Search Results for: workforce

Public sector and flexible workspaces drive record office uptake

Public sector and flexible workspaces drive record office uptake

by • News, Property

A new report from GVA Grimley claims that the commercial property markets in the UK’s major cities outside London enjoyed a record breaking final quarter to 2017. According to its Big Nine report, analysing the office occupier markets of key UK regional cities, total take-up for the year amounted to over 10 million sq ft for the first time, well over the 9.5 million sq ft. witnessed at the peak of the market in 2015. The record level of take-up was underpinned by significant lettings to the public sector, in particular the Government Property Unit (GPU), as well as the continuing exponential growth of the serviced office and coworking sector.

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

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

by • 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.

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Business in the community aims to improve the quality of work for lowest-paid staff

Business in the community aims to improve the quality of work for lowest-paid staff

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Business in the community campaign to address workers' financial concerns

Financial concerns are increasingly affecting the performance of workers across the UK, with one in eight UK workers (3.7 million) now living in poverty. According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, a quarter of the UK workforce are, to some extent, experiencing financial insecurity. One in five employees (21 percent) report that they are just about managing financially, while a further 5 percent say they are finding things difficult. Aside from the undue stress this causes families, this can also have significant repercussions for employers, in terms of recruitment, retention and productivity. This has prompted Business in the Community, (BITC) with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to make the case for all employers to improve the quality of work for their lowest-paid staff. Its new campaign, Good Work for All draws on best practice from forward-thinking organisations including Starbucks, Royal Mail and Sodexo, and over a third of BITC members have reported taking company-wide action on low-paid work with successful outcomes.

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Majority of global business leaders believe world economy will grow this year

Majority of global business leaders believe world economy will grow this year

by • News, Workplace

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.

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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

by • 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.

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UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behind

UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behind

by • Cities, Legal news, News, Workplace

UK in 8th place for global talent competitiveness but gender equality lags behindThe UK has been ranked as the eighth best country in the world for the ability to attract, retain, train and educate skilled workers, but while its ability to leverage diversity for talent competitiveness is boosted by its global knowledge skills – the UK is undermined by its weaker performance on tolerance and gender equality. According to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index GTCI) produced by the Adecco Group, with international business school INSEAD and Tata Communications, the UK has a particularly strong pool of global knowledge skills, a variable for which it is ranked third in the index boosted further by its strong regulatory, market and business landscape. But this is undermined by its internal openness, where it still lags behind, especially when it comes to gender equality. The report also suggests that although Article 50 was triggered in 2017, the ongoing negotiations and continuing lack of clarity over the UK’s position once it leaves the European Union in 2019, means the impact of Brexit is not yet clear.

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Global business leaders feel more optimistic about the world economy

Global business leaders feel more optimistic about the world economy

by • News, Workplace

Attracting and retaining talent is the biggest concern for CEOs going into 2018, but they’re feeling generally more optimistic about the global economy, claims a new report by The Conference Board, the C-Suite Challenge 2018 . A mood amongst senior managers to create organisational cultures that are inclusive, engaged, high-performance, customer-focused, and resilient is prevalent throughout the responses to this year’s survey. The desire for a “culture of innovation” ranks as the number-one innovation strategy in every region (Asia is the one exception, where it is third), every industry, every size company, and among CEOs and C-Suite executives alike. The impact of the New Digital Economy is clearly being felt in the daily processes and practices of organisations, and through the emergence of new competitors from every part of the globe. In Europe’s the c-suite remains worried about the impact of – which is unchanged from last year when it was the 8th biggest concern.   (more…)

Culture shift needed to drive a better gender balance in property and construction

Culture shift needed to drive a better gender balance in property and construction

by • Comment, Property

Despite compelling evidence of the bottom line benefits of gender diversity, too many sectors remain stubbornly male dominated. This is certainly the case with the property and construction industry where women still represent only 15 percent of the workforce. The growth of prop-tech, entrepreneurialism amongst women and a growing emphasis on service, demonstrated by the growth of the flexible office and serviced apartment sectors, which tend to have more balanced gender ratios, is helping to address this balance. However, many women in the industry still do not occupy managerial roles, and so the gender pay gap stubbornly remains. For these imbalances to be addressed a cross-industry, cultural shift needs to occur, and individual companies must work to drive change from the top down.

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Anxiety over communications skills performance affects majority of senior leaders

Anxiety over communications skills performance affects majority of senior leaders

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Anxiety over communications skills affect majority of senior leaders

Employees in senior positions are more prone to experiencing workplace performance anxiety than any other role, despite their extra experience and authority, claims new research. The report by conducted by RADA in Business, the commercial subsidiary of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art found that the highest rates of anxiety for directors are around communicating, affecting 94 percent of those surveyed. 39 percent of senior directors cite networking with new business prospects and pitching as the situations where they feel the most unsure about their performance. Furthermore, almost a third (31 percent) say they are nervous of their ideas being shot down or being talked over, while a similar number (31 percent) say they are fearful of people thinking less of them. The next most-affected group was those in junior positions, with 92 percent reporting the effects of anxiety around communicating. With most people expressing the pressure to make an impact – whether being interviewed for a new job, moving into a more senior role, or presenting to colleagues or customers – as the main situations that bring on anxious feelings the most.

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Presenteeism problem within the workplace as two thirds report for work when ill

Presenteeism problem within the workplace as two thirds report for work when ill

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Presenteeism problem within the workplace as two thirds report for work when illTwo-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

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UK productivity growing at quickest rate for six years

UK productivity growing at quickest rate for six years

by • News

Productivity in Britain is rising at its fastest rate in six years. Output per hour worked rose by 0.9 per cent between July and September of 2017, according to the latest quarterly report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was the biggest increase since 2011, when productivity grew by 1 per cent. The UK has a persistent problem with its productivity. Excluding the UK, G7 GDP per hour worked is 18 per cent higher than in Britain, with productivity in the United States 30 per cent higher, France 31 per cent and Germany 36 per cent. High productivity is considered the key to economic prosperity because it allows companies to produce more goods or services with fewer workers or hours worked. This in turn lets companies pay higher wages without having to raise prices. Many theories have been developed to explain the UK’s chronic low productivity, which are summarised by the Financial Times here (subscription or registration needed).

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Employee engagement tops poll as biggest human resources challenge for 2018

Employee engagement tops poll as biggest human resources challenge for 2018

by • News, Workplace

Human resources forecastA study commissioned by Cascade HR claims to reveal the topics most likely to keep Human Resources professionals awake at night in 2018. Employee engagement topped the list of upcoming challenges for 44 percent of the 447 participants, followed by staff retention (36 percent). Absence management and recruitment came in as the joint third biggest worry for 33 percent of respondents, with succession planning in fifth place (26 percent). And it appears the same themes have posed the biggest headache for HR in 2017. When asked to reflect on their toughest encounters from the past 12 months, professionals ranked recruitment as the clear front-runner (52 percent), followed by absence management, (43 percent), employee engagement (39 percent), and retention (37 percent), with learning and development the only difference(20 percent).

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