April 2024 HR News Roundup

Welcome to our HR News Roundup for April. We’re now well into the second quarter of 2024 and the start of a new financial year. At this time of year, our thoughts naturally turn to new beginnings and we look forward to the holidays, events and celebrations to come. Having something in the diary to look forward to is a must in our book. It’s essential for our wellbeing, which is also our focus for this month’s roundup.

We have collated lots of interesting reads, including new disability guidance for managers, the benefits of an age diverse workforce, how wellbeing affects productivity and satisfaction, and the link between commitment to sustainability and employee engagement. Grab your brew of choice and take some time for personal development. Knowledge enhances your wellbeing too, you know!

Benefits of age diversity in the workplace

People in their 50s and 60s often face age discrimination, and those who have encountered it in the last 12 months say it occurs most frequently in the workplace.

Older employees add so much value to their employers, contributing to the workforce with their experience, knowledge sharing, and training future generations. It’s important that employees in their 50s and 60s get the respect and protection they need at work.

This article from HR News highlights positive examples of how organisations such as Easyjet are championing an age diverse workforce. Worth a read...

How can HR support younger workers?

Moving to the opposite end of the age scale, younger workers are also an essential component of a healthy workforce. As the UK Government considers altering regulations to lower the minimum age for commercial driving roles, HR Magazine reminds employers of their obligations to develop and support younger team members. 

Dissatisfied employees lose 77 days per year to sickness

The results of Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace survey are in, with some shocking, but perhaps unsurprising, findings. The data shows that employees who are unhappy at work are less productive, with dissatisfied colleagues losing more than three working months (77 days) per year to absence and presenteeism. That’s over a quarter of the working year!  

The study also found a link between employee satisfaction and mental health, with dissatisfied employees more likely to be at risk of depression and to have suffered burnout.

Supporting health and wellbeing is a critical element of employee engagement and satisfaction. To understand how P3 can help your organisation to build a more productive, engaged culture, please get in touch.

Commitment to sustainability boosts employee engagement

As we prepare to celebrate Earth Day on 22 April, a survey by Culture Amp has found that engagement is 16% higher when employees feel their organisation displays a genuine commitment to sustainability.

Job seekers want to work for an employer that has a positive impact on the planet. Does your organisation demonstrate a clear and genuine commitment to sustainability - ethically, socially and environmentally? Developing a sustainability strategy to set out your intentions and commitments may support employee engagement and boost your organisation’s ability to attract talent and customers. 

The professionals earning substantial wage increases

Analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) earnings data from the last two years shows the top performing job roles for wage growth since 2021 are:

• PR and Communications directors

• Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services, and

• IT directors.

Employees in these roles have received inflation busting wage growth of 16.2% or more over a two-year period. This compares to the majority of UK employees who received more modest wage growth of 11.8%.

Wage growth, or lack of, has a direct impact on quality of life and an employee’s ability to manage rising costs of living. Is your salary structure in line with inflation or could it benefit from a review?

Remote workers are less likely to receive a pay rise  

Also on the subject of reward and recognition, research by the University of Warsaw has found that people who work remotely are less likely to receive a promotion or a pay rise. The survey of 937 UK managers revealed that people who work entirely from home are 11% less likely to receive promotions compared to their office-based counterparts. For hybrid workers, the figure was 7%.

A similar pattern emerged for pay rises - fully remote workers were 9%, and hybrid workers 7%, less likely to receive a pay rise compared to colleagues who work in the office full time. The researchers also discovered an interesting gender gap. Read the full article on HR Review to find out more.

As the right to flexible working from day one of employment is now UK law, employers need to ensure a fair and balanced approach to reward and recognition for all employees, regardless of working models. A useful reference for managers, ACAS has recently published this new code of practice on handling flexible working requests.  

Five tips to improve managing frontline employees

The leadership skills and behaviours needed to manage frontline employees are often different to those required by back office teams. Flexing your approach to managing teams can have a positive impact on an individual’s sense of belonging, wellbeing and satisfaction at work.  

Sean Nolan shares his insight into the main differences and offers some useful tips to adapt your leadership style, including getting out to experience the role for yourself, empathy, empowerment, and investing in continuous improvement.   

New disability guidance for managers

The CIPD and Department for Work and Pensions have published an updated Disability Confident guide to help managers improve their support for disabled people at work. The guide is a useful tool for leaders, providing advice on how to attract, support and develop disabled people to help them realise their full potential at work.

Download the free guide here