Search Results for: health

December 7, 2017

Over half of workers say they are more productive working from home than a chilly office

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

Chilly offices mean that over half (57 percent) of office workers say they’d be more productive working from home when the weather gets colder. Their main reason is that too many workplaces (50 percent) do not handle weather complaints effectively. According to Office Genie’s survey of 1,105 British office workers, only 6 percent of employers encourage staff to work remotely in the colder weather. Bosses are also reluctant to let employees work flexibly instead of freeze, with only 16 percent of companies adopting flexible working patterns in the colder months. Even simple provisions such as supplying additional heaters are not in place in 70 percent of offices – failing to comply to the government’s Health and Safety Executive’s advice. Of the 1,105 office workers we surveyed, 50% said complaints about office temperatures aren’t dealt with effectively by management. And while HSE guidelines state workplaces shouldn’t dip below 16°C but when we asked workers their ideal office temperature, 20°C was the resounding answer.

December 5, 2017

Up to 800 million jobs will be displaced by automation over next 13 years, claims McKinsey report

by Mark Eltringham • AI, News, Technology

Up to 800 million workers worldwide may find their jobs disrupted and displaced by robots and automation by 2030, around a fifth of the global labour force, according to a new report covering 46 nations and over 800 occupations carried out by McKinsey & Co. The report claims that all countries and nearly all roles will be affected to some degree. Even at the lower end of the forecast, 400 million workers could still find themselves displaced by automation and would need to find new jobs over the next 13 years. According to the study, only 5 percent of job roles consist of activities that can be fully automated. However, in about 60 percent of occupations, at least one-third of the constituent activities can be automated, implying substantial workplace transformations and changes for all workers.

December 5, 2017

How do you really go about creating a great place to work?

by Jo Sutherland • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The topic of workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly prevalent. And for good reason. In the UK, 45 million working days are lost due to stress, anxiety and depression and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Absence Management survey reveals that over two fifths of organisations have seen an increase in reported mental health problems over the last year. What’s more, a recent government report found that up to 300,000 people leave their jobs each year due to mental health-related issues. Last month, Symposium hosted the “Workplace Wellness & Stress Forum 2017”, back for its twelfth year, to help employers step up and tackle the greatest inhibitor of growth, innovation and creativity – stress. Medical professionals have their definition of “stress”, health and safety execs have theirs, and the academic community promulgate another. Forum host Neil Shah, chief de-stressing officer of The Stress Management Society, offered a definition that resonated with the entire audience: “where demand placed on an individual exceeds their resources”.

December 1, 2017

New Government plan to address employment barriers for disabled people

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The Government has announced a new 10-year strategy to address employment prospects for disabled people and people with health conditions. In response to its Work, Health & Disability Green Paper consultation which closed earlier this year, the White Paper, Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability sets out how the Government will work with employers, charities, healthcare providers and local authorities to break down employment barriers for disabled people and people with health conditions over the next decade. This will be delivered through in-work programmes, personalised financial and employment support, and specialist healthcare services. Currently, ill health that keeps people out of work costs the economy an estimated £100 billion a year, including £7 billion in costs to the NHS. Two new employment trials will also be launched in the West Midlands and Sheffield City Region combined authorities to provide employment support. The Government is also investing around £39 million to more than double the number of Employment Advisors in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services.

November 30, 2017

Tech faults and slow Internet speeds negatively impact productivity

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, News, Technology, Workplace design

Almost eleven working days are lost every year as a result of technology faults and failures a new report claims and complaints of slow Internet speeds compound the issue. A survey of 2,000 UK workers commissioned by IT provider Probrand.co.uk claims that 262 hours and 43 minutes are lost every year due to technology faults and failures, the equivalent to almost 11 working days each year. The majority of workers (76 percent) said that the technical faults they experienced directly impacted their productivity in work. More than half (54 percent) of workers said that most of the faults they endure are due to their computers crashing or running slowly. But the research also found that 48 percent of respondents blame poor internet speeds and connectivity problems for working hours lost. When faced with a technical issue, more than 1 in 3 (35 percent) workers would turn to a colleague first instead of an IT support provider, while 32 percent would search for solutions to technology related issues before contacting their technical support team.

November 29, 2017

Boosting skills is the key to improving sluggish growth and productivity

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace

The United Kingdom has record-high employment levels and very low jobless rates compared to most OECD countries. However, labour productivity growth remains weak and the job prospects of many adults are hurt by their poor literacy and numeracy skills. To boost growth, productivity and earnings, the UK should encourage lifelong learning among adults and promote better skills utilisation, according to a new OECD report. Getting Skills Right: United Kingdom says that educational attainment has been rising in the UK, with 42 percent of adults having a tertiary degree, compared with 34 percent across the OECD. Sixteen per cent graduate in the field of sciences, more than in any other OECD country, and nearly half of science graduates are women. The share of young adults enrolled in vocational education and training has risen to 43 percent but remains lower than in many other European countries. Apprenticeships are also less popular, pursued by around 24 percent of upper secondary students, compared to 59 percent in Switzerland or 41 percent in Germany.

November 28, 2017

Government unveils Industrial Strategy to boost productivity and wealth

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property, Technology

The UK government has published its ‘ambitious’ Industrial Strategy, which it claims sets out a long-term vision for how Britain can build on its economic strengths, address its productivity performance, embrace technological change and boost the earning power of people across the UK. With the aim of making the UK the world’s most innovative nation by 2030, the government has committed to investing a further £725 million over the next 3 years in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) to respond to some of the greatest global challenges and the opportunities faced by the UK. This will include £170 million to ‘transform the construction sector and help create affordable places to live and work that are safer, healthier and use less energy’

November 28, 2017

Just five coworkers are the source of all workplace irritations for most people at work, claims study

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A survey of 2,000 US workers carried out by researchers at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois claims that while everybody get irritated at work at times, for most people the source of those irritations is just a handful of their colleagues. Only 2 percent of respondents claim to find 10 or more of their coworkers irritating. The healthcare and insurance industries have the highest number of annoying coworkers and 40 percent of the respondents who work in fashion/art and retail claim to be the most annoyed on a regular basis. 48 percent of respondents claim general loudness and complaining, followed by 31 percent who said gossiping and bullying behaviour was most annoying about their colleagues. Respondents in communications and journalism have the most gossipy workplaces, and because those industries are people-centric, discussing others’ business becomes a workplace side effect.

November 27, 2017

OECD publishes major new work on measuring the quality of the working environment

by Mark Eltringham • News, Workplace design

The OECD has published a major new report which it claims set out an internationally agreed set of guidelines to measure the quality of the working environment. The document covers a wide range of factors related to working conditions based on existing data and a survey of workers in 20 OECD countries. These characteristics of the working environment include risk factors, work intensity, discretion, autonomy and the opportunity for self-realisation. The guidelines have been produced as part of the OECD Better Life Initiative, which was launched in 2011 with the objective of measuring wellbeing. The report then goes on to set out guidelines for analysis based on sets of questions based on 17 workplace factors.

November 24, 2017

HSE launches new online workplace wellbeing community

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

Today, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an online community aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of people at work. The (appallingly named) Helping Great Britain Work Well initiative follows a call earlier this year from the HSE , trade unions and other organisations for businesses to focus on a broad range of health and safety and wellbeing issues. The HSE claims that the response from more than 100 employers was so positive, benefiting more than 300,000 workers, that they were inspired to create the new community to promote the advantages of cultural change. The launch of the new web community sets out to establish a social sharing network where companies and businesses can ‘make their commitments, share their journey of improvement and help each other and encourage others to follow in their footsteps’.

November 22, 2017

New Acas guidance on preventing pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Acas has published new guidance to help employers create supportive workplaces for women during pregnancy and maternity leave. The employment advisory service says it received more than 14,000 calls last year about pregnancy and maternity issues, an increase of almost 10 percent on the previous year. The guidance offers employers advice on how to comply with the Equalities Act, which protects employees against pregnancy and maternity discrimination including how employees on maternity leave should be made aware of opportunities for promotion and training; pregnancy related absences must not be included in an employee’s absence record; and employees must not be dismissed or made redundant for any issue related to pregnancy or maternity leave or maternity pay.

November 15, 2017

Overwhelming majority of employees see link between wellbeing and performance

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

According to its 2017 Health Survey (registration required), Aon Employee Benefits claims that 96 percent of employers see a direct correlation between employee health, wellbeing and performance. The survey of 200 UK organisations also suggests that health and wellbeing is rising up the corporate agenda, with 96 percent of employers either agreeing or strongly agreeing that they are responsible for improving employee health behaviours. Indeed, 77 percent are looking to improve on their existing health and wellbeing programmes in the next 12 months. In addition, although employee physical health is important to employers, they are also looking to strike a balance between what are becoming the four widely accepted core pillars of health and wellbeing – Emotional, Physical, Social and Financial.