Search Results for: workforce

October 18, 2016

Stress and overwork in the City of London remains endemic, finds research ⁰

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

The financial services industry has never been known as a ‘touchy-feeling’ environment, and despite efforts to raise the issue of mental ill health at work, appears resolutely resistant to cultural change. This perception is reinforced by a new piece of research which claims that rising stress in the City is driving more than two out of three investment bank staff to consider quitting their job – but employees believe talking about stress or mental health issues to management will damage their careers. In a study by MetLife among decision makers at financial institutions two out of five (40 percent) think their job is extremely stressful with 67 percent considering quitting their jobs in the next year if stress levels do not improve. However, despite the impact of stress on their work and home lives, around 70 percent believe that admitting to suffering from anxiety or mental health issues will damage their career prospects and there is a reluctance to offer staff more flexible hours to help reduce the strain.

October 17, 2016

Freelancers are thriving on both sides of the pond, but have politicians noticed? ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology

Two new reports that highlight the growth of the freelance and self-employed workforce in both the UK and US also suggest that politicians and civil servants in both countries have little real understanding about the changing nature of work. According to the UK government’s regular Business Population Estimates report, the number of private sector businesses is at an all-time high, around 5.5 million, up by a million since 2010. Yet the report fails to distinguish between freelancers, the self-employed and traditional SMEs, except to omit firms that are too small to pay VAT from its numbers. The trade association IPSE estimates that there are some 4.6 million self-employed and freelance workers in the UK, yet the BPE report does not account for the overlap in numbers. Even within the BPE’s own numbers, there are suggestions that its conclusions do not match the data. The annual growth in non-employing businesses outstripped those who employed others by a factor of 6:1 and 76 percent of businesses did not employ anyone aside from the owner. And the growth comes despite the fact that the self-employed in the UK now earn marginally less than they did 20 years ago.

October 14, 2016

Many employees remain reluctant to approach bosses for flexible working, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The sluggish uptake of flexible working following the introduction of new parental leave rights last year, may be down to the reluctance of many employees to ask for it. That is one of the conclusions of a new report from flexible working consultancy My Family Care and recruitment firm Hydrogen. It found that over half (54 percent) UK employees surveyed would like to work from home, but just a third (34 percent) actually do. The report surveyed 1,587 UK employees and 310 UK employers to gauge their attitudes towards and experience of flexible working. It found that over a quarter (28 percent) of employees said they did not feel comfortable even talking to their employer about the subject. Respondents claimed their wariness was down to appearing less committed and the implications for the careers and pay.

October 13, 2016

London needs to adapt to the changing world of work, claims think tank ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Cities, News, Property, Workplace design

Think Tank New London Architecture (NLA) which creates a forum for debate on the built environment, has launched its findings and recommendations from its landmark WRK / LDN Insight study on work and workplaces in London. NLA calls on central government, the Mayor of London and other stakeholders in the capital to act to maintain the capital’s position as a preeminent commercial centre. The report claims that, as the digital economy continues to expand, new suppliers of workspace are rapidly emerging – from co-working providers to ‘fab labs’, makerspaces, incubators and innovation centres. The insight study concludes that the affordable business space that currently supports these industries is at risk. London needs new innovative mixed-use models of city planning to support these changes and adapt to the changing world of work.

October 13, 2016

Mix of core and flexible workspaces will shape real estate by 2030 ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Property, Technology, Workplace design

Thanks to the combination of a changing workforce and greater connectivity, up to 30 percent of corporate real estate portfolios will incorporate flexible workspaces by 2030, with offices more likely to be built around core hubs and comprising fewer locations. Along with this the Internet of Things and smart buildings will create new ways of managing productivity, sustainability and the user experience. These are some of the key findings of JLL’s new report series ‘Workspace, reworked: ride the wave of tech driven change’; two reports exploring the impact of technology, data and digital disruption on work spaces and real estate investment strategies. The series focuses on the office sector over the next 15 years, looking at how occupiers, developers and investors will need to view real estate differently and adapt in order to enhance investment returns and create work spaces that are fit for purpose in a rapidly changing, highly-connected world.

October 11, 2016

Digital diversity hub launched by RICS to coincide with Coming Out Day ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News

Today is Coming Out Day and as part of a greater drive for diversity, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a new digital hub designed to help its members create more inclusive workforces. To underscore the need for greater diversity, RICS cites a 2015 survey carried out by the Architects’ Journal, just 16 percent of gay employees believe the industry is inclusive of LGBT workers, up to a third feel that their sexuality creates barriers to career progression and 85 percent claim to have encountered homophobia at least once during their careers.

October 10, 2016

The Big Data skills gap and other issues ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

A new report from techUK claims that the widespread use of Big Data could boost the UK economy by £241 billion and create around 157,000 jobs by 2020, but the Government needs to act fast to address the skills gap that is holding back the implementation of more Big Data applications. The survey of techUK members found that almost two thirds (62 percent) say they need more specialists in emerging disciplines including Data Analysts, Data Infrastructure Engineers and Solutions Architects. However there may be wider challenges ahead for the application of Big Data as a survey carried out by Gartner suggests that the number of organisations willing to invest in Big Data is set to fall.

October 7, 2016

The American workplace is more skilled, but workers are concerned they are becoming irrelevant ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The ‘Tectonic changes’ that are reshaping the US workplace and the response to them are the subject of a major new research project from the Pew Center in association with the Markle Foundation. The study of over 5,000 US workers carried out over the Summer found that the nature of jobs is undergoing a fundamental shift with greater emphasis on knowledge as well as analytical, interpersonal and communication skills. In response, workers are retraining and reassessing their abilities to adapt to the demands of employers. Despite this, a growing number are worried that they are becoming irrelevant and have diminishing faith in the ability of politicians, the education system and their employers to address their concerns.

October 7, 2016

Are we seeing the workification of home or the homification of work? ⁰

by Anna King • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Thinking and theories about working environments continue to be much debated, of course. As part of this ongoing discussion, Bisley recently hosted an event at its London showroom to continue the aspects of the debate that focus on how offices seem to be morphing in to homes, and how our homes are, conversely, functioning as places of work. The panel discussion was led by Professor Jeremy Myerson of The Royal College of Art and WORKTECH Academy. He was joined by Kirstin Furber – People Director at BBC Worldwide, Sebastian Conran – a leading product and furniture designer, David Barrett – Head Buyer of Living, Dining and Home Office at John Lewis and Amelia Coward – Founder and Creative Director at Bombus.com.

October 6, 2016

Employers must create modern cultures to retain working mothers ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Workplace

When it comes to working mothers, too many US organisations continue to follow policies created in the 1990s, if not the 1950s. In the report Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived by Gallup one factor emerges that has the greatest influence on women’s decision to stay in the workforce or leave, children. In the US, more than 5 million jobs are available, but women continue to drop out of the workforce in troubling numbers because despite employers introducing family friendly policies their cultures remain out of date. Because of this, far less than half of female employees polled (35 percent) are engaged in their jobs, and nearly half of women say they are looking for or considering new jobs. Organisations have to create cultures that enable women to maximise their full potential in and out of the workplace; and those that continue to enforce outdated policies will not be able to keep up with employers who offer more choice and flexibility and greater trust and transparency.

October 5, 2016

Employees increasingly value health and wellbeing benefits ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee benefits that help promote a healthy workforce are increasingly important when you consider that (perhaps unsurprisingly) 69.8 percent of employees say they felt less productive if they come into work whilst ill. But these benefits are increasingly as important to employees as an aide to productivity. A range of employee benefits are still a crucial recruitment and retention tool, with almost three quarters (69 percent) of employees saying they are more likely to stay with an employer that offers a good employee package compared with 66 percent in 2015. New research from the fourth annual Capita Employee Benefits Insight Report also reveals that 44.8 percent of respondents would judge an employer based on the quality of the health and wellbeing packages they offer. This is particularly valued by higher earners where nearly half (48.8) percent of employees earning over £45,000 a year said they would evaluate their employer or potential employer on the strength of their commitment to employee wellbeing.

October 4, 2016

Disconnect between employers and staff on attitudes to mental health ¹

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

There is a massive difference between employers’ perception of the way in which they address mental health in the workplace and those of their staff, according to a new report being published today. While the majority (97 percent) of senior managers believe that they are accessible if employees want to talk about mental health problems, almost half (49 percent) of employees would not talk to their manager about an issue. The findings from the Mental Health at Work report, by the charity Business in the Community are that more than three quarters (77 percent) of employees have experienced symptoms of poor mental health in their lives, and for 62 percent of employees work has been a contributing factor to their symptoms. Despite this, over half of employees (56 percent) who disclosed symptoms of said that their employer took no mitigating actions and only 22 percent of managers have had relevant mental health training at work.