March 20, 2018
Vienna ranks highest for quality of living, but emerging cities doing more to attract mobile talent
Cities in emerging markets, though challenged by economic and political turmoil, are catching up with top ranking cities following decades of investing in infrastructure, recreational facilities and housing in order to attract talent and multinational businesses, finds Mercer’s 20th annual Quality of Living survey. Meanwhile, many of Europe’s cities still offer the world’s highest quality of living and continue to remain attractive destinations for expatriates on assignment, despite economic volatility due to uncertainty around Brexit and increased political volatility in the region overall. Vienna tops the ranking for the 9th year running and is followed by Zurich (2), Auckland and Munich in joint 3rd place. In 5th place Vancouver completes the top five and is the highest ranking city in North America. Singapore (25) and Montevideo (77) are the highest-ranking cities in Asia and Latin America respectively. London – the highest ranked UK city – scores top marks in areas like access to public transport, and the variety and quality of theatres and restaurants, but has lower scores for air pollution and traffic congestion.
There is a disparity between the causes of communications anxiety between men and women, claims new research conducted by RADA in business. Male employees are 45 percent more likely than women to feel anxious when socialising with their work colleagues, while women are most scared of giving a presentation. Team building events were also found to be more challenging for men, with almost a fifth (19 percent) reporting feelings of communications anxiety. Work social events followed, with 17 percent reporting the same feelings. In contrast, the report found that female employees experience greater levels of anxiety when giving presentations in front of a group, to colleagues, or to management. The evidence suggests that while men require more help with skills around spontaneous communication, for women it is about standing their ground and getting their voice heard when stepping into the spotlight – often in situations that may have a significant impact on their career path. Notably, the research shows that women are also 39 percent more likely to experience workplace anxiety than men when in a job interview, and 37 percent more likely when negotiating a pay rise.
Online messaging is the most common way for millennial bosses to communicate with their direct reports, with over half (55 percent) preferring to use this digital method, followed by email at 28 percent, a new survey claims. Only 14 percent said their favoured way to communicate is in person, and 3 percent said via phone. As millennials (born 1981-1996) increasingly moving into management positions, the new Korn Ferry survey also found that when interviewing for management positions, millennials say that making an impact on organisational culture is most important to them, with salary being the least important. The survey also found that compared with Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, knowing what is coming next is critical for millennial bosses. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) said a clear advancement path (e.g. next two positions) is more important for millennial bosses, with 49 percent saying it is much more important.
March 8, 2018
Data, AI and the commercial property sector – what’s the connection?
by Nick Riesel • Comment, Property, Technology
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