Search Results for: mental

A balanced approach to stress has its benefits

A balanced approach to stress has its benefits

by • Comment, Wellbeing

Stress is an unavoidable part of everyday life and our bodies are hard-wired to respond to it. It’s often wrongly labelled as a sign of being unable to cope, but in reality, manageable stress can give us the boost to perform better at work. When we view the demands placed upon us as close to/exceeding the resources we have to cope, a sense of stress occurs. The situation is seen as threatening. When we experience stress, our brains release chemicals and hormones that prepare us for danger. They elevate our heart rate, sharpen our senses and get us ready to act. In the short term, it can boost our ability to perform, giving us more energy and increased concentration. More →

Workers value employers with right approach to sustainability

Workers value employers with right approach to sustainability

by • Environment, News

HP has published a new study underscoring the importance of sustainable business practices in recruiting, hiring and retaining top talent. It suggests that employees are more productive, motivated and engaged when working for an employer who is leading the charge in social responsibility. The global, 20,000-participant survey suggests that 61 percent believe sustainability is mandatory for businesses. Of those interviewed, 56 percent believe that ignoring environmental impact in the workplace is as bad as ignoring diversity and inclusion. More →

Some of the great ways progressive firms are increasing productivity in the workplace

Some of the great ways progressive firms are increasing productivity in the workplace

by • Company news, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Productivity in the office is a big thing, as the more productive employees are, the more successful the business will be as a result. While most people go through peaks and troughs of productivity during their working life, it’s important for employers to give it their all when it comes to trying to keep the workforce as productive as possible. Therefore, many have come up with ways to make this happen.

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The dark side of wearables and wellbeing

The dark side of wearables and wellbeing

by • Features, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Apples Smartwatch typical of the new generation of wearablesWhile the use of wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices that are worn or inserted as implants, in smart building applications will give people completely new ways of interacting with their surroundings, their potential could be tempered by an increased risk to privacy due to the type and quantity of data being collected. The good news is that, combined with automated building controls, occupants will be able to control and automate their own ‘personal’ environment as well as improve their wellbeing. More →

Hiring the best people is bad for creativity

Hiring the best people is bad for creativity

by • Comment, Workplace

A child's hand shows creativity covered in many paint colours and a smiling faceWhile in graduate school in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took a logic course from David Griffeath. The class was fun. Griffeath brought a playfulness and openness to problems related to creativity and other issues. Much to my delight, about a decade later, I ran into him at a conference on traffic models. During a presentation on computational models of traffic jams, his hand went up. I wondered what Griffeath – a mathematical logician – would have to say about traffic jams. He did not disappoint. Without even a hint of excitement in his voice, he said: ‘If you are modelling a traffic jam, you should just keep track of the non-cars.’

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Green Building Council launches framework for net zero carbon

by • Environment, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has launched a framework for the UK construction and property industry which it claims will shape the transition new and existing buildings to become net zero carbon by 2050, in line with the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement and a new government ambition.

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UK should phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, claims government report

UK should phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, claims government report

by • Environment, News

productivity and environment greenhouse gasThe UK can end its contribution to global warming within 30 years by setting an ambitious new target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said in a report today. But the habits of people and organisations will have to change dramatically. Ten years after the Climate Change Act became law, now is the right moment to set a more ambitious goal. Achieving a ‘net-zero’ target by the middle of the century is in line with the UK’s commitment under the Paris Agreement; the pact which the UK and the rest of the world signed in 2015 to curb dramatically the polluting gases that cause climate change. More →

Employee anxiety peaks despite government’s pledge to uphold workers’ rights post-Brexit

Employee anxiety peaks despite government’s pledge to uphold workers’ rights post-Brexit

by • News, Wellbeing

Brexit UKDespite the government’s pledge to keep and strengthen workers’ rights in a post-Brexit world, research from the CIPD has revealed that over a quarter (26 percent) of British employees have expressed job anxiety. Simultaneously, a recent article from the Guardian also states that 64 percent of people believe the stress caused by Brexit is bad for their mental health. More →

Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

Role of AI and automation in recruitment poses a challenge for HR

by • News, Technology, Workplace

Last week, news emerged that an automated system at Amazon had started firing low performing workers, highlighting the new role of AI and automation in traditional HR practices. Now a new report from the CIPD claims that the use of such systems will have a widespread but mixed impact on jobs. According to the study, the introduction of these new technologies at work will see job opportunities grow, by enhancing roles, employee skills and their pay. However, lack of thought and planning on how people and technology work together is reducing productivity improvements and increasing the risk of people being left behind.

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UK productivity slump linked to employee experience and lack of meaning, claims Deloitte report

UK productivity slump linked to employee experience and lack of meaning, claims Deloitte report

by • News, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Only half of UK employees consider their organisations to be effective at creating a positive work environment and only two fifths consider their employer to be effective at creating meaningful work. With 84 percent of workers stating that employee engagement and productivity are linked and 68 percent say their organisations do not measure the correlation between employee engagement and productivity – suggests UK business leaders need to think differently to prevent productivity slumps. The findings are from the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2019 survey, which tracks the top trends shaping the agenda for HR and business leaders both in the UK and globally. Employee experience, leadership and learning, respectively, led this year’s top 10 UK trends.

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A third of accountancy professionals feel stressed at work

A third of accountancy professionals feel stressed at work

by • News, Wellbeing

accountancyAccountancy has joined the legal profession in a developing mental health epidemic within their respective workplaces. Recent studies found that just over a third (37 percent) of solicitors feel stressed by work, striking a worrying comparison between themselves and accountants. The accountancy profession is in the grip of a mental health crisis according to a new study which claims that a third (31 percent) of chartered accountants feel stressed on a daily basis. The research, conducted by CABA, a wellbeing charity, suggests that as few as 2 percent of respondents claim to be unaffected by stress. More →

Lies about work, the limits of wellness programmes, sleepwalking architects and some other shoes

Lies about work, the limits of wellness programmes, sleepwalking architects and some other shoes

by • Architecture, Features, Flexible working, Wellbeing, Workplace design

There are lots of reasons to worry about where the World might be taking us, or perhaps where we are taking it. You can take your pick but for me one of the most worrying aspects of contemporary discourse is the obvious dearth of empathy. We might like to think of this as an innate characteristic of human beings, but it really isn’t. It’s something that we also need to learn. This idea is explored in this piece by Hanna Rosin who centres her argument around an analysis by Sara Konrath, an associate professor and researcher at Indiana University who has discovered that our willingness to empathise with people is eroding rapidly, especially for those who we see as ‘other’ or irrelevant. If you want an example of lack of empathy, you can see it in this footage of a banker being taken to task for it in a US committee hearing.

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