June 17, 2016

Women’s long hours working linked to alarming increases in serious illness ⁰

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

Women who put in long hours for the sake of their careers may pay a heavy price including life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer. Work weeks that averaged 60 hours or more over three decades appear to triple the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis for women, according to new research from Ohio State University and published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The risk begins to climb when women put in more than 40 hours and takes a decidedly bad turn above 50 hours, researchers found. Men with tough work schedules appeared to fare much better, found researchers who analysed data from interviews with almost 7,500 people who were part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. More scheduling flexibility and on-the-job health coaching, screening and support could go a long way toward reducing the chances employees become sick or die as a result of chronic conditions, according to the report.

June 17, 2016

Poor office acoustic design biggest issue for workers, but bosses aren’t listening ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

Open-plan offices are meant to encourage collaboration and contribute to a collegial workplace culture, but they also come with serious drawbacks like noise and distraction. New research claims that more than half of employees said poor office acoustic design reduces their satisfaction at work. Many feel compelled to solve the problem on their own, blocking out distraction through visits to break out spaces, taking walks outside, or listening to white noise and music on headsets or headphones. The survey of more than 600 executives and 600 employees by Oxford Economics and Plantronics set out to understand what works for employees—and what doesn’t—about open-plan layouts, and to test for disconnects between workers and their managers. The results show that threats to productivity and worker peace of mind are bigger issues than most executives realise, and most do not have the technology or strategies in place to deal with the problems.

June 14, 2016

Home workers happier, able to balance responsibilities despite long hours ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

New research claims that home-based employees are choosing to work more hours than those who work in traditional offices. According to the study carried out by homeworking agency Sensée, despite opting to work more hours daily, home workers are generally happier because they’re empowered to choose the hours they work so they can still attend to family responsibilities. Three quarters of home workers (77 percent) stated that working from home enables them to achieve more, including caring for family members or friends and exercising more. Time and money saved on commuting – along with more control over their day – were cited among the top three benefits of working from home. The research also claims there is a desire to work from home among office-based employees. Three-fifths (81 percent) of office-based employees said they would take the opportunity to work from home either full time or part time to care for a family member or friend.

June 10, 2016

What holiday? Why it is vital for productivity to take a digital detox ⁰

by Ciara McGrath • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace

The explosion of digital devices means that we’re always connected to the office, wherever we might be. In a survey conducted by the Chartered Management Institute, only half of UK managers booked a summer holiday. While 35 percent put their annual holiday plans on hold, 69 percent of those not taking a holiday cited their workload as a reason why. Even for those taking some time off, 12 percent planned to check their email daily, 19 percent said they would check their mail most days, and 26 percent planned to check at least once or twice a week. In the US, the situation is the same; 61 percent of employees said that they planned to work during their break. 38 percent planned to spend time reading emails, 32 percent said they would access work-related documents while on holiday, 30 percent planned to take work phone calls, and 20 percent would complete work tasks if asked by a colleague, boss or client.

June 9, 2016

Employers urged to use sporting events to help engage employees ⁰

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

With the European Championships about to begin, employers are preparing themselves for the consequences. A new report from Robert Half reveals that three quarters (73 percent) of UK Human Resources (HR) directors believe their employees will call in sick or make an excuse for skipping work, the day after a major sporting event such as the UEFA EURO 2016, and more than a fifth (21 percent) considering it ‘very likely’. With England’s and Wales’ first midweek European Championship fixture on the 16th June, companies are likely to be anticipating a significant increase in the number of employees missing work on Friday 17th June as a result of ‘sporting sickies’. A large majority (88 percent) of HR executives believe there are benefits of using sporting events to engage employees. Many companies are seeing the cohesive benefits of coming together to enjoy a sporting spectacle and emotionally invest in the event.

June 7, 2016

Office best place for productivity, subject to wellness, tech and design ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

An increasing number of employees may be opting for telecommuting and on-demand workspaces, but 66 percent of American employees consider the office as the most productive place to get work done. Thirty-six percent say it’s the most inspiring place to work as well, more than any other location. But as workers spend more time in the office, the onus falls on employers to keep their employees healthy, productive and inspired. According to The Staples Business Advantage Workplace Index, 70 percent of US office workers and managers report working more than 40 hours a week, many of whom say they’re working longer hours simply to catch up on work they couldn’t tackle during an eight hour day. And that workload is taking a toll, with 64 percent of respondents saying their workplace has contributed to stress, nearly half feeling so overworked they’re motivated to look for another job and 13 percent having taken a workplace stress-related leave of absence.

June 7, 2016

New guide available on building the business case for agile working ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace

For employers and employees who have yet to persuade senior management of its benefits, the work-life balance charity Working Families has launched a new online guide on how to construct a business case for agile working. The step-by-step guide spells out the argument that flexible working brings; higher levels of productivity which can lead to increased output at no additional cost; staff retention, reducing turnover and the cost of retraining; recruitment opportunities, ensuring you have access to the best talent; and that flexible working is necessary to adapt to future trends. The guide covers the globalisation of work and demand for 24 hour service; changing demographics and attitudes towards work and both the social case and the health and wellbeing case for flexible working. It also provides some evidence and case studies which show that flexible working increases organisational performance and productivity, along with a look at how technology can facilitate changing working styles and bring about change.

June 7, 2016

Senior management input required to promote workplace wellbeing ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Just a third of American workers say they regularly participate in health promotions provided by their employer, despite the prevalence of workplace wellness programmes. According to the American Psychological Association a key part of the solution is increasing senior leadership support. In the APA’s 2016 Work and Well-Being Survey, less than half of working Americans (44 percent) reported that the climate in their organisation supports employee well-being, and 1 in 3 admitted to being chronically stressed on the job. However, nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of employees with senior managers who show support through involvement and commitment to well-being initiatives said their organisation helps employees develop a healthy lifestyle, compared with just 11 percent who work in an organisation without leadership support. Among all employees surveyed, 33 percent said they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday, and only 41 percent said their employer helps workers develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

June 6, 2016

Only a third of employers have policies to support working carers ⁰

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

As baby boomers and Gen X age, more of the working population are responsible for the care of elderly relatives, with some being part of the ‘sandwich generation’, balancing work while caring for older family members and their own children. Yet according to a new survey published today by CIPD/Westfield Health just a third of employers (34 percent) have a formal, written policy or an informal, verbal policy in place to support working carers in their workplace . The report also finds that just 13 percent of organisations offer line manager training to support working carers, which is concerning given the key role line managers play in providing flexibility and support to people with caring responsibilities. With estimates suggesting that 3 in 5 people will end up caring for someone at some point in their lives, employers are being urged to put mechanisms in place to empower and support working carers, before they lose out on key talent; while those employers that do support working carers believe it’s made a positive difference to their culture.

June 6, 2016

Pressure at work ties majority of UK workers to their desks for lunch ⁰

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

Many UK workers are under so much pressure they can’t escape their workplace for lunch, with almost three in five employees regularly eating at their desk. This could be having a detrimental long-term effect on the health of millions of workers across the UK. The results of a survey, commissioned by the National Charity Partnership, a collaboration between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco, found that office workers say heavy workloads (32 per cent), workplace culture (14 per cent) and stress (13 per cent) are to blame for not getting away from their desks for a walk at lunchtime. Despite more than nine in ten employees reporting that being outside makes them feel healthier or more positive, more than half of workers who were questioned (52 per cent) never leave their office for lunch. Almost one in four (24 per cent) say they regularly work through their break.

June 4, 2016

Robot woes + Coworking goes mainstream + Workplace sit-stand debate ⁰

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

In this week’s Newsletter; Sara Bean suggests improvements in work-based training could help address the productivity gap; Mark Eltringham says there will be no grand arrival for the ‘Office of the Future’; and warns of the lack of context when reporting research on sit-stand working. Better technology would improve workers quality of life, finds a new report; researchers say workaholism is closely associated with a range of mental diseases and psychiatric disorders; and a surprisingly large number of people fear their job being taken by a robot within the next 10 to 50 years. Banks are rationalising space to stay in London; coworking remains one of the main drivers of workplace change globally; and uncertainty about Brexit hits the construction sector. You can download our Insight Briefing, produced in partnership with Connection, on the boundless office; visit our new events page, follow us on Twitter and join our LinkedIn Group to discuss these and other stories.

June 2, 2016

People are happy at work but yearn for better tech and a second job ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

The recent riots across France sparked by mooted reforms to labour laws have been attributed to French workers objecting to the creation of working cultures akin to those in the UK and US. In which case, it would be interesting to see how our Gallic cousins might respond to the findings of a new report from Adobe which suggests that workers in both the UK and US as well as India see technology as the key perk they look for at work and many are perfectly happy to work more than one job and don’t expect long term commitments to (and from) their employers, although many of them also feel defined by what they do for a living and are happy at work. According to The Work in Progress report, a quarter of UK workers already moonlight and over two thirds believe that better technology would be the single most important way of improving their working lives. The same attitudes are also prevalent in responses from workers in both the US and India.