Search Results for: workplace

Book review…. HQ:Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands

Book review…. HQ:Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands 0

by • Case studies, Comment, Workplace design

primark-cropSome people would have you believe that the office is dying out. But the absolute dead giveaway that it is not is the creation of tech enclaves and palaces around the world that exists solely to bring lots of people to work together in real space and real time. Some of these buildings are presented in a new book called HQ: Nerve Centres of the World’s Leading Brands from Irish publishers Roads (link is to Amazon but please try to order from a local bookshop if possible). The high tech homes of the likes of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Vodafone are presented alongside similar examples from eight other business sectors: Finance, Retail, Motoring, Media, Drinks, Fashion, Sport and Design & Innovation.

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Gig economy represents a race to the bottom for many because of client behaviour

Gig economy represents a race to the bottom for many because of client behaviour 0

by • Flexible working, News

Gig economy

For many people, the gig economy represents a race to the bottom, with a large number of freelancers asked to work for free by entitled clients on the vague promise of future work, breeding anxiety and disillusionment. That is the key finding of a new study by Approve.io which found that half of freelancers and self-employed creatives had been asked by clients said that work had caused them anxiety this year with three quarters citing client behaviour as the primary cause. (more…)

Presenteeism culture in the US means sick staff spread colds and virus at work

Presenteeism culture in the US means sick staff spread colds and virus at work 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Presenteeism culture in the US leads sick staff to spread colds and virus at workIn the United States where taking a sick day is frowned upon heavily and where the annual number of holiday days are around half of that of the UK, going to work when you’re ill is almost a mark of dedication. However, for the unfortunate colleagues of those who display such martyred behaviours, trying to avoid cold and flu in the workplace has reached desperate levels, as nearly half of people in a recent survey would give up a vacation day to a sick worker to ensure they don’t bring illness to the workplace. According to the seventh annual cold and flu season survey from Staples, while the  workforce is keenly aware of the dangers as well as prevention tactics surrounding seasonal illness, personal accountability remains low, with nearly 80 percent of employees still going to work sick. This is despite the fact that employers increasingly appreciate that a sick employee at home is much preferable than one who has struggled into work.

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Half of UK firms will hold Christmas parties but just a fifth offer bonuses or extra time off

Half of UK firms will hold Christmas parties but just a fifth offer bonuses or extra time off 0

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Office Christmas party will go ahead but not bonuses or extra time off

We’re entering the office party season now so it’s time for the usual flurry of Christmas related research. We kick off the season with this from XpertHR which claims that the majority of companies it has polled will host company-wide parties (50.8 percent) or departmental Christmas lunches (47.2 percent), but there will be fewer Christmas gifts, bonuses awarded or additional time off for employees this year. Employers plan to spend an average of £93.33 and a median of £50 per employee on their Christmas celebrations – a figure which hasn’t changed significantly since the last time XpertHR conducted this survey in 2012/13, when the median spend was £42.82. However, fewer than one in five organisations (17.9 percent) will be offering employee gifts this year compared to 21.1 percent in 2012/2013 and just 18 employers will award Christmas bonuses, with no increases planned compared with last year.

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Are these the best places to work in 2017?

Are these the best places to work in 2017? 0

by • News, Workplace, Workplace design

1_expediaRecruitment site Glassdoor has announced the winners of its ninth annual Employees’ Choice Awards to find the best places to work in North America and parts of Europe. The Awards are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback, by completing a company review, about their job, work environment and employer over the past year. This year, the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards feature six categories, honouring the Best Places to Work across the UK, US (both large and small companies), Canada, France and Germany. There is one category in the UK: 50 Best Places to Work (honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees). Winners are ranked based on their overall rating achieved during the past year.  The top five UK Best Places to Work in 2017 are Expedia, ARM, HomeServeUK, Mott MacDonald and Hays plc

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Brexit could lead to a freeze of over a third of UK commercial property investment

Brexit could lead to a freeze of over a third of UK commercial property investment 0

by • News, Property

22-Bishopsgate_London_PLP-Architecture_Hayes-Davidson_dezeen_936_0 (1)The unexpected political events of 2016 will lead to a rise in caution and risk aversion among real estate investors in 2017, making secure income streams more highly prized among core investors globally. This is expected to benefit the UK market, where high levels of transparency and stable legal structures make real estate a safety play, according to a report from real estate advisor Savills. The firm unveiled its predictions for UK real estate at its annual cross-sector briefing this week, taking a detailed look at the commercial property, residential and agricultural markets. The overall story for UK real estate is one of slower growth. In the commercial market, average total returns on UK property investments are likely to be approximately 5.6 percent per annum during 2017-2021, with a 1.6 percent five year capital growth forecast for office values and a 4.4 percent growth forecast for office income returns. The report claims that there will be a fall of around 30 to 40 percent overall, and possibly up to 50 percent in Central London.

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Business as usual for recruitment and retention in post-Brexit Britain … for now

Business as usual for recruitment and retention in post-Brexit Britain … for now 0

by • Comment, Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

BrexitOn 24 June 2016 Britain voted for Brexit. The shock (and narrow) victory caused country-wide concern among the 48 percent of the voting public that favoured remain – apprehension seemingly justified by the immediate weakening of the pound, Cameron’s resignation and the start of ongoing political in-fighting. Speculation over job losses and potential hiring freezes added to a general sense of uncertainty, leaving some UK workers fearing their job security. Since then however, recruitment experts have somewhat softened their predictions for the UK job market as recent reports of month-on-month vacancy growth and record high employment rates have served to inspire confidence.  Five months on, how has job applicant sentiment changed in the UK since the EU referendum vote? And what does this mean for businesses hiring in post-Brexit vote Britain? As part of our ongoing tracking of candidate confidence levels in the job market and their career prospects we analysed the responses of almost 28,000 job applicants across the UK and Republic of Ireland – from all ages, experiences and sector disciplines – to gauge how perspectives might have changed pre- and post-Brexit.

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UK government to move 5,700 civil servants from Whitehall to east London

UK government to move 5,700 civil servants from Whitehall to east London 0

by • News, Property, Public Sector

10-south-colonnade-exterior-wpcf_741x417The UK Cabinet Office has today announced the location of a new Government Hub at Canary Wharf, as the government prepares to move around 5,700 full time civil and public servants from offices in Whitehall to East London. The government will take the whole building, owned by Canary Wharf Group, at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, covering 50,354 sqm, on a 15 year lease (to end in 2032). The move, which will be completed by the end of 2018, supports the modernisation of the Civil Service outlined by the new Workplace Plan on July 12. The Government Property Unit, (GPU), as part of its remit to drive savings across the government estate, is overseeing the deal with Barclays for the new hub. The Government claims the hubs will benefit the public sector by ensuring the future workforce is where it needs to be, in strategic locations with great public transport connections, local amenities and offering a modern working environment. Relocating civil and public servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces will make the most of emerging working practices and technology is part of that drive, it claims.

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The Work Foundation launches Commission on Good Work

The Work Foundation launches Commission on Good Work 0

by • Company news, Workplace, Workplace design

reward-gateway-offices-by-area-sq-london-ukThe Work Foundation, part of Lancaster University, has launched a new Commission on Good Work. The commission will seek answers to key questions such as ‘why is a focus on good work so important now?’,  ‘what does good work mean in a modern economy?’ and ‘how do we achieve good work?’ The initiative was launched by Work Foundation Director Lesley Giles who invited stakeholders from businesses, trade unions, professional bodies, and the public and voluntary sectors to be part of a ‘Good Work Taskforce.’ Supporting the launch were Sir Charlie Mayfield (John Lewis Partnership), Dame Fiona Kendrick (Nestle),Douglas McCormick (Sweett Group), Mark Keese (OECD), Gail Cartmail (Unite), Peter Cheese CIPD, Scott Johnson (a small business owner) and Professor Paul Sparrow (Lancaster University Management School).

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Just one percent of UK firms are ready for the digital economy

Just one percent of UK firms are ready for the digital economy 0

by • News, Technology

tortoise-and-hareA new study by Oxford Economics and SAP claims that just one in every 100 organisations in the UK is capitalising on the digital economy, significantly fewer than in comparable European countries such as Germany where the figure is more than 2 in 5 and Spain (22 percent). According to the study, the benefits of digital readiness include greater workforce diversity. The ‘digital winners’ defined by the report have higher female representation at mid-management level level and slightly more women overall. Four in ten of the study’s digital winners globally reported effective diversity programmes, compared to 36 percent of all companies in France, 33 percent in Russia, 30 percent in the UK and 23 percent in Spain.

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Fifth of employees are negatively affected by political talk in the office

Fifth of employees are negatively affected by political talk in the office 0

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Fifth of employees are negatively affected by political talk in the office

It’s been a tumultuous year for political change, and in the UK, none more so than that of whether to stay or leave the European Union. We were still getting over the reactions to Brexit when Donald Trump secured the Presidential election. These events have made political discussions in the workplace near inescapable.  But talking politics with colleagues can lead to all sorts of problems, particularly when there is a disagreement in political points of view. Probably more than any other year, the political results during 2016 have been increasingly divisive, with political discourse raised to an entirely new level of fractiousness and disagreement; leaving employees feeling stressed, more isolated from their colleagues, and less productive as a result. Unsurprisingly then, a survey of 1,000 employees conducted by HR and employment law specialist Peninsula claims that 1 in 5 employees are negatively affected by political talk in the workplace. The survey also discovered that 65 percent of employees avoid talking politics at work and 32 percent of employees reported that workplace hostility has increased because of political discussions at work.

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Public sector employees ‘stressed’ but remaining optimistic following Brexit

Public sector employees ‘stressed’ but remaining optimistic following Brexit 0

by • News, Public Sector, Workplace

Public sector employees 'stressed' but remain optimistic following BrexitLevels of stress among public sector workers remain higher than any other sector, despite job satisfaction being at its highest level in four years amidst a tide of wider post-referendum optimism. This is according to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report of more than 2,000 employees which found that 63 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs, rising to two-thirds (66 percent) in the public sector, the highest level for that sector since autumn 2012. However, public sector employees still report higher levels of pressure and exhaustion at work than any other sector. Two in five public sector workers (43 percent) say they are under excessive pressure at work at least once a week (all employees: 38 percent), and nearly half (46 percent) say they come home from work exhausted either always or often (all employees: 33 percent). The survey also suggests there is ample room for improvement in employee development and career progression which employers must address quickly so as not to lose valuable talent.

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