August 15, 2019

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

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…)

August 6, 2019

Voices from the age of uncertain work

by David L Blustein • Features, Working culture, Working lives

On the surface, the wellbeing of the American worker seems rosy. Unemployment in the U.S. hovers near a 50-year low, and employers describe growing shortages of workers in a wide array of fields. But looking beyond the numbers tells a different story. My new book, “The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty,” reveals that some Americans are experiencing an erosion in the world of increasingly uncertain work that is hurting their wellbeing, relationships and hopes for the future. (more…)

August 6, 2019

School holidays signal stress for home-workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

For many working parents the summer school holidays can be a cause of stress instead of a time for rest and relaxation.With children no longer occupied at school, many parents choose to work from home to juggle both work and childcare, but productivity can suffer with family, pets and noisy household appliances found to be the main distractions for home workers. The 2019 Global Workspace Survey, conducted by IWG on 2000 UK respondents, claims that interruptions from children or other family members is the number one obstacle being faced by professionals who take advantage of home working. (more…)

August 2, 2019

Maternity leave progressing around the world

by Jayne Smith • News

With studies claiming almost as many women with children (74.1 percent) participated in the labour force as women without, in 2014, women who are juggling careers and motherhood benefit from flexibility at work the most. Recent research claims women account for 40 percent or more of the total labour force in several countries, making flexible working hours, extended maternity leave, breastfeeding rooms, free education and free healthcare just a few of the ways that some countries build the best working environments for mothers. (more…)

August 1, 2019

Working dads say their schedule means missing out on children growing up

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

One in five dads says their working schedule means they are missing out on seeing their children growing up, claims Quinyx. The research highlights the importance of opening up flexible working to all members of the workforce, including working dads and the impact the rigidness of the current system is having on families. 17 percent of working dads say their work schedule makes them feel like they are missing out on seeing their children grow up. (more…)

August 1, 2019

Number of remote workers in US shows massive increase

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Based on an analysis of American Community Survey data by Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs, the number of remote workers in the US increased 159 percent between 2005 and 2017. This new data is based on an analysis of the most current US government data available (from 2017, released in 2018), and represents the most up-to-date statistics about remote work in the United States. 3.4 percent of the total US workforce currently telecommute, up from 2.9 percent in 2015. The terms telecommuters and remote workers are defined in the report as non-self-employed people who principally work from home at least half-time. (more…)

July 31, 2019

CIPD offers new guidance on non-traditional work roles

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Following the recent government consultation on improving the rights of variable hours workers, the CIPD has published new employer guidance to help ensure that ‘atypical working arrangements’ benefit both the organisation and individuals. The guidance, Atypical Working: A guide to successfully implementing atypical work in your organisation, defines atypical working as practices which include the self-employed, temporary workers, agency staff and people on zero hours contracts.

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July 31, 2019

Political chat dominates watercooler moments

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

UK workers are becoming increasingly saturated with political chat with just under half (46 percent) claiming they’ve noticed a significant increase in discussions had by colleagues since the EU Referendum. Despite once being considered the ultimate professional faux pas, new research from Jobsite.co.uk claims that political chat has now entered our workplaces in a big way with 3 in 5 comfortable discussing political matters. (more…)