Monthly Archives: August 2021

Hot Business News Today

Sole traders hit hardest by Covid pandemic – research

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By Timothy Adler on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

EXCLUSIVE: Sole traders may have been disproportionately impacted by Covid restrictions with 58 per cent are either not trading or trading less than pre-Covid.

What’s more, sole traders – who account for 59 per cent of all UK businesses – are twice as likely not to be trading at all, with 14 per cent in this predicament compared with 7 per cent of limited companies.

Almost half of sole traders (46 per cent) worry they won’t be able to afford paying themselves a salary in the next six months, according to research by small business lender iwoca.

>See also: Nearly 300,000 sole traders face increased tax bills

Their second-biggest worry is being able to afford new stock (28 per cent) and then repaying emergency Covid-19 financial help such as a Bounce Back Loan (20 per cent).

And nearly one in four sole traders will take zero days off in the coming year as they struggle to keep their businesses afloat. Even the majority of sole traders – 59 per cent – plan to take fewer than 10 days off over the next year (compared to 50 per cent of limited

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Hot Business News Today

How to improve employee motivation in the workplace

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By Ben Lobel on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Employee motivation is a hot topic in today’s workplace, and evidence suggests that those companies that go above and beyond to offer features that keep workers engaged may attract a better level of staff.
Not all of us are lucky enough to have the luxury of nap rooms and slides in our office. However, in a study last month by CV-Library, more than half (56 per cent) of professionals would be more likely to apply for a job that had a unique or cool workplace.
The survey of 1,200 workers found that the younger generation were the most likely to look for work in companies with ‘funky’ workplaces, with 81.2 per cent of millennials and generation Z workers agreeing to this.
Employee engagement
But employee motivation is about more than just funky office features – it’s about engaging employees through a unified company philosophy that everyone is comfortable buying into. Below, we chat to the business owners that managed to create a motivated and engaged workforce, and explore how you can recreate their success.
Matthew Reed, founder of Equipsme, discusses how businesses should go about achieving a motivated workforce.
 
Keeping the workforce motivated

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