January 25, 2018
Two fifths of people think their jobs will be obsolete within a decade
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.
Managers are working an extra 44 days a year over and above their contracted hours, up from 40 days in 2015. These long hours are taking their toll, causing a surge in sick leave amongst managers suffering from stress and mental ill health, claims the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which is calling on UK employers to provide greater support. Long hours and constant communication are having a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of managers it argues resulting in one in ten managers taking time off for mental health in the last year, and for those who do take time out, it’s for an average of 12 days. Of the 1,037 managers surveyed for the report, the average boss puts in an extra day each week. This is an extra 7.5 hours beyond their contracted weekly hours (44.4 hours actual compared to 37.3 contracted), adding up to an extra 43.8 days over the course of the year. This is up from 39.6 days in 2015. The rising gap between contracted and actual hours of work is in addition to an ‘always on’ digital culture, with 59 percent of managers saying they ‘frequently’ check their emails outside of work – up from 54 percent in 2015.
Three in 10 business professionals think most of their meetings are pointless and nearly half (48 percent) of UK business people admit to having dozed off in a meeting claims global research by Barco ClickShare. The study revealed the true extent of our shared dislike for business meetings, which many respondents believe are poorly run at best or, at worst, completely pointless. Nearly a third of respondents globally said they found less than half of their meetings to be useful, while 30 percent also said they had dozed off in a meeting before. The UK, in fact, led the way in the asleep-in-meeting stakes, with nearly half (48 percent) of all UK respondents saying they’d fallen asleep in meetings. Checking emails and social media during meetings was also extremely common and another indication of disengagement and distraction. Over 70 percent of people said they regularly checked emails during meetings, while 37 percent access social media.
Half of SMEs (50 percent) questioned in a new survey have changed the way that they recruit their staff as a result of Brexit. The Albion Growth Report 2017 of more than 1,000 SMEs suggests that for businesses which have changed their strategy as a result of Brexit, 15 percent have decreased recruitment resources, 10 percent have begun recruiting in different ways and 9 percent have made redundancies. A difficulty in finding skilled staff is one of the biggest barriers to growth, behind broader political uncertainty and cash flow, which the research claims could lead to a potential war for talent which is likely to become more intense in the post-Brexit environment. By contrast, SMEs view difficulty in finding unskilled staff as the least significant barrier to growth. The report finds that nearly two thirds (65 percent) of SMEs believe their business lacks expertise. More than a quarter (26 percent) of businesses lack marketing talent, followed by business planning (19 percent), IT (17 percent), and software developers and technology specialists (17 percent). Despite critical skills deficits, only a third of SMEs (33 percent) are currently hiring new employees.
The proportion of flexible space within occupier portfolios will continue to increase in 2018; a growing adoption of technology will redefine buildings, workplaces and portfolios; and it will be a year of decision for many businesses regarding Brexit. These are among the ‘UK Property Predictions 2018’ report from JLL which covers a range of different topics, with a particular focus on UK corporate occupiers. The report claims that traditional static portfolio concepts are being redesigned to incorporate new formats of space, co-working and a more fluid and diverse range of space options that support creativity, innovation and collaboration. 
