March 4, 2015
Majority of UK workers happy with work life balance, claims report
A new report from private bank Investec claims that three quarters of the UK’s professionals working in fields such as law, finance and healthcare are happy with the current balance between their work and personal life. The survey of 2,000 people suggests that just a quarter (25 percent) claim to be unhappy with their work life balance and a third (32 percent) say that their friends and family would describe them as ‘workaholics’. However, a third (33 percent) are also confident of an improvement in their work life balance over the next five years even though the same proportion also claim that the past five years have seen it decline since 2010. Workers in London are most optimistic despite the fact they are most likely to see themselves as workaholics with nearly half (45 percent) feeling optimistic about the future state of their working and personal lives.
February 2, 2015
Staff calling in sick could be a symptom of management malaise
by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Wellbeing, Workplace
If your office seems strangely quiet this morning it might be due to the fact today is ‘national sickie day’. The first Monday in February is the day of the year which traditionally sees the highest number of workers calling in sick. It’s been argued that many of these people could in fact be looking for a new job, but whether your staff are sick or on a job interview, these absences may be indicative of a deeper problem, and it in all probability lies with the quality of their managers. According to recent research, one in seven people (16%) have had to take sick leave due to a bad manager and a fifth of people would turn down a job offer if their new manager had a bad reputation. The research also found that those who find themselves being poorly managed are more likely to take radical action and leave a job than tackle the issue with their HR department.
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