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Four-day week risks further divisions among workers
With workers toiling for longer since the onset of the pandemic – one study has suggested that hours in the UK are up by 25 per cent – the momentum for a shift to a four-day week has gained renewed traction. Skills shortages across an array of sectors might suggest the bargaining power exists to […]
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Time to inject some reality into student recruitment
The lack of work experience opportunities caused by the pandemic has left nearly half of university students feeling unprepared for employment, according to a new survey which found that just 17 per cent had undertaken a work placement in the last year. A poll of 7,000 students and recent alums by graduate careers specialist Prospects […]
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Tackling work pressures should go beyond flexibility
A survey has found that one in four employers are considering introducing a “right to disconnect” policy to try to better help their staff keep their work and home lives separate. The poll by video conferencing firm Owl Labs surveyed 500 business leaders in the UK and found 27 per cent were looking into measures ranging from allowing staff […]
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Lowest-paid should be able to access flexible working
A poll by the TUC has highlighted there may be an “emerging class divide” in the future of flexible working arrangements. The poll found that 60 per cent of people in higher-paid occupations had worked from home during the pandemic, compared to 23% of people with low-income roles. The union body is arguing that “working […]
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Job quality holds steady, but at arguably meagre levels
While much has changed in the world of work during the past 15 months of Covid, some things have remained the same, one of which appears to be the quality of employment available in the UK. Surveys conducted as part of the 2021 Good Work Index produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development […]
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Conundrum of the mysteriously shrinking workforce
Crazy though it may seem when unemployment is so high, research has suggested that one of the biggest hurdles to economic recovery from the pandemic could well be a shortage of skilled workers. A recent report produced in conjunction by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation found that the availability of labour has fallen […]
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The end of furlough will make ‘returners’ mainstream
Returner programmes – which take the concept of an internship and make it relevant to older workers who have taken a career break – have been around for a good number of years, particularly in sectors where women are under-represented. But with furlough winding down to a close at the end of September, many UK […]
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Workplace conflicts costing UK businesses billions
From genuine differences of opinion through to ill-timed banter, microaggression and right up to the fireworks of a full-blown clash of personalities, conflict has always been a feature of the workplace. To a certain extent friction is unavoidable, and even beneficial, as the change and innovation required for organisations to thrive will always create a degree of […]
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Flexibility isn’t just the ‘working from home’ option
We don’t yet know exactly when, but at some point in the coming weeks many of us who have been spending our working hours in the bedroom, dining room, living room or kitchen will start reconnecting with the offices we were forced to abandon more than a year ago. What form this workplace restitution takes […]
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More jobs for the young, but it’s a long way yet to go
Graduate recruitment is rebounding from the depths of last year’s plunge that has pushed long-term unemployment among the UK’s youngest workers to a five-year high, signalling a welcome respite for those who have borne the brunt of pandemic job losses. Recent research by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) found that more than a third […]