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Urgent action needed to boost small business workplace productivity says CIPD

by • News, Workplace

The CIPD is calling on Government to invest £13m a year to provide HR support to small businesses, as new research shows that it could be a key part of efforts to resolve the UK’s workplace productivity puzzle. The call is based on the evaluation of year-long People Skills pilots providing HR support for SMEs in Hackney, Stoke-on-Trent and Glasgow. People Skills was developed by the CIPD, with support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. It provided up to two days’ worth of free HR support to small firms, including face-to-face advice, a telephone helpline, online information and templates, as well as group training events.

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High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

by • AI, News, Technology

New research published by the Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that there remains a wide gap between the understanding and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at most companies. The global study of over 3,000 firms and industry experts claims that almost 85 percent of executives believe AI will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. However, only about one in five companies has incorporated AI in some offerings or processes. The new report claims to identify the key characteristics of AI leaders and offers companies a starting point for developing an AI strategy.

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Report sets out building blocks of a successful digital workplace strategy

by • News, Technology, Workplace design

Digital workplace developments often lose their way, or fail, due to a fragmented approach that prioritises a few technology ‘fixes’ over business strategy, according to analysts at Gartner. To combat this, ‘digital workplace leaders’ in public sector organisations need to employ a framework to ensure their digital workplace initiatives address eight critical components required for a successful implementation, according to Gartner. The report (paywall) sets out what it claims are the eight critical components — “building blocks” — that application leaders need when planning, directing and evolving digital workplace programs:

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Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

by • Flexible working, News

Asking for family-friendly flexible working patterns can lead to many people getting fewer hours, worse shifts and in some cases losing their jobs altogether, claims a new report from the TUC. Half (47 percent) of low-paid young mums and dads are struggling to manage work and childcare, according to the Better Jobs for Mums and Dads report. More than two in five (42 percent) said they felt penalised at work when they asked for flexibility – telling the TUC they are subsequently given fewer hours, worse shifts or even losing their job.

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New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildings

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildingsA new scheme to help the NHS cut the costs of empty space in their buildings has been launched this week by NHS Property Services (NHSPS). Properties that qualify for the scheme must be deemed surplus to NHS requirements and may be re-let, disposed of or considered as a development opportunity. The new Vacant Space Handback Scheme comes in response to feedback from commissioners who want to reduce the cost of maintaining space that is no longer needed for clinical services.  The cost of maintaining vacant space is kept as low as possible, though some costs are unavoidable where rent, business rates and some service charges remain payable. The total amount and cost of maintaining vacant space in the NHS is difficult to calculate, but costs are estimated to be in excess of £10 million a year on the NHS Property Services estate.

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Standing at work may be linked to significantly increased risk of heart disease

Standing at work may be linked to significantly increased risk of heart disease

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The simplistic idea that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ has taken a new hit with research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. According to the study of 7,300 Canadian workers over a 12 year period, those who were primarily engaged in standing at work were twice as likely as those who primarily sit to suffer from heart disease during a 12-year period. The usual caveats apply with the study, but even after taking into account a wide range of personal, health and work factors, the study concludes that people who primarily stand for work are over twice as likely as people who primarily sit on the job to have a heart attack or congestive heart failure.

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Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Trans employees are not given enough managerial support at work says Acas

Poor awareness from employers about the challenges faced by trans employees can leave them feeling isolated at work, according to new research. A study commissioned by workplace experts Acas reveals that many employers are not up to speed with the law on gender reassignment discrimination, which protects some trans employees from unfair treatment at work; often it is left to the victims of transphobia themselves to inform their managers about the details of the Equalities Act 2010; and trans people not covered by the Act are even more at risk of being treated unfairly because employers have even less understanding of their experiences. Acas has published ndew guidance on gender reassignment discrimination which helps advise employers on how to manage their trans workers.

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American workers having to put up with difficult and hostile working environment, claims report

American workers having to put up with difficult and hostile working environment, claims report

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The American workplace is physically and emotionally demanding, with workers frequently facing unstable work schedules, unpleasant and potentially hazardous working conditions, and an often hostile working environment, according to a new study. The findings come from research conducted by investigators at the RAND Corporation, Harvard Medical School and UCLA, and are from the American Working Conditions Survey, which claims to be one of the most in-depth surveys ever done to examine conditions in the American workplace. More than one-in-four American workers say they have too little time to do their job, with the complaint being most common among white-collar workers. In addition, workers say the intensity of work frequently spills over into their personal lives, with about one-half of people reporting that they perform some work in their free time in order to meet workplace demands.

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Office sector undergoing transformational structural disruption in response to changing supply and demand

Office sector undergoing transformational structural disruption in response to changing supply and demand

by • News, Property

Amid varying economic performances and property fundamentals, North American and European office leasing markets are generally performing well as they undergo an important shift in dynamics influenced by trends transforming both occupier demand and the supply of new product. Traditional drivers of demand are being joined by emerging disruptors that will increasingly shape the future of the office-space market and commercial real estate as a whole. These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young’s Mid-Year 2017 North America and Europe Office Market Report. According to the report, of the 64 office markets tracked in North America and Europe, which comprise almost 6 billion square feet, market-wide vacancy rates decreased in 40 of the markets as nearly 52 million square feet was absorbed. Occupiers’ desire for new products remains strong and developers have responded, according to the report, with more than 62 million sq. ft. of office space was completed during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2017.

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Artificial intelligence to become most important workplace tech trend over next decade

Artificial intelligence to become most important workplace tech trend over next decade

by • AI, News, Technology

Technology analyst Gartner claims in a new report that artificial intelligence (AI) will become the biggest technology megatrend of the next decade, suggesting that organisations need to focus their main efforts on AI based technology in the short to medium term. The study suggests that ‘digital business execution’ requires more frequent and complex decision making, continuous problem solving and rapid pattern recognition, all of which require workforce digital dexterity. In most organisations, however, responsibility for helping employees develop the desire and ability to exploit a wide range of transformative technologies — highlighted in the Gartner, Inc. Hype Cycle for Digital Workplace, 2017 — does not have to rest with any group or individual.

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Almost a quarter of Millennials are unhappy in their current work situation

Almost a quarter of Millennials are unhappy in their current work situation

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Almost a quarter of Millennials are unhappy in their current work situation

A majority (85 percent) of 18-34 year olds feel they are not putting their professional ambitions into practice and almost a quarter are unhappy at work, claims a new survey of Millennials by one of the UK’s largest independent higher education institutions, GSM London. By 2020, millennials will make up 35 percent of the global workforce, but despite being the generation told that they can have it all, nearly a third (32 percent) of those surveyed described their work as a ‘means to an end’, with 64 percent describing themselves as having just a ‘job’ rather than a meaningful ‘career’.  However, when it comes to pursuing a more meaningful career path, a quarter of respondents cited the pressure of uncertainty (25 percent), disruption to lifestyle (24 percent) and lack of confidence (22 percent) as the main barriers stopping them from fulfilling their goals.

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Precarious flexible working lives create toxic relationships between managers and workers, claims study

Precarious flexible working lives create toxic relationships between managers and workers, claims study

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Millions of British workers are having their health and home life put at risk and are having to beg for extra work to make ends meet because bosses are not offering them regular work patterns, a new study from Oxford and Cambridge Universities suggests. According to the study, Powerful times: Flexible discipline and schedule gifts at work published in the journal Work, Employment and Society, around 4.6 million people are subject to ‘precarious scheduling’ from employers which means that their hours are so inconsistent and unpredictable that they cannot make plans, leading to stress and problems in their home lives. The researchers said that many workers now find themselves in ‘degrading’ relationships with managers in which they are obliged to constantly ask for more work and changes to allow them to care for children and plan their domestic and recreational lives.
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