Workers hop to it

FIFTY-THREE per cent of job hoppers say changing jobs frequently makes them more marketable and 16 per cent believe it makes them look good. A survey of 799 workers found, on average, they had changed jobs:

One to five times 43%

Six to ten times 42%

Eleven to fifteen times 12%

Sixty-eight per cent said that changing jobs regularly is extremely stressful but 87 per cent believe changing jobs often makes them fast adaptors to new environments.

Source: Talent2

Violence at work not unusual

SIXTY-ONE per cent of women have been subjected to abuse, threats and other violent behaviour over the last five years. A survey of 1,000 women across several industries found only 59 per cent reported these incidents to their employers or managers while 11 per cent of women were taking sick leave because of the problem.

Source: Office of Women's Policy

Employees motivated by autonomy

MORE than three-quarters of employees in the US believe that management interferes with their ability to work efficiently. A survey of 3.5 million employees found the main management obstacles were:

Inconsistent management decisions 57%

Blaming 59%

Excessive bureaucracy 62%

Other impediments included: wasted time and effort (56 per cent); lack of input into decision making (56 per cent) and delays in making decisions (51 per cent).

Source: Sirota

Employees want collective bargaining

EIGHTY-SIX per cent of Australian employees believe that industrial relations laws should require employers to collectively bargain with their workers if that is what the majority of their employees want. A poll of more than 600 employees also found that 62 per cent of workers believe they will be worse off under the AWA individual contracts promoted in the Federal Government’s industrial relations plans.

Source: Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union

Workers don’t rate their bosses

MORE THAN one third of Australian workers rate their boss as less than OK – and five per cent actually hate their boss. Of 300 people surveyed, 17 per cent said their boss needs improving, with their most irritating characteristics being a lack of availability, aloofness from staff, poor communication skills, not leading by example and expecting more from their staff than they did of themselves.

Source: CVOZ

UK: companies strong on e-learning

FIFTY-FOUR per cent of organisations use e-learning, according to a UK survey. E-learning is also used to deliver up to 10 per cent of current training by time, and this is set to more than double. Employers are concentrating on developing e-learning modules specific to their needs and embedding it firmly in other business and HR processes.

Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Number cruncher’s changing role

NINETY-SEVEN per cent of Australian financial directors believe their responsibilities have increased over the last five years, largely due to corporate governance regulations. Seventy-nine per cent of financial directors believe the International Financial Reporting Standards and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have changed the content of their job dramatically, while 95 per cent also recognised that strategic thinking has become an increasingly important part of their daily responsibilities.

Source: Robert Half International

Workers tied to their jobs

EIGHTY-FIVE per cent of Australians say they are connected to work 24/7 and work virtually any place any time. But only 23 per cent of businesses pay for this connection through systems like blackberries, mobile phones and laptops, according to the 750 respondents. Three-quarters regarded themselves as early adopters of new technologies, especially those in the 25–34 year old age bracket.

Source: Talent2

Family leave arrangements unbalanced

FOURTEEN per cent more men than women are provided with family leave arrangements in their individual contracts. A survey found most individual contracts do not promote balance between work, life and family, with individual contracts offering or making provisions for:

Paid maternity leave 8%

Paid paternity leave 5%

Extra unpaid leave 4%

Source: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations/ACTU

Increase in disability discrimination awareness in the UK

A QUARTER of UK small business employers now have a written policy for people with disabilities. A survey of such businesses found general awareness of legislation concerning disability and employment has increased from 59 per cent to 74 per cent. Companies with disabled employees are now more likely to say they had made an adjustment, with costs being less of a constraint.

Source: HR Look

Australian companies thinking globally

FIFTY-SIX per cent of Australian firms are now doing business globally, and 88 per cent of bosses believe that global operations are a good thing. Australian industries which are operating on an international basis by sector include:

Engineering/manufacturing 73%

Computer/IT 68%

Legal 33%

Source: Talent2