Hangovers give employers headache

Faking a sickie 22%

Source: Talent2

Men complain of harrassment

EIGHTY-NINE per cent of males have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace over the past year, compared to just over 82 per cent of females, an Australian study of 324 people has found. Most males claimed they were subjected to low-level harassment, however 3 per cent said the harassment was of a serious nature, such as promising job advantages in exchange for sexual favours.

Source: University of New England

Smaller employers more attractive: UK

NINETY-ONE per cent of small business managers believe that good internal communications is very important, compared to 81 per cent of managers in companies with 10,000-49,999 staff and just 62 per cent in those employing more than 50,000 people. A British study of more than 400 HR managers found that other important people management elements in small businesses include:

Recognising staff contributions 90%

Ensuring staff capability 86%

Explaining organisational vision 78%

Source: Chiumento/Personnel Today

E-Learning still in early stages

SIXTY-TWO per cent of companies believe they are in the early stages of e-learning technology adoption, according to a survey of 30 of the top 100 organisations across Australia and New Zealand. It also found that many organisations across a number of industries are responding tactically to learning, with 73 per cent looking to continue their e-learning journey as its offerings expand and new business requirements demand more from e-learning.

Source: The Cape Group

Demographic degrees of migrants

TWENTY-FIVE per cent of new migrants to Australia are professionals, compared to just 18 per cent of Australian-born residents. Further-more, migrants are four times more likely to have a higher degree than Australian-born residents, and twice as likely to have a bachelor’s degree. Migrants from English speaking backgrounds are three times as likely to earn more than $1,500 a week.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Women’s equal management shot

FIFTY-FOUR per cent of HR pro-fessionals believe that women don’t have as good a chance as men in becoming members of the senior management team, according to a poll of 664 US practitioners. However it found that 35 per cent did think that women had just as good a chance, while 11 per cent were undecided or said it depended on a number of factors.

Source: Workforce

The taxing toll of work

TWENTY-NINE per cent of Australian employees believe their work environment is harming their health, according to a poll of 1,000 people. It also found that 27 per cent say their workplace is too dirty to be safe, while an additional 17 per cent of employees have seen their co-workers regularly fall ill because of their working environment.

Source: Talent2

The high costs of age discrimination

LESS than 70 per cent of people older than 50 are currently employed in the UK, compared with more than 75 per cent of those under 50. However many of those who want to work face barriers such as age discrimination, outdated skills, lack of confidence and health problems, resulting in between £19- £31 billion a year in lost output and taxes and increased welfare payments.

Source: National Audit Office, UK

Multinationals boost centralised compensation

FIFTY-NINE per cent of global companies with decentralised compensation structures expect to centralise their structures in the next two years, a survey of 230 multinationals has found. It also found that 49 per cent currently have centralised compensation structures in place, while the regions that present the most challenges in developing a global compensation system include:

Asia 55%

Western Europe 33%

South America 24%

Source: Watson Wyatt/WorldatWork

Entrepreneurial job movements

FIFTY per cent of business owners have never moved past the role of owner/operator and continue to do everything themselves, according to a survey of nearly 900 Australian companies. It also found that 40 per cent were able to move to the role of owner/manager by giving up a moderate amount of daily control to a few capable people around them, while just 10 per cent were able to transition to the role of professional management by giving up daily management control altogether.

Source: Flinders University of South Australia

High health care costs taking toll: US

TWENTY-NINE per cent of American companies are likely to decrease employee benefits as a result of increasing health care costs, while 28 per cent are planning to decrease hiring new staff. A survey of 375 HR practitioners in the US found that 19 per cent were likely to decrease investment in employee training/professional development and 12 per cent would cut technology investments, while expected avenues of cost savings in order to cover health care costs include:

Employee productivity 44%

Exploring offshoring/outsourcing 19%

Increasing downsizing/layoffs 15%

Source: Society for Human Resource Management