The Active Office – enhancing workplace wellbeing with innovative office furniture

The Active Office – enhancing workplace wellbeing with innovative office furniture

by • Company news, Furniture, Wellbeing

As experts in ergonomic workspaces that improve productivity, efficiency and employee wellbeing, AJ Products offer a wealth of innovative Active Office solutionsThe working environment profoundly affects how we feel at work. But can the right office furniture and layout also boost creativity, efficiency and collaboration? AJ Products, a leading furniture solutions provider and workplace wellbeing specialist, decided to find out. They collaborated with University Academy 92, a higher education institution co-founded by the Class of ’92 and Lancaster University, to test their Active Office concept. More →

Millions of parents face work struggles due to children’s mental health challenges

Millions of parents face work struggles due to children’s mental health challenges

by • News, Wellbeing

Millions of parents across the UK are finding it increasingly difficult to balance work responsibilities with the demands of caring for children who suffer from mental health issuesMillions of parents across the UK are finding it increasingly difficult to balance work responsibilities with the demands of caring for children who suffer from mental health issues, according to a new poll. In the UK, approximately 2.5 million children are grappling with mental health issues, a statistic that has significant repercussions for their families. The study of 652 parents commissioned by the charity Parenting Mental Health offers a detailed look into how these challenges affect the lives of parents. More →

Arts and crafts boost personal wellbeing more than work, study finds

Arts and crafts boost personal wellbeing more than work, study finds

by • News, Wellbeing

A new study suggests that engaging in arts and crafts activities can significantly enhance personal wellbeing, offering greater benefits than traditional employmenA new study suggests that engaging in arts and crafts activities can significantly enhance personal wellbeing, offering greater benefits than traditional employment. The research, conducted by a team from Anglia Ruskin University and published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, found that activities like pottery, painting, knitting, and woodworking can increase life satisfaction, happiness, and the sense that life is worthwhile. These findings suggest that arts and crafts, often seen as mere hobbies, could be a powerful tool for improving mental health and wellbeing on a broad scale. More →

Vast majority people on zero hours contracts don’t want to be on zero hours contracts

Vast majority people on zero hours contracts don’t want to be on zero hours contracts

by • News, Wellbeing

A new poll makes the perhaps obvious point that a significant majority of workers on zero-hours contracts prefer stable, regular working hours.A new poll makes the perhaps obvious point that a significant majority of workers on zero-hours contracts prefer stable, regular working hours. Commissioned by the TUC, the survey found that 84 percent of zero-hours contract workers would prefer consistent work schedules, while only 14 percent are content with their current arrangements. The poll also highlighted the financial difficulties faced by these workers due to underemployment. Seventy-five percent reported not receiving enough hours to cover their living expenses. Despite this, more than half (58 percent) of requests for additional hours were turned down by employers. More →

NHS to offer workplace health checks to middle aged staff

NHS to offer workplace health checks to middle aged staff

by • News, Wellbeing

The NHS is set to launch a comprehensive initiative aimed at preventing heart attacks and strokes by conducting health checks in workplaces across the UK. Over the next six months, more than 130,000 middle-aged employees will be offered free workplace health checks in their places of work. This national drive, known as Health MoTs, is designed to identify individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes or heart disease through a 20-minute evaluation that includes weighing staff and measuring their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

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Information overload and FOMO are major risk factors for remote work

Information overload and FOMO are major risk factors for remote work

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

While remote work has its advantages for most people, a new academic study found that there are at least two under-discussed risks While the shift to remote work has reportedly brought about numerous benefits for many people, such as increased flexibility and autonomy, a new study published in SAGE Open by researchers from the University of Nottingham claims to reveal significant downsides that are often overlooked. More →

Right to disconnect law comes into force in Australia

Right to disconnect law comes into force in Australia

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

 

Australia has introduced a "right to disconnect" rule, offering what is claimed to be ‘significant relief’ to employees who feel pressured to respond to work-related calls or messages outside of their official working hoursAustralia has introduced a so-called right to disconnect rule, offering what is claimed to be ‘significant relief’ to employees who feel pressured to respond to work-related calls or messages outside of their official working hours. The new legislation allows employees to ignore communications after hours without fearing repercussions from their employers. More →

The final word on … self-awareness

The final word on … self-awareness

by • Comment, Wellbeing

 

Both ancient Stoic philosophy and modern therapeutic approaches prize self-awareness. Here's why The story goes that the great Roman philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius hired a servant to follow him around. The man had only one job. Whenever anybody bowed to the emperor, or said something in praise of him, the servant would whisper in his ear: “You’re just a man. You’re just a man.” Whether this achieved anything isn’t clear, but it was a sign that Marcus Aurelius  was at least trying to practice what he preached. In his Meditations, he wrote: “These are the characteristics of the rational soul: self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. It reaps its own harvest. It succeeds in its own purpose.” More →

Hybrid workers are more likely than colleagues to report poor mental health

Hybrid workers are more likely than colleagues to report poor mental health

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Hybrid workers are the group most likely to say that work has a negative toll on their mental health, according to a new surveyHybrid workers are the group most likely to say that work has a negative toll on their mental health, according to a new survey from Pluxee UK. Two-fifths (42 percent) of hybrid workers reported that work negatively affects their mental wellbeing, compared to 32 percent of fully remote and 30 percent of fully office-based employees. The report claims thatits  findings highlight that while hybrid working offers flexibility, it requires thoughtful support to ensure employee wellbeing and work-life balance. More →

Is this last orders for the post-work drink?

Is this last orders for the post-work drink?

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

 

The traditional post-work drink may be falling from favour as a shift in attitudes means people increasingly prefer daytime social gatherings, a new poll claimsThe traditional post-work drink may be falling from favour as a shift in attitudes and working culture means people increasingly prefer daytime social gatherings, a new poll claims. Employers are being encouraged to move away from pub outings as a means of socialising, instead fostering “inclusive and healthy workplace cultures” that cater to employees who don’t drink alcohol or work remotely. As four different generations now share the workplace, new expectations around employee health and wellbeing are emerging, according to the survey commissioned by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD). More →

Women find it more difficult to separate remote work from their family lives

Women find it more difficult to separate remote work from their family lives

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

 

Remote work has often been lauded as a potential solution to gender inequality, given its flexibility, however these findings showcase that personal circumstances still have an effect on women’s careers.Women have much more difficulty separating their working lives and their family lives when they work from home, than men do, according to new research from Durham University Business School. Remote work has often been lauded as a potential solution to gender inequality, given its flexibility, however these findings showcase that personal circumstances still have an effect on women’s careers. More →

Measuring and rewarding what people do at work? It’s a rat trap, baby, and you’ve been caught

Measuring and rewarding what people do at work? It’s a rat trap, baby, and you’ve been caught

by • Features, Wellbeing

 

Life imitates art. Scientists have discovered that lab mice may be conducting their own experiments on us. A paper published in the journal Current Biology speculates that mice seem to be testing their testers. They do this by deviating from simple behaviours such as responding to rewards to work out what might happen. “These mice have a richer internal life than we probably give them credit for,” explained Kishore Kuchibhotla, senior study author and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “They are not just stimulus response machines. They may have things like strategies.” More →

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