August 23, 2019

A grey tsunami, three goldfish, the red pill of coworking and some other colourful stuff

by Mark Eltringham • Features, Property, Wellbeing, Working lives

A right leaning think tank’s suggestion that the UK should set a new retirement age of 75 and introduce a range of measures to extend people’s working lives to boost the economy and improve people’s wellbeing sparked an inevitable paroxysm of rage. Immediately followed by an equally inevitable and furious level of what passes for debate these days. A stramash the Scottish would call it. More →

August 22, 2019

Stress of extra Summer workloads can be overwhelming

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Over a third of workers feel extreme pressure or even experience panic attacks when taking on their colleagues’ workloads over the Summer, a new study from Cornerstone OnDemand claims. The study of over 2,000 UK adults, claims that 81 percent of Brits will take on a colleague’s workload in their absence. Furthermore, while taking on a colleague’s workload, 48 percent of workers are more likely to work through their lunch break or work more than their working hours, contributing to the feeling of stress.

August 21, 2019

Wellbeing challenge known to firms, but they need to up their game

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A new white paper from Aon argues that while the vast majority of employers are aware of a range of wellbeing issues, they often don’t act in appropriate ways to address poor health behaviours and chronic medical conditions. The white paper Prevention Is Better Than Cure (registration) claims that 95 percent of employers see a correlation between employee health and performance and believe they have a role in trying to educate and improve poor lifestyle behaviours.

August 19, 2019

Firms need to place more value on older workers

by Claire Turner • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives, Workplace

As we live longer lives, it’s inevitable that more of us want to work for longer. It makes good business sense too: with fewer younger people starting work to replace those set to retire in future years, coupled with uncertainty over Brexit and labour shortages, employers can’t afford to lose older workers.

August 19, 2019

“War for talent” and Brexit ramping up staff retention efforts

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

News that over one million EU nationals have been given permission to remain in the UK after Brexit, gaining settled or pre-settled status offers businesses expanded talent pools for plugging skills gaps and talent shortages in their workforce. New research claims that talent management concerns are on the rise. With the ongoing ‘war for talent’ intensifying over future skills requirements, businesses must remain vigilant when it comes to the growing technical skills gaps in their workforce, the report suggests. More →

August 16, 2019

Knowledge workers feel out of step with their own organisation

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Working culture

Many knowledge workers don’t feel they share common goals with their employer and colleagues, according to a study of 17,000 people by Slack. The State of Work Report summarises the findings, including the effect of this feeling of a lack of ‘alignment’ on organisational and personal performance and the role of technology in aligning people around shared goals. More →

August 15, 2019

Firms with a balance of men and women outperform male dominated rivals

by Neil Franklin • News

The share performance and other metrics of listed companies with a balance of men and women tend to be better than those of male-dominated rivals, according to a new report from Morgan Stanley. The report is based on Morgan Stanley’s HERS ranking, a new measurement the investment bank has developed to evaluate gender diversity at companies and its impact on performance. It determines the gender diversity of a company by factoring in the percentage of women on boards, in the executive and management team, and in the workforce generally. More →

August 15, 2019

Skills for the future of work laid out by new task force

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Because qualifications are only part of the story for employers, who are placing more emphasis on essential skill sets, like teamwork, presenting and problem-solving, but these are often difficult to assess at the recruitment and selection stage. In response, leading organisations from the education and employment sectors (the CIPD, The Careers & Enterprise Company, Business in the Community, the Gatsby Foundation, EY Foundation and the Skills Builder Partnership) have come together for the first time to agree a universal framework for essential skills. It will build on the Skills Builder Framework, already used by over 700 organisations, and set out the skills needed to thrive at work, as well as how these can be assessed and developed. It can be used by students, workers and employers. More →

August 13, 2019

Working carers of children and parents are at breaking point

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

‘Sandwich carers’, those people who look after children and their relatives alongside work, are struggling to cope with the burden of juggling caring responsibilities alongside their job. Around 1.3 million people in the UK now fall into this category and new research from BHSF claims that many are at breaking point. 44 percent said they often find managing their responsibilities hard – with 16 percent admitting that it’s always too much to cope with. More →

August 13, 2019

Increase in non-EU workers eases skills challenge

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

The sharp increase in non-EU citizens coming to work in the UK has helped to ease recruitment difficulties for medium and high-skilled roles, according to new research from the CIPD and Adecco Group. Despite employment growing strongly over the past year, the number of applicants chasing each medium and high-skilled vacancy has fallen relatively modestly compared with the same period last year. However, the number of people applying for low-skilled roles has dropped by a fifth over the past year, suggesting that some employers may face significant recruitment challenges for skills in the coming months. These are the findings of the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and the Adecco Group, a survey of 2,104 employers which explores their pay and hiring intentions. More →

August 8, 2019

Changing nature of work revealed in official data

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Working culture

Many aspects of the changing nature of work in the UK are highlighted in a new official report into the number of hours worked in the country. The UK’s ongoing productivity challenges, highlighted by another ONS report last month, are well known, but the new data suggests that a number of common suppositions about the way we work should be challenged, especially those related to demographics, the types of work people do and who does it. More →

August 7, 2019

Flexible working has increased dramatically in last two decades

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

The proportion of people with some form of flexible working has increased dramatically in the last two decades. That is according to an analysis of working trends by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). According to the 1999 Labour Force Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the percentage of people working flexible hours in the UK was 9.5 percent at that time. Recent statistics from CIPD, however, show that this number has drastically increased, with 54 percent of workers currently having the option of some form of flexibility in their time and place of work. More →