TipTopJob Blog

Welcome to the TipTopJob blog where you will be kept up to date with news, reviews, survey results, press releases, statistics, offers and more...

Coffee or tea is first choice in the morning...

It is great to see that lemon water is making an appearance as one of the first things that people consume in the morning. We can imagine that 3 years ago, it was fairly non-existent!

Our latest research around what people have first thing in the morning, show some interesting (some great, some NOT SO great!) facts…..

Top of the pile, coffee or tea, is what the majority of people jump to drinking - a whopping 45% of people start their day off with some caffeine!

29% go for a good hearty breakfast. The option that is sure to kick start the day off well and get the brain ticking. We are happy to see that a decent proportion enjoy a good breaky every morning.

As already mentioned, lemon water was an option and 10% of people now begin their day by cleansing their systems. This is music to our ears 😊

Unfortunately, there are still some that choose NOT to have anything (6%) and others who grab that naughty takeaway (7%). Plus only 3% start their day with a smoothie – although this surprises us with the current trend in juicing and making smoothies - we thought this figure would be much higher. Maybe it is just too time intensive in the morning rush?

In conclusion, we believe that businesses should start to educate their employees about how to begin their day and highlight what options are best for their body and mind. It is in the interest of the company at the end of the day as it can ultimately dictate the employees performance. Who wants a tired, sluggish, grumpy employee in their office?

What are your thoughts?

 

62% remain passive jobseekers once recruited

Interesting stats show that 62% of newly recruited staff, remain registered with job boards with their situation the same.

Research from TipTopJob, finds that 21% remove themselves from online recruitment sites altogether once they have started a new job and 17% remain registered but change their availability. 

What does this show us? Are people concerned about having made the right decision about their move so are therefore keeping their options open? Should newly recruited staff remove themselves from job boards to really show their commitment to the new organisation? 

Job boards would usually consist of jobseekers who are actively looking rather than passively. It is however up to individuals as to what they decide to do with their registrations and a lot of people like to always have their eyes out for alternative options. It will also depend on the industry and role type/level. If you imagine contractors, they are constantly changing roles and always need to be out there looking for their next opportunity and this is markedly different to Managing Directors who may only be changing roles every 10 to 15 years.   

What are your thoughts? Do share here....

A clear demand for creating rewards and incentive schemes

Our latest study asked workers what they thought could improve their relationship with their boss. There was a clear majority of people who felt that creating rewards or incentive schemes would help.

We also gave the options; socialising outside of work, discussing/airing problems/issues and regular meetings as alternatives to what we felt may improve an employees relationship with their boss.

The results were as follows:

Socialising outside of work - 5% 
Discussing/airing problems/issues - 10%
Regular meetings - 16%
Creating reward/incentive schemes - 69%

Here at TipTopJob, we thought that through socialising with your boss that it could improve the relationship but the results tell us that not many agreed :)

Amazingly, creating reward/incentive schemes was the most popular! Maybe employees felt that if they were rewarded and incentivised they would have more communication, feedback, guidance, respect and therefore feel closer to their boss which would then build a good relationship with them.

We would love to hear what you think about these results. Tell us here....

Modern offices create motivated staff

In our latest study looking at styles of offices and motivation, we can reveal some interesting correlations between modernised work space and motivated staff.

82% of respondents say their offices are modernised and updated which is reassuring however that still leaves 18% of workers who are still operating in the 80's. Of these unfortunate soles, 84% said they would feel more motivated with a new, refurbed, modernised office.

So, the answer to this is to remind/suggest those at the top how important your office is to you and your feelings whilst at work. The more you nag, the more chance you will have of it happening. Yes it costs money, but what better investment than one that in turn creates a motivated and productive workforce. If you get a chance to discuss what motivates you, make sure you are clear to mention how important your surroundings are to you. Just take a look at the pictures below where you can see a before and after and the potential your office has of improving for the better. We know what we would choose!!! 

6% cannot stand their colleagues

Our latest review on how colleagues felt about each other sadly found that 6% cannot actually stand who they work with. Even though 6% is not a huge number, it is still a proportion of individuals who do not enjoy working alongside their colleagues. 

On the happier note, a total of 74% fortunately "liked" or "loved" them (of that 74%, 33% LOVED their colleagues). This is great news for the morale, motivation and productivity of those organisations because if colleagues actually like each other, they will enjoy being around each other, be happier in their daily activities and therefore ultimately the company wins all around.

So, what is the advice to those who hate their co-workers? If it is really making you feel unhappy at work and you cannot concentrate on your work, then maybe it is worth talking to your manager/boss about changing your seating arrangements so you are either away from those you do not like or with people that you prefer to be around. 

If there are multiple people that you cannot stand at work, then maybe it is worth considering a change in your role or even company. Maybe the industry you are in does not suit your personality and fit in with the kind of people you want to be surrounded by. Hopefully, it does not require a job or career change, but if it does, do not forget to check out the roles we have on our site and apply online there. 

Here is an illustration of the full survey results that we found....

 

 

Free speech at work

In our latest survey we discovered that 46% of colleagues are able to talk freely and openly to each other whilst at work. Not only that but they feel no restriction on when or where they can have an open natter and at any point throughout the working day, personal discussions happily take place.

36% felt that they could talk openly and freely to their colleagues too but they needed to limit this to out of working hours only. Work hours equal work.

Finally, only 18% of respondents felt they could not talk to their colleagues about personal matters. Colleagues are kept at a professional arms length at all times! 

So, which category do you fall into? If you are one of the 36%, do you find yourself emailing and texting each other because of the restrictions in place within working hours or are you simply too busy to even consider a personal discussion?

66% say they carefully select social media posts

Our latest findings reveal that 66% of employees carefully select what they post onto their social media profiles as they fear it will negatively affect their chances at work. 48% of this figure feel that it therefore restricts their use of social media.

21% of the employees say it is does not stop them and it does not worry them at all. 

Social media is being used everywhere, not just for personal uses but business as well so it is hard to draw a line for some employees if they are using it as part of their job. Surely, someone with access to Facebook who is posting company updates, will sneak the odd peak at their personal profile? No? Should there be some leeway on personal use anyway in an office or does giving an inch turn into a mile?

Well it varies depending on the industry and job role really. Working in the marketing and media industry would require regular use of social media across all platforms. But when working in recruitment there would be constant use of Linkedin required but not so much on Facebook and Twitter. At the end of the day, it is down to the company and what their rules and regulations are. Our advice would be to not take advantage of your situation or you may have to deal with more serious consequences. 

What are your thoughts on social media in the workplace? Should it be allowed or is it a distraction?

graph-social-media

 

Most take a "telling off" on board

Have you ever been "told off" by your boss and laughed out loud? Do you get upset? Embarrassed? Disappointed?

Our latest figures have found that almost one third of people actually take the comments given by their boss (when being "told off"!) on board. Not only does this reflect a sense of respect towards the boss, but it shows that the staff actually value the bosses opinion, even when they are getting into trouble. 

A telling off from the boss only makes a very small number of employees upset luckily, a total of just 6%. We hope that this small percentage relate to those more emotional beings or those who takes things to heart. 12% felt disappointment, especially if the individual really respects their boss. 16% want to laugh aloud. 18% feel embarrassed by the telling off, especially if it is done publicly and in front of colleagues.

Finally, 21% actually take it on the chin - we wonder whether this proportion of employees get "told off" regularly and are used to either the bosses way or the fact they do deserve a slap on the wrists :)

 

79% have never shouted at their boss

You usually hear about the boss shouting at their employees but have you ever thought about an employee who shouts at their boss?

Our latest survey results reveal that 79% have NEVER shouted at their boss, which is a promising figure showing most of our users do respect their boss or have never had the need to express any negative emotions towards their leader.

Although the majority sit in this bracket, we do still have 21% who HAVE shouted at their boss in anger at some point in their career. Although we have not dug down into why, we can assume that it may have happened for a number of reasons.

Did the boss do something to provoke the attack and did the boss deserve it? Maybe the boss has shouted first? But even so, should the employee then shout back? How could this make the employee then feel after the action? Do they resign and leave or apologise and pretend it never happened? 

Whatever the reason behind shouting, it is not the best course of action, even if it is a reaction to a poorly behaved boss. Our advice is that if a boss has acted in this way to you, then remain calm and approach your boss with a professional attitude. Take some time before you speak to them to gather yourself and calm down if you need to. You do not want to make other employees uncomfortable and you certainly do not want to ruin your chances of a decent reference in the future.

 

How many hierarchies do you have to report through?

32% of employees exist in a company with 4 or more hierarchies of reporting. Latest research into the number of hierarchies within businesses also found that 25% have 3, 23% have 2 and 20% have 1.

The graph below illustrates the results of the survey highlighting the differences between the number of bosses and the number of hierarchies. We can clearly see that there are more employees with just the 1 boss that they report into and there are more companies using 4 or more levels of hierarchy.