US workers put in more and more hours
American workers log the longest hours in the industrialized world, averaging 1,978 hours annually—a week more per year than a decade ago, according to new International Labour Organisation research. Only South Korea and the Czech Republic see longer work weeks among their employees.
Pay Attention!
Attention has become the scarcest resource in today’s information-saturated workplace, with managers facing overwhelming email volumes and document flows that demand they manage both their own focus and that of employees and stakeholders.
Work-based learning
Work-based learning encompasses on-the-job training, development, and skill acquisition strategies within organizational settings. HR Zone provides comprehensive resources including books, expert guides, assessment tools, and job opportunities to support workplace learning initiatives and professional development.
HR-Expert announces its closure
HR-Expert.com, Pearson Education’s online HR advice service, is closing on 29 September due to insufficient subscriber numbers. The closure reflects broader challenges publishers face adapting to online markets and the growing need for sustainable business models in digital HR services.
Drug Misuse at Work: Employers Guide
The Health and Safety Executive has republished an updated guide helping employers address drug misuse in the workplace. It covers detection, drug types, workplace policies, drug testing, and management strategies for creating safer work environments.
Equal Opportunities Commission: Sexual harassment is no joke
Sexual harassment causes severe long-term consequences including job loss, health problems, and reduced confidence, according to Equal Opportunities Commission analysis. Over 90% of successful harassment claims involved employees losing their jobs or resigning, yet many victims don’t report incidents due to fear of career damage or lack of support.
Changing the culture of your business
Senior managers must balance serving employees equally with serving customers and shareholders to drive sustainable business success. While companies excel at meeting shareholder and customer needs, employee motivation and engagement remain undervalued. Achieving this cultural shift requires genuine leadership commitment and a long-term transformation in organizational values.
Civil Service to receive large pay rises
The Senior Salaries Review Body is expected to recommend substantial pay increases for civil servants, aimed at narrowing the gap between public sector salaries and comparable private sector positions. Senior officials could be eligible for bonuses potentially reaching £200,000 under the new scheme.
Managers Manifesto
The Institute of Management published a white paper manifesto outlining recommendations for UK government policy to support effective business management. Key proposals include fostering lifelong learning, prioritizing management development, promoting diversity and equality, and reducing payroll compliance costs for businesses.
Five steps to information, instruction and training
The UK Health and Safety Executive has published a five-step guide to help managers effectively brief and train staff on health and safety responsibilities. The accessible guide includes checklists and covers key manager and supervisor obligations in the workplace.
Learning for Work is failing to deliver
A new CIPD report criticizes the UK’s learning for work schemes, citing fragmented approaches that fail to address current labor market needs, improve staff engagement, reach disadvantaged workers, or integrate skills development with broader social inclusion goals.
Boardroom salaries burst through the roof as shares rise
Executive pay at FTSE 100 companies surged over the past year, driven primarily by rising share values for technology firm leaders. Vodafone director Arun Sarin topped the list at £21.2m, while board salaries rose an average of 16.5%, roughly four times employee salary increases, prompting union criticism.
The five steps to work-life balance heaven
Achieve work-life balance in your organization by making a commitment from leadership, understanding staff needs, and implementing flexible working practices. Work-life balance improves staff retention, effectiveness, and morale while reducing costly turnover in the voluntary sector.
Presentation skills courses
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Sad but true – miserable workers are more productive
University of Alberta research shows that sad workers are more productive than happy ones, making significantly fewer errors on tasks. The findings suggest unhappy employees devote more energy to work as a distraction from negative moods, while happy workers may reduce effort to maintain their emotional state.
Do you have an intranet for your staff?
Corporate intranets are in-house websites that publish company news, organizational procedures, employee forms, staff directories, and other services to staff. As intranets become more sophisticated, some are evolving into B2E portals where employees can customize content and access their personnel data.
LSC: Employers are failing to deliver on training
Research from the Learning and Skills Council reveals employers are failing to deliver on training promises, with one-third of employees receiving no training last year. Despite employers acknowledging training’s importance to business success, over 70% of staff received five days or less training, and many weren’t given specific annual training goals.
TUC calls for three more bank holidays a year
The UK has only eight bank holidays a year compared to 12-14 in other EU countries, and British workers lack legal protection for these days off, according to a TUC report. The union is calling on the government to add three more bank holidays annually and establish statutory rights to bank holiday pay.
Economy is not all ‘doom and gloom’ – even for manufacturing
The CBI forecasts sluggish economic growth through 2001, with manufacturing exiting recession by year-end and GDP growth recovering to 2.5 percent in 2002. Despite challenges from global slowdown and foot-and-mouth disease, inflation remains favorable and exports are expected to rebound as world trade picks up.
CBI: GCSE results ‘must do better’
The CBI welcomes rising GCSE pass rates but warns that too few students excel in core subjects, with over 40 percent failing to achieve grade C or above in English, Maths, and Science, threatening UK competitiveness.
