If you’re looking for end of year round-ups or predictions for 2020, the survey-based stories on the Press Release Wire could be worth a look. Here, we’ve gathered just a small selection of the research you can use from press releases in November, from wider interest stories around employee satisfaction and the environment to business concerns like IT security across the public and private sectors.  

You can search hundreds of press releases by keyword on the archive here (and see here for suggestions on interpreting data like this).  

Employment statistics from older workers to employees as brand advocates  

62% of employers surveyed by workingmums.co.uk say they mention the possibility of flexible working in job adverts, and 37% of employers think that all groups of employees want flexible working arrangements, not just parents. Read the full story.

Workingmums.co.uk has also been looking at older workers for its new launch workingwise.co.uk and found that 46% of over-50s had faced age discrimination, even though over half of these workers consider themselves to be ambitious and plan to work beyond retirement age. Read the full story. 

Opportunities abound for employees in non-profits, where 52% of employers expect to increase their permanent staff according to non-profit recruitment specialist, TPP Recruitment. Read the full story.

The value of happy employees extends far beyond their job description – marketing consultancy Squirrels&Bears found that 87% of employees say they talk regularly about their employer’s brand outside of work. However, over a third feel they don’t have the skills or knowledge to act as brand advocates for their employer, meaning companies miss out on extended, trusted social networks. Read the full story.

And if you want some of that brand advocacy from your employees, they need to stick around long enough to get to know (and love) your organisation. However, research by New Process Bliss found that five in 10 workers have quit because they felt let down by onboarding processes and 74% of those surveyed said that poor on-boarding can have a serious effect on an employee’s view of a company. Read the full story.

IT professionals and cybersecurity 

65% of organisations have a shortage of cybersecurity staff, and the worldwide workforce of 2.8 million needs to grow by 145% to close the skills gap of trained staff, says the 2019 (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study. Read the full story.

According to corporate learning provider Skillsoft, 81% of IT professionals believe they will need to learn a new skill in the next 18 months just to remain competent in their current role, but just 30% feel their employer offers the support they need. Read the full story. 

Efficient IP says that over 51% of government organisations experienced application downtime as a result of DNS attacks in the last 12 months, 43% suffered cloud service downtime and 41% were affected by compromised websites. Read the full story.

26% of people use the same password for more than one website – the figure rises to 49% for Londoners, who are also most likely to accept unsolicited friend requests or carry out banking or shopping on public Wi-Fi, according to PCI. Pal. Read the full story.

Environmental statistics 

Fully electric vehicles account for only 2.2% of the UK new car market, but What Car?’s What Fuel? research says that they would be the best choice of choice for 19.2% of new car buyers. Read the full story,

61% of shoppers say they’re concerned about the environmental effects of our lifestyles, but 45% prioritise price when Christmas shopping, compared to just 9% who put environmental impact first (and for almost 30% it’s the least important consideration).  Read the full story.

Data from Netatmo Weather Stations says that 23% of homes in the UK on average exceed recommended CO2 levels at least once a day, as a result of poor ventilation. The problem is worse in winter, when indoor air quality is poor in 28% of British homes, compared to only 15% in the summer. Read the full story.

And finally, it’s Christmas (especially if you’re in Bristol) 

People in Bristol are the most likely to add Christmas decorations or lights to their gardens, but people in Sheffield leave them up longest, says research for windows and doors company Safestyle. Nationwide, 48% of people say Christmas lights make them feel more festive, and 84% of people will be putting up their own Christmas decorations. Read the full story.

Speaking of Christmas … if any of these statistics give you an idea for further research for a story, ResponseSource can help, whatever the topic. The Journalist Enquiry Service is able to get you results within hours whether you need expert comment, background, images or case studies. We’re here over Christmas except for the bank holidays, so head to responsesource.com/send when you need to save time and make some new contacts for the New Year. 

Top image courtesy of Kis Finance, from their research with James Child, Head of Retail and Industrial Research at Estates Gazette – see https://www.kisbridgingloans.co.uk/finance-news/price-still-beats-environmental-concerns-at-christmas/ for further information