Search Results for: financial

How do you really go about creating a great place to work?

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The topic of workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly prevalent. And for good reason. In the UK, 45 million working days are lost due to stress, anxiety and depression and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Absence Management survey reveals that over two fifths of organisations have seen an increase in reported mental health problems over the last year. What’s more, a recent government report found that up to 300,000 people leave their jobs each year due to mental health-related issues. Last month, Symposium hosted the “Workplace Wellness & Stress Forum 2017”, back for its twelfth year, to help employers step up and tackle the greatest inhibitor of growth, innovation and creativity – stress. Medical professionals have their definition of “stress”, health and safety execs have theirs, and the academic community promulgate another. Forum host Neil Shah, chief de-stressing officer of The Stress Management Society, offered a definition that resonated with the entire audience: “where demand placed on an individual exceeds their resources”.

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New Government plan to address employment barriers for disabled people

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

 

The Government has announced a new 10-year strategy to address employment prospects for disabled people and people with health conditions. In response to its Work, Health & Disability Green Paper consultation which closed earlier this year, the White Paper, Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability sets out how the Government will work with employers, charities, healthcare providers and local authorities to break down employment barriers for disabled people and people with health conditions over the next decade. This will be delivered through in-work programmes, personalised financial and employment support, and specialist healthcare services. Currently, ill health that keeps people out of work costs the economy an estimated £100 billion a year, including £7 billion in costs to the NHS. Two new employment trials will also be launched in the West Midlands and Sheffield City Region combined authorities to provide employment support. The Government is also investing around £39 million to more than double the number of Employment Advisors in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.

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The workplace sector responds to the 2017 UK Autumn Budget

by • Architecture, Environment, Features, Property, Technology

Yesterday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the details of the UK government’s latest budget. While Brexit inevitably cast its shadow over the whole thing, there were a number of announcements relevant to the workplace, construction, tech and built environment sectors, many of which have been broadly welcomed by commentators, industry bodies and experts. Among the announcements in the budget were new plans for infrastructure and planning, skills and training, the environment, productivity, AI and regional development.

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Businesses exploring potential of AI to improve customer experience and the bottom line

by • News, Technology

Despite the growing interest in the potential of artificial intelligence, there is a sense of confusion amongst business leaders about how it is being used and how to take advantage of its potential. Independent research from SAS claims that while nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of business leaders are convinced AI can generate value for their business, nearly half (46 percent) are being held back by concerns around AI still being in its infancy. Nearly a third (30 percent) of companies are not sure if they are ready for the technology, citing concerns over a lack of required skills (66 percent), ROI (55 percent) and fears over stories of AI malfunctioning (38 percent). Many also expressed reservations over the cost of solutions (39 percent) and lack of trust in the technology (36 percent), reinforcing fears that AI would not deliver sufficient ROI.

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Research details how staff satisfaction affects company performance

by • News, Workplace

Companies with high levels of staff satisfaction perform better financially, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) published in the journal Economics Letters. The study examined the effect of staff satisfaction on corporate performance using employees’ online reviews of where they work. Writing in the journal Economic Letters, the researchers from Norwich Business School say that firms rated highly by their current employees in terms of satisfaction achieve greater financial performance compared to firms characterised by low levels of employee satisfaction.  (more…)

Overwhelming majority of employees see link between wellbeing and performance

by • News, Wellbeing

According to its 2017 Health Survey (registration required), Aon Employee Benefits claims that 96 percent of employers see a direct correlation between employee health, wellbeing and performance. The survey of 200 UK organisations also suggests that health and wellbeing is rising up the corporate agenda, with 96 percent of employers either agreeing or strongly agreeing that they are responsible for improving employee health behaviours. Indeed, 77 percent are looking to improve on their existing health and wellbeing programmes in the next 12 months. In addition, although employee physical health is important to employers, they are also looking to strike a balance between what are becoming the four widely accepted core pillars of health and wellbeing – Emotional, Physical, Social and Financial.

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Millions of unemployed over 50s struggle more than young people for jobs

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New data published today shows that the over 50 age group experience an ‘unemployment trap’ – meaning they are more likely to be out of work than younger age groups, and once unemployed they struggle more than younger jobseekers to get back into employment. Currently almost a third of 50-64 year olds in the UK are not in work – some 3.3 million people. Within this, 29 percent are recorded as ‘economically inactive’ – not engaged in the labour market in any way – which is more than twice the rate of those aged 35-49 (13 percent). It is estimated that around one million of the over 50s who are out of work left employment involuntarily due to issues such as ill health, caring responsibilities or redundancy. Some 38 percent of unemployed over 50s have been out of work for over a year, compared to 19 percent of 18-24 year olds and the Centre for Ageing Better claims that employment support is failing this age group.

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Government land registry makes commercial ownership data free

by • News, Property

The Government’s HM Land Registry is making available, for free, data on land or property in England and Wales where the registered legal owner is a UK company or corporate body, or an overseas company. The Commercial and Corporate Ownership Data and Overseas Companies Ownership Data contain more than 3 million rows of data and include the address, company’s name, price paid and country of incorporation along with other useful information.

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Nine out of ten employees believe flexible working is key to boosting productivity

by • Flexible working, News

Data published by HSBC claims that flexible and remote working practices are more likely than financial incentives to motivate staff and ultimately increase workplace productivity. A study of British businesses and employees found that nine in ten employees surveyed (89 percent) consider flexible working to be a key motivator to their productivity levels within the workplace – a view shared equally among male and female employees (87 percent and 90 percent respectively) – and more so than financial incentives (77 percent). Alongside this, 81 percent of workers who can work remotely believe this opportunity helps them to improve their productivity, making a clear link between flexible working cultures and increased business productivity levels.

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Warnings of widening gender pay gap as women are hit hardest by low pay

by • Comment, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

 

It is Equal Pay Day today (Friday 10th November) – the day in the year which is marked in the calendar as the one where women start to work for free, and the campaigning charity the Fawcett Society has warned that the pay gap is actually widening for some groups of women and will now take 100 years to close, based on the current rate of change. Research by the Living Wage Foundation published to mark the day has also revealed women are hit hardest by low pay in the UK. Women make up nearly two thirds (62 percent) of workers currently struggling to make ends meet on less than the real Living Wage claims the Foundation, which amounts to 3.4 million women compared to 2.1 million men. Nearly 1/3 of all UK working women (26 percent) are still earning less than the Living Wage, compared to just 16 percent of all working men. And this trend has been the case since 2011, when KPMG and the Living Wage Foundation launched its annual Living Wage report.

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Brexit thought to be the main culprit for job market attrition and ‘dual’ economy

by • Cities, News, Workplace

There are ongoing dual narratives in UK economy caused by the 2016 Brexit vote, the latest Morgan McKinley October Employment Monitor suggests. On the one hand, a new report by Colliers International dubbed London Europe’s top economic City. On the other hand, institutions are stubbornly stuck in limbo, and the fear of major jobs losses looms thick in the sky, keeping hiring low. “The economic tug of war that Brexit kicked off means we still have no idea quite where we’ll land,” said Hakan Enver, Operations Director, Morgan McKinley Financial Services. October was the lowest jobs month of 2017, a possible indication that the closing months of the year will be especially quiet. Job seekers increased by 6 percent month-on-month, but were down just under 40 percent year-on-year. The trajectories are in line with the overall dual trends of 2017. Jobs available were down 14 percent month-on-month and 20 percent year-on-year. Given the underlying health of the economy, Brexit looks to be the main culprit for the job market attrition.

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One in four retired Britons return to work within 15 years, research shows

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Around one in four retirees in the UK return to work or ‘unretire’, mostly within five years of retiring, according to research by The University of Manchester and King’s College London. The researchers have found that while ‘unretirement’ is common, men are more likely to unretire than women, as are people in good health, those who are better educated and those still paying off a mortgage. People who report having financial problems before retiring are not more likely to unretire than those without, nor are those with lower incomes. After ten years, a retiree’s chances of returning to paid work are low. The research concludes that recently retired people, aged both above and below the state pension age, represent a pool of potential labour, if the right opportunity presents itself. They are a group that should not be forgotten by policies aiming to keep older people in work, say the researchers.

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