February 19, 2020
Employees use only fraction of their knowledge at work
Employees use just 38 percent of their knowledge and expertise at work, meaning organisations are failing to unlock even half of the brainpower of their people, research has claimed. According to the survey of more than 1,000 UK and US “knowledge workers” by Starmind, 90 percent of employees want more opportunities to share knowledge and expertise and three quarters believe their organisation would benefit from accessing more of their expertise. More than 6 in 10 respondents feel they could contribute more but don’t know how, while nearly two-thirds say they have knowledge their organisation isn’t aware of or doesn’t capitalise on. (more…)
Eastern European businesses have benefited overall from EU membership but, for local firms, the promise of joining does not always live up to expectation or improve productivity, a 
Freelancers value the freedom and flexibility of being their own boss but their happiness is most closely correlated with how much money they earn, a survey of 7,000 freelancers has claimed. According to the 
Two surveys have highlighted continuing fears among freelancers about the changes to the IR35 rules due to take effect in April. The reforms will shift the responsibility for defining contractors’ tax status from the individual to the employer to crack down on so-called ‘disguised employment’, where off-payroll workers are able to pay less tax than employees. However, concerns have been raised that the rules could force organisations to bring genuine contractors and freelancers on to the payroll, reducing flexibility for both parties. 
Executives in small and mid-sized businesses in the UK are more anxious about major decisions at work than critical decisions at home that affect their family, a new study has claimed. The new study by 
Senior employees being too confident about the value of their ideas could be one reason businesses are failing, according to research by the University of Cologne. The study, conducted by Professor Fabian Sting and a team of interdisciplinary co-authors, highlights how choosing the wrong ideas to pursue can lead businesses to make unwise investments and miss out on opportunities, which could threaten their survival. A large part of the problem, it says, is that the person who comes up with the idea overestimates how successful their innovation will be and views their skill or performance as better than it actually is. 
February 13, 2020
What performance culture can teach us about motivating employees in the workplace
by Diane Strohfus • Comment, Workplace