February 3, 2021

COVID-19 is having an unequal impact on the mental health of workers

When the COVID-19 crisis hit the UK in March 2020, many commented that the virus didn’t discriminate and that its impact would be felt equally by everyone. However, as highlighted in Nuffield Health’s recent whitepaper, the mental health impact of the virus – rising from financial worries, anxiety around health and the direct impact of COVID-19 – has hit some groups harder than others. More →

February 2, 2021

Stress-related absence soars as COVID-19 exacerbates the UK’s mental health crisis

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

‘Stress by Sector’ data released by e-days claims concerning statistics that stress-related appointments are up generally in business by 64 percent over 2019. The data claims that the sectors struggling most with stress-related sickness are unsurprisingly healthcare (0.64 days of stress related absence on average per employee), followed by Government and International Affairs (0.57 days on average per employee) and Human Resources and staffing (0.39 days on average per employee). More →

February 1, 2021

Burnt out remote workers need more help than they are getting

by Karen Plum • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

There’s no question that many people now, feeling the weight of lockdown 3 and with no clear view on the timing of any sort of ‘return to normal’, are finding it tough to stay motivated. Many are burnt out. We can gain some insight into what is going on for many individuals by way of neuroscience, specifically how the brain works and how it copes with changing situations. More →

January 22, 2021

Low paid workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies has found that low paid workers are more than twice as likely to have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are at far greater risk of being temporarily laid off or having their hours cut. The research, funded by Standard Life Foundation, concludes that in this current lockdown it is likely that around two thirds of low paid workers – or four million people – are either temporarily laid off or working fewer hours than normal. This would be double the rate of work disruption for staff who are not classified as low paid. More →

January 19, 2021

Improving air quality is key to making people feel safer

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Wellbeing

Improving air quality in the fight against COVID-19 could give businesses the edge over their competitors and attract more customers, according to a top UK university scientist. Writing in a new report for facilities services provider phs Group, Cambridge University Professor Paul Linden highlights the growing evidence for the airborne transmission of coronavirus and that tackling indoor air quality must be at the forefront of creating COVID-safe environments. More →

January 15, 2021

Pandemic has improved employee engagement levels say employers

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Employee engagement levels may have actually improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, claims a recent survey undertaken by intermediary Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing. More →

January 14, 2021

Mace achieves net zero carbon

by Freddie Steele • Company news

Mace has announced that it has achieved its ambition to be a net zero carbon business in 2020. Following the statement in January 2020 that the company had committed to the ambitious target, the executive board has confirmed that after driving down its carbon emissions as far as possible across its developments and operations it has offset the remaining emissions. More →

January 13, 2021

Office design will respond to the events of the past year as it always has – by getting better

by Oliver Ronald • Comment, Workplace design

You may have heard that history repeats itself, but that’s not really true. It doesn’t repeat. It rhymes. And nowhere is this more true than when it comes to office design. It’s worth bearing this in mind when we consider the effects of the events of 2020. Not only the pandemic and lockdown, but also the longer term economic, social and individual consequences. The details of this may be unprecedented, as many people have suggested, but the dynamics of it are not. We have not been here before, but we’ve been somewhere very like it. More →

January 8, 2021

Volunteering boosts employees during lockdown, research claims

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

As companies struggle to motivate teams working remotely, new research by the charity Education and Employers and the CIPD, claims that employers who support their staff with volunteering in schools and colleges has found employees to be more motivated, more productive and have a better sense of well-being. More →

January 7, 2021

Businesses warned of a looming crisis of trust from employees in 2021

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Working culture, Working lives

Organisations face a crisis of trust this year if they continue to make workplace decisions in the dark, according to employee experience platform, Leesman. A study across 145,000+ global employees claims a series of acute factors impacting an employees’ ability to work remotely. More →

January 6, 2021

The city and the office have much to teach each other

by Marian Evans • Cities, Features, Workplace design

Whatever you might hear, these times are far from unprecedented. History has lessons for us both in terms of how we view the events of 2020 and how we might respond to them, including how we progress as a species and make our lives and the world a better place. In 1832, there was an epidemic of cholera in the UK’s towns and cities. In those with a population of 100,000 or more life expectancy was just 26 years. The reasons for this were picked up on by a government official called Edwin Chadwick as a member of the Poor Law Commission. More →

January 4, 2021

Supporting change during the pandemic with Simplicity Smart Lockers

by Kimberley Hutchinson • Company news, Furniture

The way in which we work has changed in a way no one would have ever predicted as a result of last year’s pandemic. Consequently, many businesses have chosen to adopt to an agile working practise. This coupled with the rapid evolution of the hybrid workplace has allowed more employees than ever the flexibility to work from home, many people however still crave that interaction with colleagues, and the ‘corridor conversations’ that cannot be replicated via Zoom and can only happen with workplace collaboration. More →