April 26, 2019

Employers care more about saving costs than wellbeing, according to majority of workers

Three of every five UK employees believe that their employer cares more about saving money than the wellbeing of their workforce, according to the latest research report from workspace efficiency company Cloudbooking. The Employee Evolution report (registration), which explores the attitudes of 1,000 employees, claims that there is a disconnect between what makes employees happy at work and what they are currently experiencing. Cloudbooking’s research also suggests that 88 percent of employees think that workplace wellbeing is one of the most critical elements in creating a positive experience for all workers, yet businesses are failing to address issues that are negatively impacting the experience and wellbeing of employees.

April 24, 2019

Initiative launched to support workplace health and wellbeing

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Not-for-profit, wellbeing provider Westfield Health has launched an online initiative to support workplace health and wellbeing which will educate employers across the UK on how they can make a positive difference within their organisation. With over half (54 percent) of businesses reporting that they don’t have any measures in place to support the health and wellbeing of their staff, The Orange Table will offer HR Directors and business owners free webinar and educational content to help improve workplace culture and in turn the performance of their employees. More →

April 17, 2019

Uncertain times demand a new approach to strategic people management

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Is the management of people in organisations today really about growing the long-term value of an employers’ most important asset in an increasing uncertain and skills-short labour market? Or is it more to do with continuing to drive costs down and shareholder returns up; and meeting the bare minimum standards required by legislation? The Institute for Employment’s (IES) latest research, carried out in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), looks at the reality of people management and comes up with some generally positive findings and conclusions. More →

April 17, 2019

Bristol has lowest Grade A office vacancy rate among UK largest cities

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

Bristol has the lowest vacancy rate for Grade A offices amongst the UK’s leading Big 6 cities, reflecting strong demand combined with a shortage of high quality commercial space, according to new figures published by property consultants JLL. Although the city and region’s reputation for talent and innovation has so far countered the shortage of space, with inward investors citing access to a highly skilled, graduate workforce as one of the main reasons for relocation, JLL is warning that more needs to be done to ensure Bristol continues to attract investment. More →

April 16, 2019

UK employees work £3.2 billion in unpaid overtime every week

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The UK is the unpaid overtime capital of Europe. This is according to new research by ADP (registration), which has found that employees are giving away an average of £5,038 of their time every year, amounting to £164.8 billion annually across the working population. The study of over 1,400 UK employees reveals that two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents regularly work longer than their contracted hours, with respondents averaging 6.3 hours unpaid per week. However, for more than a fifth (22 percent) of employees, this rises to at least 10 hours per week – twice as many as in other European countries, including Germany and France (10 percent and 12 percent respectively). More →

April 15, 2019

Black and other minority workers more likely to be in insecure work, claims TUC

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Black and minority ethnic workers are far more likely to be trapped in temporary and insecure work, according to a new TUC analysis published to mark the start of its annual Black Workers Conference. The analysis claims to show how BME workers are faring worse than white workers in the jobs market. More →

April 11, 2019

Is there a global lack of support for mental health?

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Employers need to be mindful of the significant differences globally in how mental health is viewed and treated, when it comes to managing an international workforce, according to The Health Insurance Group. Disparities in both attitudes to, and treatment of, mental ill-health could make the difference between an international post succeeding or failing, if not understood and managed effectively. More →

April 10, 2019

Employees sceptical about attitudes of employers to digital transformation

by Marie Hillen • AI, Facilities management, News, Technology

More than half of employees are confused about the true meaning of ‘digital transformation’ and have a high degree of scepticism about their employers’ appetite for digital innovation, a new poll suggests. The research into employees’ attitudes toward digital transformation, innovation and cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, conducted by YouGov amongst employees at 500 businesses with 50 or more employees, on behalf of Cherwell Software, found that 57 percent of employees don’t know the correct meaning of ‘digital transformation’: 20 percent of respondents couldn’t hazard a guess at its meaning and 12 percent thought it meant moving to a paperless office.

April 8, 2019

Navigating organisations through digital transformation

by Ian Tickle • Comment, Technology

It’s hard to escape the digital disruption that is reshaping not only the world we live in, but the fundamental way that businesses operate. Greater levels of data exchange and automation are creating new layers of innovation, shifting functional workflows to agile systems. And to prosper in this upheaval, leaders must look at how they can support their company’s ability to adapt and identify new opportunities to embrace these changes.

April 8, 2019

Ten employment law changes to look out for in the rest of 2019

by Hayley Marles • Features, Legal news, Workplace

This year is set to be a busy year for HR and employment law. From post-Brexit immigration rule changes and gender pay gap reporting, to age discrimination at work, employers are faced with amended employment laws and new deadlines for their organisation to meet. These are ten important areas of the law that HR professionals and business owners need to be aware of. More →

April 4, 2019

People, not cost now most important factor behind corporate real estate decisions

by Marie Hillen • Facilities management, News, Property

The corporate appetite for flexible space continues to grow as around two-thirds of occupiers rank employee engagement (68 percent) and talent attraction & development (65 percent) as two of the three most important drivers of corporate real estate (CRE) strategy. According to the 2019 EMEA Occupier Survey by CBRE over a third of companies see labour and skills shortages as a key strategic challenge, double last year’s result. In line with last year’s survey, technology disruption (36 percent) economic uncertainty (43 percent) and cost escalation (31 percent) all feature highly as key challenges for occupiers.

April 3, 2019

Government needs to sort Brexit deadlock as construction sector falls

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

The Government and Parliament must break the Brexit deadlock and find a way forward warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), in response to the latest Construction PMI data, which shows another drop in construction output. The March 2019 PMI data revealed an Index score of 49.7, up slightly from 49.5 in February, against the no change threshold of 50.0. This points to a sustained decline in construction output, representing the first back-to-back fall in construction output since 2016. While the residential building sector enjoyed an upturn, commercial construction was the worst performing area.