Search Results for: flexible

Nearly all UK employers now offer flexible working, claims survey

by • Knowledge, News, Workplace

Flexible workA  new report from the Institute of Leadership and Management claims that as many as 94 per cent of UK employers now offer staff some form of flexible working arrangement. The study of more than 1,100 UK managers found that around three quarters (73 per cent) of respondents said their organisation actively supported flexible work practices, 82 per cent were aware of the benefits of flexible working and nearly two thirds (62 per cent) said that senior managers led schemes by example. There is still work to be done in gaining universal acceptance however with 50 per cent of managers claiming flexible working is now standard practice .

(more…)

Yahoo is not the only firm that doesn’t like flexible working

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

Yahoo! Sunnyvale headquarters. October 28, 2001 (Y! Photo / Brian McGuiness)As news emerged over the weekend from Silicon Valley that Yahoo had introduced a new policy that insisted employees work from the company’s HQ, a survey from O2 in the UK highlighted just how many firms are not as keen on the practice of flexible working as they might claim in theory. The question we need to ask is whether this represents a genuine shift away from the assumption that we are moving towards more agile working practices, or is this just the last knockings of the old guard?

(more…)

Companies failing to communicate flexible working policies

by • News, Technology, Workplace

consumerization-320x240

Less than one fifth of staff are being encouraged to work flexibly, with businesses failing to reap the rewards of increased productivity and employee well-being resulting from modern work practices and technology. New research by O2 reveals that whilst staff are ready to embrace new ways of working and understand the benefits, it is employers who are holding them back. More than three quarters (77 per cent) of employers say that flexible working is actively encouraged across their organisation but less than a fifth (19 per cent) of staff say their company encourages them to work flexibly. (more…)

Flexible working bolstering employment growth in UK

by • News, Workplace

Jobs

Employment will continue to grow in the first quarter of 2013, despite stalled economic growth. According to the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)/SuccessFactors Labour Market Outlook the proportion of employers that intend to increase total staffing levels remains positive for the first quarter of 2013. Gerwyn Davies, Labour Market Adviser at the CIPD, said: “While muted pay growth is playing a part, we also see continued evidence that employers are reluctant to lay-off skilled workers.” He added: “Some employers are clearly using flexible working and reduced hours to adapt to trading conditions.” (more…)

Flexible working seen as of more benefit to employers than staff

by • Knowledge, Legal news, News, Technology, Workplace

Flexible working

Nine in ten UK professionals think that flexible working will become the dominant employment model – but half think it will be adopted for business reasons rather than to benefit the workforce. According to research from specialist HR recruiter Ortus, just one in ten professionals (12 per cent) actually deem flexible working to be a vital benefit – lower than the proportion who said a free company mobile phone is vital to them. And just 1 in 10 said they thought it was being implemented to help with gender equality. In the survey conducted among 450 professionals across a variety of sectors, 51 one per cent felt the reason behind the growth of flexible working is efficiency and productivity – not to help people manage the number of hours they work. (more…)

Employers overlook flexible working alternative to redundancy

by • News, Workplace

Flexible

Only 22 per cent of UK managers believe their companies are very effective at redeploying employees rather than making redundancies. And according to new global research it’s a worldwide problem, with almost three in ten employers believing their organisations are “not effective”. Mark Hodgson, practice leader of Talent Management in Right Management UK & Ireland said: “The results suggest that businesses aren’t seeing redeployment as a feasible way of making savings and keeping staff. Businesses can’t afford to underestimate the importance of a flexible workforce in this tough economic climate.” (more…)

Third of businesses see flexible work as main Olympic legacy

by • Knowledge, News, Technology, Workplace

300px-Olympic_Stadium_(London),_16_April_2012

Flexible working facilities brought in for London 2012 are the most important legacy of the Olympic Games for a third of businesses, according to a new BT legacy survey. The survey of 600 large private and public sector organisations across the UK found 34% are continuing to enjoy the benefits from flexible working facilities (34%), with sales/revenue for 37% higher than before the Games. When asked what they have learnt about their organisation’s capabilities, 36% think that when they are pushed they can do a lot more business, 26% are more resilient and 25% feel they could increase their margins.
(more…)

Unity Place shows how a day in the office can be worth the commute

Unity Place shows how a day in the office can be worth the commute

by • Company news, Flexible working, Property

At Unity Place, the trend to split time between office and home is being seen across coworking, informal workspaces, meeting rooms and event spacesHybrid working may have changed how often people travel into the office, but businesses in Milton Keynes are becoming more intentional about what they want from face-to-face time. At Unity Place, the trend is being seen across coworking, informal workspaces, meeting rooms and event spaces, with people increasingly using in-person days for collaboration, team catch-ups, client meetings, networking and shared experiences rather than simply sitting at a desk. At x+why Unity Place (main image), there have been 868 meeting room bookings so far this year, with around 5,800 visitors year to date. The coworking provider has also seen regular repeat bookings from businesses that do not need a permanent office, but still want a flexible place to bring their teams together. (more…)

Cognitive access is a workplace design issue

Cognitive access is a workplace design issue

by • Comment, Workplace design

Workplace inclusion is still too often organised around a private conversation between an individual and HR. Someone encounters a barrier, decides whether it is safe to disclose a condition, explains what is happening and waits for an adjustment. That process matters, but it should not carry the whole weight of inclusion. Many barriers described as personal needs are predictable features of work: continuous noise, back-to-back calls, unclear priorities, scattered instructions and unwritten rules. When these conditions are treated as fixed, individuals must negotiate around a design problem.

(more…)

Men face greater career penalty for working from home, study finds

Men face greater career penalty for working from home, study finds

by • Flexible working, News

Men working from home for most of the week may face a greater career penalty than women when being considered for jobs and promotions, according to new research into attitudes towards remote workers in the UK and Germany.Men working from home for most of the week may face a greater career penalty than women when being considered for jobs and promotions, according to new research into attitudes towards remote workers in the UK and Germany. The study found that people described as working from home were rated less favourably than otherwise comparable office-based workers, with the penalty increasing significantly for those working remotely three or four days a week rather than one or two. Fathers and workers without children generally experienced larger declines in their ratings than mothers. However, the researchers cautioned that this should not be interpreted as an advantage for mothers. In the UK, mothers already received relatively low ratings when candidates were described as working entirely in the office. The research, led by King’s Business School at King’s College London, analysed almost 13,000 assessments made by around 5,300 employed people in the UK and Germany. (more…)

Rethinking office space: can phone booths cut costs and free up meeting rooms?

Rethinking office space: can phone booths cut costs and free up meeting rooms?

by • Company news

Acoustic office phone booths like those designed by MEAVO, give every type of conversation a home of its own, creating calm, private spaces exactly where people need them.The hybrid office has found its rhythm. Teams come together on their anchor days to collaborate, share ideas and meet clients, then spend the rest of the week wherever they work best. It is a model that suits people well, and it is encouraging organisations to take a fresh look at how every part of their office is used. Meeting rooms are a natural place to start. On busy days they are in high demand, often for activities that need far less space: a solo video call, a quick one-to-one, an hour of focused work away from the buzz of the open floor. The good news is that there is a simple, flexible way to create more of the right kind of space. Acoustic office pods like those designed by MEAVO, give every type of conversation a home of its own, creating calm, private spaces exactly where people need them. (more…)

Hybrid working could deliver productivity gains from staff retention alone, report claims

Hybrid working could deliver productivity gains from staff retention alone, report claims

by • Flexible working, News

Hybrid working could deliver significant productivity gains by helping organisations retain employees, recruit from a wider talent pool and preserve institutional knowledge, according to new economic modelling from International Workplace Group (IWG) and Arup. The analysis estimates that improved employee retention associated with more flexible working practices could be worth $204.7 billion to the US economy and £10.8 billion to the UK over five years. Retention represents the largest potential source of productivity gains identified by the modelling. (more…)

«< 37 38 39 40 41 >»