March 17, 2022
UK workers and their bosses are reaping the benefits of flexible working, according to new research released by Microsoft. According to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index, the number of people working in a hybrid way across the world is up seven percentage points on last year at (38 percent), while 53 percent of people are likely to consider transitioning to hybrid working in the year ahead. (more…)
March 16, 2022
Organisations looking to stem the tide of the so-called Great Resignation shouldn’t rely on working from home alone to retain their top talent, according to new research, which reveals that working from home (WFH), flexible working hours and even four-day work weeks, won’t necessarily be enough to keep employees onboard. HR software provider CIPHR conducted a survey of over 330 British employers last month to discover how the increasingly competitive talent market has affected their staff retention and recruitment drives over the past twelve months. Based on the results, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of employers have experienced an increase in employees voluntarily resigning and 71 percent have found it more challenging to recruit new employees. (more…)
March 16, 2022
Businesses risk losing a whole generation of talent as nearly half (49 percent) of 18-34 year olds plan to quit their jobs in the next twelve months. That’s according to new research from Personio, which is calling on businesses to urgently re-engage this generation of workers – or risk even more problematic talent shortages as they navigate the year ahead. The research, which surveyed HR decision makers and workers in SMEs across the UK and Ireland, finds that 59 percent of younger workers (18-34 year olds) feel they’ve missed out on promotions they felt they were due. In addition, two thirds (66 percent) feel the pandemic has held them back in their career – suggesting that serious concerns around their career development and progression are influencing their decision to move on. (more…)
March 15, 2022
In the context of a second major economic shock from war in Ukraine and continuing inflationary concerns, the PWC / ULI report Emerging Trends in Real Estate Global Outlook 2022 focuses on the global outlook for the real estate industry increasing pressure for finance to support the decarbonisation of real estate. The industry challenges lenders and their regulators to provide debt for the retrofit of existing buildings and the scale-up of the ‘climate tech’ needed. (more…)
March 15, 2022
A report published by Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA): Change For Good: 10 Lessons From The Pandemic identifies what it says is the transformative effect of the new ways of working and why there is ‘no going back’ for employers or employees. (more…)
March 15, 2022
The Business Disability Forum (BDF) has published a new global guide which sets out to showing how all businesses can make their built environments accessible to the one billion people in world who have a disability. Having a disability can affect how a person accesses, navigates, and uses the spaces and structures around them. Built environments include everything from entrances, exits, stairs, lifts, signage, to parking, green spaces, roads, and transport systems so inclusive office design should address a wide range of issues. (more…)
March 14, 2022
The Josh Bersin Company, a research and advisory company focused on HR and workforce trends and issues, has revealed new research which claims to show how organisational design has a direct relationship to the ability of any business to prepare and scale for the future. The study concludes that traditional approaches to organisational design, usually centred around job roles and reporting structures, are holding companies back and in some cases, exacerbating current and future talent challenges. (more…)
March 11, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns and shift to remote working has had a significant impact on organisations’ attitudes towards a shorter working week, new research from Henley Business School has revealed. The longitudinal study found that 65 percent of UK businesses surveyed are now implementing a four-day working week for some, or all, of their staff, compared with 50 percent who answered a similar survey carried out by Henley in 2019. (more…)
March 10, 2022
More than 7 in 10 UK employees have pushed through a mental health struggle to avoid taking time off work in the past three months, according to a new report by BetterUp Labs. Over half (59 percent) also reported that they’d had to push through a physical health struggle, suggesting there is widespread hesitation about stepping away from work to take time to recover. The report also claims that over a quarter (26 percent) of respondents have or have had a mental wellbeing condition, with 30 percent of women and 21 percent of men reporting this. (more…)
March 9, 2022
In this new episode of Workplace Geeks, Chris and Ian talk to WORKTECH Academy director, author and activist, professor emeritus Jeremy Myerson, about his award-winning research, ‘Space for thought: designing for knowledge workers’. The paper was co-authored with lead-researcher Catherine Greene back in 2011, and the findings are arguably even more relevant now in the aftermath of the pandemic, as many organisations grapple to unlock suitable alternative working arrangements for their diverse knowledge workers’ needs. (more…)
March 8, 2022
New analysis of FTSE 100 annual reports finds that while workforce reporting has improved in the past two years, the quantity and quality of disclosures still varies significantly and remains very poor in places. The new report, How do companies report on their ‘most important asset?, from the CIPD, the PLSA and Railpen, analysed the quality of workforce disclosures in the 2021 annual reports of FTSE 100 companies against seven key themes: Workforce cost and composition; employee relations and wellbeing; reward; voice; skills, capabilities and recruitment; and response to COVID-19. (more…)
March 21, 2022
The lumpy, bumpy uncertainty of the future of work
by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing