Search Results for: pandemic

Over half of UK employers say their staff work additional unpaid hours every day

Over half of UK employers say their staff work additional unpaid hours every day

unpaid hoursIn its latest whitepaper, Cendex, part of XpertHR, claims that staff at over half (53 percent) of UK organisations are working additional unpaid hours every day. A quarter (24 percent) of employers put this down to the pandemic and its resultant uptick in remote working, as they believe working from home blurs the line between work life and home life. (more…)

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads

pwc workplaceThe CFO and Finance Director role is undergoing rapid change. Not only are they required to manage the traditional priorities of the job, but they must now also juggle a wide array of operational, transactional and commercial responsibilities. With added pressure from clients because of Covid-19 and a rapidly evolving workplace, the role is increasingly hard to navigate. To gain a deeper insight into this and the evolution and future planning of a department that is central to the success of modern businesses, Totum recently surveyed CFOs and Finance Directors from among UK headquartered legal firms with annual revenue of £20m or more. (more…)

Executives think work should be split 70:30 between office and home

Executives think work should be split 70:30 between office and home

A new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit backs up the most commonly cited form of ‘hybrid working’ by claiming that business executives on average think work should be split 70 percent / 30 percent between the office and home respectively.  In A changed workplace after covid-19, published  by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Kyocera Document Solutions, the authors argue that Covid-19 was a watershed moment in the way we work. (more…)

Hybrid is most popular working set-up, but most would rather be full-time in workplace

Hybrid is most popular working set-up, but most would rather be full-time in workplace

hybrid‘Hybrid’ is the ideal working environment among Brits today, but twice as many workers would like to be 100 percent office-based than work permanently from home, according to the latest research from LifeSearch. (more…)

Gig economy could lead to a labour shortage…but better off workers

Gig economy could lead to a labour shortage…but better off workers

gig economy workerThe long-term impact of COVID-19 on the economy (and the gig economy) will not be clear for some time. But in the UK, the easing of pandemic related restrictions has coincided with significant labour shortages and the driving up of wages. Statistics show that wages have risen 7.4 percent in the past year, and the number of job vacancies has continued to rise (up to 953,000 in July 2021). Those vacancies have appeared amid continued travel restrictions from abroad, and the prolonged furlough scheme, which is keeping over 1 million people tied to employers that don’t have work available for them. (more…)

Over two-thirds of employers are considering pay cuts for remote workers

Over two-thirds of employers are considering pay cuts for remote workers

pay cutsA new survey by CIPHR claims that over two-thirds (68 percent) of British businesses are contemplating pay cuts for staff who opt to work from home, despite many (53 percent) saying they’ve actually saved money by having more remote workers. (more…)

Nearly half of British business leaders fear losing the UK’s best talent abroad

Nearly half of British business leaders fear losing the UK’s best talent abroad

businessMovePlan in partnership with Hanson Search, claims that 40 percent of business leaders fear that the combination of the pandemic and Brexit will see their best talent disappear abroad, making hiring more challenging, just as the country begins to return to the ‘new normal’. (more…)

Workplace technology helped meet short term lockdown challenges, but its real impact is yet to come

Workplace technology helped meet short term lockdown challenges, but its real impact is yet to come

the future of workplace technologyThinking back to the fast pace of life 18 months ago, the working day looked very different. COVID-19 forced a significant adjustment in how many workforces operate, including the enforced use of multiple workplace technology tools to collaborate. How will our use of collaboration tools change as we go through pandemic recovery? How can businesses ensure they continue to transform their workflows in a way that gives them maximum efficiency and productivity? (more…)

Right to disconnect should be enshrined in law, says report

Right to disconnect should be enshrined in law, says report

right to disconnectAn overtime “epidemic” driven by the rise in home working during the pandemic must be curtailed with new right to disconnect laws, according to a report from think-tank Autonomy. The authors claim that unpaid labour is a growing problem in the UK, exacerbated by home working during the pandemic. They say employees are frequently contacted by their employers after the working day has finished officially to complete tasks, which impacts their mental health. The report proposes draft legislation to implement a ‘right to disconnect’ based on French law, which ensures respect for employee rest periods and allows them to ignore work calls and emails outside of working hours. (more…)

Labour market confidence surges to nine year high, claims CIPD

Labour market confidence surges to nine year high, claims CIPD

labour market looks upEmployers are indicating strong employment intentions for the third quarter of 2021, with confidence surpassing pre-pandemic levels to hit a nine year high. This is the key finding of the latest quarterly CIPD Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey, involving more than 2,000 employers and covering all sectors of the economy. The survey claims that its net employment intentions figure, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers expecting to add jobs and those planning to cut them, has risen for the fourth consecutive quarter. The figure now sits at +32, up from +27 last quarter, marking the strongest employer intentions seen since tracking began in Winter 2012/13. (more…)

The future of work will be shaped by the needs of workers

The future of work will be shaped by the needs of workers

The future of work and lifeAs the UK government has withdrawn its advice for employees to work from home, more organisations than ever will be instituting what have become known as hybrid working models: 68 percent globally, according to research from  Steelcase. Definitions of “hybrid work”, however, are often contradicting and unclear – leaving business leaders without definitive guidance about how to approach the future of work. To provide businesses with a more concrete view of what hybrid working looks like in reality, and provide tangible actions to help streamline productivity and collaboration, Steelcase have researched the experiences and needs of workers worldwide in their report: Changing Expectations and the Future of Work. (more…)

Almost half of UK firms have decreased their research and development since covid-19

Almost half of UK firms have decreased their research and development since covid-19

researchAlmost half (45 percent) of UK firms have decreased their research and development initiatives during the covid-19 pandemic, with even 18 percent of firms halting theirs altogether, according to new research from Durham University Business School. (more…)