Search Results for: work-life balance

January 15, 2018

Manchester, Brighton and Edinburgh seen as best places for freelancers to work

A new report from price comparison website MoneySuperMarket published to coincide with Working from Home Week claims that Manchester, Brighton and Edinburgh are the best UK cities in which freelancers can work. The report looks at the number of existing freelancers in 22 UK cities, the average rates they charge and the number of start-ups looking to utilise local freelancers. To assess the work-life balance of freelancers, the research also gauged local property costs, the number of wi-fi hotspots and coffee shops, as well as the general quality of life in the area.

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January 4, 2018

Hard working females under 35 most likely to join January job exodus

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that in the annual January ‘job exodus’, junior employees under the age of 35 years are most likely to leave their current roles, according to new research. However the Qualtrics Employee Pulse – a quarterly survey of more than 4,000 workers – shows that employees that pose the greatest flight risk are most likely to be female, think about work outside of contracted hours, and regularly checking emails on weekends. Of most use to employers, utilising its Experience Management Platform, Qualtrics has identified the top three drivers that will help encourage employees to stay in their jobs in the long-term. These are supporting a work-life balance, allowing employees to try out new tasks and skills in their existing role and ensuring managers are proactive in helping to solve problems or concerns in the workplace.

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December 22, 2017

Most US employees will work and stay in touch with colleagues during the holiday season

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

Over Christmas and New Year, 43 percent of US workers say they plan to take a holiday, and of that group, roughly half — or 21 percent of all workers — will completely disconnect from work. Meanwhile, 22 percent of workers will be taking a holiday but checking in with work via email or other means. These findings, from a poll of over 500 people from earlier this month claims that the majority of workers will be connected to their jobs over the holidays — either because they are not taking a vacation at all or because they will check in during their vacation days. US workers are more likely to say they plan to take holiday than they were when Gallup last asked the question, at the beginning of the millennium. The 43 percent of US employees who plan to take a break this holiday season is up from about a third of workers (34 percent) in 2000.

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December 1, 2017

Employee engagement only captures a small part of what ‘work’ means

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The biggest driver of a positive employee experience at work is ‘meaningful’ work, claims a new survey. According to the findings of the latest edition of ‘The Employee Experience Index around the Globe’ survey from Globoforce’s WorkHuman Research Institute in partnership with IBM’s Smarter Workforce Institute – in the UK, meaningful work emerged as the single largest contributor (30 percent) 3 points above the global average. Meaningful work ensures that employees’ skills and talents are being fully utilized and there is greater alignment to shared, core values. The survey also notes a shift away from employee engagement, which only captures a small portion what ‘work’ means, towards employee experience. Experience is seen as being broader and more holistic – capturing the entire set of perceptions that employees have about their experiences at work, matching the higher expectations that employees bring to the workplace.

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October 25, 2017

Frederick Taylor was a man of his time not a whipping boy for ours

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, News, Workplace, Workplace design

Everybody likes a pantomime villain, and for many commentators on management and office design, they don’t come more dastardly than Frederick W. Taylor. Not only do pictures of him betray him as wealthy, white and starched, his ideas and the language in which they are couched are totally out of step with the way we think now. So for anybody writing about enlightened contemporary management practices, it’s no wonder that it is almost customary to start with a rejection of Taylorism in general and his theory of scientific management in particular. The gist of Taylorism laid out in his 1911 book The Principles of Scientific Management is that work should be analysed to establish the most efficient way of doing it, the right person to do that work must be chosen and managers are there to make sure that it all goes to plan. As far as workers are concerned, what we now think of as Taylorism is best (and partly unfairly) summed up as:‘You’re not paid to think. Shut up and do your job.’

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October 18, 2017

Over a third of UK staff say employers offer no flexible working benefits

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

British workers are lagging behind employees from other countries when it comes to flexible working hours and benefits like extended leave, suggests new research. New independent research commissioned by travel specialists Opodo.co.uk compared Britain with other nations across Europe and the USA, which reveals that British companies are lagging behind other businesses when it comes to flexible working. Three-quarters of employees in the UK (75 percent) don’t believe they have a generous holiday allowance and 84 percent aren’t offered time back in lieu for days worked over the weekend. It’s of no surprise then that 69 percent of Brits don’t think they have a good work-life balance.

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October 4, 2017

Overwhelming majority of Scottish workers say flexible working improves the quality of their lives

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Around nine out of 10 Scots who work flexibly say it improves their quality of life and makes them happier, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Family Friendly Working Scotland. However, the study also found that fewer than half of Scottish workers (46 percent) said they are offered flexible working by their employer. The figures are published to coincide with National Work Life Week, which sets out to encourage firms to explore flexible working options and help their staff find a better work-life balance. The poll of more than 1,000 Scots claims that among those who already work flexibly, 77 percent say they are more productive and are willing to “go the extra mile” for their employer. Almost half of people who took part (49 percent) say changing their start and/or finish time would help while nearly a third (32 percent) would like occasional time off for family emergencies, deliveries or school events. Just one in five (21 percent) say reducing their hours, or going part time, would be valuable.

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October 3, 2017

Small business owners are overworked and struggle to take a break

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A poll from software firm FreeAgent, published to tie in with National Work Life Week, claims that many self-employed people in the UK are working excessively long hours without taking any holidays. In the poll of more than 500 freelancers and micro-business owners, nearly a third of respondents (30 percent) said they worked more than 48 hours per week on their business, while 5 percent admitted that they spent more than 64 hours each week working. A separate poll carried out earlier this year by the same firm claimed that more than a third (38 percent) of respondents said they had not felt able to take a week or more’s worth of holiday in the previous six months.

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September 26, 2017

Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The UK commercial property market will be transformed over the next few years as a growing number of firms use their workplaces to address the physical and mental wellbeing of staff, claims a new report from law firm CMS. The report, Smart Healthy Agile, is based around the findings of a survey of 1,000 office workers and 350 real estate firms. It claims that the most common problems associated with office life and sedentary lifestyles, such as weight gain, stress, depression and musculoskeletal disorders are encouraging employers to adopt a different approach to working culture and office design.

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September 4, 2017

Parents asking for flexible working face sanctions from bosses, claims study

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Asking for family-friendly flexible working patterns can lead to many people getting fewer hours, worse shifts and in some cases losing their jobs altogether, claims a new report from the TUC. Half (47 percent) of low-paid young mums and dads are struggling to manage work and childcare, according to the Better Jobs for Mums and Dads report. More than two in five (42 percent) said they felt penalised at work when they asked for flexibility – telling the TUC they are subsequently given fewer hours, worse shifts or even losing their job.

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August 23, 2017

People claim to be more productive outside the traditional office, claims report

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

According to FlexJobs’ 6th annual survey of more than 5,000 respondents interested in flexible working, 66 percent of workers think they would be more productive telecommuting than working in a traditional office environment. Fewer interruptions from colleagues (76 percent), fewer distractions (76 percent), reduced stress from commuting (70 percent), and minimal office politics (69 percent) are the top reasons people prefer their home office. Only 7 percent of workers say they are most productive in the office during regular hours. The study claims that respondents think they would not only become more productive if allowed to work remotely, but also that they would be more loyal to their employers and would have stronger working relationships.

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August 23, 2017

Discontent at work starts at the age of just thirty-five, claims report

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Research by Happiness Works on behalf of Robert Half UK claims that almost one fifth (17 percent) of people over the age of 55 are unhappy at work. Those in Generation X don’t fare much better with 16 percent of 35-54 year olds admitting they are also unhappy in their roles. This is double the number of Millennials that said the same. In stark contrast to the older generations, less than one in ten (8 percent) of those aged 18-34 claimed to be unhappy in their jobs. The full report, It’s time we all work happy: The secrets of the happiest companies and employees, looked at what influences employee happiness in the workplace and showed that older generations are more heavily affected by workplace stress. One third (34 percent) of those aged over 35 found their job stressful. This figure is significantly lower for 18-35 year olds where only a quarter (25 percent) said they suffered from stress.