(PR in) HR Pulse | HR News Round-up: 4th – 10th December 2023
Photo by Thomas Charters on Unsplash
Gen Z line managers are more confident when handling sensitive conversations than peers
New research from Esphr (from Worknest) has found that younger line managers (aged 18-24) are more confident in handling sensitive and important topics such as Religion (82%), Race (78%), Harassment (75%), Neurodiversity (72%) and Gender Identity (71%) than older line managers.
Gen Z workers are less confident when discussing Disabilities (56%) - a quarter (25%) say they aren’t confident when dealing with conversations around physical or invisible disabilities
However, the majority (85%) are keen to improve their management skills.
Sarah Dillon, Director of Legal and ER at Esphr, says that younger workers’ confidence discussing particular topics is down to the conversations had on social media platforms. She adds that, as conversations around disabilities, infertility, and/or the death of close relatives or friends are less popular on the platforms, younger workers need comprehensive training in these areas to manage and create a more inclusive and supportive workplace.
Esphr’s research also found that younger line managers (33%) are more thoroughly investigated during their management capabilities assessment than older line managers, particularly those aged 55 and above (14%)
Source: The HR Director.
Apprenticeships are important for social mobility, yet, HRs aren’t using them
A new report from Corndel reveals that the majority (85%) of organisations say that apprenticeships are important for social mobility and two-thirds (65%) aim to incorporate them into their hiring strategies in the next 12 months.
Social mobility refers to an individual transitioning from one socio-economic classification to another and can have a significant impact on someone’s employee experience and overall wellbeing.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently revealed that social mobility in the UK is currently at its lowest point in fifty years. Individuals from economically disadvantaged and/or minoritised ethnicities are facing increased challenges in achieving a socio-economic status higher than that of their parents.
James Kelly, Co-founder and CEO at Corndel, says that social mobility in the UK is moving backwards and professional apprenticeships are the way to change this. Kelly adds that organisations need to focus on integrating these apprenticeships into a comprehensive hiring strategy to improve diversity and equality initiatives.
Sources: UNLEASH and Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Career changes due to the cost of living crisis
Recent research conducted by Forbes Advisor has found that a third (35%) of UK employees are considering changing their jobs for higher-paying roles due to the cost of living crisis. This increases to more than half (52%) for those working in the creative sector.
Research also shows that nearly a third (30% or c9.9 million employees) of the UK workforce have either left their jobs, returned to education or retired in the last three years.
More drastically, half (50%) of workers aged between 18 to 34 have changed their professions for higher-paying sectors - 13% say this is in an aim to increase earnings or due to inadequate pay in their previous sector, while 12% say this is down to the cost of living crisis.
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of marketing, advertising, and public relations professionals have changed careers in the last three years. Followed by energy and utilities (60%), recruitment and HR (59%), charity and voluntary work (58%), and environment and agriculture (57%) - IT (12%) and Artificial Intelligence (11%) are popular careers to change to.
Kevin Pratt, Business Expert at Forbes Advisor, says that social norms such as job loyalty have changed and the concept of a ‘job for life’ no longer exists due to the cost of living crisis.
Source: HR Review.
And here are links to other really interesting news stories this week:
People Management: Two thirds of employees admit working during time off, People Management poll finds
Personnel Today: Religion at work: discrimination is commonplace