Mental health stigma silences employees – 79% wouldn’t speak out
“The costs of mental illness to the economy are astounding… I urge commissioners and decision-makers to treat mental health more like physical health.” – Chief Medical Officer & Professor, Dame Sally Davies According to the annual report by the Chief Medical Officer, mental illness led to the loss of 70 million working days within the UK during 2013, making […]
Top tips to retain your graduate talent
A report from leading advisory firm CEB, published in August, highlighted that a quarter of graduates leave their first job within a year of starting it with an estimated sunk cost in the UK of £112m in 2013. What can businesses do to retain their graduate talent? Here are my top five tips: 1. Employ the […]
Why HR needs to take religion seriously
This article is based on the chapter ‘Religion in Organizations: Cognition and Behaviour’ by Gary R.Weaver and Jason M. Stansbury from Religion and Organization Theory: Research in the Sociology of Organizations. HR Zone has exclusive free access to this chapter throughout October. For more information and to read the book chapter click on the link. www.emeraldinsight.com/tk/HRZoneReligion Religiously-influenced behaviour […]
Diversity in the science workforce – successes and failures
Science careers face diversity challenge Recent research conducted by Westminster Business School for the Royal Society’s Leading the way programme – aimed at increasing the diversity of the science, technology, engineering, maths and medical workforce (STEMM) to increase opportunities for women, minority ethnic and disabled people – finds that science is less diverse than other […]
Vaping in the work place – developing policy guidance
Key facts There are over two million regular electronic cigarette users in England. Electronic cigarettes DO NOT contain cancer causing tobacco, but do contain nicotine which is addictive. There is growing evidence that they can help smokers quit. The long-term health effects are not known. However there are no circumstances when using an e-cigarette is […]
Older workers would struggle in job beyond retirement age, study finds
Employers estimate that nearly one in three older workers would have problems performing in their current role after retirement age, according to a new study. Over half of employers expect an increase in the number of older workers in their business over the next few years, but are concerned that 31% would not be able […]
Talk to your talent today about their tomorrow
Growing economies create more job opportunities. Your talent will be feeling more confident, and more focused on their development than ever, so if you’re not actively engaging with them about the ways they can develop their career with you, then someone else soon will. This is particularly true when it comes to your Generation Y […]
How to get your employees excited about pensions
Despite the government’s recent pensions reforms, including the introduction of auto-enrolment and the 2014 Budget changes to abolish annuities, 41% of employees still don’t understand retirement planning according to a recent report, Flexibility in Retirement – planning for change. The report, authored by former government advisor Ros Altmann, found that just 24% of working adults […]
‘Mid-life pay crisis’ hits female bosses as pay gap widens
Female managers are still being paid 35% less than their male counterparts, meaning they would have to work 14 years longer to equal men’s total career earnings, new research has found. The report, by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and XpertHR, revealed that female executives over the age of 40 are being hit hardest by […]
Auto-enrolment reaches four million mark
Over four million workers have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, The Pensions Regulator has claimed. The figure represents an increase of over one million this year or an average of around 6,000 a day, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). More than 21,000 employers have now completed their ‘declaration […]
‘Dinosaur’ employers reluctant to hire working mums
Nearly 40% of managers avoid employing working mothers for fear they won’t perform as well as their male colleagues, new research has found. A survey of 500 managers by law firm Slater & Gordon has revealed that nearly half of bosses would resist recruiting a mother for a senior role, with 38% hesitant about hiring […]
More than half of companies have no e-cigarette policy
Over half (58%) of UK businesses haven’t introduced a policy on the use of e-cigarettes, with 53% unconcerned over ‘vaping’ among staff. This is according to a new survey from employee health risk company PMI Health Group. How many people 'vape' in the UK? The total number of e-cigarette smokers in the UK has climbed […]
Capability and confidence in men and women
Capability and confidence are two critical areas where men and women behave differently. What each gender needs to sustain confidence is distinct from the other and this is not an issue of personality, it comes down to fundamental differences in neurobiology. Work cultures are more naturally geared to supporting male confidence building and therefore senior […]
The business benefits of a diverse workforce
Tackling workplace barriers This year two reports have been published, highlighting major inequalities in how women and ethnic minorities are progressing in the UK’s workplaces. Race for Opportunity’s ‘Race at the Top’ found a widening leadership gap between Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people and their white counterparts when it came to securing their […]
What do Generation Y really want?
Generation Y, or those aged 30 and below, have grown up in an environment unlike any before them. They have been raised in a world of technology, where they have been more educated than any previous generation. As such, they come to the workplace with different wants and needs than their predecessors: different things motivate […]
Working women and the industry divide
The issue of the gender gap, particularly in the workplace, has long been a topic of debate. Despite significant advances in gender equality over the past few decades, men and women are still not being treated equally in terms of their experiences at work, including pay and career progression. However, our latest research – which […]
Why do women take more sick leave than men – and what can we do about it?
This article is part of our in-depth content series on women in the workplace – take a look at the full list of articles today and increase your knowledge of a range of issues relating to women in the workplace, including sickness absence, impostor syndrome and mental health. Last year, a study by Octopus HR found that women take […]
Female power and utilities executives ‘have no voice’
Only 4% of executive board positions in the world’s largest power and utilities (P&U) companies are held by women, according to a new report. The research, published by professional services firm EY, found that this lack of diversity is damaging business performance and leaving female executives struggling to be heard. “Diverse boards deliver for companies; […]
Are you part of the culture club?
The might of globalisation How big is Planet Earth? A quick Google search will tell you that it’s the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, with a radius of 6,371km and a surface area of 510,072,000 km². And yet, despite the almost incomprehensible size and volume of the planet we live on, […]
Can we please stop blaming women for diversity problems?
Why is it always assumed that gender diversity is all about women? Too often female under-representation in senior positions is blamed on motherhood, women shying from responsibility and failing to behave like men. It’s time to stop blaming supposed ‘women issues’ for the lack of diversity in business. The solution does not lie in asking […]