Search Results for: professionals

Great expectations at work causing stress and rise in mental ill health

Great expectations at work causing stress and rise in mental ill health

Employees feel expectations at work are playing an integral role in diminishing their mental health a new report suggests, which includes increasing pressures to work outside of office hours, through annual leave and even on sick days. Westfield Health’s inaugural Wellbeing Index, which claims to shine a spotlight on stress, found 61 percent of HR professionals identified mental health related issues as the main reasons for absences within their workforces, with over half (51 percent) noticing an overall increase in sick days. ‘Leavism’ – working outside of contracted hours and on annual leave days – is also prevalent throughout the British workforce, with 67 percent in HR saying it’s a very real issue for them.

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Space Matrix becomes the strategic Asia Pacific partner for The United Workplace

Space Matrix becomes the strategic Asia Pacific partner for The United Workplace

Space Matrix, a major design and build workplace consultancy in Asia Pacific has joined The United Workplace (TUW), a global network of workplace consultancies and designers. The United Workplace’s existing partners include Fourfront Group in Europe, Amicus in Australia  and New Zealand, Summertown in the Middle East, Ware Malcomb in the USA and Contract Workplaces in South America. Founded in 2001, Space Matrix is a dynamic, agile digital enterprise specialising in workplace design. The company operates from 14 office locations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore (HQ) and New York. The firm has completed work across 55 cities, employs over 400 professionals globally and continues to push the boundaries in workplace transformation. (more…)

Lies about work, the limits of wellness programmes, sleepwalking architects and some other shoes

Lies about work, the limits of wellness programmes, sleepwalking architects and some other shoes

There are lots of reasons to worry about where the World might be taking us, or perhaps where we are taking it. You can take your pick but for me one of the most worrying aspects of contemporary discourse is the obvious dearth of empathy. We might like to think of this as an innate characteristic of human beings, but it really isn’t. It’s something that we also need to learn. This idea is explored in this piece by Hanna Rosin who centres her argument around an analysis by Sara Konrath, an associate professor and researcher at Indiana University who has discovered that our willingness to empathise with people is eroding rapidly, especially for those who we see as ‘other’ or irrelevant. If you want an example of lack of empathy, you can see it in this footage of a banker being taken to task for it in a US committee hearing.

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Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

A street scene of workers in LondonIs the management of people in organisations today really about growing the long-term value of an employers’ most important asset in an increasing uncertain and skills-short labour market? Or is it more to do with continuing to drive costs down and shareholder returns up; and meeting the bare minimum standards required by legislation? The Institute for Employment’s (IES) latest research, carried out in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), looks at the reality of people management and comes up with some generally positive findings and conclusions. (more…)

Ten employment law changes to look out for in the rest of 2019

Ten employment law changes to look out for in the rest of 2019

A row of legal booksThis year is set to be a busy year for HR and employment law. From post-Brexit immigration rule changes and gender pay gap reporting, to age discrimination at work, employers are faced with amended employment laws and new deadlines for their organisation to meet. These are ten important areas of the law that HR professionals and business owners need to be aware of. (more…)

Remote working boosts self-employed flexibility and productivity

Remote working boosts self-employed flexibility and productivity

Remote working man with laptop beside lakeRemote working boosts flexibility and productivity among the self-employed, new research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and People Per Hour claims. The report suggests that freelancers overwhelmingly viewed remote working positively, with nine out of ten (87 percent) working remotely at some point in the last year. (more…)

Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires

Against metrics: how measuring performance by numbers backfires

A still from Jacques Tati's film playtime as the protagonist looks out over cubicles in an officeMore and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organisations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon. I’ve termed it ‘metric fixation’. The key components of metric fixation are the belief that it is possible – and desirable – to replace professional judgment (acquired through personal experience and talent) with numerical indicators of comparative performance based upon standardised data (metrics); and that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance. (more…)

RICS’ new commercial property service charge rules come into effect today

RICS’ new commercial property service charge rules come into effect today

RICS' new commercial property service charge rules come into effect todayNew service charge rules which aim to ensure there are no hidden costs and clarity around disputes, come in to force today (1 April 2019) and are mandatory for RICS professionals. ‘Service charges in commercial property’ has been developed with industry leaders, including major property organisations and professional bodies to secure transparent, upfront and fair costs for businesses as part of the maintenance and upkeep of their building. Amongst the rules, any charges incurred by the tenant must be explained fully at the outset and in accordance with the terms of the occupational lease, whilst any upkeep costs not specifically mentioned or explained in a lease must be made irrecoverable from the tenant.

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Why are graduates favouring Manchester over London?

Why are graduates favouring Manchester over London?

streetview of Manchester, Piccadilly GardensThe economic performance of UK cities is increasingly dependent on the skills of their workforce. Cities across the UK face the challenge of both attracting and retaining high-skilled talent. The Great British Brain Drain investigates migration within the UK, specifically within cities. It finds that many university cities lose their graduates to London, with this movement especially strong for the highest performing graduates with 2.1 or 1st class degrees from Russell Group universities. Despite this, most university cities experience a ‘graduate gain’: they gain more graduates than they lose.

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Third of UK employees work way outside contracted hours

Third of UK employees work way outside contracted hours

Third of UK employees work way outside contracted hours

Over 35 percent of employees regularly arrive at work early or stay late, and that younger people are more likely to work longer hours than their older colleagues. The study, conducted by Love Energy Savings discovered that 8 percent of British employees work a staggering 20 hours or more each week than their contracted hours. Of those surveyed, over 40 percent of 18 to 24-year-old employees admit to working more than their contracted hours, a higher number than any other age group; 10 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds admitted to working over 20 hours of overtime per week.

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Automation could replace 1.5 million UK jobs, according to Government study

Automation could replace 1.5 million UK jobs, according to Government study

Around 1.5 million jobs in England are at high risk of some of their duties and tasks being automated in the future, Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis shows. The ONS has analysed the jobs of 20 million people in England in 2017, and has found that 7.4 percent are at high risk of automation. Women, young people, and those who work part-time are most likely to work in roles that are at high risk of automation. (more…)

New centre will assess potential for bias in algorithmic decision-making

New centre will assess potential for bias in algorithmic decision-making

The potential for bias in the use of algorithms in crime and justice, financial services, recruitment and local government will be investigated by the UK government’s new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI). The CDEI will explore the potential for bias in existing systems and to support fairer decision-making. This may include increasing opportunities for those in the job market in existing recruitment and financial services systems. It will also explore opportunities to boost innovation in the digital economy. (more…)