Press Releases

Better management is the key to tackling workers’ stress

The combination of demanding, complex jobs and low levels of support from managers and colleagues is driving the high prevalence of stress among workers, The Work Foundation says today. When job intensity is coupled with inadequate support and few opportunities for employees to progress in their careers, symptoms such as sleeping problems, anxiety, irritability and stress are a likely result

UK must attract more highly skilled migrant workers

The UK will need to attract more highly skilled workers from abroad — both from the European Union and outside it - in order to secure the future of high technology, ‘knowledge intensive’ industries in an increasingly global world, a new report finds today.

How cities can make the most of collaboration projects?

The government risks creating so many partnership programmes among local authorities that the real benefits of collaboration - co-ordination, simplification, and more voice and influence - become undermined, a new report says today.

‘Meaningful work’: what it is and why it’s growing

The Work Foundation today publishes a new essay that asks what is ‘meaningful work’, why more people seem to be seeking it, and what employers can do to make work more meaningful?

Immigration: vital for the UK’s economic success

High levels of immigration over the past ten years have been good for the economy, according to a new report from The Work Foundation. 

Knowledge economy programme – new report published

The Work Foundation today publishes a report outlining its research thus far into the knowledge economy, 18 months into a three-year, £1.5 million research programme which will conclude in April 2009.

Major knowledge economy conference to hear from top-level political and business speakers

Cabinet ministers John Hutton and John Denham, and European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, are to top the bill at The Work Foundation’s forthcoming conference on the knowledge economy.

Winners of the Workworld media awards announced

The winners of the 2007 WorkWorld Media Awards were announced at a ceremony held at Bafta in central London on Wednesday 23 January 2008.

Public as well as private sector spending drives knowledge economy success in cities all over the UK

The ‘poorer North’ and ‘richer South’ idea of the UK is no longer an accurate description of the economic life of the nation, a new report finds today. The new report argues that a more subtle analysis of cities across the UK is needed if policy makers are to fully understand their diverse economic profiles and find the right policies to help different places flourish.

EU failing to reap gains from its ‘knowledge workforce’

Policies that make the most of knowledge workers skills are needed to prevent the Lisbon Agenda stalling, says new report

Cities gear up in ‘battle for distinctiveness’

A new paper from The Work Foundation today says that in ‘distinctiveness’ — the discovery of specialisms and characteristics that help cities build and sustain a cohesive identity — an alternative strategy to the apparent homogenisation of Britain’s towns and high streets is opening up.

WorkWorld Media Awards 2007 - judges announced

Work is ‘cure as well as cause’ of major workplace illnesses

'Musculoskeletal disorders’ (MSDs) — an umbrella term that covers over 200 different ailments including arthritis, back pain and damage to joints, muscles and tendons — affect twice as many people as ‘stress’, account for up to a third of all GP consultations, cause 9.5 million lost working days, and cost society £7.4bn a year*.   

Regional ‘knowledge economy’ overshadowed by London

The difficulty of creating ‘knowledge economy’ jobs in cities based in the north and west of the UK may be the principal reason for the continuation of the north-south divide, a new report argues today.

Humble public sector managers lack leadership confidence

Public sector managers lack confidence in their own leadership skills and consistently underestimate what they achieve.

The Work Foundation appoints new board chairman

The Work Foundation today announces the appointment of John Peace, chairman of the FTSE 100 company Experian, as the new chairman of its board.

Threat to UK professional jobs from off-shoring ‘exaggerated’

The fear of large numbers of good quality British jobs being outsourced to rapidly developing countries such as India may be overstated, says a new report published today by The Work Foundation.

Working life ‘significantly better’ after 10 years of Labour

The Labour government deserves ‘7 out of 10’ for its effect on working life during the last decade, a new report says today.

Report hails economic vitality of Britain’s creative industries

The value of Britain's flourishing creative industries to the economy is now broadly comparable to that of the financial services sector, a new report says today. But without careful policy-making, targeted public investment and a supportive institutional architecture, the flow of creativity worth commercialising may begin to slow, it warns.

UK leads world in export of 'ideas and knowledge'

If Germany is good at making cars and Japan at micro electronics, what does Britain excel at economically? The answer is ‘knowledge services’.

Strategic potential of internal communication yet to be tapped

New research today challenges top teams and senior decision makers to recognise the potential of internal communications (IC) to drive up the cohesion and performance of organisations.

New study into leadership launched

The Work Foundation today announces the start of a new research programme into leadership

‘Ideopolis’ research programme launched

The Work Foundation today announces the start of phase II of its ‘Ideopolis’ programme of research into cities.

The Work Foundation moves to new premises

After more than 40 years in Carlton House Terrace, the Board and Directors of The Work Foundation have decided that it is time for The Work Foundation to have a new home. So in May 2007 the organisation will relocate to a new state-of-the-art suite of offices and event space in Palmer Street, London, SW1, beside St James’s tube station.

Inside the dark box: shedding light on private equity

Different types of private equity deal have markedly different effects on jobs, wages and the quality of working life, new report finds

Britain needs ‘knowledge economy policy’

Gordon Brown should use the opportunity of the Comprehensive Spending Review this summer to set out an economic policy that will enable Britain to flourish in the knowledge economy, The Work Foundation says today.

National minimum wage at the limits of its effectiveness

The national minimum wage (NMW) has significantly helped reduce income inequality in Britain over the last six years, yet the time is fast approaching when further sharp increases in its level could adversely affect the employment prospects of the most disadvantaged. Instead, fresh policy ideas are needed to tackle low pay.

Best of British Industry Awards – winners announced

The winners of the 2006 Best of British Industry Awards are announced today.

The future of welfare reform

Commenting on today’s speech by Jim Murphy MP, minister of state for employment and welfare reform, Will Hutton, chief executive of The Work Foundation, said:

Winners of the Workworld media awards announced

At a ceremony held at Bafta, the winners of the 2006 Workworld media awards were announced by Will Hutton, chief executive of The Work Foundation

1-2-3-4-5: The magic numbers for economic improvement

Many of society’s most intractable social problems - crime, drugs misuse, unemployment, poor skills and endemic unhappiness - are rooted in the experiences of children during their first five years of life.

Employment law not the only route to justice at work

The cause of justice at work will not be best served by introducing any new employment laws in the near future. Instead, what is needed is a new policy initiative aiming to encourage employers both to comply with existing laws and actively pursue a fairness at work agenda.

CEOs should not be paid for risks they do not bear

Being a chief executive of a major company is a relatively low-risk job in comparison with many other sorts of work, a new paper argues. Therefore, the old arguments about risk and reward traditionally deployed by those seeking to justify growing chief executive pay packets cannot be sustained.

Managers and professionals dominate new job growth

Relatively well-paying managerial, professional and semi-professional type jobs have grown faster than any other sort of work in the UK over the last decade, a new analysis from The Work Foundation reveals.

Public sector work-life balance is more rhetoric than reality

Employers in the public sector ‘talk the talk’ on work-life balance, but have only low levels of commitment to changing standard working patterns in practice – and in some cases deliberately block people from flexible working or grant requests only to selected favourites.

UK Competitiveness Index

The first compelling evidence that the north-south divide that has marred British economic life for a generation is beginning to close is published today.

The job of public sector managers is to maximise public value

Report calls for citizens and citizenship to be placed at the heart of public service reform debate

DCLG White Paper is a missed opportunity to empower our city-regions

Commenting on the Local Government White Paper, Alexandra Jones, Associate Director at The Work Foundation, said:

 “The Local Government White Paper is a mixed bag.  While the government have outlined some positive steps to revive local democracy they have missed an opportunity to improve the UK’s prosperity by enabling towns and cities to make plans that reflect the way people work and live

Greater power should be devolved to ‘city regions’

Report also calls for a new vision for Britain’s overlooked medium-sized cities

Low investment limits the knowledge economy dividend, report finds

European countries together have a ‘knowledge economy’ that is as big if not bigger than that of the US, with over 40 per cent of workers employed in knowledge-based industries*. But the continent has not matched the US in terms of economic growth and productivity largely because it has not invested as much in its knowledge base and may be suffering a slowdown in technological progress as a result.

Survey uncovers generation gap in attitudes to industry

When they think of the word ‘industry’ young people see ‘money and computers’ whereas older people see ‘dirt and decline’

Manchester city-region has ‘earned the right to greater autonomy’

Manchester has earned the right to greater freedom from central government control, a new report from The Work Foundation says today.

Too much recklessness blights government IT projects, report finds

Contrary to the stereotype, public sector managers have sometimes been too gung-ho in their attitude to risk when developing and implementing information technology projects, wasting many millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money in the process

British people are willing to pay more for the BBC

British citizens are prepared to pay more money for the BBC licence fee in the future, a new study has found

Hairdressers, celebrities, managers, consultants: paper unveils the ‘iconic’ jobs of the 21st century

What are the occupations that seem to carry the spirit of our times within them? What job captures the temper of the age? In today's complicated and contradictory world of work, this paper sets out to find the workers who have most to tell us about the future trajectory of working life.

The paper argues that anyone hoping to find the archetypal workers of the early 21st century should look no further than the ranks of hairdressers (and others in the personal grooming trades), management consultants, celebrites, and managers. These are the 'paradigm trades' that between them represent the fundamental trends affecting contemporary working life.

Knowledge economy debate needs to move beyond platitudes

The debate about the ‘knowledge economy’ is full of ‘slovenly thinking and careless assumptions’, The Work Foundation alleges today.

Workworld Media Awards 2006

The Workworld Media Awards are now in their 20th year. Sponsored by AMEC, the international project management and engineering services company, the awards seek to recognise the most inspired and authoritative writing and broadcasting about the world of work.

Workers overwhelmingly satisfied with their jobs

Over two thirds of workers describe their jobs as a source of ‘personal fulfilment’ to them, with just nine per cent branding them ‘meaningless’, a new survey finds today.

Rising numbers of workers doubt their bosses’ leadership abilities

Confidence in the leadership abilities of senior managers has declined since the start of 2005, the latest results of The Worker’s Index, a bi-annual survey of employees’ feelings and attitudes towards work, reveals today

The Best of British Industry Awards

The Best of British Industry Awards
Prestigious new awards are launched to showcase the Best of British industry
http://www.britishindustryawards.co.uk/

Health service workers are the gloomiest staff in the public services

Health service workers are markedly more disillusioned with their jobs and have less faith in their leaders than their counterparts in other parts of the public sector.

New study exposes flexibility myths

The widespread conviction that low levels of employment regulation and weak trade unions are the cause of Britain’s good record at creating jobs and keeping unemployment down is today exposed as a myth in a new study by The Work Foundation.

Performance management systems are ‘failing to motivate’, says The Work Foundation

Most organisations have lost sight of the fact that performance management systems should aim to enhance performance by motivating staff. This is the conclusion of in-depth research published today by The Work Foundation into the performance management (PM) regimes in place among a group of six case study organisations. The research suggests that HR professionals are overly concerned with ‘tweaking’ PM forms and software rather than focusing on what should result from the process – improved performance.

Tesco and corporate responsibility

Tesco’s is leading the debate about what corporate responsibility means, says The Work Foundation

Knowledge economy project

Biggest ever research programme on the knowledge economy, led by The Work Foundation receives Chancellor Gordon Brown’s support

Ideopolis knowledge cities project

The UK is on the way to developing a collection of vibrant, sustainable knowledge cities that are driving economic development in their regions, research from The Work Foundation has found.

Peugeot Citroen closure

Peugeot Citroen workers are likely to find it just as difficult as MG Rover workers to find 'high quality' jobs warns the Work Foundation’s Kathy Armstrong, author of 'Life after Rover'. Indeed it is likely that life after Peugeot Citroen could be even tougher for the Coventry-based workforce.

Papering over the Cracks, Rules, Regulation and Real Trust

Regulatory reflex in danger of destroying not building trust in business

Linda Holbeche joins The Work Foundation

The Work Foundation welcomes Linda Holbeche as new Director of the Campaign for Leadership

Workworld Awards winners

The Work Foundation’s Workworld Awards Winners Announced

The Active Welfare State: Matching Rights with Responsibilities

The Rt Hon John Hutton MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions - The Active Welfare State: Matching Rights with Responsibilities

Healthy work: productive workplaces report

The Work Foundation urges the Government to commit itself to making 2006 the year of the healthy workplace.

One in four British workers feel failed by their managers

British businesses are being held back by managers who fail to get the best out of their staff, according to the latest Workers’ Index published by MORI and The Work Foundation.

Gershon will fail without better implementation of ICT concludes The Work Foundation

Senior managers and frontline staff at all levels of government are struggling to realise the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to meet the efficiency targets set by the Gershon Review, says new research from The Work Foundation, sponsored by Adobe.

Wait 'til your father gets home?

The offer to take six months of unpaid paternity leave will be ignored by new dads, warns The Work Foundation.

Employees hold the secret of success for Alliance Boots

The 76,000 employees at newly merged Alliance Boots may be concerned about their jobs, but they actually hold the fortune of the company in their hands.

How ICT? The role of ICT in public services report

Listen to staff or ICT reform will fail concludes The Work Foundation

Cracking the Performance Code survey

Survey of top performing firms debated at DTI summit for EU Leaders

Money, Tickets, Passport, Blackberry??

The British summer holiday is synonymous with traffic jams, inclement weather and bored children, but for some it is all about work.

Public sector trails private sector in the first worker confidence index

MORI Social Research Institute and The Work Foundation have launched the first Workers 'Index, the start of an ongoing series to monitor trends in the workplace.

The Tipping Point: How Much is Broadcast Creativity at Risk? research report

Less not more? Broadcasting creativity at risk says independent report

British Business DNA Decoded

The Work Foundation today (19 July 2005) launched the findings of its year long investigation into how the UK's companies could be more productive.

'What ICT? Providing more citizen focused services' research report

Public want ‘IT’ all in public services: But public servants need to match the right technology to the right people

Meaning, Management and Measurement The Work Foundation to examine Public Value within a UK context

Measuring the public value created by the UK’s public services and institutions is tricky. Even the definition of public value is elusive.

Ideopolis: Knowledge City research

The Arts Council, BT, Manchester City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Transport for London, ONE North East and the University of Bristol have joined forces to back a year long Work Foundation research programme into the ‘Ideopolis: Knowledge City’. The project goes further than Science Cities and the recent announcement of the City of e-Technology Award in seeking to understand the factors driving ‘Knowledge Cities.