Weekly round-up: Fraud, working from home, perks and AI

This week’s round-up is a bit of a mix. The UK government plans to stamp down on fraud. Meanwhile, WFH dilemmas have come to a head, Gen Z is being lured through perks, and AI is set to impact more sectors than others.

UK businesses liable for worker fraud

As reported by Reuters, the UK government is planning to introduce legislation that would make companies liable for employees who commit fraud.

According to Reuters, the interior ministry announced that organisations that have a staff member commit fraud that benefits the business, and companies that fail to deter fraud would have to prove they didn’t know about it.

The government said in a statement: “If fraud is committed by an employee of an organisation, the organisation must be able to demonstrate it had reasonable measures in place to deter the offending or risk receiving an unlimited fine.”

According to Dundas Lawyers, there have been cases of organisations being charged after cases of fraud with employees, meaning employers should be wary of these happenings and make sure they’re paying attention to what staff are doing to avoid criminal charges.

Getting people back into the office

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) outlined a tactic businesses are using to get staff back into the office.

According to WSJ, law firm Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP has introduced a minimum of three days per week in the office for staff members. Employees who don’t adhere to this policy could have their bonuses reduced.

While this might seem like a great tactic to get staff to come back into the office, talent shortages are still persisting, and for many employees, working from home is one of the top considerations when looking for work.

Employers could then be shooting themselves in the foot by cutting back on flexibility by driving away workers during a tight labour market.

The negative side to working from home

As reported by Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), there is a downside to working from home.

Working from home could mean you’re spending less time developing your career.

According to SMH, in the office, workers spend 25 per cent more time on career development activities. Furthermore, those coming on site for work spent, on average, 40 minutes more mentoring other staff members.

“Older workers not coming back to the office may depress younger workers’ skill accumulation. This may be particularly important as young workers learn the most on the job, benefit the most from proximity, and are much more likely to quit when proximity is lost,” said economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the University of Iowa, and Harvard University.

While there has been speculation for some time that remote working is hindering career progression, the report referenced provides tangible data to support this claim.

Gen Z early knockoff

As seen on Human Times’ 11 April bulletin, Bloomberg discussed how UK employers are offering early finishes on Friday to attract younger workers.

Bloomberg said that job postings site Adzuna has noticed considerably more postings offering early finishes on Friday as a way to lure staff.

In March 2018, there were 583 jobs advertised on Adzuna offering this perk. In March 2023, there were 1,426 positions. These roles were mainly offered to junior staff with entry-level salaries.

“For jobseekers, a company offering early-finish Fridays signals that they are flexible in their attitude to working hours and care about their employees’ wellbeing — two factors of utmost importance in today’s jobs market,” said Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna.

Jobs at risk of being replaced by AI

Nine News listed the top 10 jobs that are at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).

The positions were:

1. Technology jobs
2. Media jobs
3. Legal jobs
4. Market research analysts
5. Teachers
6. Finance jobs
7. Trading and investment jobs
8. Graphic designers
9. Accountants
10. Customer service agents