Search Results for: management

December 11, 2018

Generations differ on what makes them happy at work but agree on flexibility

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new survey into happiness at work suggests it is viewed differently according to age. Baby boomers: aspire to have job security and think careers are defined by employers. Gen X: aspire to have a work-life balance and although are loyal to a profession will not necessarily stick with the same employer. Millennials or Gen Y aspire to have freedom and flexibility and are digital entrepreneurs while Gen Z aspire to have security and stability. The report by Instant Offices’ considered what is important to each age group, and how employers approach the age gap. It found that eight in 10 millennials look for a manager to act as a mentor or coach; Baby boomers want a boss to be ethical, fair and consistent, while 61 percent of Generation X, and 55 percent of millennials, think team consensus is important. (more…)

December 11, 2018

Report into the glass cliff claims women still need to break the glass ceiling

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Given the latest U turn regarding Brexit, with beleaguered British Prime Minister Theresa May announcing the cancellation of a commons vote on the agreement, a new report into the so called “glass cliff” appointment of women is pretty timely. The term “glass cliff” was coined by researchers Ryan and Haslam in the early 2000s to describe a phenomenon in which women are more likely than men to be promoted to precarious management positions with a higher risk of failure. Aside from May, exemplar cases often used to support the theory include Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and Andrea Nahles, Social Democrat party leader in the German Bundestag. (more…)

December 11, 2018

Debt, relationship breakup and bullying are the top employer concerns about employee mental health

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Debt, separation and bullying are the personal issues of most concern to employers when it comes to employee mental health, according to a report from Aon. It polled employers online and during an Aon seminar called the Contemporary Drivers of Mental Health, in which Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and co-author of a government report, ‘Thriving at Work, a review of mental health and employers’ presented his findings.

(more…)

December 10, 2018

The best places to work in Europe and North America as ranked by employees

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Job site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its 11th annual Employees’ Choice Awards, honouring the Best Places to Work in 2019 across North America and parts of Europe. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review about their job, work environment and employer over the past year.

(more…)

December 7, 2018

Seven reasons why this will not be the office of the future

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

At this time of year, it seems like we don’t have to wait more than a few hours before some or other organisation is sharing its prognosis about how we will be working in the future. The thing these reports usually share in common, other than a standardised variant of a title and a common lexicon of agility, engagement and connectivity, is a narrow focus based on their key assumptions about what the office of the future will be like. While these are rarely false per se, and often offer valuable insights, they also frequently exhibit a desire to look at only one part of the great workplace elephant. While the more informed reports make excellent points and identify trends, across most there are routine flaws in thinking that can lead them to make narrow and sometimes incorrect assumptions and so draw similarly flawed conclusions. Talk of the office of the future tells us rather a lot about how we view offices right now.

(more…)

December 6, 2018

Groundbreaking study links productivity to air quality

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing

A new study of UK indoor office environments has found a direct correlation between the quality of the air in offices and its effect on workplace productivity. The two-year research initiative, backed by facilities company EMCOR and carried out by academics at Oxford Brookes University and LCMB Building Performance found that workers were able to work up to 60 percent faster in lower CO2 concentrations. It revealed that an increased intake of CO2 can lead to poor decision making, slower reaction times and increased tiredness among employees. Currently, UK productivity is 26.2 percent lower than Germany based on GDP per hour worked – and 22.8 percent less than France. Yet despite ten years of tactics to help close the gap, this is the first time environmental factors have been considered. (more…)

December 6, 2018

Siemens new Swiss campus showcases workplace technology and use of BIM in construction

by Mark Eltringham • Case studies, Company news, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

Siemens AG has officially opened its new campus in Zug, Switzerland. The Siemens Zug campus features a new office building with 1,000 work spaces and a newly constructed production building. The investment volume for new buildings, renovations and related measures amounts to CHF 250 million. The campus is the international headquarters of the Siemens Building Technologies (BT) Division, which has 29,000 employees. Construction of the office and production buildings began in May 2016 and was completed in July 2018. The Siemens Zug campus is one of the first new projects to use Building Information Modeling (BIM) for design and construction. The digital twin – a 3D model of the building, enhanced with technical information relevant for later operations – is the foundation for efficient, cost-optimised and forward-looking building management. (more…)

December 5, 2018

The war for talent is over and we need to face up to new opportunities and challenges

by David Corcoran • Comment, Workplace

The ‘War for Talent’ is a concept which has dominated the industry for the last twenty years and has shaped how many organisations view talent acquisition around the world. But perhaps this war is already over. As initially reported by McKinsey & Company in 1998, the war for talent explored the challenges businesses face when attracting, retaining and developing talent. While talent acquisition is a fundamental foundation for any business looking to grow, after twenty years, recent studies have reported a seismic shift from this ‘War for Talent’ to a ‘War for Skills.’

(more…)

December 5, 2018

Firms and employees need to do more to address climate change

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News

A new report claims to have found a lack of commitment amongst UK businesses to address their impact on the environment and contribution to climate change, with only 10 percent having set a carbon reduction target, while just under half of companies (49 percent) use even the most basic sustainability measures, such as recycling bins for office waste.

(more…)

December 4, 2018

I’m a designer and I job share with an AI

by Ceilidh Higgins • Comment, Technology, Workplace design

Thomas Edison is credited with the phrase “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration” and I believe there is no field where this applies more than architecture and design. So often people assume that interior design is such a fun, creative job – that it’s all about drawing, colours and furniture, something like being paid to colour in and shop – when today being a designer is just as much about people management, psychology, project management, documentation, checking codes and standards and managing contracts. It’s also often about a culture that expects long hours and being always available to the job. “It’s not work when you are passionate about it?” is common. But what if instead we could all work less hours and job share with our computers?

(more…)

December 3, 2018

Not enough support given to employees suffering from mental ill health in the workplace

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Well over half of workers do not think enough support is given to employees suffering from mental ill health in the workplace, as according to research released today by Personal Group a startling 39 percent of respondents said their workplace does not offer any mental health support for employees. And of all employees surveyed 66 percent felt their employer does not offer enough support for employee mental health. This corporate apathy felt by employees arrives at a time when awareness of mental health issues in the UK is on the rise. 80 percent of respondents said they had noticed an overall increase in awareness of mental health generally in the UK, however a staggering 62 percent said they noticed no change in the levels of awareness in the workplace.

(more…)

December 3, 2018

The biggest challenge facing HR managers in 2019 will be employee engagement

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

An annual study commissioned by Cascade HR has revealed the topics most likely to keep Human Resources professionals awake at night in 2019. The 2019 HR Landscape Report report claims that employee engagement has topped the list for the second year running, with 40 percent of the 423 respondents believing it will be their biggest challenge over the next 12 months. Recruitment and retention were a close second and third (37 percent and 36 percent respectively), followed by absence management (29 percent) and wellbeing (22 percent). It appears similar themes have posed the biggest headaches as 2018 has unfolded too. When asked to reflect on their toughest encounters from the last year, HR directors, managers and executives ranked recruitment as the clear front runner (45 percent), followed by absence management (36 percent), with retention and GDPR compliance in joint third place (35 percent).