August 17, 2018
Majority of employees see digital data as way of being snooped on by their boss
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.
Traditional job roles are becoming more complex due to digital transformation initiatives a new poll claims, with UK businesses having to wait more than five months, on average, for new joiners to get up to speed in their jobs. In the research by Robert Half of almost 5,000 CFOs in 14 countries, CFOs in the UK report that the key skills for finance professionals are changing. With digital transformation a priority for many organisations, there is now more focus on skills such as data analysis (cited by 43 percent of CFOs), financial analysis (35 percent), and data forecasting (34 percent). Finding the right people with these abilities is made even more challenging by the fact that businesses around the world are struggling to find qualified professionals. Almost all (93 percent) UK businesses find it challenging to attract qualified accounting and finance professionals. Globally, the issue is equally pronounced, with 94 percent of businesses also reporting similar challenges.
Employers need to recognise the workplace as integral to delivering a business’ commercial strategy, and treat employees as ‘workplace consumers’ – creating ‘frictionless’ experiences and environments that help them perform to their best ability. This is according to a report: ‘Optimising performance: defining, designing, maintaining and evolving workplace experiences’ from Interserve, undertaken in partnership with Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA). The two-year study into the science behind effective working environments argues there is a need to radically re-envisage workplaces to optimise team productivity and maximise the value of physical working environments. It sets out a series of critical steps for knowledge-based businesses to revolutionise the workplace – and thereby aid employee performance. The report argues that traditional silos, from IT and HR to facilities, need to be broken down to integrate the management of the workplace as part of a ‘one-team’ approach; doing so will ensure companies can deliver a streamlined workplace experience which supports employee productivity.
Long corporate lunches were once the cornerstone of the corporate expense account, but new figures show just 13 percent of today’s workforce claim expenses for lunch at a restaurant, compared to 36 percent of those in the 1970s and 37 percent in the 80s. The data, released by Barclaycard, also claims that just 10 percent claim dinner at a restaurant with a client on their expenses. This is less than half the proportion who did so in the 1960s (34 percent), 70s (27 percent) and 80s (28 percent). Employees are also less likely to catch up with clients over drinks, with just seven percent regularly footing the bill for a round – approximately a quarter of the proportion who say they did so in the 1980s (27 percent). The expense management process itself has also become more formal, with a clear shift to self-service – almost two-thirds of today’s employees file their own expense claims compared to just over a third in the 1960s.
August 16, 2018
The office will always live on because nothing propinks like propinquity
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Property, Workplace design