August 25, 2016

Research suggests individual responses to stress at work vary widely ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

No matter how compelling the evidence on the impact of stress at work there are always individuals who dismiss the very idea as self-indulgence. New research suggests this isn’t down to lack of empathy but simply because some people just don’t experience stress the same as others. The survey by the Deloitte Greenhouse Experience team found statistically significant variation in how respondents react to stressors which indicates that workplace stress is relative and not everyone experiences stress in the same way or to the same degree. The majority of respondents reported modest levels of stress. Fourteen percent reported being stressed only rarely and 57 percent reported being stressed sometimes, while 26 percent reported being stressed often, and 3 percent reported being always stressed. Different scenarios were also mooted to identify stress triggers. Making mistakes topped the list of stressors, with 82 percent of respondents indicating errors caused stress.

August 25, 2016

More organisations worldwide offering parental leave rights to employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Despite the complexities of parental leave legislation, a growing number of organisations worldwide are making the benefit available to their workforce, according to the new Global Parental Leave report from human resources consultancy Mercer. According to the study – which is behind a paywall – more than one third of organisations have one centralised global policy. Around 38 percent provide paid paternity leave above the statutory minimum and several countries mandate a parental leave programme that may be used by either parent or carers. A growing number of organisations have extended the right to part time employees and see it as a valuable tool for attracting and retaining talent regardless of the gender or contract of employees. While almost two-thirds (64 percent) of companies provide maternity leave for only the birth mother, 24 percent of companies provide this leave to a primary caregiver.

August 24, 2016

Futurist says UK gender pay gap will close much earlier than predicted ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Following the latest report that shows that the gender pay gap is still wide open comes claims that in the UK, the gap will close within the next 30 years. That’s the view anyway of futurist, trend forecaster and journalist, James Wallman. While the World Economic Forum believes that the world-wide gender pay gap won’t close by 2133, Wallman paints a more positive picture, forecasting the UK pay gap will actually close much sooner — by 2045. His reasoning is that it’s far harder to hide wage disparity in an age of data digitisation, meaning companies are compelled to be transparent. There is manifest political will behind pay parity, with new legislation meaning that by 2018 all companies with more than 250 employees will have to publish their gender pay gap data. And he argues there are numerous economic imperatives to get women working; if the same proportion of women worked in Britain as in Sweden, it would add £170bn to the UK economy and boost GDP by 9 percent.

August 24, 2016

Nearly three quarters of UK staff say their workplace is a health hazard ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Personal injury lawyers may have helped fuel the UK’s overzealous health and safety culture, but the truth is that their services are often called for to challenge negligent employers. Now a new piece of research by Hayward Baker claims that many employees are not only stuck in unsafe workplaces but with unsanitary working conditions, which is putting their health at risk. The research into over a thousand workers on the conditions of Britain’s offices, shops, factories, warehouses and building sites found that 69 percent believe their workplace to be a health hazard. The study revealed 35 percent of working Brits have picked up an illness from their place of work – with 18 percent claiming to have been struck down with food poisoning or caught a stomach bug because of dirty conditions. A further 39 percent have suffered an injury at work – with two in ten (20 percent) having been to hospital due to a work-related illness or injury.

August 23, 2016

US Millennials ‘martyred’ behaviour helps drive culture of presenteeism ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

As the school holidays draw to a close, those Brits who’ve enjoyed their annual two-week holiday break will probably have squirreled away some days to take them through to the end of the year. Not so easy for the average US worker who earns on average just ten paid vacation days per annum, for each year of service. According to a survey carried out last year, many Americans even fail to take that allocated leave for fear of being seen as slacking. And now a new piece of research claims that far from breaking this tradition of presenteeism, US Millennial workers are the most likely generation to forfeit time off, even though they earn the least amount of vacation days. These findings, from Project: Time Off’s new report, The Work Martyr’s Cautionary Tale: How the Millennial Experience Will Define America’s Vacation Culture suggest that Millennials stay at work because they feel more fear and greater guilt about taking time away from the office than any other generation.

August 23, 2016

Working mothers paid third less as maternal gender pay gap widens ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The gender pay gap is still prevalent within the UK workforce and the gap only widens further when women have children, according to a report published today. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that on average, women in paid work receive about 18 percent less per hour than men, but this wage gap is smaller when comparing women before they become mothers. The gap widens consistently for 12 years after the first child is born, by which point women receive a third (33 percent) less pay per hour than men. The widening of the hourly wage gap after childbirth is associated with reduced hours of paid work, but this is not because women see an immediate cut in hourly pay when they reduce their hours. Rather, women who work half-time lose out on subsequent wage progression, meaning that the hourly wages of men (and of women in full-time work) pull further and further ahead.

August 20, 2016

Links between people and place + Lessons from Yahoo + Intelligent lighting ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Newsletter, Technology, Workplace

In this week’s Newsletter; Steve Maslin argues the idea that people matter to workplace designers is all too often surface deep; Andy Gallacher describes the benefits of intelligent lighting; Alexander Gifford reveals the majority of people still prefer to work at a desk; and Charles Marks says the way we interact with technology is changing the way we think. In news, the UK’s commercial property sector has fallen since the Brexit vote: researchers find a link between flexible working patterns and susceptibility to infection; and a survey suggests that even demanding job applicants place flexible working low on their priorities. From Work&Place Chris Kane’s views on bridging the gap between people and place; and Andrea Hak looks at the lessons of Yahoo. Download our new Briefing, produced in partnership with Boss Design on the link between culture and workplace strategy and design; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

August 19, 2016

Employers must lose ‘stiff upper lip’ culture to promote workplace wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude towards wellness by UK bosses needs to change in order to advance employee wellbeing, argues a survey by Bupa. It is business leaders who are the key to overcoming the challenges facing employees’ health and wellbeing, it claims. The vast majority (94 percent) of those questioned believe there will be significant change in the employer-employee relationship in the next ten years. 91 percent of business leaders agree that technology will continue to impact the wellbeing of their workforce over the next decade and 71 percent agree the standard 9am-5pm working day is a thing of the past. Seven in ten (68 percent) noted a ‘stiff upper lip attitude’ at executive level, creating barriers to conversations about wellbeing, and three fifths (62 percent) of leaders think they need to show that they don’t suffer from ill health.

August 18, 2016

Uncompromising job candidates’ demands don’t include flexible work ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Workplace

Job candidates are becoming more demanding claims a new survey, with three quarters (79.2 percent) of UK workers polled not willing to compromise on certain areas when looking for a new role. Unsurprisingly, 18.2 percent say that a low advertised salary would put them off a role entirely, but other less tangible issues would also dissuade them from pursuing an application. This includes unclear job descriptions (20 percent) and a long recruitment process (10.2 percent); while 7.8 percent revealed that poor communication throughout the recruitment process would drive them away from a company. The research, which was conducted by CV-Library, surveyed 1,000 UK workers and found that candidates are growing increasingly impatient with their job hunt. Other key deterrents cited were poor traits about the businesses themselves, including a bad reputation (9.5 percent), a high staff turnover (7.1 percent) and poor management (6.1 percent).

August 17, 2016

The behaviour of managers is increasing workplace stress, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Management behaviour is contributing to rising workplace stress levels with employees blaming their own bosses for adding to the pressures they feel, a new study of 1,200 people by MetLife claims. The study suggests that 69 percent of employees say that the behaviour of managers in their organisation has increased stress and that the rising stress is having a major impact on company performance. Around 45 percent of employees say that stress caused by management has led to staff in their organisation taking extended time off. This in turn increases costs and affects productivity as well as impacting other workers who take on an increased workload. Government data estimates that around 35 percent of all work-related ill-health is caused by stress and that stress accounts for 43 percent of all working days lost to ill-health – the equivalent of 9.9 million working days a year at an average of 23 days per case.

August 17, 2016

New Acas guidance issued on keeping UK workplaces cool ⁰

by Sara Bean • Environment, Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Spanish Plume may have been blown off course – but given the fact that any British office becomes uncomfortable when we reach the heady heights of 20 degrees and over, it’s worth taking a look at new guidance on ways of keeping workplaces cool for employees during hot weather. The UK has no legal maximum workplace temperature but the Health and Safety Executive states that temperatures must be at a “reasonable” level, depending on the place of work and type of activity. Workplace experts Acas have launched their latest hot weather guidelines to help employers keep workplace temperatures down so staff can continue to work safely and productively. Its guidance also covers thorny areas such as suitable dress codes during warm weather – as the guide says; ’employers may choose to adopt a more casual or flexible approach to dress during hot weather days but this may depend on the type of the business’. There are three top tips from Acas.

August 16, 2016

A well executed wellness strategy benefits staff and employers ⁰

by Beate O'Neil • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee health and wellbeing is moving up the agenda of many companies. A recent report from the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (Reba) and Punter Southall Health & Protection found that a third of companies have a wellness strategy in place, with 80 per cent having introduced one in the last three years. Of the 70 per cent that don’t yet have a strategy, a third plan to implement one this year, a third plan to implement a plan in the next few years and the final third have it firmly on their wish list. This is driven by the fact that the UK is experiencing a major demographic change – in 2014 the average age of the population exceeded 40 for the first time. With the percentage of the total population over 60 predicted in a report from AgeUK to rise from 24.2 percent at present to over 29 percent in 2035, employers are beginning to wake up to the fact that wellness is good for staff and good for business.