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Olympics helps boost employee engagement
24/08/2012
By Daniel Hunter
The majority (65%) of UK businesses said that the Olympics were less disruptive than expected; with nearly half (48%) reporting no impact on their organisation and 79% of managers saying their jobs were not affected.
A post-Olympics survey of over 1,000 managers, published by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), explores the impact on organisations — from working practices to staff morale — during the Games. Almost half (48%) of managers said that the Olympics had resulted in higher morale in the office.
Over a third (41%) of organisations allowed staff to watch the Olympics in the office. As a result 37% of managers reported being more productive and 67% said the workplace bonded over a shared experience.
Despite much speculation in the lead up to the Games about the potential impact on organisations, 43% of managers reported their CEO and senior management team did not communicate about working practices during the Olympics.
However, almost two in ten (18%) organisations did trial new ways of working, with working from home and altered start and finish times the most popular options. 43% of those said that their organisation is likely to continue to operate these working practices after the Olympics, and with the Paralympic Games starting next week it is another opportunity for businesses to test out different methods of operating.
On the subject of letting staff work remotely, 76% of managers vehemently disagreed with Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s pre-Games description of it being “a skiver’s paradise”. In fact, 18% of managers felt that it created a more positive perception of working from home and try out new working practices.
Charles Elvin, Chief Executive of ILM, said: “After such an uplifting London Olympics, it was great to discover that many organisations also felt some benefits.
“It... continued on page two >
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