November 9, 2018
Poor support offered to professional women returning from maternity leave
A new survey of professional, mainly management-level women has revealed a lack of support for maternity returners by employers. According to the survey by working parents website MMB, more than four fifths of pregnant women begin their maternity leave unhappy and lacking in confidence about work – and over a third feel so isolated when they return that they want to hand their notice in. The survey of more than 1,000 mothers, 72 percent of whom were in jobs at management level or above found that only 18 percent of maternity returners felt happy and confident about work – having seen the way previous maternity returners had been dealt with by their employer. Over a third (37 percent) felt so unsupported and isolated on their return that they wanted to leave and just 17 percent felt they received good communication and support through the maternity process.
Work/life balance, and the ability to take more annual leave, is the top priority for most European workers and 52 percent explicitly see this as an incentive for choosing certain benefits claims research from SD Worx. Employees in France (63 percent) prioritise this the most across the Europe, next is the UK, whilst workers in Austria (36 percent) and the Netherlands (32 percent) are least likely to opt for additional annual leave. Flexible working also plays a significant role in the benefits employees would choose, with home working allowances being a key factor for 21 percent of respondents and 21 percent wanting a laptop or smartphone included in their benefits package. 
UK workers are feeling more confident about the state of the economy but it’s making them less inclined to stay in their current jobs, a new survey claims. According to the latest Global Talent Monitor report for the second quarter of this year, from Gartner 18.8 percent of UK employees indicated a very low intent to stay in their current role, the second highest after India (40 percent), and higher than the global average of nearly 12 percent. This is the first time since Brexit that workers reported having an optimistic outlook on the job market, and their own career growth. Nearly 40 percent of UK employees reported somewhat high to high confidence in the economy. When it comes to their personal prospects, employee perceptions have risen steadily over the last year and have increased nearly 4 percent. In fact, job opportunity perceptions in the UK are nearly 1.5 points higher than the global average. However, despite their intentions to move on from their current role, UK employees are still putting in a strong effort in their current roles, with nearly 13 percent of employees reporting a high willingness to go above and beyond in their role, and an additional 43.8 percent leaning towards high.
October 31, 2018
What is in a name for the UK facilities management sector?
by Jo Sutherland • Comment, Facilities management
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