Working parents: shared parental leave has the potential to positively impact gender equality
With the uptake of new fathers taking up shared parental leave remaining stubbornly low, it seems a change in workplace culture and perception is needed in order for employees to truly feel the benefits. One professional dad shares his personal experience of the scheme and how it has positively impacted both his personal and working […]
Maternity discrimination: five ways line managers make maternity returners want to leave
Hiring and training new staff is a costly business, so it makes financial sense to try and retain as many existing experienced employees as possible. Sadly, too many organisations are losing talent due to a negative approach to maternity returners. Did you know that there is a direct correlation between the relationship of a maternity […]
Why new fathers are too scared to take paternity leave
Uptake of shared parental leave among new fathers is low. What’s holding men back from caring for their children? I recently read a troubling statistic, suggesting that as few as one in 50 men are taking advantage of a Government scheme designed to make it easier for new fathers to take paternity leave. The scheme […]
Inclusion means everyone… doesn’t it?
Gender equality is about men, just as much as it is about women, argues diversity and inclusion specialist Nadia Nagamootoo. I speak to a lot of women about my work to create gender equality for men – often because I’m attending a Women’s Network or the audience attracts more women when the subject is about […]
Shared parental leave: why businesses need to do more to make it work
Why is shared parental leave back in the headlines? Because it’s not working. Shared parental leave was introduced in 2015 and over two years later the take up could be as low as 2%. The government wants more parents to take up shared parental leave and is spending £1.5 million on promoting it. As part […]
Bridging the gap – lessons to be learnt from gender pay gap reporting
In the month in which employers with 250+ employees have been required to disclose their gender pay gap for the first time, the issue of gender equality in the workplace is being subjected to some scrutiny by the media, the government and employers themselves. And rightly so – on the disclosed evidence the gender pay […]
Family friendly benefits under threat from new gender pay rules
Despite new rules propelling the gender pay gap into the spotlight, Sodexo Engage’s Iain McMath believes employers must continue to fly the flag for family-friendly benefits to help working parents. The countdown is on; by April, businesses with 250 or more employees will have to publish their gender pay gap in a move that’s likely […]
Why you should be offering returnships to career-breakers – and how to get started
If you haven’t heard of a returnship, you are not alone. Totaljobs’ latest survey results found that a staggering 85% of employers aren’t aware of back-to-work schemes, which is rather surprising given the positive response from employees. Of the candidates we spoke to, three in four revealed they would consider a returnship programme after a […]
Creating a work-life balance: Why flexibility needs to be a two-way street
This is particularly true of graduates, who want to stay on top of their work in order to impress their peers. But as we get older and ‘real life’ gets in the way, our responsibilities change. Naturally, your attention is expected elsewhere, beyond the confines of the office walls. Balancing work with home life can […]
How does technology affect your emotional stability?
Picking up a copy of Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence is almost a requirement in the business world for educating yourself on the topic – but in terms of improving your emotional skills, does stepping back from the internet help or hinder your relationships (both online and off)? When we started our Digitox, such a thing couldn’t have been […]
Four reasons to ‘diet’ your internet consumption
My family and I have been taking a day off a week from gadgets and the internet for over three years now – that means no smartphones, no internet, no computers and (mostly) no streaming or gaming. There are six of us (seven if you count the dog): me, my wife, Caroline, and our four […]
5 reasons we should stop talking about family friendly workplaces
In 1999 I talked to my then employer about an idea I had. I was training as a coach for leaders and teams and loving what I was learning. At the same time I was a senior producer with a major broadcaster and didn’t want to walk away from a career I’d devoted a decade […]
Maternity coaching: a crap name for an incredible development opportunity
It's HR in Retail month on HRZone! We're focusing on all things retail – check out our HR in retail hub to read all our great content! I want to start with a confession: despite my dislike of the terminology, if you search our website, you will find reference to maternity and paternity coaching. It’s become such […]
Why a family-friendly approach is good for business
Having an engaged workforce is all about providing rewarding work in a positive environment, so that employees want to deliver their best for the business every day. To be truly effective, employee engagement strategies must take into account the changing needs of employees as they enter new stages of their life; the biggest of which is […]
Why we should embrace the six-hour working day
Gary Cattermole, Director, The Survey Initiative, discusses how some companies in Scandinavia are introducing a six-hour day to boost levels of employee engagement and how this could really benefit businesses in the UK too. No doubt if we held a referendum on who is fed-up with the 9-5 there would be a majority eager to embrace […]
Unfair treatment experienced by pregnant women “astounds me”
There's so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics' Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and […]
Netflix goes unlimited on parental leave
With last week’s announcement, Netflix reasserted itself at the cutting edge of workplace practices and policies, alongside a band of innovative US tech companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook. What did Netflix do? It announced unlimited paid maternity and paternity leave for new parents. Compared to some European countries, granted, that doesn’t seem all that […]
How the role of women has changed in the workplace over the decades – and are we in a better place today?
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. The last 60+ years have seen the […]
