Half of managers expect staff to suppress emotions

Half of managers expect staff to suppress emotions

emotionsSix in 10 people feel unable to express their true emotions in the workplace, new research has claimed. In a survey of 2,000 UK workers and 250 line managers by Totaljobs and Dr Terri Simpkin, a Visiting Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, most workers said they prefer to deal with emotions on their own. This was particularly true of sadness, which 60 percent chose to handle themselves rather than asking for help. More →

Mental health issues force one in six into career break

Mental health issues force one in six into career break

Mental healthOne in six employees (17 percent) has been forced to take time out from their career due to stress or mental health pressures, a survey of 3,000 people has suggested. According to the research from AIG Life, 19 percent of non-retired women and 15 percent of men have taken time out from their career due to mental health pressures. The research highlights that employers risk the loss of valuable skills and experience, a drop in productivity and extra costs associated with recruiting replacement staff if they fail to support employees dealing with stress or mental health issues.    More →

Workers often care more about income than work life balance

Workers often care more about income than work life balance

work life balanceFinancial success is important to employees around the globe but the importance of maintaining a work-life balance differs between cultures, new research from BI Norwegian Business School has suggested. More →

Stress at work blamed for epidemic of burnout

Stress at work blamed for epidemic of burnout

stress at workFour in ten professionals admit they’re on the brink of burnout, with more than two thirds stating that stress at work is the main contributor, research carried out from online jobs site CV-Library has claimed. Out of more than 2,000 UK professionals surveyed, 45 percent said they have trouble sleeping, 40 percent suffer from negative thoughts and 39 percent feel exhausted.

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Workers at Bloomberg, Netflix and Google are among happiest in the US

Workers at Bloomberg, Netflix and Google are among happiest in the US

Blind, an anonymous professional network with more than 3.2 million work-email verified users, has announced the results of a survey that identifies what the firm claims are the top fifteen companies with the happiest workers in the US. The survey of more than 10,000 Blind users claims to provide insight into the link between employee happiness and personal growth. More →

Employers shift focus to wellbeing and employee benefits

Employers shift focus to wellbeing and employee benefits

wellbeingNew research from Aon claims that employers have increased their strategic focus on both emotional and financial wellbeing programmes, while physical wellbeing programmes have remained largely static. Aon’s UK Benefits & Trends 2020 Survey (registration) shows that 51 percent of employers now have financial wellbeing strategies in place, up from 21 percent three years ago, while 68 percent have emotional wellbeing strategies, up from 41 percent. These were the least developed pillars of employee wellbeing when Aon asked organisations in its 2017 UK Health Survey. More →

Workers value comfort and functionality over quirky office design

Workers value comfort and functionality over quirky office design

office design and engagementEmployees value physical office design features and amenities that offer them a greater deal of comfort and functionality in the workplace. They especially favour outdoor views, natural light and on-site food services, according to a new report from CBRE based on a survey of 1,600 North American office users. More →

Office design in the US now more closely aligned with needs of workers

Office design in the US now more closely aligned with needs of workers

office designOffice design and expectations around professionalism in the workplace are evolving along with the modern workforce in America, according to a new report from researchers at Olivet Nazarene University. The Modern Office Study claims that office design is evolving in parallel with changes in working culture, especially in the way that traditional North American cubicles, which were once the default model of office design in the US, are rapidly being replaced with open plan layouts. The report claims that these are now found in over half of American workplaces. More →

Flexible working and always on culture have a negative effect on families

Flexible working and always on culture have a negative effect on families

flexible working and familiesWorking parents’ ability to switch off from their work is being undermined by the rise of modern communications and the uptake of flexible working practices, with almost half agreeing the boundaries between home and the workplace have blurred, according to the most authoritative annual survey of working families in the UK. More →

Putting the responsibility into personal and corporate social responsibility

Putting the responsibility into personal and corporate social responsibility 0

corporate social responsibilityYou’re probably aware of the experiment performed by Stanley Milgram in which volunteers were asked by men in white coats to administer what they believed to be electric shocks to another person, who they could not see, but could hear, from behind a screen. Around two-thirds of the volunteers agreed to deliver what they were told to be potentially fatal shocks to the subject, who they could hear screaming and begging them to stop. What they didn’t know was the person they were agreeing to inflict this on was in fact an actor. Although now questioned, Milgram’s findings remain the famous of a series of studies that have attempted to highlight the willingness of humans to bow to authority figures and comply with group norms irrespective of what their own morals might tell them.

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Burnout remains a risk for workers of all generations

Burnout remains a risk for workers of all generations

burnoutFlexible working has become an important part of the modern UK economy, with over half of employees taking up a flexible working arrangement. However, Nuffield Health’s latest whitepaper The effects of remote working on stress, wellbeing and productivity has found while remote working is associated with higher workplace wellbeing, it can also present many business challenges including the risk of burnout for an increasingly diverse workforce. More →

The tipped out, left out and fallout from a failing workplace culture

The tipped out, left out and fallout from a failing workplace culture

The big workplace news story of the past week or so appears to be one about a toilet seat. Sometimes it’s in the small things we can discern a greater truth. To see a world in a grain of sand, as William Blake wrote. The seat of this much discussed loo is tilted forward by 13 degrees so that after about five minutes it becomes very uncomfortable because people tire of using their legs to stop themselves sliding off. The reason is clearly to stop them ‘wasting time’ on the toilet. More →