Search Results for: promotion

February 27, 2019

Digitisation and culture of uncertainty lead employees to seek stability

by Sara Bean • AI, Technology, Workplace

Job security is the top reason employees in the UK joined their company, and also the main reason they stay, according to Mercer’s 2019 Global Talent Trends study. With close to one in three employees being concerned that AI and automation will replace their job, senior managers are also worried about the effects of digitisation, with nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of executives in the UK predicting t significant disruption in the next three years, compared to 23 percent in 2018. Mercer’s global findings reveal a similar story finding that as executives focus on making their organisations “future-fit”, significant human capital risks – including the ability to close the skills gap and overcome employee change fatigue – can impede transformation progress. Addressing these concerns is paramount, given that less than one in three executives rate their company’s ability to mitigate the effect on employees as very effective.

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February 21, 2019

Why the gender pay gap is an enduring challenge for many organisations

by Heejung Chung • Comment, Workplace

In April of 2018, large companies with over 250 employees were obliged to report their gender pay gap for the first time. Headlines that week were dominated by some of the surprise and shock of the extent to which women were paid less in majority of the companies reported, while for many women it just confirmed our hidden beliefs. There was a slight optimism, however, that there can only be progress. However, many companies who are reporting their new pay gap for this year show that rather than progress, many have increased their gaps. Why is this the case?

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February 5, 2019

Working parents continue to grapple with inflexible, long hours work culture

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The UK’s working parents are penalised for working part-time and suffer from poorly-designed jobs that force them to work extra hours, according to a new study published by Working Families and Bright Horizons. The 2019 Modern Families Index claims that parents working part time – most of whom are women – have just a 21 percent chance of being promoted within the next three years, compared to 45 percent for their full-time counterparts. (more…)

February 4, 2019

Businesses need to build far more employee trust in their use of workforce data

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology, Workplace

Business leaders need to improve the way they implement and communicate responsible workforce data strategies if they are to build the employee trust that will help generate sustained revenue growth, according to a new report from Accenture. The report, Decoding Organizational DNA, is based on qualitative and quantitative research, including global surveys of 1,400 C-level executives and 10,000 workers across 13 industries.

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February 1, 2019

UK employees confident they will benefit from a ‘buyers’ market for talent

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

This year is set to be a ‘buyers’ market’ for the UK’s top professionals, as the nation’s war for talent intensifies. This is according to new research from Robert Half UK, which found that nearly a third (32 percent) of those surveyed believe their skillset will be more desirable over the coming months – even against the current economic and political climate – as the supply/demand imbalance of the UK’s top talent heightens. The current skills in demand include data analysis and digital skills, as well as softer skills such as adaptability, resilience and critical thinking to help complement the evolution of the workplace. (more…)

January 18, 2019

Only a quarter of women and minority employees believe they benefit from corporate diversity programmes

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Investment in diversity programmes has become commonplace: 98 percent of companies offer such programs. But that investment is falling far short of the mark: three-quarters of employees in diverse groups—women, racial/ethnic minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ—do not indicate that they have personally benefited from their companies’ diversity programmes. This is one of the findings of Fixing the Flawed Approach to Diversity, a report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report claims that a key impediment to progress is that older men (age 45 or older), who often lead decision making within corporate environments, are underestimating the obstacles in the recruiting, retention, and advancement of female and minority employees by 10 percent to 15 percent, as measured by comparison with the estimates of members of those actual groups: women, people of colour, and LGBTQ employees. This can lead to a misallocation of resources and a lack of investment in programs that could otherwise have the largest impact.

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January 10, 2019

Disability and age discrimination are top concerns for UK employees

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

More than half of employees say the inclusion of disabled people is an area that requires the greatest improvement within their organisation; with the diversity of age groups coming in a close second at just under half. This is according to the latest findings from Wildgoose’s Diversity and Inclusivity in the Workplace survey. The results suggest a shift in the areas that employees prioritise when it comes to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and raises the concern that dual discrimination based on disability AND age is common practice in the workplace. Other significant findings from the research show that nearly half (47 percent) of male employees don’t consider the gender pay gap to be a major issue, in comparison to the three quarters of females that do; a statistic that is particularly concerning given the recent publication of major organisations’ gender pay gaps and continued media coverage of the issue. Interestingly, the gap between men and women narrows when it comes to equal promotional opportunities.

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January 9, 2019

Third of workers feel so undervalued by their managers they are planning to leave

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Poor relationships with their managers and a lack of development opportunities are leading to more than a third of workers feeling dissatisfied in their current jobs, claims new research from The Institute of Leadership & Management. Around 1,400 members of The Institute of Leadership & Management completed a survey, which asked about their plans and aspirations for the New Year. The survey revealed that 34 percent are likely to change their job this year. Three quarters (74 percent) admitted the New Year leaves them feeling like they can achieve more in their careers, and because January also inspires self-reflection and a desire for change. (more…)

December 12, 2018

Survey claims increased levels of productivity amongst flexible workers

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Flexible workers claim to work more effectively than those working a traditional ‘nine-to-five’, with a quarter of respondents (27 percent) in a recent poll saying they work longer hours in their new flexible working routine than they did when they worked normal office hours. The research, which was commissioned by the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) found that flexible workers think they put in almost seven hours more each week on average than they did previously. The research, which looked at the productivity of a group of workers who set their own hours or working location against a group of those who are not doing so, found that the former benefit from feeling happier and less stressed. (more…)

December 11, 2018

Report into the glass cliff claims women still need to break the glass ceiling

by Sara Bean • News, Workplace

Given the latest U turn regarding Brexit, with beleaguered British Prime Minister Theresa May announcing the cancellation of a commons vote on the agreement, a new report into the so called “glass cliff” appointment of women is pretty timely. The term “glass cliff” was coined by researchers Ryan and Haslam in the early 2000s to describe a phenomenon in which women are more likely than men to be promoted to precarious management positions with a higher risk of failure. Aside from May, exemplar cases often used to support the theory include Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and Andrea Nahles, Social Democrat party leader in the German Bundestag. (more…)

November 16, 2018

Biophilic design the key to improving mental health, productivity and stress levels

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

An expert panel at this week’s Welcome to the Biophilic Concrete Jungle event in London made the case for incorporating the principles of biophilic design into the workplace, including for health and wellbeing considerations, the promotion of productivity and to address workplace stress and urban disconnection from nature. HOK organised the event. Panellists included Joyce Chan, Head of Sustainability and Trina Marshall, Regional Leader of Consulting from HOK, Professor Derek Clements-Croome from Reading University, Alexander Bond from Biophilic Design and Dr Ed Suttie from BRE.

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November 8, 2018

Modest goals are more appealing to people than maintaining the status quo

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Thanks to a quirk in the way our brain evaluates goals, people feel it’s easier to achieve a small incremental goal than to maintain the status quo, when both goals are assessed in isolation. This is especially true if the context is seen as unfavourable. This finding, which contrasts with the popular belief that no change is easier than any change, is the main conclusion of research led by marketing professors from INSEAD, IE Business School and Pamplin College of Business.