Search Results for: people

January 21, 2016

Generation Z are preparing themselves for an automated world of work ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, News, Technology, Workplace

The automated world is far closer than many people suppose. Yet one demographic group that is less fooled than others on that particular score is the one now starting to make its mark in the workforce, suggests a new report. Amplifying Human Potential: Education and Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, commissioned by Infosys from researchers Future Foundation, claims that 42 percent of 16-25 year olds worldwide feel their education did not prepare them for the world of work they are encountering for the first time with over three quarters having to learn new skills to meet the demands of employers. The report also claims that 40 percent of young workers believe their current job could be replaced by automated systems including robotics within 10 years. The report lands in parallel with a cluster of stories which highlight just how quickly the world is moving towards an automated future.

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January 19, 2016

Fourth industrial revolution will result in five million job losses by 2020 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Disruptive global employment trends, including flexible working, the rise of robots, other forms of automation and Big Data analytics will see over five million jobs disappear worldwide over the next four years, a new report claims. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report has calculated that current disruptive labour market trends, including improvements in artificial intelligence, cloud technology, the Internet of Things and flexible working arrangements, could lead to a net employment loss of more than 5.1m jobs in the 15 countries surveyed. The report estimated that new trends would result in a total loss of 7.1m jobs – two thirds of which are concentrated in the office and administrative functions – and a total gain of 2m jobs. The WEF surveyed those who it felt were best placed to observe the dynamics of workforces including heads of HR departments and CEOs in 15 developed and emerging economies.

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January 19, 2016

Skilled migrants attracted to regional and city work hubs, not countries ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, News, Property, Workplace

Highly-skilled migrants are increasingly attracted to cities and regions rather than countries, the latest Global Talent Competitiveness Index has revealed. Silicon Valley, Dublin, Helsinki-Espoo, Dubai [pictured] and London are the real hubs, rather than the United States, Ireland, Finland, the United Arab Emirates or the United Kingdom. The index, produced by Adecco Group, INSEAD and the Human Capital Leadership Institute, ranks the factors driving the international movement of skilled migrants of 109 countries, covering 87 percent of the global population and 97 percent of global GDP. Switzerland is in top place, followed by Singapore and Luxembourg in second and third place. At seventh place, the UK is ahead of Germany and France, but behind top performers such as the United States and Canada. It also trails behind in terms of gender diversity; ranking 56th for female graduates and 71st for the gender earnings gap.

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January 18, 2016

Firms demanding more data about workplaces…and they’re about to get it ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Companies are increasingly focussed on generating workplace data as they seek to make better decisions about the ways their real estate supports their key organisational objectives. That is one of the key findings of the latest European Occupier Survey from property consultants CBRE (login required). The good news (or bad news, depending on your point of view) is they’re about to get it in spades, according to another study from researchers International Data Corporation which found that there will be a huge surge in the availability of Big Data infrastructure in EMEA countries over the next four years. The acquisition of data about buildings and their inhabitants remains a troublesome issue, especially when executives do things like introduce sensors to monitor working patterns of employees without their knowledge, as bosses at The Telegraph found in a very public way recently.

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January 15, 2016

Three quarters of Millennials will change jobs over the next five years ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

It must be the time of year but we are suddenly awash with surveys and reports suggesting that pretty much everybody in the UK is about to change their jobs. Following our report earlier in the week that suggests older workers are perfectly prepared to just give up on work completely, it was inevitable that we were about to hear something from those pesky Millennials. Sure enough, along comes a report from Deloitte that suggests that nearly three quarters of Millennials plans to leave their jobs over the next five years. Millennials and their employers: Can this relationship be saved? found that the UK has a higher than average percentage of Millennials planning to change jobs in the next five years, with the average in developed economies standing at 61 percent. Worldwide, forty-four percent of Millennials say, if given the choice, they expect to leave their current employers in the next two years.

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January 14, 2016

The growing hysteria around employers’ ability to pry is not justified ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Legal news, Technology, Workplace

Two current media frenzies highlight just how paranoid we are becoming about the use of technology to monitor our behaviour and conversations. Last week bosses at the Daily Telegraph were found to have installed sensors under the desks of employees to find out when they were sitting at their desks. Yesterday, the world whipped itself up about a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that was interpreted by a large number of media outlets as a rubber stamp for firms to monitor the private messages of staff. While the first story provides a perfect example of what happens when managers make stupid decisions, the second shows how the media can distort a story that taps into specific concerns and fears. The headlines are now written and the narrative established so we may be hearing this distorted version of the truth for some time, but the facts are somewhat different to the headlines.

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January 14, 2016

UK workforce is on the brink of a mass exodus of senior staff ⁰

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

Despite government warnings of a looming skills shortage there remains a strong societal pressure for older workers to leave the workforce at state pension age. In a poll of 2,001 British adults by Randstad, three quarters of respondents report feeling this pressure, with 32 percent of respondents saying the pressure is ‘significant’. Only one in six workers (17 percent) feel there is no pressure. More than a third of workers (35 percent) plan to retire early as they feel “like they won’t be wanted in the workforce when older” – and a small but significant proportion of workers (7 percent) plan to retire early because they are worried about age discrimination. Keeping older workers says the report, requires initiatives like increasing the availability of flexible working and rolling-out phased retirement programmes, as well as a wider effort to publicise these efforts and change the attitudes of older workers.

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January 12, 2016

A cynic’s field guide to workplace terminology, part three ⁰

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

A New Year and a new chance for some people to heap more fresh corporate bullshit onto the already steaming pile. No matter how often writers like the ever excellent Lucy Kellaway mock and deride the propensity of people in organisations to apply cliches and nonsense in lieu of thought and imagination, we have to face an annual fresh tide of drivel and lazy thinking. So predictable is this yearly onslaught, that it appears to now be a subject for trendspotters, as a recent feature in The Telegraph highlighted. Of course, this is just general corporate speak and does not even begin to scratch the surface of what we have to endure in the more parochial world of workplace design and management. Which is why I have produced the latest update to my continually expanding lexicon of regrettable workplace terminology. You can read parts one and two here and here.

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January 12, 2016

‘Barrier Bosses’ preventing progress in gender equality despite wide support ⁰

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

More men than women believe that equality between the sexes would be better for the UK economy and themselves. Yet despite finding a clear desire for equality, the forthcoming ‘Sex Equality – State of the Nation’ report by the Fawcett Society reveals that there are still significant barriers to progress that need to be overcome. Overall men are more likely to support equality of opportunity for women than women, with 86 percent of men wanting this for women in their lives, compared to 81 percent of women wanting it for themselves. But the survey identified two major barriers to progress – firstly a small but powerful group of ‘barrier bosses’ responsible for recruitment decisions, and secondly the fact that most people believe that men at the top won’t voluntarily move over for women. This year the Government plans to implement Section 78 of the 2010 Equality Act which will require all employers of over 250 people to publish their gender pay gap.

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January 9, 2016

What we need from work + 2016 workplace + Office design trends ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Newsletter, Workplace, Workplace design

In the first Insight newsletter of the year; Dan Callegari outlines the seven workplace design trends 2016; Mark Eltringham describes what Shakespeare can teach us about technology and Jane Kendall-Bush explains six things all people need from their workplace. Paul Carder explores the current state of the workplace, Paul Goodchild looks at what sets us apart from the machines and Beatriz Arantes argues that neuroscience is the a great source of competitive advantage. In news, further workplace wellness investment predicted for the future; a third of people admit to feeling no workplace engagement and the latest evidence on the negative influence of overzealous emailing. Download the new issue of Work&Place and access an Insight Briefing produced in partnership with Connection, which looks at agile working in the public sector. Visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

January 8, 2016

Modern office design principles favour extroverts, study claims ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Workplace, Workplace design

This week’s British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Division annual conference in Nottingham has proved to be a fruitful hunting ground for insights into the nature of modern work and workplaces. The week culminates today with the presentation of a new study from business psychologists OPP which claims that personality has a big impact on the type of office environment people prefer to work in. Modern features such as shared space and open-plan floors appeal mainly to extroverted workers and made introverts uncomfortable. Over 300 people (71 per cent female and average age 47 years) completed an online survey about their current workplace. The participants had previously completed a personality test to ascertain their personality type. The results showed that many features of the modern office were more likely to be preferred by extroverts than by introverts.

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January 7, 2016

Constant email checks may increase workplace stress as much as high volumes ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

New research being presented today at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Nottingham suggests that it’s not just the volume of emails that causes stress; but well-meaning habits and a need to feel in control. The research by Dr Richard MacKinnon from the Future Work Centre, suggests many people have developed some bad habits when it comes to managing email. Nearly half of those surveyed have emails automatically sent to their inbox (push notifications) and 62 percent left their email on all day. Those who checked email early in the morning and late at night may think they are getting ahead, but they could be making things worse, as the study showed that these habits were linked to higher levels of stress and pressure. The research also shows the role personality plays in our experience of email and how email has the potential to both positively and negatively impact our work-life balance.