News

September 19, 2014

Also in the news this week – 19 September 2014

Watch out, there’s a thief about

New research from Avery UK has found that the average “workplace thief” is most likely to be a middle ranking member of staff or even the boss, while trainees, temporary staff and junior employees are the least likely to be light-fingered with company property. The survey of 2,000 UK workers found that more than one in ten businesses say important tools of the trade get lost or stolen on a regular basis and 65% of UK workers said items had been taken directly from their desk or workstation.

Employees have had enough of open plan offices

The number one complaint from office workers is a lack of privacy, according to new international research carried out by Ipsos MORI and the Workspace Futures Team at Steelcase. It found that 85% of people are dissatisfied with their working environment and cannot concentrate. As a result, office workers are losing 86 minutes per day due to distractions. Bostjan Ljubic, vice president of Steelcase UK and Ireland, said: “Our research has found that for people to collaborate with their colleagues more effectively they need less ‘we’ time and more ‘me’ time than they are getting today.”

Passport system is failing exporters, says BCC

Delays in the processing of passports have adversely affected British exporters, according to Sukhdeep Dhillon, global economic adviser at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Commenting on the recent House of Commons report, Delays in Processing Applications, Dhillon said: "It is unacceptable that 17 out of 20 passport applications overseas have been delayed since April this year, as this is preventing UK business people from securing international trade deals. Unless the government adopts a passport system that supports business and economic needs, the UK will trail behind other G7 economies when it comes to seizing important business opportunities overseas.”

Dressing for success

New research shows that UK employees dress up for work for fear of being judged on their professional performance, with 44% of workers admitting to judging colleagues by their attire. The biggest sartorial no-no is wearing ripped jeans, followed by branded t-shirts and short skirts. The research, commissioned by the Business is GREAT campaign, found that Welsh workers were most concerned about what their colleagues were wearing to work. Those in the East Midlands were the most relaxed. Best dressed business leaders include Lord Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, Kelly Hoppen and Peter Jones.

Bring your parents to work day

Sir Richard Branson and LinkedIn have teamed up to encourage UK businesses to take part in this year’s Bring In Your Parents Day initiative. Taking place on November 6th, it aims to encourage skill sharing and inspire older workers to look again at their career opportunities. LinkedIn’s Darain Faraz said: “While the UK employment rate for the over 50s is growing, it still lags behind many other countries. We want to get UK businesses behind this initiative to re-engage older workers and find ways to help them participate in the labour market for longer.”

New Acas guidance on managing staff bereavement

Acas has published a new guide on managing bereavement in the workplace. One in ten people is directly affected by bereavement, but research has found that a third of affected employees felt that they had not been treated with compassion by their employer. Acas chair Sir Brendan Barber said: “Grief … can affect people in different ways in the workplace and managers should have the skills needed to handle it. Our guide aims to help employers manage this difficult situation with their employee in the immediate aftermath of bereavement as well as longer term.”