Over half of office workers have nowhere but their desk to eat lunch

by • Facilities management, Furniture, News, Wellbeing

Over half of UK workers don’t have anywhere to eat lunch in the officeOne in three UK workers don’t have any form of breakout space to get away from their desk and over half (56 percent) of them don’t even have anywhere to eat lunch in their office, new research claims. The survey of  UK office workers carried out by Furniture123.co.uk suggests that as a result of this 34 percent of employees say they resort to eating lunch at their desk, which they feel is having a detrimental effect on morale and productivity. Nearly three quarters (69 percent) of those surveyed felt they worked less productively as a result of not taking a break away from their desk over lunch, and almost half (47 percent) believe they would work more efficiently in the afternoons if they took a full hour for lunch. (more…)

A doctor writes: keeping employees well and positive as the days get shorter

A doctor writes: keeping employees well and positive as the days get shorter

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Winter is coming. The clocks in the UK have just changed, and the long, dark nights are starting. There are still only a few weekends to Christmas, and some employees may be thinking, “How am I supposed to get through the winter? How am I going to stay productive and positive?”. Is it possible that some of your staff may be experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD), more commonly known as the winter blues?

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Majority of maternity returners say they lack support when they go back to work

Majority of maternity returners say they lack support when they go back to work

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Lack of support for maternity returners among UK businesses has been uncovered in a new survey of professional, mainly management-level women. More than four fifths of pregnant women begin their maternity leave unhappy and lacking in confidence about work – and over a third feel so isolated when they return that they want to hand their notice in. MMB, a working parents’ website, surveyed more than 1,000 mothers, 72 percent of whom were in jobs at management level or above.

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We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

We need to move on from the stigma of mental health to finding solutions

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Just as in physical health, everybody has a level of mental health. And while companies have begun to offer corporate gym membership discounts, bowls of fruit around the office, monthly massage and investment in huge amounts of ergonomically supportive furniture to try to assist their colleagues in maintaining a good level of physical health, few seem to be getting to grips with their colleagues’ mental wellbeing, despite the reality that they are dealing with huge numbers of employees who struggle.

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 Stressed UK bosses admit they put wellbeing behind demands of the job

 Stressed UK bosses admit they put wellbeing behind demands of the job

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

 Stressed UK bosses admit they put wellbeing behind demands of the jobAlmost half of UK bosses admit they’ve felt forced to compromise their own health and wellbeing as a result of pressure at work, new research from Vistage has claimed. According to the study, 40 percent of business leaders say the demands of work have caused stress in their personal lives, while nearly a third say they frequently have to work through illness rather than taking the time they need to recover. While a quarter of business leaders say they’ve sought outside help to strike a better balance between their work and personal life, many more are choosing to suffer on in silence while their health and relationships suffer. (more…)

Female graduates have lower salary expectations than male counterparts

Female graduates have lower salary expectations than male counterparts

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Female graduates have lower salary expectations than men

Impostor syndrome is holding female graduates back from earning as much as their male counterparts as new research from Milkround claims that women have lower salary expectations than men, with one third thinking they’ll earn under £20k. Despite a third of graduate’s belief that confidence is the top skill they need to excel in their career, a lack of confidence is holding back more women (41 percent) than men (28 percent). One in three (33 percent) women are worried about low pay and think they’ll earn under £20k in an entry level role, compared to less than a quarter (22 percent) of their male counterparts. (more…)

Lack of motivation at work impacts both performance and mental health

Lack of motivation at work impacts both performance and mental health

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Lack of motivation at work impacts both performance and mental healthOver seven in ten UK employees want their employers to do more to motivate them claims a new study from Reward Gateway which suggests  that some of the alarming effects that being unmotivated has on employees included a worsening in mood (60 percent); reduction in productivity levels (48 percent); declining mental health (46 percent) and a reduction in quality of work (40 percent).  Over a quarter (26 percent) say their relationships with family and friends suffer and 2 in 10 admit to drinking more alcohol when lacking motivation.

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Menopause is one of the last great workplace taboos

Menopause is one of the last great workplace taboos

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Today is World Menopause Day, yet the number of companies that incorporate the menopause into their wellbeing programme is disturbingly low. There are a multitude of reasons why this is the case, but put simply I believe there are three key reasons – it isn’t glamorous, they don’t have the knowledge and experience to deal with it, and because socially it has remained a taboo that we have been reluctant to talk about, even amongst women.

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Majority of UK workers sit at their desk between four and nine hours a day

Majority of UK workers sit at their desk between four and nine hours a day

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

UK office workers may sit at their desk for up to nine hours a day

The majority (81 percent) of UK office workers spend between four and nine hours each day sitting at their desk, equating to an average of 67 sedentary days per person each year, claims a new survey from Fellowes. Nearly half (45 percent) of office workers polled said they sat at their desk for between six and nine hours daily with 36 percent claiming they spent four to six hours seated. On top of this, a huge 64 percent claimed their office environment also had a negative impact on their health.

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Lack of flexible working means people miss major life events

Lack of flexible working means people miss major life events

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new survey claims that 67 percent of employees have missed major life events due to a lack of flexible working within their organisation. The survey conducted by Liberty Mind, was commissioned to explore the impacts on employees who do not have the opportunity of flexible working. From those surveyed it was found that 40 percent had missed hospital or health-related appointments due to a lack of flexible working, while 15 percent had missed moving house, 10 percent had missed a child’s school activity and 8 percent had missed a family funeral.

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European research network sets out to discover exactly how the Internet is bad for us

European research network sets out to discover exactly how the Internet is bad for us

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A pan-European network to tackle problematic internet usage officially launches today with the publication of its manifesto, setting out the important questions that need to be addressed by the research community. As the internet has become an integral part of modern life and its use has grown, so too has its problematic use become a growing concern across all age groups. It has provided a new environment in which a wide range of problematic behaviours may emerge, such as those relating to gaming, gambling, buying, pornography viewing, social networking, ‘cyber-bullying’ and ‘cyberchondria’, which can have mental and physical health consequences.

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How the media oversold standing desks as a fix for inactivity at work

by • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Sitting is so culturally ingrained at work, at the wheel, in front of the TV and at the movies, it takes a great effort to imagine doing these things standing up, let alone pedalling as you work at a bike desk. So, when the world’s first specific guidelines on sitting and moving at work were published, they generated headlines such as: Abandon your chair for four hours to stay healthy, office workers are told and: Stand up at your desk for two hours a day, new guidelines say. But what many media reports did not mention was the guidelines were based on limited evidence. They were also co-authored by someone with commercial links to standing desks (desks you raise and lower to work at standing or sitting), a link not declared when the guidelines were first published in a journal. Media reports also overplayed the dangers of sitting at work, incorrectly saying it wiped out the benefits of exercise. Our new study reveals the nature of this media coverage and its role in overselling standing desks as a solution to inactivity at work.

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