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The state of the workplace right now? Everywhere and nowhere, baby

The state of the workplace right now? Everywhere and nowhere, baby 0

Work&PlaceMy trade is to ask questions about the workplace then make sense of the answers. That has been a particular challenge with the question, ‘what are offices today?’ What seems clear is that the various actors in the workplace ecosystem look at offices through very different eyes. Urban planning and development professionals still view offices as a distinct category of real estate and most real estate professionals view offices in terms of the delivery of floor space. Some things have changed,however. For some time, the hybrid economy of serviced offices has turned the product into a service. But, in many cases this has simply made the leasing of space simpler and more flexible.

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People who experience early redundancy have poor health in later life

People who experience early redundancy have poor health in later life

People who involuntarily lose their job early in their career have poorer health in later life, according to new findings from the University of Kent in the UK and the University of Bamberg in Germany. Researchers, including Dr Olena Nizalova from the Centre for Health Service Studies (CHSS) within the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) at Kent, set out to establish what the long-term implications of enforced unemployment are on individuals over the course of their life, particularly in later life.

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Business leaders lack ethical insight needed to get the best out of AI

Business leaders lack ethical insight needed to get the best out of AI

Although executives have high expectations for the impact that AI will have on their businesses according to Cognizant’s new report, ‘Making AI Responsible – and Effective, only half of companies have policies and procedures in place to identify and address the ethical considerations of its applications and implementations.  The study analyses the responses of almost 1,000 executives across the financial services, technology, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, insurance and media & entertainment industries in Europe and the US. The research suggests that business leaders are positive about the importance and potential benefits of AI. Roughly two- thirds (63  percent) say that AI is extremely or very important to their companies today, and 84  percent expect this will be the case three years from now. Lower costs, increased revenues and the ability to introduce new products or services, or to diversify were cited as the key advantages for the future.

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Shortlist for Business Book Awards features more on workplace and wellbeing than ever before

Shortlist for Business Book Awards features more on workplace and wellbeing than ever before

This year’s shortlist for the Business Booko Awards features more books than ever on wellbeing and happiness in the workplace as well as career self-development,  company culture and business ethics. A record number of women authors have also made the shortlist. (more…)

Workplace productivity plummets during January

Workplace productivity plummets during January

Around a quarter (26 percent) of British workers believe that January is their least productive month with the nation still recovering from the Christmas period, according to a new report from Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance. The report also claims that December is the second least productive month (14 percent) whist 32 percent surveyed suggested that they’re equally unproductive across the entire year. Residents of the Welsh capital Cardiff were found to be the least productive in January (34 percent) closely followed by Southampton (31 percent) and Sheffield (30 percent).

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The problem with predictions, the cult of Facebook, WeWork woes and some other stuff

The problem with predictions, the cult of Facebook, WeWork woes and some other stuff

If it makes you feel better about Blue Monday (today – ‘officially’ the year’s glummest day), it also marks the closure of the Predictions Window in my view. If somebody still has an unpublished list of forecasts for the coming year on their specialist topic, they’ve missed their chance. At least with us they have. But not to worry, there’s a good chance they can trot most of them all out again next year and they’ll be just as relevant. Anything else can be quietly dropped.

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Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

More than half of employees say the inclusion of disabled people is an area that requires the greatest improvement within their organisation; with the diversity of age groups coming in a close second at just under half. This is according to the latest findings from Wildgoose’s Diversity and Inclusivity in the Workplace survey. The results suggest a shift in the areas that employees prioritise when it comes to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and raises the concern that dual discrimination based on disability AND age is common practice in the workplace. Other significant findings from the research show that nearly half (47 percent) of male employees don’t consider the gender pay gap to be a major issue, in comparison to the three quarters of females that do; a statistic that is particularly concerning given the recent publication of major organisations’ gender pay gaps and continued media coverage of the issue. Interestingly, the gap between men and women narrows when it comes to equal promotional opportunities.

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Podcast: embracing the punk spirit and the elemental workplace

Podcast: embracing the punk spirit and the elemental workplace

Neil Usher is an experienced senior property, workplace, facilities and change management leader who is currently an executive consultant for Unispace and workessence. He is also the author of “The Elemental Workplace” in which he describes “the 12 elements for creating a fantastic workplace for everyone”. In this new podcast, I ask Neil about the latest trends in the workplace and finds out his opinions on the open office debate, the impact of technology, and the importance of workplace experience. Neil argues that workplace is now being taken seriously as a contributor to performance and is a significant part of our organization’s culture, so we must establish “laws of workplace” that we can use as a foundation to build on in our practice. We discuss the origins of the punk rock music scene and agree that we must bring “the spirit of punk” to our work by being fearless about trying new things in our roles as workplace leaders.

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Firms and their workers need to adapt more quickly to changing world of work

Firms and their workers need to adapt more quickly to changing world of work

Governments need to do more to help workers and firms adapt to the fast-changing world of work and drive inclusive growth, according to the new OECD Jobs Strategy. New evidence in the report claims that countries that promote job quantity, quality and inclusiveness – such as Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – perform better than those which focus predominantly on market flexibility. While flexibility and adaptability are essential to stimulate the creation of high-quality jobs in an ever more dynamic environment, the gains and costs need to be fairly shared between businesses and workers, according to the OECD.

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Workers say finding people with the right skills is biggest issue this year

Workers say finding people with the right skills is biggest issue this year

Workers say finding people with the right skills is biggest issue this yearOver half of workers (53 percent) believe that getting the right people with the right skills will be the biggest issue faced by their workplace in the year ahead. This is according to research published by Acas today, which commissioned YouGov to find out what UK employees identified as the most important workplace issues in the year ahead. The other two top issues identified were technological change (36 percent) and productivity (36 percent). Other issues identified by participants in the poll included fit and healthy staff (18 percent) and Equality and Fairness (17 percent).  Acas Chief Exec, Susan Clews, said: “Employees feel that getting workers with the right skills is a key concern in the year ahead. This could be attributed to uncertainty around our relationship with the EU at the moment or general concerns around skills shortages.

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Why new technology can still make employees happier, healthier and more efficient

Why new technology can still make employees happier, healthier and more efficient

New technology can still make employees happier and more efficient

For many years, we became used to new technology being treated with excitement. Essentially, people thought technology made their lives better. More recently this consensus has been tested. On a very practical level, there is growing concern about the impact of everyday technology. ‘Screen-time’ has become a byword for anxiety and disengagement from the real world. Meanwhile, there is trepidation about the impact of future technology, such as the automation of jobs. Whilst caution is needed, there is a danger that we are forgetting the many benefits technology can bring. As an example, look to the workplace. Already, offices are gaining hugely from technology that benefits employee wellness and productivity.  However, we have only just begun to feel its impact. A ‘fast’ office may sound like an oxymoron. A building isn’t going to win a 100-metre race. Yet fast offices, which allow employees to control their immediate environment, are becoming increasingly common.

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CIPD highlights gap between ‘fat cat’ top earners and the rest of the workforce

CIPD highlights gap between ‘fat cat’ top earners and the rest of the workforce

CIPD highlights gap between 'fat cat' top earners and the rest of the workforceJust three days into the New Year, today (Friday 4 January), the UK’s top bosses will have made more than a typical full-time worker will earn in the entire year, according to calculations from independent think tank the High Pay Centre and the CIPD. The average (median) full-time worker in the UK earns a gross annual salary of £29,574, while the average FTSE 100 CEO, on an average (median) pay packet of £3.9 million, only needs to work until 1pm on Friday 4 January 2019 to earn the same amount. The £3.9 million figure was calculated by the CIPD and the High Pay Centre in their 2018 analysis of top pay and it marks an 11% increase on the £3.5 million figure reported in their 2017 analysis. The pay increase means that FTSE 100 CEOs, working an average 12-hour day, will only need to work for 29 hours in 2019 to earn the average worker’s annual salary, two hours fewer than in 2018.

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