assumptions of developers, landlords, workplace designers and occupiers. For most the challenges remained the same, not least how to resolve the sometimes conflicting timescales of people, place, property and technology that is the defining tension at the heart of office design and management.

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Number of CEOs with technical background grows to meet demands of digital economy

Number of CEOs with technical background grows to meet demands of digital economy 0

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Growth of the digital economy

The number of CEOs from a financial background is falling as firms put more sway into technology skills, a new report claims. The annual Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO Tracker shows that in the last four years the number of CEOs with a technology background trebled as businesses prepare to compete in an increasingly digital economy. In 2014, only three CEOs had a background in technology while today this number has increased to 11. There is a also a generational shift occurring in the FTSE 100, with just eight CEOs under the age of 50 on the FTSE 100, a quarter less than in 2010 when there were 33 CEOs under the age of 50. The typical age of a CEO is 55 years old and the average tenure is five years and two months. While a majority of CEOs still have a background in finance, this figure has fallen to 43 percent from 55 percent last year and the lowest level in three years. Of those CEOs with a financial background, nearly half (19 percent) are Chartered Accountants.

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Improving adult skills can help countries benefit from globalisation, claims OECD

Improving adult skills can help countries benefit from globalisation, claims OECD 0

by • News, Workplace

In an increasingly competitive international environment, providing workers with the right mix of skills can help ensure that globalisation translates into new jobs and productivity gains rather than negative economic and social outcomes, according to a new OECD report. The OECD Skills Outlook 2017 reveals big differences in the extent to which countries are equipping workers with the right knowledge and ability to benefit from the globalisation of production chains. The report finds a country with a skills mix that is well aligned with the requirements of technologically advanced industries can specialise in these industries on average 8 percent more than other countries, and up to 60 percent more than countries with a low alignment between the mix and these industries requirements. A supplementary note covers the UK’s situation.

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IFMA and RICS unveil combined qualifications platform

IFMA and RICS unveil combined qualifications platform 0

by • Facilities management, News

The collaboration between IFMA and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is, for the first time, offering a combined suite of credentials and professional qualifications for facilities management in a single, online academy platform at www.fm.training. IFMA and RICS first launched the platform in December 2016 as an initial step toward ‘leveraging the combined authority of two of the world’s premier built environment professional organisations for the support of FM education and career advancement’. IFMA centralised its professional credential training — the foundational Facility Management Professional, the targeted Sustainability Facility Professional and the Facility Management Learning System, which supports learning for the Certified Facility Manager certification — on the academy in early April. Now, RICS has added the final critical piece of the IFMA-RICS suite of credentials and professional qualifications to the platform: the internationally recognised AssocRICS and MRICS professional designations.

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How the fourth industrial revolution might help to solve the challenges of mobility and migration

How the fourth industrial revolution might help to solve the challenges of mobility and migration 0

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

The already cack-handed Brexit negotiations and the ongoing saga of President Trump’s ‘wall’ have ensured that the issue of migration has stayed at the top of the political agenda so far this year. Yet, one potentially significant factor that has stayed out of the headlines so far is the potential for people to migrate digitally across nations and the globe. The World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Migration, in conjunction with Remote.co, has now published a report into the subject called Mobile Minds: An Alternative to Physical Migration in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The white paper claims to outline the benefits of, and challenges associated with, cross-border remote hiring. Led by Rajeeb Dey, Tolu Olubunmi, and Sara Sutton Fell, the goal of Mobile Minds is to explore the global impact of remote work as it relates to both the mobility of the twenty-first century workforce and workplace.

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Presenteeism can have as negative an impact on the workplace as absenteeism

Presenteeism can have as negative an impact on the workplace as absenteeism 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employees coming into work when sick are contributing to a rising trend of ‘presenteeism’ across the UK, with more than half (52 percent) of UK workers admitting to going to work when their performance is negatively affected by work-related health issues, a new survey claims. A third (34 percent) of workers have even considered moving jobs due to the negative impact of their work environment on their health – the highest percentage across Europe. The report from Fellowes, published to coincide with World Day for Safety and Health at Work, argues when a worker is present but not able to perform their function properly, it compromises their productivity. With most employees continuing to work at sub-par levels rather than taking days off to recover, this also prolongs the effect of illness. Subsequently, businesses are experiencing a detrimental knock-on impact on the quality and volume of work produced, with a further impact on overall business performance.

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BIFM issues new guidance for FMs on managing the transition to agile working

BIFM issues new guidance for FMs on managing the transition to agile working 0

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News

New guidance on managing the transition to agile workingNew guidance to help facilities managers manage the transition to agile working within their organisation has just been published by the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM). The Agile Working Change Management Guidance Note is aimed at FMs working at a senior and/or operational level and covers the benefits of agile working and how to successfully plan and implement an integrated approach to deliver sustainable change in working behaviour. Agile working describes a range of work settings that allow people and organisations to make new choices about when, where and how they work. It is underpinned by mobile technology and applies to people working both in and away from the traditional office, such as at home, on the road or remotely in other locations. BIFM’s research and information manager Peter Brogan said: “As an Institute, we recognise the importance of the workplace agenda for FMs and this newly commissioned Guidance Note aims to address the current lack of knowledge around some of the emerging workplace practices.”

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Poor home telecoms services deter four million employees from flexible working

Poor home telecoms services deter four million employees from flexible working 0

by • Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK’s appetite for remote and flexible working is being hampered by prohibitively slow broadband speeds and poor mobile coverage, according to new research from uSwitch.com. A quarter of employees (25 percent) have experienced issues with their telecoms services over the last year, resulting in a staggering four million being prevented from working from home. In the last 12 months, 43 percent of UK employees have worked from home at least once as people are taking advantage of the increasingly flexible work environments offered by businesses – a figure which rises to 55 percent amongst 18-34 year olds. Yet six in ten (58 percent) have fallen foul of sluggish internet speeds and patchy call quality in the last year alone. The problems have been so severe for half (46 percent) of those with issues that they believe they are no longer able to work from home while these problems persist.

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