New research explores how the brain needs sleep to reorganise itself

New research explores how the brain needs sleep to reorganise itself

A new study from researchers in Berlin and Surrey offers insights into how sleep contributes to brain plasticity – the ability for our brain to change and reorganise itself – and could pave the way for new ways to help people with learning and memory disorders. The team of researchers at the Humboldt and Charité Universities in Berlin, led by Dr Julie Seibt from the University of Surrey, applied cutting edge techniques to record activity in a particular region of brain cells that is responsible for holding new information – the dendrites. The study, published in the open access journal Nature Communications, found that activity in dendrites increases when we sleep, and that this increase is linked to specific brain waves that are seen to be key to how we form memories.

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VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

VodafoneZiggo workplace in Rotterdam sets out to redefine call centre design

When you think of a call centre you probably picture a line of people seated in row upon row of desks in a featureless room. But call centre design is changing. As companies recognise their growing importance, the boiler room approach is disappearing and call centres are beginning to morph into a corporate centrepiece. Dutch telecoms company Ziggo is a case in point. The company merged with Vodafone in 2017 and today offers broadband and mobile services to both residential and commercial customers across the Netherlands. It has a large call centre and like many companies invests significant resources in training call centre employees in both technology and interpersonal skills. VodafoneZiggo’s call centre in Rotterdam, designed by Evolution Design is spread over several large open plan areas, which were converted into series of smaller work spaces, using low cost solutions such as simple wooden frames, acoustic panelling or a change of flooring to demarcate different zones. Staff can now choose to work in areas as diverse as a plant covered ‘greenhouse’, open plan spaces with bright yellow accents and colourful floor tiles or in a more urban-style zone that uses reclaimed wooden pallets to divide and decorate. Throughout the centre, desks are height adjustable so employees can choose whether to sit or stand. There is also a central reception area with meeting and training rooms and a colourful break out space with comfortable sofas, a café and a games zone complete with table football and video games.

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List of the UK’s most family friendly workplaces announced

List of the UK’s most family friendly workplaces announced

A list of the organisations across the UK who are ‘leading the way in building flexible, family friendly workplaces’ has been published by the charity Working Families. The list is devised by asking employers to answer questions which are scored in four key areas, to build a comprehensive picture of their flexible and family friendly working environment. These are: integration which looks at culture, attitude and how far flexibility has become embedded; policy which looks at the creation, development and deployment of flexibility; consistent practice which considers how well flexibility is supported and measurement and results which looks at the effects of flexibility on the organisation, and their ability to understand those effects.

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Small business owners are overworked and struggle to take a break

Small business owners are overworked and struggle to take a break

A poll from software firm FreeAgent, published to tie in with National Work Life Week, claims that many self-employed people in the UK are working excessively long hours without taking any holidays. In the poll of more than 500 freelancers and micro-business owners, nearly a third of respondents (30 percent) said they worked more than 48 hours per week on their business, while 5 percent admitted that they spent more than 64 hours each week working.  A separate poll carried out earlier this year by the same firm claimed that more than a third (38 percent) of respondents said they had not felt able to take a week or more’s worth of holiday in the previous six months.

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Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

Time to start a new culture to tackle stigma on mental wellbeing issues in the workplace

mental wellbeing at workAs a recent Workplace Insight story reported, UK workers are still uncomfortable about having honest conversations at work, with nearly two thirds (61 percent) feel they keep an aspect of their lives hidden in the workplace. Family difficulties (46 percent) was the most likely hidden issue at work, followed by mental health (31 percent). Talking about mental wellbeing worries to employers can be very distressing for individuals and not only make a person’s condition worse, but also, leave their career in a worse place according to our latest thought leadership research report: Mind Culture. Our latest research study shows that more than half (51 percent) of survey respondents who had confided in their line manager about a mental health issue did not receive any extra support. Even worse, 8 percent respondents faced negative consequences, including being sacked or forced out, demoted or subjected to disciplinary action.

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Is the British solution to the ‘sitting disease’ and low productivity to put the kettle on?

Is the British solution to the ‘sitting disease’ and low productivity to put the kettle on?

British solution to ‘sitting disease’ and low productivity is to put the kettle on

We’ve heard a great deal about the key challenges of the danger of sitting down too much at work and low UK productivity. The solution appears to be that popular British answer to all ills, to put the kettle on. New research by an appliance company ApplianceDirect found that 87 percent of British workers believe that regular tea breaks aid their productivity. It also pulls them away from their desk as they’re spending on average 109.66 hours annually making themselves a drink while having a break from their desk or workstation. In the research, which looked in to workplace eating and drinking habits, respondents cited the optimum tea break time was seven minutes, and they also believe they should happen on average four times per day outside of lunchtime – totaling 28 minutes per day. Despite the rise of coffee culture, the data also revealed it’s still the great British cup of tea that tops the poll for workers as 56 percent say it’s their hot drink of choice. Coffee came in second place, with 38 percent of the vote.

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Nearly a quarter of workers claim work is biggest barrier to being more physically active

Nearly a quarter of workers claim work is biggest barrier to being more physically active

Work is the biggest barrier to taking regular exercise a new survey suggests, with 20 percent of people citing being too busy with work as the reason why they are not more physically active. The research, which is published by not-for-profit health body ukactive to mark today’s National Fitness Day 2017 also reveals that only 1 in 10 adults (12 percent) know NHS recommended physical activity guidelines and well over half of Brits spend at least six hours each day sitting down. In addition to shunning exercise, more than 64 percent of adults spend at least six hours each day sitting, be it at work, in front of the TV, commuting or on social media. The average UK adult also spends more than twice as much time sitting on the toilet as they do exercising, with the study of 2,004 British adults by ComRes reveals that British adults say they are on the loo for an average of 3 hours and 9 minutes each week, compared to just 1 hour and 30 minutes spent doing moderate exercise such as fast walking or riding a bike.

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Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

Growing concerns about staff wellbeing will transform real estate over coming years, claims study

The UK commercial property market will be transformed over the next few years as a growing number of firms use their workplaces to address the physical and mental wellbeing of staff, claims a new report from law firm CMS. The report, Smart Healthy Agile, is based around the findings of a survey of 1,000 office workers and 350 real estate firms. It claims that the most common problems associated with office life and sedentary lifestyles, such as weight gain, stress, depression and musculoskeletal disorders are encouraging employers to adopt a different approach to working culture and office design.

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Lack of cultural inclusiveness means staff reluctant to share personal issues at work

Lack of cultural inclusiveness means staff reluctant to share personal issues at work

Lack of inclusiveness means staff reluctant to share personal issues with employersUK workers are still uncomfortable about having honest conversations at work, with nearly two thirds (61 percent) feel they keep an aspect of their lives hidden in the workplace. The research from Inclusive Employers found family difficulties (46 percent) was the most likely hidden issue at work, followed by mental health (31 percent). One in five also admitted they would hide their sexual orientation while at work. It also found a generational divide, with 67 percent of employees aged between 18 -24 years old keeping something secret compared to 55 percent of those over aged 55 years or over.  The data, released to mark National Inclusion Week 2017, found this lack of openness can have negative impacts on workers and employers, with over a quarter of workers (26 percent) admitting they would feel less connected to their workplace if they hid an aspect of themselves and 18 percent saying their performance would suffer.

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Sexual harassment by colleagues may be associated with more severe depression

Employees who experience sexual harassment by supervisors, colleagues or subordinates in the workplace may develop more severe symptoms of depression than employees who experience harassment by clients or customers, according to a study involving 7603 employees from across 1041 organisations in Denmark. The research is published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.

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Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyle

Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyle

Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyleThe majority of UK employees (61 percent) do not feel encouraged by their employer to lead an active lifestyle, despite most managers agreeing that exercise positively impacts employees’ productivity (78 percent) and their ability to handle stress (82 percent) claims new research from AXA PPP healthcare. Of those British employees who do exercise after work, nearly half (46 percent) would prefer to do so before work but 79 percent blame a lack of time in the morning; yet for those who find time to be physically active before work, three quarters (75 percent) feel it spurs them on to be more effective in the morning while 69 percent feel more productive. More worryingly, nearly half of employees (45 percent) of employees admit they do not do the NHS recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise, five times a week, but finding time to be physically active during the working day can be difficult, or undesirable. Sixty?two percent of employees with good intentions to exercise at work find they’re cancelling their lunchtime exercise plans due to workload or work commitments.

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Shocking level of dissatisfaction amongst workplace occupants, finds Leesman

There is a shocking level of dissatisfaction among the workforce according to a new global report from Leesman, which looks at how a poorly planned workplace can have a negative impact on employees, and inhibit their ability to perform. The findings show that while employers continue to face economic uncertainty, many of their employees are having to endure workplaces that fail to support their basic working day, obstructing their ability to positively contribute to business success.  ‘The Next 250k’, a global report based on the evaluation results from more than 250,000 employees across 2,200+ workplaces in 67 countries found that 43 percent of employees globally do not agree that their workplace enables them to work productively. In the UK, that figure jumps to 46 percent. Therefore, in line with ONS employment figures, for over 1.3 million UK workers, the office is simply not good enough.

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