July 30, 2019

GDP should be replaced by new indicators of prosperity and wellbeing

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Wellbeing

As the consequences of climate change, social tensions and high levels of inequality are increasingly evident, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, led by Professor Diane Coyle, has published its initial report on how to improve economic measurement by replacing GDP as the standard measure for national prosperity with others that include wellbeing and social and environmental capital. (more…)

July 30, 2019

Employers missing opportunity to unlock emotional intelligence

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is an increasingly popular buzz phrase in business and understanding its impact in the workplace is becoming crucial to employers in getting the most out of their staff. A new survey from Lee Hecht Harrison Penna claims the importance placed by people managers both on finding EQ in staff, and demonstrating it themselves. The study claims the changing mind-set of managers, who see EQ as key to the career development and professional success of their employees. (more…)

July 24, 2019

Organisations upskilling to make sense of people data

by Jayne Smith • News, Workplace

New research claims that there has been a huge rise in the number of people analytics teams as HR is called on to take an increasingly strategic role in shaping business performance. Innovation generation: the big HR tech disconnect, a report released by Thomsons Online Benefits, claims there has been a significant increase in the proportion of UK-based global organisations building people analytics teams, rising from 8 percent to 43 percent in just three years. With tech talent in short supply, the survey of 60 HR decision makers from UK-based companies suggests that employers are looking to upskill existing HR team members to make sense of the data now available to them. (more…)

July 22, 2019

Problems with noise at work? A lot of it is in our heads ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

When it comes to working in an office, hell really can be other people. Many staff can have enormous difficulties coming to terms with the sounds that form the backdrop to their working day, especially if they work in open plan areas. The problem of noise at work is particularly acute right now because most UK employees now work in open plan offices and at workstations that are on average about 20 percent smaller than they were ten years or so ago. Yet, on the face of it, the business case for working in open plan offices is pretty clear cut.

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July 22, 2019

UK could receive £250 billion boost if labour market matched that of Sweden

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New analysis by economists at PwC claims that, if the UK could match Sweden in terms of its employment rates for women aged 25-54, older workers and the proportion of its young people not in employment, education or training, the potential boost to UK GDP could be as much as 12 percent, or around £250 billion at 2018 values. Although the UK labour market has been strong in recent years – the employment rate is at a record high of over 75 percent and unemployment is at its lowest level since the mid 1970s – new research from PwC indicates that performance is middling compared to other OECD economies. A new composite Labour Market Performance index, combining results from PwC’s Youth Employment, Golden Age and Women in Work indices, finds the UK is 19th overall amongst OECD countries. Iceland and Sweden top the combined index rankings based on the latest available annual data for 2018. (more…)

July 21, 2019

Sleeping on the job is now acceptable behaviour

by Colette Wade • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Recently, Cornerstone OnDemand tested which learning and training courses are of most interest and truly matter to employees to help them navigate the world of work. Among the top five most popular courses, there was a resounding demand for those that centred around wellbeing. And the training that claimed the top spot was ‘The Science of Sleep: Sleep hygiene’. (more…)

July 19, 2019

The Age of Blorp, a dead tulip, no muggles allowed and some other stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Features, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

First the good news. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has rejected the proposals for Foster+Partners’ godawful 300 metre tall ‘Tulip’ viewing tower in London. The reasons given for the refusal from the Mayor’s office include the fact that the thing didn’t represent the sort of “world class architecture that would be required to justify its prominence”. A nicely dressed up way of saying it’s a terrible idea, a terrible piece of architecture and has absolutely no place in London. (more…)

July 19, 2019

Flexible working could be the default for all jobs in UK

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, Legal news, News

Flexible working could become the default for all jobs in the UK, under proposed legislation being considered by the UK government. The most important consequence will be that employees will no longer be expected to use their right request flexible working for an employer to consider, as is currently the case. (more…)

July 19, 2019

Outdated technology remains a massive waste of time

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

Two new studies suggest that the failure to keep workers equipped with the latest technology is having a huge impact on their productivity and causing them to waste large amounts of time. According to the first piece of research from tech provider Insight, UK office workers waste 1.8 billion working hours every year because the outdated technology they’re given isn’t good enough to meet their needs. (more…)

July 18, 2019

Demand for four day week continues to rise

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

With a recent report from Henley Business School highlighting that a shorter working week could add to businesses’ bottom lines through increased staff productivity and uplift in staff physical and mental health, a study from ADP (registration) has further emphasised these findings. ADP’s research claims almost two-thirds of UK workers (61 percent) would opt for a four day week at work if they had the choice. (more…)

July 18, 2019

Govt scheme to retrain people in the age of automation

by Neil Franklin • AI, News

The UK Government in partnership with the CBI and TUC has launched a new scheme to help workers whose jobs change or become obsolete because of advances in technology. Workers will be offered help in retraining or finding a new career amid suggestions that up to a third of jobs could be at risk of changing because of automation in the coming 10 to 20 years. The National Training Scheme will be trialled in Liverpool before being rolled out across England. The CBI and TUC are both backing the initiative as a way of boosting productivity, pay and workers’ skills. (more…)

July 17, 2019

Employees spend thirteen work hours a week on social media

by Jayne Smith • Technology, Workplace

Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, social media is an inescapable part of modern life and in turn, the modern workplace. New research conducted by Croner, claims that on average UK employees spend 13 hours a week on social media in work time. In addition to this, the study which surveyed over 1,300 UK employees, claims that Instagram was the social media channel of choice for people to pass the time during their working day and the most popular hours for employee social media usage were between 3pm-5pm. (more…)