January 24, 2018
Majority of global business leaders believe world economy will grow this year
Well over half (fifty seven percent) of business leaders say they believe global economic growth will improve in the next 12 months – almost twice (29 percent) the level of results from the annual survey carried out by PwC . Launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, the survey found that optimism in the economy is feeding into CEOs’ confidence about their own companies’ outlook. As 42 percent of CEOs said they are “very confident” in their own organisation’s growth prospects over the next 12 months, up from 38 percent last year. Looking at the results by country though, it’s a mixed bag. In the UK, with Brexit negotiations only recently reaching a significant milestone, business leaders’ drop in short-term confidence is unsurprising (2018: 34 percent vs. 2017: 41 percent). The survey also found that CEOs are determined to find the right talent needed to reap the benefits of the digital disruption, with investments in modern working environments and the establishment of learning and development programmes to help attract and develop digital talent.
Two-thirds (64 percent) of employees have gone to work despite being unwell over the last 12 months, claims a new survey which found that a quarter (26 percent) of people worried that their absence will be a burden on their team. The research by Bupa shows that more than one in four (27 percent) employees ignore their doctor’s orders to stay at home and ‘soldier on’. A third of employees would go to work despite back pain or issues related to their joints and, disturbingly, a similar number (29 percent) head to work when suffering from mental health issues such as depression. As two of the most common reasons to be signed off work, Bupa’s experts fear these employees risk worsening their health, increasing the likelihood that they’ll need a prolonged period of time off work further down the line. The findings come at a time when increasing productivity is a strategic goal for most business leaders in 2018. But high levels of ‘presenteeism’ are in fact associated with loss of productivity and reduced performance – as employees who push themselves into work when unwell, risk delaying their own recovery
Businesses are concerned about the pace of commitment to improving the UK’s infrastructure, and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in their region. With the UK currently ranking 27th in the world for the quality of its infrastructure, nearly all (96 percent) of businesses in the 2017 CBI/AECOM Infrastructure Survey see infrastructure as important (of which 55 percent view it as critical) to the Government’s agenda. From the Clean Growth Strategy and the £500 billion infrastructure pipeline to its decision to build a new runway at Heathrow and press ahead with the A303 tunnel, the Government has made clear its commitment to British infrastructure. However, only one in five firms is satisfied with the pace of delivery (20 percent) and almost three quarters (74 percent) doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament. This lack of confidence is attributed primarily to policy inconsistency (+94 percent of firms) & political risk (+86 percent). The digital sector is the exception, however, where 59 percent of firms are confident of improvements.
The majority (94 percent) of workers are open to flexible ways of working such as part-time, freelance, contract, temporary or independent contract work a new report from ManpowerGroup has revealed. Coining the trend as NextGen work, the research suggests this approach to a job is a choice (81 percent) not a last resort (19 percent). Findings from #GigResponsibly: The Rise of NextGen Work – a global survey of 9,500 people in 12 countries – identifies a shift towards this new way of getting work done, and that it works for people and employers. People were asked how they want to work, what motivates them and their views on NextGen Work. More control over their schedule (42 percent), boosting their bank account (41 percent) and developing new skills (38 percent) are top reasons why this flexible kind of work is on the rise. The report also found that this flexible approach is not just attractive to Millennials, as meaningful work and employer appreciation are valued more by Boomers than any other generation. More than 80 percent of US workers say NextGen Work is a choice, not a last resort, and builds resilience for less predictable futures.
The creative industries sector accounted for over a third 35 percent) of take-up in the regional office market in the first half of the year, with this sector in particular driving the co-working revolution and the provision of flexible office space. Latest figures in CBRE’s H1 2017 Property Perspective, which monitors the performance of ten regional cities, overall, the UK’s regional office markets saw continued demand in the first half of 2017, with office take-up reaching 2.8 million sq ft, only slightly lower than the five-year average. For the first half of 2017, several cities witnessed improved levels of take-up when compared with the first half of 2016, these include Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester. Select locations such as Reading, Maidenhead and Watford also saw a continuation of record rents being set during the first half of the year, which has largely been driven by the delivery of new developments.
