Search Results for: salary

March 2, 2018

Productivity, retention and employee wellbeing improve when there is workplace trust

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Being in a reliable work environment increases retention, productivity and employee wellbeing, while also promoting a better business culture, finds new research from Bupa. An examination of workplace trust and the impact on employee wellbeing reveals that over half (53 per cent) of employees considered it to be a major factor in whether they stayed or left a company. The research found that nearly a quarter of UK employees (24 per cent) have left their company due to issues around trust. Although trust is not a tangible workplace benefits, such as salary and bonuses, it is an essential variable in promoting harmony and productivity within an organisation and the study suggests how important it is within the workplace, and also the contribution it makes to the wellbeing of employees and the overall performance of a company. The study also asked employees how trust compares to other company benefits. Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) believe that trust is more important than a gym membership or company mobile, while over half value it more than a free canteen (56 per cent) and company car (55 per cent).

January 30, 2018

Millions of UK workers unaware of employer’s policy on statutory sick pay

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Over 2.5 million UK workers are unaware of their employer’s policy on statutory sick pay and would face a significant salary shortfall if they were unwell and unable to work, claims new research from Direct Line. Just 4 percent of employees know how much they would be paid in statutory sick pay if they fell ill and many mistakenly believe that on average they would receive full salary for three and a half months if they were unable to work due to illness. In fact, 43 percent of firms reduce an employee’s wages to statutory sick pay after two weeks of an employee being off sick and one in six firms reduce wages to statutory sick pay after just four days. It is not only salaries people lose out on if they are off sick; one in five (21 percent) firms that pay bonuses withhold these if an employee has been off work on long term sick leave. More than a third of firms (33 percent) will pay bonuses based on pro-rata analysis of days worked and 14 per cent will pay a discretionary reduced rate.

January 25, 2018

Two fifths of people think their jobs will be obsolete within a decade

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

A new survey from job site Jobbio claims that more than two fifths of British workers think their job will be obsolete in as little as ten years, compared to over a third of those in the US. Respondents believe roles such as travel agents, telemarketers and factory workers will all disappear. in the longer term, a little over two-fifths of 2,000 British respondents (41 percent) think that they won’t be able to retire until the ages of 70-74 in 2050 with less than a fifth (14 percent) thinking they will get to retire under the age of 65. The survey focuses on the issue of happiness and what makes people happy at work. It found that there are some marked differences between the two countries although people are universally keen to address the issue of work life balance.

January 23, 2018

Global economy faces an immediate reskilling problem in the face of automation, claims Davos report

by Mark Eltringham • AI, News, Workplace

The global economy faces a reskilling crisis with 1.4 million jobs in the US alone vulnerable to disruption from technology and other factors by 2026, according to a new report, Towards a Reskilling Revolution: A Future of Jobs for All, published by the World Economic Forum. The report is an analysis of nearly 1,000 job types across the US economy, encompassing 96 percent of employment in the country. Its aim is to assess the scale of the reskilling task required to protect workforces from an expected wave of automation brought on by the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. Drawing on this data for the US economy, the report finds that 57 percent of jobs expected to be disrupted belong to women. If called on today to move to another job with skills that match their own, 16 percent of workers would have no opportunities to transition and another 25 percent would have only between one and three matches.

January 2, 2018

UK commuters spend five times more on rail fares than European counterparts

by Mark Eltringham • News

British commuters face fresh rail fare increases as they return to work today (Tuesday), now spending up to 5 times as much of their salary on season tickets as passengers on the continent, according to new TUC research. Someone on an average salary travelling from Chelmsford to London will have to fork out 13 percent of their pay for season tickets (£381 a month). By contrast, comparable commutes would cost a mere 2 percent of the average salary in France, 3 percent in Italy, 4 percent in Germany, and 5 percent in Spain and Belgium. Meanwhile, the TUC claims that wages are set to grow by only 2.6 percent in 2018, while season tickets will go up by 3.6 percent – over a third faster than wages.

December 14, 2017

One in three UK workers unhappy at work and a quarter plan career change

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

The majority (72 percent) of employees in the UK go to work just to afford to live rather than for job satisfaction and one in four are considering a career change in 2018, claims a new survey. According to research conducted by Paymentsense, over half of those questioned say money is their biggest motivation, 67 percent say their degree went to waste and they work in an unrelated role, and 25 percent are considering a whole career change in 2018. According to the 2,000 UK participants in the survey, a career peak occurs at 42 years old, which is when you start to lose passion for your work. At this age, opportunities to progress seem to be rare which is why when asking those in their 40’s ‘why do you go to work every day’? 76 percent say to be able to afford to live. 51 percent say they need to just pay the mortgage and 57 percent have responsibilities to support the family.

December 12, 2017

A 300 year old idea explains some of the enduring appeal of the open plan

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

In the 18th Century the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham came up with his idea of the Panopticon, a prison building with a central tower encircled by cells so that each person in the cells knew they could be watched at all times. Whether they were observed or not was actually immaterial. Bentham called it ‘a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind’ and while he focused on its use as a prison, he was also aware of the idea’s usefulness for schools, asylums and hospitals. Bentham got the original idea following a visit to Belarus to see his brother who was managing sites there and had used the idea of a circular building at the centre of an industrial compound to allow a small number of managers to oversee the activities of a large workforce. This is something of a precursor of the scientific management theories of Frederick Taylor that continue to influence the way we work and manage people.

December 12, 2017

Third of applicants turn down jobs due to lack of flexible work options

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

With employment at record levels and the labour market the fiercest it’s been for years, candidates have more choice about where they work than ever before. This is putting substantial pressures on companies to impress talented individuals through the entire recruitment and onboarding process if they want to keep them for the long term. But new research suggests that nearly half (45 percent) of job candidates have turned down a position because they weren’t impressed by the company during the interview process. According to the research by NGA Human Resources other common reasons for declining a position include having a better offer from another company (56 percent), lower than expected salary offer (49 percent) and finding out the role was not as originally described (44 percent). Modern job seekers are now looking for more than just a decent salary. In fact, 33 percent of candidates have declined a position because they didn’t have flexible work options, 29 percent due to the lack of a good benefits package and 27 percent because they didn’t feel they would fit in with their new colleagues.

December 8, 2017

Reduced hours do not necessarily lead to reduced workloads, study finds

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Professionals who want to work part-time have to do more than renegotiate their working hours; they also have to redesign their jobs to reduce outputs. Research published in the journal Human Relations, by Dr Charlotte Gascoigne from the Timewise Foundation and Professor Clare Kelliher from the Cranfield School of Management, shows that employers often do not reduce workload when professionals transition to part-time. This is not an insignificant problem for employers: one in five professionals and managers in the UK works part-time already, with more than two in five working part-time in the Netherlands. According to previous studies, a quarter of full-timers in the UK would prefer to work part-time, and are prepared to earn less, but don’t believe it’s possible.

November 28, 2017

Workers would be prepared to take a pay cut for an agile working life

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

A new survey claims that the ability to accommodate agile working into their life is important, with those who prefer to work agile claiming they would sacrifice an average of 16 percent of their annual salary for the opportunity.In addition to this, 86 percent stated they would even change jobs to accommodate their preference. The report into recruiting for an agile workforce suggests that despite being a relatively new concept, over half surveyed were familiar with it and over 22 percent of those had worked in an agile environment for over two years. However, recruiters claim less than half of the roles they’re working on offer agile, finding it’s most prevalent in the IT sector. The study reveals both recruiters and candidates believe the key attributes for success in agile are being flexible, organised and hardworking. Interestingly, the majority of recruiters believe these are required in advance and cannot be developed on the job. Meanwhile, social qualities (like being introverted or outgoing) or being easy going are less important.

November 22, 2017

Address gender and economic barriers to tech revolution says BT

by Sara Bean • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Young people from less privileged backgrounds and females face greater barriers to joining the tech revolution, a new report suggests. Tech know-how: The new way to get ahead for the next generation, from BT and Accenture could boost the next generation’s tech skills and help charge social mobility and economic growth. The study found individuals with higher levels of tech know-how earn more as their career progresses, with a ‘tech literacy wage premium’ of £10,000 per year. The implied salary increase if people develop their skills could add approximately £11 billion to UK GDP by 2022. However, young people whose parents have higher levels of education are 26 percent more likely to see themselves as ‘expert’ or ‘creative’ users of tech in the next five years; and those whose parents fall into the top two education levels expect to earn salaries that are 19 percent higher than the bottom two. The report also highlighted a stark gender divide as young men receive 46 percent more encouragement from parents and teachers to build their tech skills than their female counterparts, and are 17 percent more likely to report having had sufficient training at school.

October 25, 2017

Wellbeing named as top priority for 2018 by human resources managers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A vox pop poll carried out by employee engagement firm Reward Gateway at a recent conference claims that wellbeing, pay and benefits and recognition will be the top employee engagement priorities for HR professionals in 2018. The research, which polled 565 HR professionals at Employee Benefits Live 2017, echoes two studies undertaken by the same firm earlier this year. These studies found that companies are looking to invest in areas which UK employees have said are crucial to them, but don’t feel as though their employers are adequately providing: wellbeing and recognition. As the top agenda point, the importance of wellbeing in the workplace was echoed in a study conducted in September 2017, which claimed that 22 million British workers, or 7 in 10 employees (71 percent), have felt stress or financial strain in the last five years. Despite these numbers, the same research also claims that a third of respondents said that their company currently offers no wellbeing programmes.