Intelligent SME.tech Issue 47 | Page 10

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Data reveals remote workers have highest productivity and best work / life balance
A new report from employment tech unicorn , Employment Hero , The State of Wellbeing at Work , reveals that fully remote workers are happier and more productive than those who work full time in the office or hybrid .
Over 1,000 Gen Z to Boomer aged UK employees took part in the survey which revealed that 67 % of fully remote workers rate their work productivity as high , compared to only 54 % of hybrid workers , supporting the new Labour government ’ s plans to overhaul the working day .
Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’ s focus over the next 12 months includes making flexible working a day one right , potentially removing the current statutory grounds for refusal and creating a ‘ right to switch off ’, allowing workers to disconnect outside of working hours .
The report indicated that remote workers have the best work / life balance in the UK : 59 % of fully remote workers thought they had time to relax , compared to 46 % of fully in-office / on-site workers .
GoDaddy helps entrepreneurs thrive with new AI-Powered digital marketing tools
Entrepreneurs today understand the importance of marketing to stay competitive , build their brand and attract customers . However , in a recent survey , 73 % of respondents said they are not confident that their current strategy is contributing to their business goals . For many , a lack of time , money and skills make online marketing one of the biggest pain points of being a small business owner .
To remove these barriers and help businesses get found online , GoDaddy recently launched Digital Marketing . Digital Marketing is an all-inone product designed to manage marketing efforts and increase the accessibility of tools like SEO , social media and email marketing , with the added benefit of a unified inbox to streamline the management of customer messages .
Regardless of where their website is hosted , customers can easily integrate these tools into new and existing websites .
Nearly 50 % of small business owners already leverage GenAI for their business marketing , but with varying results .
It ’ s AI or bust for embattled UK SMEs
JumpCloud ’ s Q3 2024 SME IT Trends Report found that 64 % of UK respondents agreed that AI threats are outpacing their ability to protect against them .
This is a marked increase from the previous report . While 81 % ( vs . 70 % in Q1 2024 ) of respondents concurred that their organisation should be investing in AI initiatives , there is growing concern about their ability to plug security gaps . Bad actors are targeting UK SMEs , with 44 % saying they ’ ve been a victim of a cybersecurity attack . Nearly two-thirds ( 60 %) of UK SMEs claim they have had multiple attacks in 2024 .
Not surprisingly , security remains the biggest challenge , cited by 61 % of UK respondents , a 10 % increase from the previous report . UK respondents admitted that 25 % of all cybersecurity incidents originated in AI-generated attacks . In fact , SME IT teams are more concerned about their security posture than they were six months ago . �
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