Search Results for: mental

March 8, 2019

Construction and property firms call on Government to set binding environmental targets

Twenty-three of the UK’s most influential built environment businesses have signed an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for the Environment Bill to provide the foundation for economic growth that is restorative and regenerative by design. In the letter, which was coordinated by UK Green Building Council in collaboration with GreenerUK, the signatories highlight the depletion of nature in the UK and call for a strong response to the challenge this presents. They urge the Government to use the upcoming Environment Bill to set legally binding targets for the achievement of environmental objectives – including tackling biodiversity loss, improving water and air quality and cutting down resource use and waste. More →

March 1, 2019

Radical new environmental approach is needed to fix the global system, claims report

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News

Entire systems change and fewer ‘sticking-plaster’ solutions from world leaders are urgently needed to address global challenges, reveals a report from sustainability non-profit, Forum for the Future. The report calls for urgent collaboration between governments, businesses, NGOs and investors to avoid climate change disaster and secure the future of our society and economy. The Future of Sustainability 2019: Driving systems change in turbulent times reveals a ‘perfect storm’ of seven factors that are set to impact sustainability in the future – including climate migration, nationalism, plastics and biodiversity loss. More →

February 18, 2019

Employers need to become active listeners to improve mental health at work

by Brendan Street • Comment, Wellbeing

Time to Talk Day takes place every February and encourages people to open-up about their emotional wellbeing, but in a workplace setting this can be challenging. Despite 80 percent of employers believing employees would feel comfortable talking about their mental health, only 5 percent of employees would do so. Clearly there’s a disconnect between talkers and listeners which needs to be addressed if we’re to improve mental health at work. More →

February 4, 2019

Getting back to environmental basics in the Anthropocene era ⁰

by Alison Kitchingman • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Workplace design

A new word has recently entered the public discourse on the environment. It describes the current epoch of geological time as the period in which humans have had an impact on the world’s climate, geology and ecosystems. Although yet to be formally recognised by the mainstream scientific community, it has been in existence for a short time and last year the Working Group on the Anthropocene (WGA) voted to formally designate the current epoch the Anthropocene. The principle was presented for recommendation to the International Geological Congress on 29 August 2016. Its general usage has grown but it seems only a matter of time before it becomes the norm to describe an era in which the Earth’s most important environmental characteristic is the activity of people. More →

January 24, 2019

Australian designers are fundamentally reshaping workplaces around the world

by Bronte Turner • Comment, Workplace design

Earlier this year, the QS World University Rankings revealed that the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales are better places to study architecture and the built environment than some Ivy League universities. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for eight of the top 20 architecture schools from the region. As a result, there’s an incredible pool of talent coming from Australia and entering the global market.

January 14, 2019

Tackling mental ill health in the workplace requires changes at the top

by Patrick Watt • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The collective effort to improve mental health awareness has gained real momentum in recent years and in the workplace there’s growing recognition that mental wellbeing among employees is good for business. But the way we’re working – the ‘always on’ culture, innovation moving at breakneck speed, and a global workforce operating 24/7 – is creating a mental burden among employees that is generating more mental health challenges. According to the City Mental Health Alliance, 44 percent of employers are seeing an increase in reported mental health concerns. Our own research of international business leaders has also shown that two thirds of them have suffered from mental health conditions. This is not only worrying for the individuals but problematic for the wider business, as culture is driven from the top.

January 9, 2019

Podcast: embracing the punk spirit and the elemental workplace

by Mike Petrusky • Facilities management, Features, Workplace design

Neil Usher is an experienced senior property, workplace, facilities and change management leader who is currently an executive consultant for Unispace and workessence. He is also the author of “The Elemental Workplace” in which he describes “the 12 elements for creating a fantastic workplace for everyone”. In this new podcast, I ask Neil about the latest trends in the workplace and finds out his opinions on the open office debate, the impact of technology, and the importance of workplace experience. Neil argues that workplace is now being taken seriously as a contributor to performance and is a significant part of our organization’s culture, so we must establish “laws of workplace” that we can use as a foundation to build on in our practice. We discuss the origins of the punk rock music scene and agree that we must bring “the spirit of punk” to our work by being fearless about trying new things in our roles as workplace leaders.

December 19, 2018

How our body clocks affect our mental and physical performance

by Elise Facer-Childs • Features, Wellbeing

Whether you’re a morning person or love burning the midnight oil, we’re all controlled by so-called body clocks. These body clocks (which regulate your circadian rhythms) are inside almost every cell in the body and control when we feel awake and tired during a 24-hour period. But as it turns out, our latest study found that our body clocks have a much bigger impact on us than we previously realised. In fact, our body clocks actually effect how well a person performs on both mental and physical tasks.

December 11, 2018

Debt, relationship breakup and bullying are the top employer concerns about employee mental health

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Debt, separation and bullying are the personal issues of most concern to employers when it comes to employee mental health, according to a report from Aon. It polled employers online and during an Aon seminar called the Contemporary Drivers of Mental Health, in which Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and co-author of a government report, ‘Thriving at Work, a review of mental health and employers’ presented his findings.

December 3, 2018

Not enough support given to employees suffering from mental ill health in the workplace

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Well over half of workers do not think enough support is given to employees suffering from mental ill health in the workplace, as according to research released today by Personal Group a startling 39 percent of respondents said their workplace does not offer any mental health support for employees. And of all employees surveyed 66 percent felt their employer does not offer enough support for employee mental health. This corporate apathy felt by employees arrives at a time when awareness of mental health issues in the UK is on the rise. 80 percent of respondents said they had noticed an overall increase in awareness of mental health generally in the UK, however a staggering 62 percent said they noticed no change in the levels of awareness in the workplace.

November 25, 2018

Mental health problems are rife across Europe

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Greater efforts to promote mental health and improve early diagnosis and treatment of those with mental illness would improve the lives of millions of Europeans and contribute to stronger economic and employment conditions, according to a new joint OECD/European Commission report. Health at a Glance: Europe 2018 says that mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders and alcohol and drug use disorders, affect more than one in six people across the European Union in any given year. Besides the impact on people’s well-being, the report estimates the total costs of mental ill-health at over EUR 600 billion – or more than 4 percent of GDP – across the 28 EU countries.

November 20, 2018

Employers urged not to think of mental health as a minority issue

by Sara Bean • Events, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Following the call yesterday by business leaders for the mandatory provision of mental first aiders at work, new research claims many more workers are affected by mental ill health than usual estimates. Instead of a perceived one in four people affected by mental health, according to the results of new research from Accenture, nine out of ten workers (90 percent) are touched by mental health challenges. Two-thirds (66 percent) have personally experienced mental health challenges and even more — 85 percent — say someone close to them such as a family member, close friend or colleague had experienced them. More →