March 26, 2020

Context can shape the ethical decisions people make

When faced with a moral dilemma, people usually respond in one of three ways, and the moral decision changes according to the setting, claims recent research from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, UCL School of Management, and Harvard University. The work by Professors Netta Barak-Corren, Chia-Jung Tsay, Fiery Cushman, and Max Bazerman, suggests that people may tackle an ethical problem by using the utilitarian principle, action principle, or intention principle. More →

March 26, 2020

Now is a great time to talk about staff absence in the NHS

by Ian Caminsky • Comment, Wellbeing

The NHS lost nearly ten days per employee to absence last year, the highest level recorded in the last five years. Data is crucial to the decision-making and success of every business, and yet many NHS Executives will be unaware of this statistic. More →

March 25, 2020

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

by Nigel Oseland • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives, Workplace design

Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious issue in modern society. In the UK, the Office of National Statistics reported that 5 percent of adults feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’, with further 16 percent of adults reporting feeling lonely ‘sometimes’, equivalent to approximately 9 million adults suffering from loneliness to some degree. More →

March 25, 2020

The good, the bad and the ugly of workplace wellbeing

by Chris Pinner • Comment, Wellbeing

FTSE companies that prioritise wellbeing and engagement outperform others by 10 percent according to a study from SOMA Analytics. Similar results are apparent across a range of related studies. With such a significant impact, it’s surprising that businesses are still not measuring the impact of wellbeing activities to optimise their offering. More →

March 25, 2020

Have your say on the coronavirus pandemic

by Jayne Smith • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing

One of the first research projects aimed at gauging the UK public’s attitude and responses to the coronavirus pandemic is being launched. Experts at Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University are urging people from across the UK to take part in a survey to assess how people feel about – and how they are responding to – one of the biggest health crises facing the country in recent history. More →

March 24, 2020

A shift in the workplace axis might be a welcome outcome of this crisis

by Luke Munro • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

I am not a philosopher. I sell home and workplace furniture. But I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how radically different things will be – both in how we work and how we live – once we get through this dreadful period of our lives. We have the opportunity to embrace a whole new way of working which recognises and gets the best out of all parts of our community. More →

March 20, 2020

Freelancer groups call for emergency fund during Coronavirus crisis

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), the Creative Industries Federation and other organisations representing freelancers have written an open letter calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a Temporary Income Protection Fund to support the self-employed during the Coronavirus crisis. More →

March 20, 2020

How important is it to be happy at work?

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

How supportive are you of your employees’ wellbeing? New research from CV-Library claims that two-thirds of Brits (61.7 percent) say being happy at work is the most important part of a job, but 87.9 percent feel their employer could do more to improve morale in the workplace.

What’s more, the study, which surveyed 2,300 UK professionals, suggests that Brits think being happy is more important than salary (22.1 percent) and location (15.5 percent) when it comes to work. Interestingly, being happy in their job was also more important for women (66.4 percent) than men (58.7 percent), as well as for 55-64-year olds (66.9 percent) and 45-54-year olds (64.8 percent). More →

March 13, 2020

How to flourish in the workplace – Derek Clements-Croome in conversation

by Mark Eltringham • Podcasts, Premium Content, Wellbeing, Wellbeing Matters

In the third in our series of wellbeing podcasts published in partnership with Wellworking, I am in conversation with Derek Clements-Croome, one of the world’s leading experts on wellbeing and sustainability in the workplace. We look at the increasingly powerful links between personal wellbeing and green sustainable building design and consider some of the most important yet last talked about wellbeing and productivity issues such as temperature and air quality. More →

March 6, 2020

CIBSE issues new guidance on wellbeing in buildings

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

CIBSE has updated its Technical Memorandum 40: Health and wellbeing in building services (paywall), to reflect what it says are “significant changes in the environmental conditions we are exposed to and advances in our knowledge of how these environments affect our health, comfort and cognitive performance.” More →

March 3, 2020

What is the evidence for the benefits of basic income?

by Marcia Gibson • Features, Wellbeing, Working culture

The idea of giving everybody something called basic income – an unconditional, regular income – has become increasingly popular in the last few years, partly because employment has become less secure and people fear that increasing automation may cause job losses across many sectors. More →

March 2, 2020

Managers need more hugs and fewer squeezes at work

by Marie Hillen • News, Wellbeing

A new report from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) claims that better support for line managers is needed in the workplace. The Squeezed Middle: Why we should be hugging and not squeezing line managers recommends that HR metaphorically ‘hugs and not squeezes’ people in management roles, if organisations are looking to lower health related sickness absence and stimulate productivity growth. More →