The Work Clinic

Lucie Humphrey is going into upper sixth at Hurstpierpoint College, and is studying English, music and geography. She hopes to study English, possibly with publishing, at university. Lucie spent a day with Personnel Today and we asked her for her thoughts on work and work experience.

What I want/expect from work

I expect a healthy balance between work and my social life. For me, an unhealthy balance would involve work dominating my life and creeping into time away from the workplace, which ultimately leads to the feeling of being unable to escape. Ideally, I would prefer sociable working hours that do not require a drastic change to a regular sleeping pattern, as it has proved to be an inconvenience at times for my parents, both of whom are involved with shift work and getting up in the early hours of the morning.

The ability to work from home would not prove to be a major issue for me as I feel that it is possible to maintain a greater concentration within a working environment, although I feel that the opportunity to be able to do so would prove to be very helpful in the case of coordinating a young family as well as work.

In a job I look for a friendly working environment, and to be situated within short distance of other collegues, not only for the ability to be able to ask for help but also because I believe that great friendships may be made with the people one finds themselves among, due to connections from the sharing of similar interests.

A job that interests me is one with as little as possible monotony and involving various challenges - within reason - to maintain a good level of motivation.

I would like to think that I can bring enthusiasm and a sense of passion to work, and in return would be appreciative of receiving a positive attitude from other members within my working environment, as it is a major priority of mine to be involved in a job where I really enjoy what I do, with the added bonus of a salary at the end of the month!

Work Experience

A good working experience includes receiving a substantial amount of knowledge on what is involved in the job or area you are working in and getting a feel for the work that takes place there. It is ideal if you are able to receive experience of working on more than one aspect of the job as it gives you a more complete understanding of what is involved. Being made to feel comfortable in your working environment is crucial for an enjoyable work experience - this is made easy by friendly and helpful colleagues.

In an age where it is not unheard of for city-based office workers to turn up at the office in shorts, it seems that we may have finally tired of informality and inappropriate familiarity.
Research by Kristina Hultgren of Oxford University's Faculty of English has shown that the chatty language used by call-centre staff is beginning to grate. Customers are bridling, in particular, at the use by strangers of their first names. This odd familiarity is down to training. Call-centre staff, regardless of the markets in which they are dealing, are being asked to use that 'Have a nice day' American style of chat that doesn't go down particularly well with us more formal Europeans. While under pressure to deal with a certain number of calls per hour, staff are still expected to simulate a personal relationship with customers - addressing them by their first name seems to be the fastest way to achieve this.
And while call centres are not representative of society, the decline of formality is undeniable. Opinion is very much mixed as to whether or not this is a good thing. The relaxing of dress codes - certainly outside the City and more corporate environments - seems to be working well. Many people feel more comfortable, and more confident, in slightly more casual clothes, and are every bit as professional as when suited and booted.
It's informal behaviour, rather than dress, that could cause problems - particularly bearing in mind that the next generation of employees are much less formal outside work. Should we expect a generation brought up on FaceBook and texting to know how to address their workplace seniors? Should organisations have to take responsibility for teaching their staff how to behave in a business context? Or should we just accept that we will end up talking to the chief executive as if we met them in the pub?

Has the love affair between Second Life and the world of work gone too far? First it was cobwebby old corporate types using it to try to connect with yoof (ie potential Generation Y employees), and now even student nurses seem to be jumping on the bandwagon ...

While 'Nurse Island' sounds like something targeted at bespectacled nerds who lack the social skills needed to interact with real women, it is in fact a legitimate educational tool. Glasgow Caledonian University has launched it 'to help students with decison making', according to Jacqueline McCallum, senior lecturer in clinical simulation. Trainee nurses will be able to create characters and lives for themselves in a parallel universe, interacting with virtual patients before being let loose on the real thing.

The university is a big fan of Second Life, having already created a replica of its own campus, complete with Glasgow landmarks, so that potential students from abroad can get an idea of campus life before arriving in Scotland. Personally, I find that a bit dispiriting - what ever happened to mystery or anticipation? And will access to a virtual campus put off would-be students from sunnier climes?

As for letting trainee nurses run riot on 'Nurse Island' ... all good, clean fun, I'm sure, but wouldn't they benefit from more, rather than less, interaction with patients?

According to research by the University of Southern California's Brain and Creativity Institute, fast-paced modern media such as Twitter fail to give us the necessary time to reflect on either our own comments and actions or those of others.

Researchers used compelling, real-life stories to induce admiration for virtue or skill, or compassion for physical or social pain, in 13 volunteers. They found that emotions linked to our moral sense awaken slowly in the mind - brain imaging showed that the volunteers needed six to eight seconds to fully respond.

The study inevitably raised questions about the emotional cost of heavy reliance on a rapid stream of news stories, as personified by Twitter. According to the university's Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, "If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality." Immordino-Yang was keen to point out, however, that the blame lies not with social media per se, but the way in which it is used.

Hanna Damisio, co-director of the Institute, has voiced concerns about the juxtopositioning of good and bad news on sites such as Twitter, saying that it leads to an "indifference to the vision of human suffering."

Younger employees have grown up with social media. They are used to getting their information in rapidly-delivered soundbites, good and bad tidings together. They are very well informed. But are they good, rounded, people? Do they view colleagues with care and compassion? And if not, what should employers be doing to ensure that they do so?

A new survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has confirmed that this year's graduates and school leavers will struggle to find work in what has become the deepest recession in decades. And it looks as if they will be the worst hit age-group.
Almost half of the employers surveyed by the CIPD said that they are not planning to recruit school leavers or graduates this summer.

Gerwyn Davies, the CIPD's public policy advisor, says: "Employers have for a long time had doubts about the employability of those leaving education. This year's crop face employers in a more choosy mood than ever before. Against this backdrop, graduates and school leavers need to sharpen their case for being picked ahead of their classmates - and fast."

Universities are going to greater lengths to help graduating students find work: while the University of Nottingham is getting ready for an influx of 'panicked' students, the University of Exeter is watching as fewer and fewer employers sign up for its summer graduate recruitment fair.

According to the Inspirational Development Group (IDG), 67% of graduates will change jobs as soon as the economy starts to pick up.

IDG's study examined the perceptions of graduate value and retention issues among a sample of HR and graduate managers in the private and public sectors across the UK.

Key findings include:

• 57% felt that there was more they could do to retain these graduates - the ability to identify and retain the right graduates will be a crucial success factor as the economy comes out of recession
• 78% of HR managers agreed or agreed strongly that a specific development programme to increase retention of graduates one year after the end of their graduate programme would be of benefit
• While some respondents stated that graduate programmes had been scaled down, the majority of HR managers viewed stopping schemes altogether as a mistake that would lead to a disproportionate gap in the talent pipeline amongst new graduates

Careers website Graduate Prospects surveyed 24,500 graduates across the UK for their views on employers, based on actual experiences, rather than their perceptions pre-employment.

According to their findings, graduates seeking well-paid positions, with good training opportunities, in environmentally sound organisations, should be looking in the following places: 

Corporate social responsibility

• Accenture
• Waitrose
• DLA Piper UK
• Pinsent Masons
• GSK

Training and development

• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
• Explore Learning
• Cancer Research UK
• DLA Piper
• Pinsent Masons

Pay and benefits package

• Sellafield
• Baker & McKenzie
• Bruckhaus

Organisational leadership and senior management

• Explore Learning
• Intel

Support, supervision and progression

• Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• Explore Learning
• The Bank of England

Recruitment and induction

• Pinsent Masons
• DLA Piper
• Baker & McKenzie
• Explore Learning
• Cancer Research UK

Mike Hill, chief executive of Graduate Prospects says: "When we launched the Real Prospects survey, we wanted to paint a true picture of graduate working life, so it was vital that the study explored all areas of employment. The findings deliver great insight into which companies perform well in key areas, so if you're a student or graduate thinking about where you'd like to work it will help you to make more informed decisions."

 
I don't know ... when I was a graduate, we had to work out these things for ourselves ....

The Outward Bound Trust wants to hear from anyone who's taken part in an outward bound course in the UK since 1941.

As part of its 70th birthday celebrations in 2011, the charity has launched The Generations Campaign, aimed at finding outward bound participants who can share their experiences with the younger generation.

Visit the Generations Campaign website.

So much for us oldies whingeing about the amount of time youngsters 'waste' on social networking.

According to the National Literacy Trust, children who blog, text or us social networking have better writing skills than those who do not.

The organisation surveyed more than 3000 children aged between 9 and 16, and found:

• 24% had their own blog
• 82% sent text messages at least once a month
• 73% used instant messaging

But, encouragingly, 77% still write, mainly to do schoolwork.

National Literacy Trust director Jonathan Douglas told the BBC: "Our research suggests a strong correlation between kids using technology and wider patterns of reading and writing."

He added: "Engagement with online technology drives their enthusiasm for writing short stories, letters, song lyrics or diaries."

While this is all good stuff, there remains the worrying truth that not all children have access to computers, or indeed someone to encourage them to blog. It looks like fair access to the professions may have some way to go.

Recruitment site Totaljobs.com has found that graduates have unrealistic expectations. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - who decided they needed to spend good money on 'discovering' something quite so obvious?

The recruiter's survey also found graduates to be unprepared for the tough job market. Well, I never. Having been a graduate, I think I can safely say that few, if any, graduates are ever prepared for much beyond watching Countdown and eating cold baked beans straight from the tin.

Some of the other alarming findings:

• 70% of graduates think they will find a job within 6 months of graduating
• 1 in ten believe they will earn more than £35,000 a year in their first job
• Just half of respondents had used their university careers service

Perhaps it's for the best that we have a national jobs shortage - imagine the fallout if these idiots were to make it into the workforce ....

A survey by recruiters Milkround.com has found that 58% of graduates think employers should scrap their minimum 2:1 degree requirements.

Eva Malecki, Centrica's graduate recruitment manager, agrees with this, saying: "We do not have a 2:1 cut-off as we believe that accepting applications from graduates with a 2:2 or above will enable us to attract and assess a larger, more diverse graduate pool".

While this is no doubt true, won't this larger, sub 2:1 pool, include less able potential recruits? Rather than widening their graduates pools, employers are at risk of dumbing down their intake.

And why should employers be pandering to students' laziness? Surely there's something fundamentally wrong there.