The latest L&D news, reports, research and updates, personally compiled by TJ’s Editor, Jo Cook
U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low according to Gallup
Employee engagement in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged. This matches the figure last seen in 2014. The percentage of actively disengaged employees, at 17%, also reflects 2014 levels.
The percentage of engaged employees has declined by two percentage points since 2023, highlighting a growing trend of employee detachment from organisations, particularly among workers younger than 35.
Racial disparities in working from home raise concerns about equity of return-to-office mandates, study finds
Racial disparities in working from home (WFH) raise concerns that return-to-office mandates introduced since Covid will not be enforced equitably, according to new research. The study, published in the Industrial Relations Journal, comes as the House of Lords recently announced the creation of a special inquiry committee on home-based working in the UK to assess the ways it may have exacerbated existing inequalities.
The new research finds that despite a rise in home-working across all ethnicities in the UK since before the pandemic, in 2022-23 certain groups were still less likely than others to be WFH – even after controlling for factors that might affect their access to WFH policies, such as employment sector and occupational level.
Trump DEI ban: how will it affect UK companies?
President Trump’s decision to pull out of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives threatens to have a dramatic knock-on effect with major global corporations announcing plans to scale back or reverse their own DEI agendas.
But the following week, a leading diversity and inclusion training provider was reporting a 92% surge in interest in a bespoke guide to legally mandated DEI standards in the UK.
Mapmaking in the mind: How the brain builds mental maps of the world
Our brains build maps of the environment that help us understand the world around us, allowing us to think, recall, and plan. These maps not only help us to, say, find our room on the correct floor of a hotel, but they also help us figure out if we’ve gotten off the elevator on the wrong floor.
Researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have systematically detailed, step by step, how these cognitive maps form in the brain’s hippocampus — a region responsible for learning and memory.
The employee exodus: 70% of Brits are ready to jump ship!
The majority of the UK workforce (70%) is seeking new job opportunities, according to new research from Blackhawk Network (BHN), which surveyed 1,010 people to uncover the changing dynamics of employment in the UK. This research was conducted ahead of Employee Appreciation Day (March 7, 2025), which celebrates the importance of recognising and valuing employees for their contributions in the workplace.
One major driving factor could be significant changes in the workplace over the past few years. Nearly all employees (84%) reported experiencing notable shifts in their roles, with 16% indicating they have faced increased workloads without a corresponding pay rise. Additionally, nearly a quarter (21%) stated that their companies have implemented layoffs. Alarmingly, 87% of employees reported concerns about their current employment situation, with pay and potential layoffs topping the list.
Are AI chatbot ‘personalities’ in the eye of the beholder?
Something akin to human personality can drive how artificial intelligence models generate text. Researchers are just beginning to grapple with the idea that chatbots might have hidden personalities and that those personalities can be tweaked to improve their interactions with humans.
The split reflects broader thoughts around the purpose of chatbots, says Maarten Sap, a natural language processing expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The field of social computing, which predates the emergence of large language models, has long focused on how to imbue machines with traits that help humans achieve their goals. Such bots could serve as coaches or job trainers, for instance.
How employers can create a safe digital space when using personal devices
Cybersecurity expert shares common BYOD security risks, and how employers can create a safe, online space for employees when using their personal devices
It is estimated that over 90% of hybrid and remote employees use a personal device for work every day. But as more people use their smartphones or laptops to access company resources the security risks for organisations increase dramatically making it unsurprising that more than half of UK businesses experienced some form of cybersecurity breach or attack last year alone.
Millions of Gen Z do most of their life admin at work
Millions of Gen Z are doing life admin tasks like paying bills or renewing mobile phone contracts while at work, new research has revealed. Nearly a fifth (18%) of young Brits do the majority of their life admin during office hours compared to one in 10 millennials (aged 28 to 43) and 8% of Gen X (aged 44 to 60).
The survey of more than 2,000 adults, commissioned by employee money-saving tool Nous.co, found men are more likely than women to tackle life admin in the office, with 11% of men saying they do most of it at work compared to 7% of women.
TJ Columnist Peter Honey, dies aged 87
Peter Honey was a columnist for TJ for many years and he was an Editor’s dream. His 700 words of wisdom dropped into my inbox once a month without need for reminder or revision. Peter’s material was well written, pertinent with very little repetition of content. Surveys of the readership consistently put his column at the top of our polls for style, content and entertainment!
