News

November 22, 2013

Also in the news this week – 22 November 2013

Professional burnout most likely to hit at 41

41 is the average age at which many Brits worry about professional "burnout" and find that their workload is unsustainable, according to new research commissioned by Conference Genie. The poll of 500 UK citizens finds that concerns about professional responsibility are unlikely to subside until around 55, when only 14% of respondents felt overwhelmed by their role. The poll also found that men are more susceptible to work-related stress than women.

Freelance revenues have soared in two years

Freelance and micro business owners invoiced an average of £6,401 per month in 2013, 27.4% more than the average in 2011. These are the findings of research by Crunch Accounting into the revenue of almost 3,000 clients, released to coincide with National Freelancers Day which took place yesterday (21 November 2013). Darren Fell, managing director and founder of Crunch Accounting, said: "Our data shows that the UK's 1.7 million freelancers and contractors are not only leading the way in terms of economic growth, but blowing away all other areas of the economy."

Start Up Loans delivers 10,000^th loan

The 10,000th loan from the Government's Start Up Loans scheme has been awarded to Allen Martin, an entrepreneur from Cornwall. Allen runs Eclipse Property Cornwall, which manages properties on behalf of landlords. He received £10,000 from Start Up Loans to help launch his new business. Start Up Loans has now lent over £50 million to entrepreneurs, and is a third of the way in meeting the target of supporting 30,000 new businesses by 2015.

Millions don't take their annual leave

Millions of workers are failing to take at least six days of their annual holiday leave because they are too worried about losing their jobs or showing a lack of commitment, according to research commissioned by Hilton Hotels & Resorts. Four in ten workers rarely use all of their annual leave and one in twenty take just half of the time off they are entitled to, saying that using every day of their annual leave is frowned upon in their workplace. The study of 2,000 workers found that while the average Brit is entitled to 23 days of leave each year, 40% rarely or never use their full allocation.

Regus creates new enterprise hubs

Regus has launched Regus Connect to help freelancers and students work more closely with local businesses. Ten pilot enterprise hubs will be created within Regus centres – starting in London, Manchester and Birmingham – providing dedicated co-working space for freelancers and students. Research by Regus reveals that recruiting freelancers is a key business priority for 41% of firms as a platform for sustainable growth. Access to the hubs will cost £35 a month for freelancers and will be free for students. You can vote online for the location of the next seven centres.

Consumers are nursing a recession "hangover"

British consumers are continuing to keep a tight hold on their purse strings this Christmas after several years of economic downturn, according to a survey by Discount Vouchers. With news that October retail sales have dipped, the survey suggests that people across Britain are suffering from a "recession hangover", with 88% of Brits admitting they won't be spending more money this Christmas, despite signs of an economic recovery.

BYOD driving sales of mobile devices

The number of employee-owned smartphones and tablets used at work will exceed one billion by 2018 according to a new report from Juniper Research. This represents almost 35% of all consumer-owned tablets and smartphones. The report concludes that while BYOD delivers many benefits, it increases security risks. As a result, Juniper forecasts a steady growth in sales of security software in the consumer segment, predicting it will approach 40% of global mobile security sales by the end of 2018.

Are you too click happy?

With more warnings about the risks of clicking on unknown email attachments, new research by Sourcefire finds that 90% of UK workers have clicked on a web link embedded in an email with 66% admitting they very rarely first check to ensure the link is genuine. The study identifies three types of clicking behaviour – Compulsive Clickers (46%), Cautious Clickers (44%) and Never Clicks (10%).