Peter Thomson blogs regularly about the changing world of work and how WiseWork is helping organisations to benefit from new working practices. This site also hosts blog contributions from Wisework Partners and other guest bloggers..
It’s a general assumption that people who are engaged in their work and have meaningful jobs are likely to be the most productive. But there is very little research that proves this. There is no common measure of productivity between employers so comparison is difficult. At national level there is an economic measure of output per employee hour worked and this is often used to show that the UK is well down the league table. But the UK economy seems…
Read More
A report just published by the Office for National Statistics points out that, as the UK population gets older, an increasing number of workers are providing care towards the end of their working life for family members. One in four older female workers, and one in eight older male workers, have caring responsibilities. This points out the need for flexible working arrangements for older employees. This provision is usually associated with parents trying to balance child care with their work…
Read More
A recent report from the CIPD shows that the number of employees using formal flexible working arrangements – such as part-time working, term-time working, compressed hours and job-sharing – has flat-lined since 2010. This is despite the right to request flexible working being extended to all employees in 2014. Why is this? The government is taking this seriously enough to set up a Flexible Working Task Force to look at the issue and run a campaign to try and increase…
Read More
A recent survey from health insurance company BHSF adds to the concerns about people’s ability to turn off when working at home. 92 percent of the 897 survey respondents said they reply to emails outside of their normal working hours. Of these, 44 percent respond to emails out of hours every day, and 82 percent responded to out of hours emails at least once a week. But it can’t automatically be assumed that this is a bad thing. The act…
Read More
Yet another survey has shown that flexible workers are more effective than those working normal office hours. Research commissioned by the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) looked at the productivity of a group of workers who set their own hours or working location against a group of those who are not doing so. Flexible workers said they felt they worked effectively for more of a typical working day than those working a traditional ‘nine-to-five’. A quarter said they work longer…
Read More
According to research by Dr Heejung Chung from the University of Kent, a third of all UK workers believe those who work flexibly create more work for others. A similar proportion believe their career will suffer if they use flexible working arrangements. The research also found that the majority of respondents that held negative views against flexible workers were male, while women and especially mothers were the ones who were most likely to suffer from such stereotypes. Based on data…
Read More
New research from Manchester University has revealed that there has been no significant overall increase in the number of employees working flexibly since the legislation came into effect in 2014. They analysed data from almost 25,000 employees and looked at those working flexible start and finish times, fewer hours, or from home. In 2010, 44.1 percent of all employees worked flexibly, and by 2015 the figure was 44.3 percent. Despite the legislation being extended to cover all employees in 2014…
Read More
The RSA and the Carnegie UK Trust have teamed up to produce a report on measuring the quality of work. It follows on from the Taylor Review that recommended that the government should find a way to monitor work quality. ‘Measuring Good Work’ sets out a roadmap for how that ambition can be achieved. It identifies a series of new questions – from work-life balance to mental health, and from opportunities for progression to feelings of purpose, involvement and control…
Read More
“Strengthening your leadership skills will help you navigate the new digital landscape”, says Wisework Partner and collaborative leadership expert Jeremy Lewis The digital revolution will not be televised Whether you are digitising post-sales customer support, introducing robotic process automation (RPA) into your back-office, or enabling customers to self-serve through online portals or apps on their phones, it is likely you are feeling some anxiety and stress from the ever-increasing exposure to digital technology on your business. Today’s leaders are expected…
Read More
This blog is contributed by Shirley Wakelin, Wisework Partner. It is based on a discussion amongst the Partners. The past decade has seen increasing noise around new ways of working. Concepts such as agile, flexible, activity based working, employee engagement, company culture etc are ever more commonplace. It’s a big topic. As a group of consultants sharing an interest in supporting organizations through transformational change, the Wisework partners network reflected on what we mean by ‘New Ways of Working’, and…
Read More
