Search Results for: social media

Workers fear social media leads to loss of privacy

EmbarrassingAccording to a new report from AVG Technologies, more than half of adults believe that their privacy is being eroded at work because of the proliferation of social media. The Digital Work Life survey asked 4,000 people in ten countries about the experiences of and beliefs about issues such as cyberbullying, privacy and their approach to creating a better balance between their private and working lives. One in ten respondents had discovered secret discussions about themselves and 11 percent had embarrassing photos or videos taken at a work event and uploaded onto social media sites.

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How Microsoft’s social listening research highlighted changing attitudes to work

How Microsoft’s social listening research highlighted changing attitudes to work

The current state of the talent market is putting significant pressure on business. Employers are experiencing an acute skills gap, with average vacancies across industries per 100 jobs ranging between 5 and 8, according to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics in June 2022 – the highest average since records began. As more and more roles require digital skills, businesses are looking to younger generations whose upbringing may have been organically framed by digital tools, platforms and devices. (more…)

Social mobility is restricted by lack of confidence and support in careers

Social mobility is restricted by lack of confidence and support in careers

social mobilityA new report from Totaljobs and the Social Mobility Foundation claims that the social mobility of millions of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds is hampered by a lack of confidence in choice of career and lower levels of support from families and friends. Of those that started their first job in the last two years, only 50 percent from lower socioeconomic backgrounds said they were confident about eventually being able to do the job they want. This contrasts with the 71 percent of those from more privileged, professional backgrounds. This gap has widened since the pandemic. (more…)

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

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

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.

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Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

With the overwhelming majority of London businesses employing staff from the EU (88 percent), Brexit is having a significant impact on the capital’s companies, according to the latest CBI/CBRE London Business Survey. Just under three quarters of firms (73 percent) view uncertainty over the UK’s role in Europe as their top concern, whilst a similar number (69 percent) have developed, or are developing, a contingency plan for when the UK leaves the EU. Indeed, over a quarter of respondents (27 percent) indicated they are planning to move part of their operations overseas. Close to two thirds (62 percent) have, or are developing, a strategy to address skill shortages that could be incurred if restrictions are placed on EU nationals working in the UK. However, two thirds of the 271 respondents to the Survey (65 percent) said that the tech and creative sectors were the principal sectors for the capital’s economic growth over the next five years, followed by professional services (49 percent) and FinTech (47 percent).

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Social technology has the power to make the workplace more humane

Social technology has the power to make the workplace more humane

Coloured-Social-Media-Icons-RoundSocial technology can, and should, make the workplace more humane. That’s because it has the potential and ability to shift the power dynamic from the few to the many. It gives more people a voice: one that they’re not afraid to use. You’ve only got to look at the uprisings, and the overthrowing of governments, in Egypt and Tunisia, to see the power of greater connectivity enabled by platforms such as Facebook. What was dubbed the Arab Spring was change on a grand scale. But, as Seth Godin points out in his book Tribes, it’s “tribes, not money, not factories,” that will change the world. The consequences of this are not lost on the people and cultural practices within organisations. The functions of how we recruit, how we learn, and how we communicate are all under pressure to bring greater humanity into the approach.

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Digital media is having ‘largely positive’ effects on professional lives

Digital media is having ‘largely positive’ effects on professional lives 0

Digital workplaceThe digitization of content and data, along with new digital communication technologies, has fundamentally changed the way work gets done, and affected the nature of the employment relationship. While it has a largely positive impact on peoples’ lives, including individuals’ ability to find work, learn and develop skills, and balance work and life, it can, in some cases, lower worker productivity and increase inequality. These are among the key findings from Shaping the Future Implications of Digital Media for Society  – a report by the World Economic Forum conducted in collaboration with Willis Towers Watson and presented at the WEF 2016 annual meeting in Davos. In the study, which included a survey of more than 5,000 digital users from five of the world’s most important markets; Brazil, China, Germany, South Africa and the US, over half (56 percent) reported digital media has transformed the way they work, and two-thirds said digital media has improved their ability to do work.

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Employers’ lack of media savvy is stifling innovation

social media

A resistance to change and a lack of social media savvy amongst senior leaders is holding organisations back from fostering cultures of openness, collaboration and innovation in their organisations. Social media is driving us headlong into an age of mass collaboration and mass transparency, and if employers don’t embrace this with open arms they will find themselves on the back foot argues the CIPD. Jonny Gifford, research adviser at the Chartered HR and development professional body, comments: “For organisations to thrive, employees must be given the opportunity to discuss how their organisations can innovate and feed their views upwards, as well as having the freedom to blow the whistle about genuine issues at work.

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Young people aren’t lazy or disloyal. They just expect different leadership

Young people aren’t lazy or disloyal. They just expect different leadership

As they join the workforce in greater numbers, this new cohort is helping to redefine what work and leadership meanFor decades, the idea of a “good job” was measured with a simple formula: a stable contract and competitive salary. That rule does not seem to hold in the same way for Generation Z, broadly understood as those born between 1995 and 2010. As they join the workforce in greater numbers, this new cohort is helping to redefine what work and leadership mean. Salary still matters, of course, particularly when it comes to gaining independence in a time of high living costs, but many young people no longer see pay as the decisive factor in choosing or staying in a job. Instead, they are attentive to whether companies are genuine in their values, whether their work carries purpose, and whether employers are aware of their social impact. (more…)

Employees on a four-day week use their extra day off for housework, hobbies, ‘me-time’ and moonlighting

Employees on a four-day week use their extra day off for housework, hobbies, ‘me-time’ and moonlighting

New research claims to shed light on how employees who switch to a four-day week spend their additional day off – and some are using it to take on extra jobs.New research claims to shed light on how employees who switch to a four-day week spend their additional day off – and some are using it to take on extra jobs. As well as housework, hobbies and voluntary work, staff are also devoting time to education, caring responsibilities and side businesses that can sometimes compete with their main employment. The study, led by Dr Mengyi Xu, Dr Daniel Wheatley, Dr Holly Birkett and Professor Tony Dobbins of Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham, explored the experiences of employees, managers and executives at UK organisations using the ‘100:80:100 model’, where staff receive 100 percent of their pay while completing their workload in four days rather than five. (more…)

Return to office policies now more common, but raise people’s expectation of better workplaces

Return to office policies now more common, but raise people’s expectation of better workplaces

The news that Microsoft has introduced a formal hybrid working policy has sparked the usual pointless to and fro on social media about return to office policies, but it would seem for a growing number of firms and their employees, the debate is overThe news that Microsoft has introduced a formal hybrid working policy has sparked the usual pointless to and fro on social media about return to office policies, but it would seem for a growing number of firms and their employees, the debate is over. According to new global research from JLL, 72 percent of employees now view attendance requirements in a positive light, but this shift comes with heightened expectations for workplace quality, flexibility and wellbeing. (more…)

Younger people want more office time as remote work leaves many feeling isolated

Younger people want more office time as remote work leaves many feeling isolated

A new poll suggests that younger people are increasingly seeking a return to office working, as large numbers report that remote work has left them feeling lonely and disconnected. The survey from Bupa, based on responses from employees aged between 16 and 24, found that around 40 percent say they feel lonely when working from home. Many of those in this group began their careers during the pandemic, with limited experience of office-based work and the informal social interactions that accompany it. (more…)