Search Results for: opportunities

Brexit: CBI stresses importance of getting new rules right for UK construction

Brexit: CBI stresses importance of getting new rules right for UK construction

by • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

Brexit: CBI stresses importance of getting new rules right for construction

Brexit presents opportunities for rule changes in sectors such as agriculture, shipping and tourism that could ultimately benefit the British economy and consumers. This is according to a new CBI study, “Smooth Operations, compiled over a six-month period, which states that the opportunities for divergence are vastly outweighed by the costs of deviating from rules necessary to ensure smooth access to the EU market. Another important finding is that changes to rules in one sector have significant knock on effects for companies in other sectors and throughout supply chains. There are specific regulatory needs for the construction sector, according to the report, the first being regulatory convergence on rules for construction products and materials, vital to protect the competitiveness of manufacturers and avoid major barriers to trade. The CBI also argues that maintaining equivalence in procurement rules between the UK and EU is important, but there are still opportunities to improve how the UK procures work in the construction sector without diverging from EU rules.

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Quarter of workers say job negatively affects their mental health and a third feel overworked

Quarter of workers say job negatively affects their mental health and a third feel overworked

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Quarter of workers feel work negatively affects their mental health, finds CIPD report

One in four workers (25 percent) feel their job negatively affects their mental health, while nearly a third (30 percent) say their workload is too high, according to a brand new report from the CIPD, the UK Working Lives survey. Although the survey found that two-thirds of workers (64 percent) were satisfied with their job overall, one in ten (11 percent) report regularly feeling miserable at work. More than a quarter (28 percent) of senior leaders say that they find it difficult to fulfil personal commitments because of their job, while over a quarter (27 percent) say that their job does not offer good opportunities to develop their skills, jumping to two in five (43 percent) among unskilled and casual workers. Focusing on the three main groups in the labour market, those at the lower levels are far less likely to have access to skills and training, those in middle management feeling significantly squeezed by their workload and those at the top find it difficult to maintain a work/life balance.

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British employers are failing to prepare staff for automation

British employers are failing to prepare staff for automation

by • AI, News, Technology

UK employees aren’t being equipped with the skills required by an automated workplace, according to a new study from ADP. The findings suggest that despite a third (32 percent) of workers believing their job will be automated within 10 years and one in ten (10 percent) predicting it will happen in two, half of those affected (49 percent) say their employer isn’t preparing to train or reskill them for the new world of work. ADP surveyed 1,300 UK working adults across the country as part of The Workforce View in Europe 2018, which gives a snapshot of employees’ views about their jobs, workplace and career plans. The report claims that thousands of workers are worried about the prospect of mass automation and how this will impact their own career prospects if they aren’t prepared with the right skills.

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A vision of how the facilities management profession can embrace the modern workplace

A vision of how the facilities management profession can embrace the modern workplace

by • Facilities management, News

Following its March announcement of a proposed name change to reflect a greater focus on workplace issues, the British Institute of Facilities Management has published a new report to explore the relationship between FM and a nascent workplace discipline. According to the authors, the purpose of the report is to ‘highlight the opportunities and challenges that workplace presents for FM by exploring the relationship between FM and workplace – and considering how this relationship could change in the future’. While the report acknowledges that facilities managers have always addressed workplace issues as a core element of their role, recent developments in the way people work and the way firms think about their workspace have led to a new emphasis on workplace as a discipline coupled with a sense that its core principles are subject to a number of misunderstandings.

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Government announces details of new real estate agency

Government announces details of new real estate agency

by • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK government has announced the creation of the Government Property Agency (GPA) which will aim to ‘improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government Estate and generate benefits of between £1.4 billion and £2.4 billion over the next ten years’. GPA’s initial portfolio of 80 properties will grow to over 1,000 as it takes on increasing responsibility for managing the general purpose central government real estate portfolio. This is intended to manage the government’s property portfolio strategically in order to realise the benefits that departments cannot achieve on their own. The GPA will partner with government departments to find innovative property solutions, and provide expertise to enable them to deliver wider business change more efficiently. More broadly, the GPA will also be an enabler for the delivery of Civil Service transformation, regional growth and the government’s vision to strengthen the Union.

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CIPD to co-chair Government’s flexible working task force

CIPD to co-chair Government’s flexible working task force

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The CIPD has been invited to co-chair the UK Government’s new Flexible Working Task Force. The task force has been established by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to promote wider understanding and implementation of inclusive flexible work and working practices, bringing together policy-makers, employer groups, Unions and employee representative groups, research groups and professional bodies.  (more…)

Employers should not write off older female workers quite so readily

Employers should not write off older female workers quite so readily

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

An ageing population and changes to the default state pension age mean employers need to better prepare for the needs of older women in the workplace, according to a study by Anglia Ruskin University published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). With more and more women aged between 50 and 65 now employed, the research reviewed published literature to look into the experience of those workers and how their needs might change in the future.

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Local authorities and developers must work together to boost the quality of new developments, says Green Building Council

Local authorities and developers must work together to boost the quality of new developments, says Green Building Council

by • News, Property

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched two new resources for developers and local authorities designed to help boost construction standards and improve ‘social value outcomes’.  The first resource is related to residential developments while the second is directly relevant to commercial property. The resource, Social Value in New Development, provides guidance for developers and local authorities to help deliver social value outcomes in new residential and commercial developments. The guidance looks at social value, its stakeholders, strategies for driving positive outcomes and measuring success, and the current barriers to delivery.

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Ageing population and low fertility rate is leading to European labour force shortage

Ageing population and low fertility rate is leading to European labour force shortage

by • News, Workplace

Ageing population and low fertility rate is leading to Europe's growing labour force shortage

Europe faces an increasing labour force shortage, which means that between 2017 and 2025, 184 out of 263 metropolitan areas from the EU-28 will record a negative growth rate in their working age population. According to a recent analysis by GlobalData this is due to a combination of lower fertility rates across most European Union (EU) countries, which is causing a reduction the growth rates of the youth population, while increased life expectancy is leading to a steady rise in the growth of the elderly population. But according to Ramnivas Mundada, Economic Research Analyst at GlobalData, ‘‘Measures such as increasing the levels of post-retirement employment opportunities, offering more support for women returning to the workplace and investing in youth employment, education and training could help to mitigate the impact of these demographic changes over the long term.’’

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Vienna ranks highest for quality of living, but emerging cities doing more to attract mobile talent

Vienna ranks highest for quality of living, but emerging cities doing more to attract mobile talent

by • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property, Workplace

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.

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Rigid cultures, lack of vision and poor tech are main barriers to workplace agility

Rigid cultures, lack of vision and poor tech are main barriers to workplace agility

by • News, Technology

A new study commissioned by Ricoh Europe claims to reveal the factors that European business leaders believe are keeping them from achieving workplace agility. The list is topped by regulation (39 percent), lack of investment in new technologies (37 percent) and inescapably rigid internal hierarchies (35 percent) according to the 2,140 business leaders surveyed. These barriers limit what the report calls ‘the fluid, agile nature of a digitally empowered workplace that enables companies to quickly capitalise on changes in the market’.

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Equal Lives survey to look at ways men can better balance work and home life

Equal Lives survey to look at ways men can better balance work and home life

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Equal Lives survey to look at ways men can better balance work and homeThe challenge to achieve gender equality at work isn’t made any easier by the attitudes of some employers. Although men increasingly want to be more present at home, currently fathers are twice as likely as mothers to have their requests for flexible working turned down. This means their work-life balance is increasingly a source of stress. For this reason a new survey is being launched to look at men’s roles at home and work with the hope that the results will support employers to help men take up more equal caring roles.The Equal Lives project, launched by Business in the Community in partnership with Santander UK, aims to highlight the issues men face when managing responsibilities at work and home and identify workplace practices and policies to help employers retain skilled male and female employees. The study is open to all men in work over 18, regardless of whether they have people who depend on them for their wellbeing. It is also open to women in work, but only those with care responsibilities.

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