
Clearly, this has been necessitated by huge technological and societal change since the birth of modern information technology. While manufacturing has suffered a slow decline, the knowledge economy is now booming. These are fundamentally different forms of work, and the old habits of business are no longer useful.
This has some immediate, practical implications for businesses working in every sector, the most important of which is recruitment and retention. Competition for top talent has never been higher, particularly in areas like London?s Silicon Roundabout. Businesses need to work harder than ever to secure the right people, and this has manifested in headline-grabbing initiatives from egg freezing to unlimited paid holiday. These sorts of schemes are beyond the reach of many UK SMEs. However, there are still many ways in which the country?s small businesses can improve employee relations in a bid not only to attract and retain the best talent, but also to boost productivity and, importantly, employee wellbeing. Time spent at work is one of the key battlegrounds here. One of Britain?s leading public health professionals said recently that long working weeks are a key factor in the UK?s employee stress crisis. Professor John Ashton, who made the claim, was calling for a four day week;. Long hours play a big part in employee stress, a problem that is estimated to cost the country 10m working days per year in leave. Small business owners need to think carefully about ways to ensure their employees work reasonable hours, as well as ensuring that their family and leisure time is secured. Striking a balance between engagement and downtime is crucial to the success of every workforce and business. And small initiatives can also have a major impact ? or, in the words of British cycling coach Dave Brailsford, we should all be thinking about the ?aggregation of marginal gains.? Trust is another key pillar of any engagement and productivity strategy. Presenteeism is a killer. The question should not be “are employees in the office”, but rather “what is their output”. Your employees need to know that they are trusted to work to the best of their abilities, and for many businesses this requires a major shift in thinking. Home-working days and distributed working are important parts of this, and will only continue to grow. Technology can help to make this more achievable. Read more about increasing productivity in your business:- Here’s how you can plug your productivity gap
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