April 13, 2018
In fairer societies, fewer women enter STEM fields of work
Sexual harassment at work in the era of #MeToo
The impossibility of focusing on two things at once
Robot cities: three urban prototypes for future living
The results of a 2018 global coworking survey
Late risers at increased risk of early death
WeWork to acquire Chinese coworking firm
April 12, 2018
Brexit presents opportunities for rule changes in sectors such as agriculture, shipping and tourism that could ultimately benefit the British economy and consumers. This is according to a new CBI study, “Smooth Operations, compiled over a six-month period, which states that the opportunities for divergence are vastly outweighed by the costs of deviating from rules necessary to ensure smooth access to the EU market. Another important finding is that changes to rules in one sector have significant knock on effects for companies in other sectors and throughout supply chains. There are specific regulatory needs for the construction sector, according to the report, the first being regulatory convergence on rules for construction products and materials, vital to protect the competitiveness of manufacturers and avoid major barriers to trade. The CBI also argues that maintaining equivalence in procurement rules between the UK and EU is important, but there are still opportunities to improve how the UK procures work in the construction sector without diverging from EU rules.
April 2, 2018
New projections published in Mercer’s Workforce Monitor predict that a perfect storm of falling net migration driven by Brexit and an ageing population, will lead to a severe shortage in the UK labour market. If these challenges are not met with immediate action by UK employers, they will face significant costs trying to attract workers with the leadership and skills they need to execute their business strategies. Mercer anticipates the UK workforce will increase by just 820,000, or 2.4 percent, by 2025, a significant reduction in recent trends that have seen 9 percent workforce growth in the 10 years to 2015. For the first time in half a century, the overall population will be increasing at a faster rate than the workforce, creating long term structural challenges for the economy.
March 30, 2018
An ageing population and changes to the default state pension age mean employers need to better prepare for the needs of older women in the workplace, according to a study by Anglia Ruskin University published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). With more and more women aged between 50 and 65 now employed, the research reviewed published literature to look into the experience of those workers and how their needs might change in the future.
March 29, 2018
Occupiers are less concerned about Brexit than they were a year ago, according to a new CBRE research survey of over 100 major occupiers across Europe, most of whom have pan-European or global operations. By late 2017, the proportion of European occupiers worried about Brexit having a ‘very significant’ impact on their operations in the UK had dropped from 15 percent to 6 percent compared with a year earlier. The proportion of occupiers worried about Brexit having a ‘significant’ effect has also fallen, from 38 percent to 33 percent, meaning that the number of occupiers worried about negative impacts from Brexit has fallen in total from 53 percent to 39 percent. A year to the day on which Britain aims to exit from the EU, global real estate advisor CBRE has published an updated guide unpicking some of the key real estate impacts of Brexit.
March 29, 2018
The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched two new resources for developers and local authorities designed to help boost construction standards and improve ‘social value outcomes’. The first resource is related to residential developments while the second is directly relevant to commercial property. The resource, Social Value in New Development, provides guidance for developers and local authorities to help deliver social value outcomes in new residential and commercial developments. The guidance looks at social value, its stakeholders, strategies for driving positive outcomes and measuring success, and the current barriers to delivery.
March 28, 2018
Almost one in two working age adults currently lack numeracy skills and this skills gap is estimated to cost businesses £3.2bn annually, with a cost to the UK economy of up to £20.2billion a year. This is why charity National Numeracy has joined together with founder supporter, KPMG, to establish the first ever UK National Numeracy Day – created to drive a change in recognition of the importance of numbers, as well as improve employee careers. The day, which takes place on the 16th May will be designed to celebrate numbers, and aims to help individuals to check their numeracy levels, and provide free tools to support improvement amongst those who could benefit. Businesses are being called on to get involved in a variety of ways; from becoming an official supporter, to encouraging employees, suppliers and the local community to check their numeracy levels using the free online numeracy assessment tool.
March 27, 2018
Europe faces an increasing labour force shortage, which means that between 2017 and 2025, 184 out of 263 metropolitan areas from the EU-28 will record a negative growth rate in their working age population. According to a recent analysis by GlobalData this is due to a combination of lower fertility rates across most European Union (EU) countries, which is causing a reduction the growth rates of the youth population, while increased life expectancy is leading to a steady rise in the growth of the elderly population. But according to Ramnivas Mundada, Economic Research Analyst at GlobalData, ‘‘Measures such as increasing the levels of post-retirement employment opportunities, offering more support for women returning to the workplace and investing in youth employment, education and training could help to mitigate the impact of these demographic changes over the long term.’’
March 27, 2018
Over a fifth (21 percent) of 18-24 year olds admit that they have rejected a potential employer because of the poor design of the office or lack of amenities available, while 34 percent in the same age group would be willing to commute for a maximum of one hour each way to an office that is considered perfect – compared to 22 percent of 45-54 year olds. The research, commissioned by Mindspace, found that 16 percent of 18-24 year olds have actually left a job because of how poorly designed the office was in one of their previous roles. Overall, nearly a third (31 percent), of workers are bored with their current office environment and feel uninspired at work, with 28 percent of workers describing their place of work outdated and dull. The research also found that while most workers had access to amenities such as a kitchen (72 percent), meeting rooms (66 percent) and free tea & coffee (53 percent), what UK office workers desire the most to improve morale is more natural light, air conditioning and improved interior lighting.
March 23, 2018
March 22, 2018
Although lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting an estimated 540 million people at any one time, it is often mistreated, according to a new series of papers in The Lancet medical journal. The series provides evidence that back pain should be managed with activity, in the workplace and in primary care. However, a high proportion of patients worldwide are treated in emergency departments, encouraged to rest and stop work, are referred for scans and surgery or prescribed pain killers including opioids. The authors claim this is at best pointless and at worst harmful. Exercise and psychological therapy are the only things that work for the majority of cases of chronic back pain but too many people wrongly believe the idea that rest is best for the condition, according to the authors. The series of papers also concludes that job satisfaction and a positive attitude are among the strongest indicators of how well people will overcome chronic back pain and related issues.
March 22, 2018
Over a third of workers are adversely affected by a lack of natural light in their office, others complain that the lighting is too bright and a significant proportion say the quality of light provided is so weak they struggle to read. This is according to a new poll which quizzed employees about the difficulties associated with workplace lighting and found that headaches and dizziness were a problem for one in seven. Other employees reported finding the lighting too bright and dazzling (12.4 percent), while one in 10 said they had to strain their eyes due to a general lack of light. A similar proportion said they were bothered by the position of the lights and by the ‘stressful environment’ created by their workplace lighting (9.3 percent each). The findings come as reports of ‘sick building syndrome’ — a condition associated with office work that causes symptoms including headaches and respiratory problems — continue to hit the headlines. Such symptoms are usually attributed to unhealthy or stressful elements of the working environment, such as poor ventilation and lighting.
