Search Results for: opportunities

November 22, 2017

New Acas guidance on preventing pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Acas has published new guidance to help employers create supportive workplaces for women during pregnancy and maternity leave. The employment advisory service says it received more than 14,000 calls last year about pregnancy and maternity issues, an increase of almost 10 percent on the previous year. The guidance offers employers advice on how to comply with the Equalities Act, which protects employees against pregnancy and maternity discrimination including how employees on maternity leave should be made aware of opportunities for promotion and training; pregnancy related absences must not be included in an employee’s absence record; and employees must not be dismissed or made redundant for any issue related to pregnancy or maternity leave or maternity pay.

November 15, 2017

The contribution of personality to the performance of agile workers

by John Eary • Features, Flexible working

The introduction of agile working into organisations has typically focussed on the workstyles of different job roles, but has tended to treat the jobholders within these groups in the same way. The successful introduction of new ways of working clearly relies on the willingness of the people occupying the job roles to embrace new ways of working; yet there has been little investigation of the needs of agile workers with different personality types beyond looking at the needs of extroverts and introverts. These studies have tended to focus on the workplace; for example, the Cushman Wakefield Workplace Programme briefing paper examines how organisations can accommodate the needs of extroverts and introverts working together in the workplace. However, using OCEAN personality profiles, Nigel Oseland found that different personality types have different preferences, which in turn are likely to affect their performance at work.

November 14, 2017

New quarterly report highlights latest UK cities trends

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Public Sector, Technology

A new quarterly report that claims to analyse the latest trends taking place in cities across the UK has been published by Future Cities Catapult, the Government-backed centre of expertise in urban innovation, the City Innovation Brief (automatic download) summarises key developments and changes from cities across the UK, identifying where money is being invested and what future opportunities might look like within the advanced urban services sector.

November 14, 2017

Millions of unemployed over 50s struggle more than young people for jobs

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

New data published today shows that the over 50 age group experience an ‘unemployment trap’ – meaning they are more likely to be out of work than younger age groups, and once unemployed they struggle more than younger jobseekers to get back into employment. Currently almost a third of 50-64 year olds in the UK are not in work – some 3.3 million people. Within this, 29 percent are recorded as ‘economically inactive’ – not engaged in the labour market in any way – which is more than twice the rate of those aged 35-49 (13 percent). It is estimated that around one million of the over 50s who are out of work left employment involuntarily due to issues such as ill health, caring responsibilities or redundancy. Some 38 percent of unemployed over 50s have been out of work for over a year, compared to 19 percent of 18-24 year olds and the Centre for Ageing Better claims that employment support is failing this age group.

November 8, 2017

Germany overtakes the UK as preferred place to invest in commercial real estate

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Property

One in three commercial real estate investors say Germany is their preferred region to invest in, the first time that Germany has been chosen as the number one region for investment ahead of the UK in the annual BrickVest commercial property investment barometer (‘the Barometer’) Germany was selected by 33 percent compared to the 27 percent who choose the UK, which saw a drop from 33 percent to 31 percent in the last quarter and from 32 percent in the same Barometer 12 months ago. Nearly one in five (17 percent) selected the US, which represents a slight increase from 12 months ago (16 percent), while France was selected by 15 percent, the same as Q3 last year.

November 3, 2017

Growing need for a flexible workplace creates fresh challenges for employers

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Many businesses are misaligned with their people, with nearly half of employees not understanding their company’s strategic objectives, according to new research published by The Ludic Group, which claims that the changing nature of workforces and the growing need for a flexible workplace are creating fresh challenges for communication, collaboration and engagement. The research suggests that the impact of technology is causing digital chaos, with businesses struggling to get the communications balance right. With the number of channels and tools increasing almost half of people (44 percent) want to hear more from employers. Perhaps surprisingly, one in five (20 percent) individuals said that their firm has not used any tools or techniques to communicate with them. This lack of communication results in people being disconnected from the business strategy, with only half of individuals (50 percent) reported fully aligned with their company’s objectives and 44 percent not knowing or understanding what these are. Alongside this, people increasingly want to design their own working experience and expect more flexibility from their employers.

November 2, 2017

UK offices lack the features needed to boost productivity and wellbeing of introverts

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A poll from Office Genie claims that Britain’s workplaces are in need of a makeover, with many not catering to employees’ needs. According to the survey of around 1,500 people, workspaces are lacking distinct, tailor-made areas that could enable employees to work more effectively, particularly introverted workers. After surveying 1,456 British office workers, the poll suggests the majority of workplaces do not have areas that aid lone-working (67 percent), offer privacy (54 percent), or opportunities for quiet work (58 percent). They also do not have spaces that promote collaboration (45 percent) or provide chill-out areas for staff (74 percent). Respondents were asked if their workplace allows them to carry out their work comfortably and 20 percent stated it does not. Worryingly, of that number, 70 percent claim it affects their desire to come to work. In terms of improved wellbeing and productivity, chill-out areas, quiet areas, and private spaces are top of workers’ lists.

November 1, 2017

Division of workplace hierarchy on impact of office design and flexible working

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

There is a divide in the importance placed on the office environment among different levels of the UK workforce, with new research suggesting C-Suite executives do not fully appreciate the factors that keep employees happiest at work and the impact that the office environment has on their employees’ productivity and wellbeing. According to the new research by Peldon Rose and are happier and work most productive in the office, 88 percent of middle management and 84 percent of junior employees say they always or sometimes enjoy coming to work every day compared to 76 percent of C-Suite executives. In addition, junior and middle management employees are more inclined to work in the office, with 62 percent and 63 percent, respectively, saying they prefer to work in the office over at home (29 percent, 30 percent) compared to C-Suite who prefer to work at home (40 percent) rather than the office (24 percent). As a result, just a quarter of junior employees believe their office has a culture that allows them to work flexibly compared to nearly half of C-Suite.

November 1, 2017

Edinburgh named best city in the UK for coworking

by Mark Eltringham • Coworking, News, Property

Edinburgh has been named as the UK’s leading city for coworking , according to a study from MoneySuperMarket. The firm analysed 18 cities across the UK against key factors, such as the cost per workstation, business insurance and the number of office spaces available, to see which cities are deemed the most desirable places to co-work. The research found Edinburgh to be the best city for coworking spaces, due to its competitive coworking prices, broadband speeds and low number of insurance claims. Brighton and Hove on the other hand ranked last, due to the limited and costly desk space. Although London has the highest number of coworking spaces, the high costs of working in London ensured it finished near the bottom of the list based on the criteria used in the study.

October 27, 2017

Review into workplace mental health calls for change in culture and legislation

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

The independent review into workplace mental health, commissioned by the Prime Minister in January and led by Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer, has published its report, Thriving at Work. The review looks at how employers can better support all employees including those with poor mental health or wellbeing remain in and thrive at work. The study found that 300,000 people with a long-term mental health problem lose their jobs each year and that poor mental health costs employers up to £42 billion a year, with an annual cost to the UK economy of up to £99 billion.
The statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions reveal that 300,000 people with a long term mental health problem lose their jobs each year. Analysis by Deloitte, commissioned by the reviewers, also reveals a demonstrable cost to employers, and quantifies for the first time how investing in supporting mental health at work is good for business and productivity. Poor mental health costs the UK economy between £74 billion and £99 billion a year. Deloitte’s analysis shows that the cost to employers is between £33 billion and £42 billion of this number. Evaluations of workplace interventions show a return to business of between £1.50 and £9 for every £1 invested.

October 27, 2017

HR Directors turning their attention to workplace design and experience

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace, Workplace design

The role of HR Directors is going to change in the future as they will increasingly become “curators” of the office, charged with generating the right atmosphere to inspire millennial workers, according to a study of 100 HR Directors by Unispace. The study claims found that there will be greater HR ownership of the physical workplace in the future as human resources becomes more focused on the employee “experience”. A key to future success will be ensuring workers are “engaged with the workplace” and enable them to collaborate in better ways and become more productive. A recurring theme identified during the interviews was a change to the overall decision-making process around physical space. Previously the remit of property and facilities management, it now includes HR representation as standard practice in large organisations. Bringing HR to the table enables the working environment to embody organisational values and contribute towards achieving strategic “people-led” business objectives, such as better staff retention and productivity.

October 26, 2017

Three quarters of firms dissatisfied with quality of UK infrastructure

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector, Technology

Businesses are concerned about the pace of commitment to improving the UK’s infrastructure, and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in their region. With the UK currently ranking 27^th in the world for the quality of its infrastructure, nearly all (96 percent) of businesses in the 2017 CBI/AECOM Infrastructure Survey see infrastructure as important (of which 55 percent view it as critical) to the Government’s agenda. From the Clean Growth Strategy and the £500 billion infrastructure pipeline to its decision to build a new runway at Heathrow and press ahead with the A303 tunnel, the Government has made clear its commitment to British infrastructure. However, only one in five firms is satisfied with the pace of delivery (20 percent) and almost three quarters (74 percent) doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament. This lack of confidence is attributed primarily to policy inconsistency (+94 percent of firms) & political risk (+86 percent). The digital sector is the exception, however, where 59 percent of firms are confident of improvements.