(PR in) HR Pulse | HR News Round-up: 4th – 10th March 2024

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Trust in employers drops by 11%

Mercer’s 2024 Global Talent Trends report reveals an 11% drop in employees trusting that their employer will do right by them - from 80% in 2022 to 69% in 2023. This results from broken promises on pay raises and career development opportunities, recurring organisational changes and biased or unequal treatment. Nearly half (45%) of HR leaders also reported low trust in their organisations.

The report found that, in the UK, the three main aspects driving employee development are feeling a sense of belonging, working for an organisation with a purpose and feeling valued for contributing.

Simon White, Chief People Officer at Blink, says that employee trust is vital for the success of an organisation - a lack of trust will only cause distractions. He adds that employers need to be more transparent with their employees, treating them as valued members of the decision-making process.

Kate Bravery, Global Leader in Talent Advisory and Insight at Mercer, says that equity is the key to rebuilding trust, therefore, employers need to focus on resolving pay, health and career development issues through open communication. 

Source: HR Magazine.

61% of employees are more worried about the cost of living than last year

New research from Health Shield reveals that nearly two-thirds (61%) of employees are currently more worried about the cost of living than they were last year. Of the 564 full-time and part-time employees surveyed, nearly half (48%) said that this has negatively impacted their productivity at work. More than a third (40%) of respondents said they think about money daily and three-quarters (74%) do so weekly, if not more.

Half or more of those surveyed are worried about increasing utility bills (58%), postponing plans (55%) and growing food prices (50%). As a result, the majority (82%) are opting for cheaper food, nearly three-quarters (70%) are using their savings or a credit card and nearly two-thirds (61%) have cancelled holidays.

Paul Shires, Commercial Director at Health Shield, says that this ongoing stress around the cost of living will cause a significant negative impact on employees health and wellbeing. He adds that employers need to foster a comfortable working environment where employees can seek financial support. 

Source: Employee Benefits.

How can employers best support working women?

HiBob's new report shows that the majority (79%) of men believe the gender pay gap doesn’t exist - only 11% are aware of the unequal pay gap. Of the 2000 employees surveyed, just 17% of men think they are promoted faster or more frequently than women. 

In fact, HiBob found that a third (33%) of women didn’t receive an increase in pay, benefits or position in 2023 - the same is true for a quarter (25%) of men. Additionally, research from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that the current gender pay gap is at 14.3%, equal to women working 52 unpaid days annually. 

Amanda Day, Senior Director of People Enablement at Remote, says that even though women are now more visible in working environments due to technological advancement and social media, they continue to face challenges such as higher expectations, unfair bias, redundancy and barriers to career progression. 

Source: People Management.

* The original article by People Management discusses menopausal, menstruation, working mothers and pay gap challenges faced by women, feel free to read it here.

And here are links to other really interesting news stories this week:

HR Magazine: 72% of employers choose skills assessments over CVs, research finds 

HR Review: Over a third of workers have experienced 'imposter syndrome' 

HR Review: Major study reveals backwards step for working parents 

The HR Director: Girls 10x more likely to think their gender will put them at a disadvantage in becoming a boss