Search Results for: flexible working

Tech workers prefer to work for larger corporations

Tech workers prefer to work for larger corporations

Tech workers sharing a jokeUK SMEs are losing out to big tech in the battle to recruit top tech talent, according to Robert Half UK’s new report, Recruiting for the future: The challenges for UK SMEs. The white paper, which was based on an independent study of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) across the UK, found that three quarters (75 percent) of CIOs believe that it is more challenging for SMEs to attract tech workers because they prefer to work for larger technology companies. More →

Help on returning to work after cancer

Help on returning to work after cancer

Macmillan estimates that more than 125,000 people of working age are diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year, and the number of people surviving cancer will rise by approximately 1 million per decade and reach 4 million by 2040. With more people choosing to work longer, there are likely to be many cancer survivors choosing to return to work. Macmillan have also identified that over 80 percent of those who were working when diagnosed with cancer thought it important to continue working, but 47 percent had to give up work or change their roles as a result of their diagnosis. So helping people to return to work after cancer is an important issue for employers. More →

Moving the wellbeing debate beyond a fixation on stress

Moving the wellbeing debate beyond a fixation on stress

A man and woman discuss a work issue to illustrate importance of wellbeingThe world of work is evolving. Geopolitical change, digitalisation of the workplace and increased regulation are just some of the changes that businesses and their employees have to navigate. This disruption can feed into employee stress levels, impacting their happiness at work. Maintaining good mental health in the workplace is vital for employee wellbeing – it’s a key factor in employee retention and in turn, business success. However, it has been reported that between 2017 and 2018, 15.4 million working days were lost to work-related stress.

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London workers more attracted to job than socialising

London workers more attracted to job than socialising

London workers more attracted by the job than socialising with colleaguesSocialising and drinking opportunities are some of the least enjoyable things about working in London, as loving their job and a chance to grow personally is more of an incentive for those who work in the Capital, a new report suggests. The survey of 1,000 London workers by Flexioffices, claims that 75 percent of employees in the city enjoy going to work for the personal development opportunities, training and the job itself. Flexible hours are becoming an increasingly enticing aspect of a job, with 21 percent of London workers liking their workplace because of the flexible hours available.

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Most people convinced they can do their job in four day week

Most people convinced they can do their job in four day week

An image of clocks to illustrate the idea of the four day weekA new report from job site Indeed explores what work means to people in the UK today. The Meaning of Work report analyses trends from the last five years, generated by more than 40 million monthly visitors to the firm’s website alongside the results of a YouGov survey of over 2,000 full-time employees. The report’s headline finding is that around three-quarters of people (74 per cent) already believe they could do their full time job to the same standard over the course of a four day week. More →

Commuters receive little help from employers to alleviate their stress

Commuters receive little help from employers to alleviate their stress

Commuters receive little help from employers to alleviate their stressOver a third of respondents (36 percent) to a new survey report they are commuting for more than 90 minutes a day; yet despite a high demand for employer provisions to help alleviate the stress of the commute such as flexible or remote working and season ticket loans, 43 percent of employees stated that these were not currently offered by their employer. The Commuter Survey from Office Space in Town also claims that among the top commuting complaints were: lengthy journeys (32 percent); overcrowding (27 percent) and delays and frequent cancellations (26.01 percent). With the survey also revealing 75 percent take the commute into account when making their employment decisions, there is a lot that employers could be doing to minimise the negative impact on employee attraction and retention.

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Number of over-70s in work doubles

Number of over-70s in work doubles

Record numbers of over-70s are choosing work over retirement, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a membership community site in the UK to offer work and volunteering opportunities specifically targeted at the over 50s. Using bespoke data provided to Rest Less by the Office for National Statistics, Rest Less’s analysis claims that the number of over-70s in full or part-time employment has been steadily rising year on year over the past 10 years, reaching a peak of 497,946 in the first quarter of this year – an increase of 286,000 or 135 per cent since 2009. Today, nearly 1 in 12 (8.1 percent) of those in their 70s are working, a significant increase from the 1 in 22 (4.5 percent) there were 10 years ago.

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Workers have little interest in table football and dogs in the office

Traditional workplace benefits like holiday allowances and pensions trump quirkier ‘benefits’ like being allowed to take your dog into the office, according to a survey by Aviva.  Out of a wide range of workplace benefits, 43 percent of UK employees said they were least interested in being allowed to take their dog into the workplace. More than a third of workers (34 percent) also said they weren’t interested in office entertainment like table football and video games. And more than 1 in 4 people (26 percent) even said workplace socials like summer and Christmas parties were among the benefits they were least interested in. More →

Are workers waiting too long for mental health support?

Are workers waiting too long for mental health support?

Mental health in the workplaceSome people with mental health conditions could be waiting for over a year for employers to put in place much needed workplace adjustments, new findings published today suggest. The findings come from The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2019, a comprehensive study of disability and long-term conditions conducted by Business Disability Forum and based on the views of over 1,200 employees and managers working with adjustments. More →

The best workplace events to look forward to in May

The best workplace events to look forward to in May

The events season is in full swing every May and this year is no exception. So much so that we’ll never do justice to how much is going on in one story. As the workplace sector becomes increasingly well defined in its own right and the world sets out to address a number of pertinent challenges for the way we live and work, this might prove to be something of a seminal year and so it’s important to  be out and about sharing ideas. Fortunately, you can find a full list of relevant happenings around the world on our Events page, the most comprehensive calendar of workplace related events in the world, in partnership with Herman Miller. Here are a few of the best to whet your appetite: More →

Great expectations at work causing stress and rise in mental ill health

Great expectations at work causing stress and rise in mental ill health

Employees feel expectations at work are playing an integral role in diminishing their mental health a new report suggests, which includes increasing pressures to work outside of office hours, through annual leave and even on sick days. Westfield Health’s inaugural Wellbeing Index, which claims to shine a spotlight on stress, found 61 percent of HR professionals identified mental health related issues as the main reasons for absences within their workforces, with over half (51 percent) noticing an overall increase in sick days. ‘Leavism’ – working outside of contracted hours and on annual leave days – is also prevalent throughout the British workforce, with 67 percent in HR saying it’s a very real issue for them.

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Stress in legal profession widely misunderstood, research paper claims

Stress in legal profession widely misunderstood, research paper claims

The latest Bellwether research paper titled, ‘Stress in the Legal Profession: Problematic or Inevitable’, published by LexisNexis UK claims that stress is an endemic issue in the legal profession with two thirds of respondents currently experiencing high levels of stress despite the confident ‘business as usual’ industry outlook. Almost 1 in 4 solicitors feel that more could be done to support them in the workplace although 4 in 5 report high levels of job satisfaction and 5 out of 10 consider they have a positive state of mind.

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