Search Results for: information

September 17, 2018

AI will be commonplace in the working lives of staff very soon

Experts at Henley Business School have announced that the majority of the graduate workforce in the UK will be working with artificial intelligence on a daily basis by 2030, with technology such as ‘AI assistants’ expected to be commonplace in the next decade. New research released at the Henley annual World of Work 2030 conference, claims that a third (35 percent) of UK workers are excited about the prospect of their own personal AI assistant. With the average worker currently spending 3.5 hours a week on admin tasks, assistants’ could give workers back 12 working days a year (over two working weeks) by taking on these activities and freeing up time for more productive tasks.

September 12, 2018

A new era of technology could resolve UK low productivity at last

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

A new McKinsey study sets out to address the reasons why the United Kingdom experiences chronically low productivity and what can be done to use technology to improve its performance. In the report, Solving the UK’s productivity puzzle in the digital age, the authors argue that “Britain stands out as one of the worst productivity performers among its peers”. They argue that there are four distinct reasons for the weakness since the economic crisis: “boom and bust” in the financial sector, the strength of employment growth, weak investment and uneven “digitisation”. It claims that the UK is operating at only 17 per cent of its digitisation potential, indicating how much scope for improvement there is.

September 11, 2018

Half of workers have experienced poor mental health in their current job

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new and major study into workplace wellbeing by the the charity Mind claims that poor mental health at work is widespread, with half (48 per cent) of all people surveyed saying they have experienced a mental health problem in their current job. The survey of more than 44,000 employees also revealed that only half of those who had experienced poor mental health had talked to their employer about it, suggesting that as many as one in four UK workers is struggling in silence. These findings are revealed as a new online Mental Health at Work ‘gateway’ is launched today by HRH the Duke of Cambridge. Mind, with support from The Royal Foundation, Heads Together and 11 other organisations, has created the UK-wide portal as a free resource for both employers and employees.

September 6, 2018

Many UK freelancers feel lonely and isolated following leap to self-employment

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The solo self-employed are now a vital element of the UK economy, contributing around £271 billion to the government’s coffers in 2017, of which around £125–140 billion came from freelancers. But with some predicting that by 2020, half of the workforce will be freelancing, we need to take an objective look at the world of self-employment and tackle its challenges head-on, giving freelancers the tools and skills they need to work effectively — and happily.

August 29, 2018

Younger workers risk missing out on career opportunities by shunning SMEs

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Young people leaving education and looking for work may be missing out on potential employment opportunities by failing to consider Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the advantages they offer, new research from Santander UK claims. ‘Gen Z’ and Millennials do not believe SMEs offer the same job security or salary as large businesses, meaning just a third (35 percent) of young people leaving education in 2018 want to work for smaller employer, and an even smaller proportion, just one in six (18 percent), want to work for a start-up or micro business. The most popular career aspirations for Generation Z and Millennials are to work for a large firm (51 percent), the public sector (51 percent) or a global multinational (49 percent), because of a perceived lack of job security (56 percent). There is also the belief that SMEs offer a lower salary (46 percent) and fewer opportunities for progression than large companies (33 percent). Yet the majority (70 percent) of SMEs are actively recruiting for entry level roles, whether that be graduates (43 percent), further education leavers (36 percent) or school leavers (35 percent).

August 17, 2018

Majority of employees see digital data as way of being snooped on by their boss

by Sara Bean • AI, Facilities management, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

As we recently reported, facilities management is more data driven than ever, with the use of data analytics being used to measure costs and performance. This is why the increasingly sophisticated ways in which workplaces can be monitored; from the footfall in the washrooms to the level of desk usage has been welcomed by employers, but a new survey suggests digital data gathering is making staff feel uneasy. A new report published today by the TUC looks at the phenomenon from the perspective of workers’ experiences and found that 6 in 10 workers fear that greater workplace surveillance through technology will fuel distrust. The study reveals that most UK workers (56 percent) believe they are currently monitored by their boss at work and worry that this ‘surveillance data’ will be used by bosses to set unfair targets, micromanage them and take away control and autonomy.

August 6, 2018

Government launches challenge to shape future transportation strategies

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Flexible working, News, Technology

The UK government has begun work on its Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. First announced in May, the government believes the initiative has the potential to make the UK a world leader in strategies for moving people and goods. The announcement includes two calls for evidence, the first focused on improving first mile/last mile transportation connections, with a focus on electric vehicles and microtransit. The second addresses the more general issue of new technology and trends for urban transport. The government also claims the move will address changes in working cultures including lower levels of commuting and flexible working.

August 3, 2018

New analysis sets out to define fastest growing sectors in London in 2018

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

A new analysis from Instant Offices sets out to identify the largest business sectors driving London’s economy. It claims that the three most prominent are information and communication, financial and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services. The UK Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) showed distinct trends in growth for specific sectors, in London and in the UK as a whole.

August 1, 2018

Shortage of tech skills and 600,000 job vacancies costing UK economy £63 billion a year

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace

An estimated 600,000 vacancies in digital technology are costing the country £63 billion a year, according to information provided by techUK in a report on skills shortages published by the Edge Foundation.The second of the education charity’s bulletins on the UK’s skills shortages, shines a spotlight on the tech industry and the devastating economic impact of the government’s failure to encourage young people to study relevant subjects and upskill existing workers. The bulletin, Skills Shortages in the UK Economy, brings together the most current statistics and analysis of skills shortages in the UK which cost the economy £6.3 billion each year in direct costs such as recruitment and temporarily filling gaps, according to the Open University’s 2018 Business Barometer.

July 25, 2018

RICS and IFMA launch Procurement of Facilities Management statement to address “race to the bottom”

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has today launched its first professional statement to ‘reduce risk, increase transparency and further trust’ in procurement in facilities management. The RICS Procurement of facility management, RICS professional statement, UK 1st edition, was worked on in collaboration with IMFA, and also the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). RICS says it will be looking to make this a global professional statement in due course. All RICS regulated professionals (mandatory from the 1 October 2018) will be expected to follow this guidance, but according to RICS, adoption of the framework would be competitively beneficial for all property professionals involved in the procurement of FM services, including those acting for landlords and occupiers, FM suppliers procuring services from sub-contractors and investors and public and private occupier organisations.

July 25, 2018

Home Offices launches Brexit toolkit for employers to support EU settlement programme

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Employers, industry groups and community groups in the UK will be able to give EU citizens practical advice on how to apply for settled status in the wake of the Brexit vote with the help of a new toolkit published by the Home Office. The toolkit will be published on GOV.UK and contain how-to guides, briefing packs, practical plans, leaflets and posters. The Home Secretary launched the toolkit at the Home Office last night (Tuesday 24 July) at a gathering of some of the UK’s biggest employers of EU citizens, as well as industry bodies, local government agencies and community groups, many of whom played a key part in developing the toolkit.

July 19, 2018

When it comes to change management, culture sometimes eats strategy for breakfast

by Gary Chandler • Features, Flexible working, Workplace design

21st Century organisations are under constant pressure to evolve. They are beset by a number of forces that demand they change constantly. These include the need to restructure the organisation, adapt to new technologies, respond to competitors and changes in the economy and legislative environment. Inevitably, this constant need to change affects both people and the built environment in very profound ways. However, according to a study of Culture and Change Management published by the Katzenbach Center, only around half of all transformation initiatives meet their objects over time. Among the biggest obstacles to successful change management cited by the study is change fatigue, which is characterised by a lack of empathy and a widespread failure to engage with the change process.