Search Results for: relationships

July 19, 2016

UK should avoid severe recession and property crash after Brexit vote ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Knowledge, News, Property

UK growth had already eased from around 3 percent in 2014 to around 2 percent before the EU referendum due primarily to slower global growth, but the Brexit vote to leave the EU is likely to lead to a significant further slowdown. UK GDP growth is forecast to decelerate to around 1.6 percent in 2016 and 0.6 percent in 2017 according to PwC’s main scenario in its latest UK Economic Outlook report. Quarter-on-quarter GDP growth could fall to close to zero in late 2016 and early 2017 in this main scenario, but is then projected to recover gradually later in 2017 as the immediate post-referendum shock starts to fade. The UK would avoid recession in this scenario, although the report notes that uncertainties around this view are significant, with alternative scenarios showing GDP growth in 2017 of anywhere between +1.5 percent and -1 percent. But even this latter relatively pessimistic scenario would not be a severe recession of the kind seen in the early 1980s or in 2008-9.

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July 6, 2016

Overworked UK staff are losing touch with their home lives ⁰

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

Over half of all UK workers’ home lives are negatively affected by work, with one in five admitting they’ve missed important milestones in their children’s lives. According to a survey of 2,000 people in the UK, commissioned by Coople, 51 percent admit that their current workloads are affecting their lives at home. They are missing kids’ birthdays and other important milestones like school plays, parents’ evenings and award ceremonies because of work. The research claims that poor work-life balance has been detrimental to parents’ relationships with their children, with 11 percent saying working late and not ‘switching off’ has distanced them from their young ones. Most worryingly, 28 percent of those that admitted to missing important events have done so more than five times during their working life, 10 percent say they have missed their child’s event once, 26 percent say they have done so twice, 29 percent three times, and 7 percent admit they’ve done so four times.

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July 5, 2016

LBGT inclusion in the workplace relies on FM and HR best practice ⁰

by Peter Holmes • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Much has been written about the business case for diversity and inclusion with one overarching theme; people perform better when they can be themselves. This is especially true for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans employees. Have you ever hesitated before talking about your partner to a colleague at work? Anticipated how they will react when they find out the person’s gender? Have you ever thought twice about going to the toilet in the office? Spent more time worrying about which facilities you’ll use than the looming deadline you have coming up? These are just a few examples of the thoughts that can consume the mental power of an LGBT person when you create a working environment which isn’t inclusive. According to last year’s Open For Business report, LGBT diversity and inclusion in the workplace impacts two key areas of productivity – business and individual performance, which rely on a focus on sound management and an inclusive workplace design.

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July 5, 2016

Employers need more help in navigating the Apprenticeship Levy ⁰

by David Allison • Comment, Workplace

According to the latest governmental statistics, apprenticeships reached a record high in 2014/15 with over 871,000 apprenticeship participants within the UK. The majority of these were in the service sector, and almost three quarters were concentrated in three sectors: Business, Administration and Law; Retail and Commerce Enterprise and Public Services and Care. Last year the government announced its plans to introduce a new UK-wide levy on large employers in a bid to fund apprenticeships and to create 3 million more apprentices by 2020. Due for implementation in April 2017, this levy promises to have a significant impact on the existing apprenticeship landscape. As the implementation of the apprenticeship levy draws nearer, it is rising to the top of companies’ HR and Finance agendas, as businesses attempt to work out how to reap a return on investment, with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calling for the Government to put off its introduction.

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June 24, 2016

Property and workplace experts have their say on the Brexit outcome ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Property, Workplace, Workplace design

Well, the results are in and the UK’s electorate has voted by a narrow margin for the country to leave the EU. There are likely to be other developments but whatever you make of the UK’s decision to vote to leave the EU – and I think it’s fair to say most independent people think it’s inexplicable – there’s no doubt that it will have a profound impact on the UK’s economy, relationship with the world, culture, working conditions and markets. What it will mean in practice won’t be apparent for months or years, of course, but that hasn’t stopped experts who work in the property, workplace, design, legal, HR and architecture sectors having their say on its potential implications. We’ll look at these specific issues in more detail going forward but for now, here’s a round-up of those we have so far, which we’ll keep updated throughout the day as the dust settles on what will prove to be a momentous decision for the UK, Europe and rest of the world.

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June 14, 2016

Winning over employees during the great Summer of sport ⁰

by Jamie Mackenzie • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace

The summer brings about many challenges for both employers and employees. The longer days, warmer weather, and reduced staff numbers are an annual occurrence that managers need to factor in; 2016 also brings a particularly exciting season of sport. High profile events such as Wimbledon, Euro 2016 and the Olympics are already upon us, with many of the events taking place during working hours. Research from Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services suggests that 1 in 5 people say they typically feel the least motivated during summer or when there is a sporting event taking place. Managers need to combat this in order to maintain productivity levels throughout the summer – but how can this be achieved? And how can they use the opportunity presented by the Summer of sport to build closer relationships with employees that will have longer term benefits for the business than the immediate challenges they present?

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May 31, 2016

Large scale study finds link between mental health and workaholism ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

A new large scale study from Norwegian researchers finds that workaholism is closely associated with a range of mental diseases and psychiatric disorders. Although the link has been the subject of speculation and study, the authors claim that the new research is one of the few large scale, academic studies into the subject and so comes up with unequivocal results. The study of 16,426 Norwegian subjects in The Relationships between Workaholism and Symptoms of Psychiatric Disorders found that workaholism is significantly related to psychiatric conditions such as adult ADHD, OCD, clinical anxiety and depression. The web-based survey assessed the mental health and workaholic characteristics of subjects and used statistical analysis to establish a correlation. It concludes that while disorders can be put in part down to demographic and other factors, the ‘correlations between workaholism and all psychiatric disorder symptoms were positive and significant’.

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April 13, 2016

Competitive workplaces hold women back in their careers ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Wellbeing, Workplace

Women take competition with other women at work too seriously and it could be damaging their careers, new research from UCL School of Management claims. Assistant Professor Sun Young Lee found that women experience competition with same-gender co-workers more negatively than men do because female peer culture values harmony and equality, and competition is at odds with the norm of female relationships. On the other hand, hierarchical ranking and competition is natural in male peer culture, so men’s work relationships do not suffer from competing with male colleagues. But competition with female co-workers taxes women’s work relationships. Women may struggle to interact with female co-workers, becoming overly cutthroat and mean, which can restrict their career progression. The findings suggest that, for organizations with a majority of female employees, competitive practices may not be the best way to organise work.

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April 12, 2016

Friendly workplaces are less innovative, claims new report ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Work friendships can contribute to a lack of creative diversity in the office, according to new research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.‘Relational capital and individual exploration: Unravelling the influence of goal alignment and knowledge acquisition’, a paper that examines the double-edged sword of friendships between colleagues, has revealed that friendly workplaces discourage employees from challenging ‘group think’. The researchers examined 150 respondents within large R&D departments of three Fortune Global 500 firms, gauging whether their accounts of personal friendships affected individual creativity, in information obtained from their colleagues. Tom Mom, along with co-authors Pepijn van Neerijnen, Patrick Reinmoeller and Ernst Verwaal, demonstrate that by aligning themselves, employees become less likely to innovate away from the established and accepted ‘norm’.

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March 4, 2016

Technology in the office failing to keep pace with the digital revolution ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace

Despite, or possibly because of the development of sophisticated digital handheld devices, a majority (85 percent) of UK office workers believe they would be able to perform their duties more efficiently if their workplace was equipped with better technology. In fact, 16 percent said that the technology they use at home is far superior to that provided by their employer. The research, conducted by webexpenses, found that over a quarter (28 percent) of respondents felt client relationships and sales could also benefit from a boost in technology at their organisation. When asked about what aspects of their job could be improved by better technology, 41 percent said that the management of teams and internal communications could be greatly enhanced. The workers also said that poor temperature controls (21 percent) a lack of space available in the office (20 percent), and their company’s reliance on arduous paper based processes (14 percent) were other sources of frustration.

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February 25, 2016

Over half of UK employers will implement flexible working by next year ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK is on the verge of a flexible working ‘tipping point’ with more than half of employers offering staff more choice of where to work. Working anywhere: A winning formula for good work? produced by Lancaster University’s Work Foundation, and commissioned by Citrix, reveals that 2017 will be the time when over half of organisations in the UK are likely to have adopted flexible working. It also predicts that over 70 percent of organisations will have followed suit by 2020. The Work Foundation, which hosted interviews with academics, business leaders and the public sector to glean insights around the theme of flexible working, supported by research with 500 managerial level employees within medium to large businesses, warns that there is still much to be done to address attitudes towards flexible working, from ensuring people don’t end up working longer hours to dealing with feelings of ‘disconnect’.

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February 23, 2016

Belief in a corporate wellness narrative is more important than action ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The complexities of wellness at work are laid bare in a new report from the US based pressure group Global Wellness Institute. The most eye-catching conclusion from The Future of Wellness at Work study is that it’s not actual wellness programmes that do most to boost worker health and productivity, but whether employees identify that company as ‘caring’. The report claims that ‘unwellness’ now costs the US around $2.2 trillion each year, equivalent to 12 percent of GDP. The report is published alongside a white paper which lays out the findings from a survey of American employees. Unlocking the Power of Company Caring gauges how employees feel about their work culture and wellness programmes. The main finding of the two reports is that to understand what has the most powerful impact on employee wellness ‘you must look well beyond the wellness programme’ itself. Instead, the pivotal factor is whether an employee identifies their company as caring about their health and wellness.