Britain’s beaches and parks may be filling up as the lockdown eases – but getting workers back into the office is still a significant challenge for many employers.

Businesses across the country are debating when is the right time to ask staff to return to the workspace, and what should be done in the meantime to make the prospect more palatable.

What many are realising is that following government guidelines can only take you so far. The real conundrum is how to address the anxieties of employees and give them confidence that coming back to work will be safe.

Bringing back employees on a rota system, so that not all are in the workspace at the same time, is proving popular with many businesses, gently easing employees into a new way of working.

Others are taking out desks to create space, removing hot desks and introducing sanitiser stations to give staff a sense of security.

Whether the pandemic will lead to permanent changes in the office environment, and even in workplace design, as health and cleanliness takes a higher priority, is already being debated.

However, the key for now is to make immediate changes which will entice people back to work.

So thus we’ve narrowed down 11 Essential Tips for employees once they return to office:

1 Install new building signage – floor markings, social distancing signs and posters about washing hands can all give employees a sense of reassurance that something has changed.

2 Install hygiene screens – by creating a barrier between workstations, designed to catch germs and prevent them spreading, employees can return to work with greater confidence.

3 Look at space plans to reduce hotdesking and increase fixed positions – despite spending the last ten years persuading employees to embrace hotdesking, many companies are having to backtrack. Employees will not want to sit at a desk that has been used by other people during the day.

4 Reduce the canteen and welfare facilities where crowding could take place ­­– bowls of fruit in communal areas and staff buffets are going to have to go. Anywhere where there could be a high volume of people in one place is going to make employees fearful.

5 Encourage people to use stairs rather than lifts and escalators if they can – these are areas where overcrowding could occur. Encourage staff to leave the lifts for those who really need them – and lower the number of people they can carry at one time.

6 Introduce hand sanitiser stations – these should be installed not only in foyers and entrance halls but across the office.

7 Increase the cleaning regime – cleaning regimes will have to change to suit the new normal. Big organisations may well go back to having cleaners working throughout the day. Smaller businesses will need well organised rotas, with visible tick charts in place to prove that areas have been cleaned. This can also increase confidence for employees.

8 Reduce the amount of furniture on site to cut down footfall ­– by removing desks and creating space, social distancing becomes more feasible. At Tesco’s head office, for instance, they are removing every other desk – and physically changing the footprint of the workspace. Employees know they can stay safe because desks have been taken out of use.

9 Reconfigure the furniture that you do keep – clusters of desks close together will no longer be possible. Re-arrange furniture so that people are not walking close to desks – or consider utilising smaller desks.

10 Ensure those who are working at home are doing so safely and comfortably – especially if they are going to be asked to do so long-term. Arrange for ergonomic desks and chairs to be sent to them; it is the responsibility of the employer to look after their wellbeing in working hours.

11 Consider who is the right person to take charge of ensuring the office is clean and safe – and ensure they are properly trained. This may be the Facility Director or Head of Estate. In an SME it may be the Office Manager. They should work together with HR and Compliance to ensure communication of safety rules is strong – and that rules are adhered to.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

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Up to 30% of jobs (10.5 million) in the UK are considered ‘highly automatable’ and therefore at risk to change, with professionals not possessing the skills to accommodate the AI revolution.

By 2020, approximately 75 million jobs would have been displaced across the globe as a result of the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Mid-skill workers are most at risk, with data illustrating that employment growth has been greatest at the extreme ends of the spectrum (top and bottom 20%) whilst in-between there has been a decline, resulting in a hallowing out of jobs for the middle-tier workforce.

Within the industry this displacement of mid-skill workers has become known as the ‘automation paradox.’

The findings come from a report published this month from global recruiter Robert Walters and market intelligence firm Vacancy Soft – Harnessing the Power of AI: The Demand for Future Skills.

Growth in Data Roles

However, it is not all bad news when we consider the impact of AI on the job market.

Ollie Sexton, Principal at Robert Walters comments:“As businesses become ever more reliant on AI, there is an increasing amount of pressure on the processes of data capture and integration. As a result, we have seen an unprecedented number of ‘next generation’ roles being created with data skill-set at their core. In fact, data-related roles across the board have increased by 80% since 2015.

“What has been the most interesting to see is the emergence of data scientist as a mainstream profession – with job vacancies increasing by a staggering 110% year-on-year. The same trend can be seen with data engineers, averaging 86% year-on-year job growth.”

Industries that are being most disrupted by AI are:

• Retail: whilst driving the e-commerce powerhouse, AI is being utilised to drive consumers back to the ‘bricks and mortar 2.0.’ From self-checkout, and monitoring customer patterns and preferences, to using data to enhance the customer journey and in-store experience, and seamlessly linking online and offline channels.
• Business Support: the application of AI within the professional services field is extraordinary, but when considering just the business support aspect alone AI has been implemented at every level – from spam filters and smart emails, to smart personal assistants (Siri, Cortana, Google Now), automated customer support, and sales and business forecasting.
• Healthcare: experimental AI is making huge breakthroughs in the healthcare industry from Google’s DeepMind being taught to read retinal scans, healthcare apps saving hours of GP time, to patient safety, training and education, as well as drastic improvements in bias, inequality and unfairness within the profession.

UK Skills Shortage

Tom Chambers, Manager – Advanced Analytics and Engineering at Robert Walters comments:“The concern should not be about jobs being displaced, but whether our workforce is ready and prepared to accommodate a job boom within data and digitalisation.

“According to hiring managers within the tech field, 56% of professionals lack sufficient experience for the role, whilst a further 51% also lack the right technical skills.”

Another recent Robert Walters survey of tech professionals found that just 10% of cyber security professionals, 31% of data management professionals, and 27% of software developers rated their skills as ‘advanced.’

Worryingly 40% of UK professionals employed within the AI-sphere stated that their job-specific skills were only at the ‘beginner’ level.

Tom Chambers adds: “Historically the UK has been able to attract skilled IT and data professionals from across the EU – a quarter of tech professionals in the UK are from overseas – yet with the current political climate this may prove to become more of a challenge.

The UK – in particular London – has an opportunity to be at the centre of the tech & AI revolution but growth and demand can only be met with the upskilling or retraining of mid-tier talent so that they don’t become redundant.”

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post 10.5 Million Middle-Tier Workers At Risk As Automation Takes Over In UK appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

According to new research from Wrike, the collaborative work management platform, nearly all UK (91%)  and German (94%) employees feel more stressed in the days leading up to taking a holiday. More than two fifths (43%) of UK employees said that they feel ‘very’ stressed. By comparison, just over three quarters (78%) of French employees report being stressed, with the majority (42%) saying they only feel ‘slightly’ stressed.

“Holidays are supposed to be relaxing but taking time out of work can be disruptive,” said Patricia DuChene, GM of EMEA and VP of Sales at Wrike. “If you’re in the middle of a project, it can be difficult to walk away from it or finish enough of it before you head off. And sadly, that can mean you start your holiday worrying about the work you’ve left behind.”

When asked whether tools and applications help to prepare for time out of the office, nearly all UK (91%), German (92%) and French (84%) of respondents said that they do, with almost half (47%) across all regions saying that they are ‘very’ helpful.

“I recently went away on holidays. Using Wrike, I was able to ensure my work schedule was blocked out so if people wanted to message me ‘unavailable’ appeared,” said Julia Marber, Production Manager: Demand Centre, Clarivate Analytics. “For admin tasks, I did the same and took myself off the request forms and added the holiday assignee. This meant that my absence didn’t act as a bottleneck and projects weren’t on hold, awaiting my return to progress.”

When asked if they feel stressed when they return to work after their holiday, just under a third of French (30%) and German (29%) respondents said they don’t at all. By comparison, the majority of UK (84%) respondents said they are stressed when they return to work.

“Last year, Wrike’s Stress Epidemic Report found that more than two-fifths of British workers regularly lose sleep as a result of workplace stress. Nearly a year later, it seems that they still aren’t getting the break they deserve when they take a holiday. But there is a solution. Streamlining technology helps to tighten up processes, create a single source of information, and increase transparency as to who is responsible for what. These aspects are particularly helpful when one member of the team is going on holiday because everyone else knows what still needs to be done while that person is away. These simple benefits can really help your staff manage and decrease their stress levels,” added DuChene.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Holiday Causes Stress For UK Employees, Research Reveals appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.