As UK heatwave continues, Acas issues hot weather tips for employers

As UK heatwave continues, Acas issues hot weather tips for employers 0

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

With the Met Office predicting that the hot weather looks set to continue for much of this week, workplace expert Acas, has offered some tips to help employers manage workplace challenges due to the hot weather. From a legal perspective, it advises that workplace temperatures should be reasonable as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has stated that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings must be reasonable. The HSE offers advice on how to carry out a thermal comfort risk assessment if employees complain about the temperature. Acas Senior Guidance Adviser, John Palmer, said: “Today’s sizzling weather may be ideal for the beach but staff getting into work on one of the hottest days of the year may not feel the same way. Certain workers may be adversely affected by the extreme heat such as pregnant women, elderly employees and Muslim staff that are currently fasting during Ramadan. Our advice offers some top tips for employers to help ensure their businesses remain productive during the heat wave whilst keeping staff happy too.”

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Workplace wellbeing is now embedded in the very bricks and mortar of the building

Workplace wellbeing is now embedded in the very bricks and mortar of the building 0

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

For some time now, the debate about how the workplace adds to the bottom line of an organisation has focused increasingly on the subject of wellbeing. There are plenty of good reasons for this, with the issue subject to both the push of employers as well as the pull of employees. Everybody thinks it’s a good idea and it’s easy to see why. Wellbeing is about business ethics, recruitment and retention, productivity, physical and mental health, work-life balance, absenteeism and the management of a flexible workforce, and all the other things that underpin the success and health of an organisation and each individual. It suggests a more positive approach to the workplace than either health & safety or occupational health, both of which remain disciplines more focused on reducing risk and harm than promoting positive outcomes, as is the case with wellbeing. Neither is it about something as raw and nebulous as productivity, which remains difficult and even impossible to measure for knowledge and creative workers and only offers a single dimension on a key workplace issue anyway.

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Caring responsibilities are main cause of workplace absence and lower productivity

Caring responsibilities are main cause of workplace absence and lower productivity 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

An increasing number of workers are taking on caring responsibilities, be this for children, elderly relatives or other dependents, and it’s becoming a major cause of workforce absence, claims new research. According to data released by group risk industry body GRiD, for 61 percent of employers these issues are a main cause of short-term absence (less than 4 weeks); for 49 percent of employers these issues are a main cause of mid-term absence (4 weeks to 6 months) and for 43 percent of employers these issues are a main cause of long-term absence (in excess of 6 months). They can also be a contributory factor in the development of mental illness or the deterioration of mental health. Indeed, mental ill-health is another major cause of absence, due to the knock-on effects of stress and deteriorating mental health that results in more absence. In terms of what employers are doing to reduce absence and improve attendance, flexible working comes out as the top-rated solution, with 36 percent of employers citing this as one of the measures they have put in place to minimise absence.

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Job satisfaction is high but more focus is needed on employee development

Job satisfaction is high but more focus is needed on employee development 0

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The CIPD/ Halogen’s Employee Outlook survey of over 2,000 employees has been tracking employee perceptions of work and working lives since 2009. In this article we explore trends in employee satisfaction with their jobs and broader engagement measures, as well as views on managers and satisfaction with learning and employee development opportunities and career fulfilment. Job satisfaction has increased since 2016, with 64 percent of employees now saying they are satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 16 percent who are dissatisfied. What is particularly interesting, though, is that job satisfaction continues to rise in the public sector at levels not seen before in this survey series. Seventy-two per cent of public sector workers are now satisfied with their jobs, compared to just 13 percent who are dissatisfied. While it’s not clear from this research exactly why such improvements have been made, it is part of an overall improvement in scores for the public sector which include attitudes to senior leaders, opportunities for voice in the workplace, as well as increased opportunities to learn and grow.

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Nearly half of occupants say their building’s toilet facilities need some improvement 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Most FMs would tell you that the state of the workplace toilets is often one of the main determinants by occupants on how well the facilities department is doing its job. So it’s disturbing to learn that according to a new survey a significant number of employees have cause to complain about the state of their workplace toilet facilities. The research, carried out by the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors claims that 16.5 percent of people are unhappy at work due to the condition of their employer’s toilets which is having a negative impact on their levels of engagement. Their research found 43.8 percent of the people surveyed felt their workplace toilets needed to be better maintained. And when asked if their workplace toilets require updating or refurbishing, 44.4 percent said they did. London seemingly has the worst workplace toilets with 50.9 percent of workers surveyed believing they need to be better maintained and require refurbishing.

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Office temperature is most likely source of conflict at work

Office temperature is most likely source of conflict at work 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Nearly half of office workers (47 percent) cited differences over the office temperature as the aspect of their working environment that causes the most frustration in the workplace, according to a survey of 1,371 working UK adults by Emo Oil. 57 percent consider their office too hot, whilst 43 percent believe the opposite that the office temperature is in fact far too cold for working conditions, which just goes to show what a contentious issue it is. 63 percent state that the temperature affects their productivity in the working day. And as many as 1 in 6 (17 percent), even admitted to having asked their manager to work from home, due to being unhappy with the temperature in their working environment.

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SME staff admit to faking sick days to help cope with an “always on” culture

SME staff admit to faking sick days to help cope with an “always on” culture 0

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

SME staff admit to taking bogus sick days to help them cope with culture of presenteeismOne in seven SME employees admit to feigning illness and taking at least three bogus sick days off each year in order to cope with a culture which expects them to be available all the time. Nearly half (42 percent) of staff who are pulling sickies do so because they need a rest as just under half (46 percent) of SME employees bother to use up their full holiday allowance. At the end of 2016, SMEs employed 15.7 million people and accounted for 99 percent of all private sector businesses. Due to the piling pressure on small business owners, half (51 percent) of the 1,500 British SME workers and business owners who were polled by breatheHR confessed to contacting an employee while they were on sick leave – this number jumps to 72 percent for younger business owners (18-34-year-olds) showing clear generational differences. Additionally, three-quarters (71 percent) of business owners would expect employees to work if they had a common cold. Why? Because absenteeism impacts the bottom line – 85 percent of business owners say it has an economic effect.

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Workplace mental health support worse for public sector than private sector workers

Workplace mental health support worse for public sector than private sector workers 0

by • News, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplace wellbeing support is worse in the public sector than in the private sector, according to a major survey by the mental health charity Mind. The survey of over 12,000 employees across the public and private sectors found there is a higher prevalence of mental health problems in the public sector, as well as a lack of support available when people do speak up. Of those with a mental health problem, 90 percent of public sector staff disclosed it to their employer, compared with 80 percent in the private sector. When taking time off for mental health reasons, 69 percent of public sector workers were honest about the reason for needing time off, compared with 59 percent of private sector staff. 38 percent of public sector employees said the workplace cultured allowed staff to be open about mental health problems, compared with 29 percent in the private sector.

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Research into office lighting reveals negative impact of poorly-lit workplaces

Research into office lighting reveals negative impact of poorly-lit workplaces 0

by • Facilities management, Lighting, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Issues with the quality of their workplace lighting frustrate the majority (83 percent) of UK office workers; while 80 percent experience negative symptoms due to poor lighting a new study suggests. The survey by Lutron Electronics focused on key areas including the impact of lighting on mood and wellbeing and whether workers had personal control of their lights or were subject to standard lighting control settings across the office. Understandably, 88 percent of UK respondents said that their office lighting is important or very important and one third (32 percent) stated that their existing workplace lighting aids them in the accuracy and visibility of their work. In addition, 27 percent believe it allows them to focus more while 25 percent said it increases their general wellbeing. However, 35 percent of overall respondents said their existing office lighting does not have any positive impact on them at work. This figure is even higher (44 percent) among those in large companies with more than 5,000 employees and amongst the most senior generation (55+), where it reached more than half (51 percent).

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Half of UK employees work one unpaid day a week, but Germans get an even worse deal

Half of UK employees work one unpaid day a week, but Germans get an even worse deal 0

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Half of UK employees work one day a week for free, but Germans do even more unpaid timeNearly half of UK employees are effectively working an extra day per week for free, claims new research from Powwownow. On average, UK workers spend just under seven hours per week working outside of contracted hours – the equivalent of a nine-to-five working day with an hour for lunch – but nearly half of them (42 percent) receive no pay for this extra days’ worth of work. A quarter of UK workers (26 percent) receive their standard pay for any overtime, while a fifth (21 percent) are rewarded with ‘time and a half’. Only 6 per cent receive ‘double time’. Germans get a worst deal though, as employees spend an average of 7 hours and 54 minutes working extra but a huge 61 percent of workers receive no pay at all for this time. Workers in Sweden spend the least time working outside of contracted hours, with only 4 hours and 9 minutes of extra work per week.

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Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise

Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise 0

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Third of office workers in the UK not taking the required amount of exercise

A third (35 percent) of UK office workers fail to get the National Health Service recommended exercise quota of 150 minutes per week,  a new survey commissioned by Pure Gym to mark Global Employee Health and Fitness Month (GEHFM), has revealed. According to the NHS website, it’s advised that adults between the ages of 19-64 should take part in at least two and a half hours of moderate exercise each week. However, approximately one in three office employees in the UK are currently falling short of these guidelines, with just over two thirds (73 percent) citing work pressures as a key contributing factor to this deficit. Top reasons noted for this lack of activity include, stress at work (17 percent), long commuting hours (15 percent) and insufficient lunch breaks (14 percent), with over a third (38 percent) of office workers attributing their exercise short fall to work related tiredness and fatigue.

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Over a quarter of workplace absences are down to psychological conditions

Over a quarter of workplace absences are down to psychological conditions 0

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Quarter of workplace absences are down to psychological conditionsHR professionals will, on average, oversee 15 staff with mental health conditions each year, according to new analysis from consultancy, the Clear Company, which also claims that mental health in the workplace as the second biggest challenge facing employers in the next five years, with respondents stating that over a quarter (26 percent) of workplace absences were down to psychological conditions. The UK Workplace Wellbeing Survey did find that employers are already putting interventions in place to support staff, with 81 percent offering line manager training (around recognising stress within the workplace), 75 percent offering occupational health support, 72 percent offering employee assistance programmes and a further 62 percent offering separate counselling support.However, according to a recent study by Legal & General, less than 10 per cent of employees feel comfortable disclosing mental health conditions to their employer – meaning that HR may face a challenge in identifying and supporting these individuals adequately.

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