Search Results for: working lives

May 13, 2017

From footprint to footfall: how the experiential workplace is set to take over the world ¹

by Freddie Steele • Briefing, Facilities management, Premium Content, Property, Workplace design

From the archive. This piece was originally published in 2016. The culture within which we work determines how effective, successful, fulfilled and well we are in both our professional and personal lives. The organisations for which we work – on whatever basis that might be – the physical surroundings they create, and the other places in which we choose to work are now woven into the fabric of our lives as never before. The technological immersion that allows us to work in new ways also means that each day becomes a series of experiences. Because we are free to work wherever and whenever we choose, we are increasingly able to determine the nature of those experiences. For those who design and manage offices this represents both a great opportunity and an unprecedented series of challenges.

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May 9, 2017

People in the gig economy need autonomy and good work too, argues RSA ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

Gig economy workers should be given more power to hold companies to account under the law as a first step to making the new er of work fit for the future, according to a new report and survey published by the RSA. Good Gigs: A fairer future for the UK’s gig economy recommends the burden of proof be shifted to companies to prove gig workers are not employees, and that penalties should be strengthened against companies who use clauses that prohibit employment status litigation. As part of the project, the RSA undertook the largest ever survey on Britain’s gig economy, which reveals that there are currently 1.1 million people working in Britain’s gig economy, making it almost as big as NHS England.

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May 4, 2017

Brexit bonfire unnecessary as employers back the UK’s existing employment rights ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

UK employers do not believe a bonfire of employment law is necessary under Brexit, as negotiations over the country’s departure from the EU begin. According to new research by the CIPD and the employment law firm Lewis Silkin, employers back the UK’s existing employment rights framework with all twenty eight areas of employment law rated as necessary by a majority of employers. In the survey of more than 500 employers, organisations were asked whether they viewed more than twenty different aspects of employment law as necessary or not. The list included unfair dismissal laws, rated as necessary by 93 percent of businesses, as well as national minimum wage (87 percent), parental rights at work (82 percent), agency workers laws (75 percent) and the Working Time Regulations (74 percent). The research, which looked at a wide variety of employment laws and practices, also found more than half (52 percent) of employers go beyond the legal minimum requirements when implementing employment law.

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March 8, 2017

In a crowd of truths, we can discern and reclaim what it means to be human ⁰

by Neil Usher • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

This is the second of two responses to an excellent article by Antony Slumbers, the first being this perspective from my mirrored room, in this instance offering that his views offer a far too presumptive picture of how technology will shape our work future. The paragraph headlines are from Antony’s original article. One person’s optimism is another’s pessimism. A decade ago the dream of liberated commute-free teleworking was, to many, the nightmare of enforced seclusion to the soundtrack of the dishwasher. The deployment of robots for the performance of menial tasks creating time and wealth for leisure is another’s horror at the loss of employment and resultant anomic fragmentation and decay. The fatally pointless optimism of Candide’s Dr Pangloss was agnostic in regard to every such outcome. It was positive only because there could be no alternative, and therefore no better alternative.

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February 28, 2017

A report into facilities management that is hard to swallow ⁰

by Simon Heath • Comment, Facilities management

I’ve wanted to write this piece for a while. I suspect it’ll piss a few people off. But I need to get it off my chest. I’ve held off writing it because I have been worried that it will be seen as disrespectful to the memory of a well-liked and respected member of the facilities management community, Chris Stoddart. I never knew Chris. But from what I’ve heard from those who did, his reputation is well deserved. I hope that Chris’ friends, colleagues and family will understand what I have to say and why I’m saying it. I was at last year’s Think FM event where the BIFM launched The Stoddart Review in Chris’ memory. The aim was to explore the link between workplace design and management and productivity.

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February 10, 2017

Gender pay gap for Millennials is closing, but for the wrong reasons ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Millennial men are earning less than Generation Y did in their earlier careers reflecting a shift towards young men doing low paid work traditionally carried out by women. In his Grigor McClelland lecture on 21st century inequality to Manchester Business School yesterday, Resolution Foundation Director Torsten Bell drew on upcoming research for the Foundation’s Intergenerational Commission on the labour market prospects for younger generations, which highlights the stark gender differences on inter-generational progress on pay. According to the data, Millennial men have earned less than Generation X men in every year between the ages of 22 and 30, resulting in a cumulative pay deficit during their 20s of £12,500. In contrast millennial women have experienced neither generational pay progress or decline. This has narrowed the gender pay gap for millennials, but for the wrong reasons, a shift towards lower-skilled jobs, often part-time, which have stunted the pay progress of young men.

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January 16, 2017

Fathers’ careers stifled by modern workplace culture, claims report ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

The UK is running the risk of creating a ‘fatherhood penalty’ – as fathers consider stalling or side-lining their careers to find roles they can better combine with family life, according to a new study. The 2017 Modern Families Index, published today by work-life charity Working Families and Bright Horizons, captures a broad picture – of fathers wanting to take an active part in childcare and the workplace failing to adapt and support their aspirations. Family is the highest priority for fathers. A quarter of fathers that took part in the study drop their children at school or nursery every day; with just over a quarter (26 percent) collecting them more than half the time. Seven out of ten fathers work flexibly to fulfil their caring responsibilities. However, for half of the fathers we spoke to their work-life balance is increasingly a source of stress. A third of fathers feel burnt out regularly and one in five fathers are doing extra hours in the evening or weekends all the time.

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December 19, 2016

UK digital divide narrows, but major problems remain for homes and offices ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

The UK’s patchy and frequently shoddy broadband network has held back the country for a long time. According to a new report from industry regulator Ofcom, however, there are signs of improvement with the number of UK domestic and commercial properties unable to get a decent broadband connection falling by one million over the past year. Even so, around 5 percent of offices and homes are unable to enjoy broadband speeds over 10 Mbit/s, the speed Ofcom claims is required to meet a typical household’s digital needs. The findings are part of Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2016 report – an in-depth look at the state of the UK’s telecoms and wireless networks. This year’s report shows good progress on the availability and take-up of communications services, which are crucial to people’s personal and working lives.

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November 28, 2016

Employers urged to find ways of motivating and retaining older workers ⁰

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

Employees over 50 still have a huge amount to offer, and that is why employers need to develop and implement strategies to find ways of managing and retaining them. The results of a three year study – led by Nottingham Trent University with Workplace Innovation Limited – aimed at preventing the loss of vital knowledge, skills and experience of increasingly ageing workforces indicate that measures should be taken by employers to ensure older workers don’t become demotivated and head into early retirement. The first-of-its-kind study follows findings which reveal that by 2030 the number of people aged over 55 in high-income countries will have grown to 500 million. As part of the study, researchers found that interventions which seek to improve job design and the way in which work is organised can lead to better engagement and retention of older workers – as well as producing wider benefits for the business and its employees. The project investigated work-related predictors of retirement for the over 50s, finding that manageable job demands and more control over roles were key factors in delaying a decision to retire.

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November 22, 2016

Number of people who commute over two hours a day increases by a third ⁰

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

One in seven UK employees commute over two hours or more each day. This represents an increase of nearly a third (31 percent) over the past five years, which claims the TUC, is due to a combination of low wages, high house/rental prices and the government’s lack of transport infrastructure spending, According to a new analysis by the union to mark Work Wise UK’s Commute Smart Week, in 2015 3.7 million workers had daily commutes of two hours or longer – an increase of 900,000 since 2010 (2.8 million). In 2015 one in seven UK employees (14 percent) travelled two hours or more each day to and from work, compared to one in nine in 2010 (11 percent). UK workers spent 10 hours extra, on average, commuting in 2015 than they did in 2010. This is the equivalent of an extra 2.7 minutes per day. London (930,000) has the highest number of employees who make long commutes, followed by the South East (623,000) and the East of England (409,000); while workers in Northern Ireland (+57 percent) have experienced the biggest rise in long commuting, followed by the South East (+37 percent) and the West Midlands (+27 percent).

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November 17, 2016

New advice published on how to better manage mental health at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplaces that create positive environments for mental health are more productive as they can reduce employee absences due to stress and anxiety at work, but managers need to learn the skills needed to help reduce stress and poor mental health among staff. This is according to a new report based on research by Essex Business School commissioned by Acas. The report makes the human case that employers should prioritise mental health in the workplace to include careful management of those with mental health conditions, making reasonable adjustments to working practices where appropriate, and educating their whole organisation to challenge stigma. Leaders and line managers have a crucial role to play in reducing anxiety levels claims the report, and those trained in ‘people skills’ are best equipped to build trust and respect among their teams and individuals. This trust can help staff to disclose their mental health conditions so that appropriate support can be provided. Alongside the report Acas has published specific advice for managers on how to manage anxiety in the workplace.

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November 4, 2016

Corporate responsibility now essential to attract and retain millennials ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Corporate social responsibility is no longer seen as more than a nice to have, with those working within the built environment for example, appreciating the role it has in reducing greenhouse gases. But it is also being increasingly seen as a positive way of attracting and engaging the right talent. Now according to a new survey carried out in the US, meaningful engagement around CSR is becoming a business – and bottom line – imperative, impacting a company’s ability to appeal to, retain and inspire Millennial talent. Three-quarters (76 percent) of Millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when deciding where to work and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) won’t take a job if a potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, according to the 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study. Because the millennial generation are the most likely to blend their personal and working lives, it’s more important to them than other generations to view their job as a way to make a positive impact on society, the study suggests.