Search Results for: mental

April 27, 2017

Remote access to the workplace may be doing staff more harm than good ⁰

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

Employees are divided on whether remote access to the workplace is really a positive or negative development, with almost a third of UK workers (32 percent) feeling that having remote access to the workplace means they can’t switch off in their personal time. According to the latest CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report, two-fifths of UK workers (40 percent) admit to actively checking their work mobile or emails at least five times a day outside of working hours. Nearly a fifth (18 percent) feel as though they are under surveillance with remote access to work, and 17 percent say it makes them feel anxious or even impacts their quality of sleep. However, almost a third (30 percent) of employees say they feel empowered by having remote access to the workplace, showing a divide in opinion. Indeed, more than half of employees (53 percent) say it helps them to work flexibly and more than a third (37 percent) say it makes them more productive.

April 26, 2017

BCO launch new research project into health and wellbeing in offices ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A major research study into Health and Wellbeing in offices has been launched by the British Council for Offices (BCO). “Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it” is a year-long project which aims to provide definitive guidance on how to enable office Health and Wellbeing across a building’s lifecycle. The major research study has been commissioned to critique existing Health and Wellbeing measurement and certification, identify the most recent and relevant medical evidence justifying a proactive approach to Health and Wellbeing in the built environment, and give guidance on the business case for investment in this space beyond simply improving productivity. Most significantly, this research aims to deliver a practical guide to creating a healthy environment across the different stages of a building’s life cycle, from design, construction and leasing to the most important aspect by time and value: occupation and asset management.

April 25, 2017

Proactive approach needed to improve accessibility within the built environment ⁰

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Legal news, News, Property, Public Sector, Workplace design

Inaccessible workplaces are too common problem that disabled people face in accessing buildings and public spaces, and the Government must lead a charge in improving access and inclusion in the built environment, according to a report by an influential cross party committee published today. The Women and Equalities Committee’s Disability and the Built Environment inquiry has been examining the extent to which those with accessibility issues are considered and accommodated in our built environment, and whether more could be done to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of both new and existing properties and spaces. The report recommends public procurement, fiscal initiatives and transparently modelling best practice, while bringing the full range of work on improving access and inclusion in the built environment into a coherent and transparent strategy, with the Department for Communities and Local Government held responsible for making this happen. The report found that many workplaces are inaccessible, there is very little choice of where to live and the public spaces through which people need to move can be prohibitively excluding; all of which constitute an unacceptable diminution of quality of life and equality.

April 24, 2017

Commercial property lenders should drive sustainability through financial innovation ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Environment, News, Property

The commercial real estate finance sector is witnessing a dramatic shift in attitudes towards the issue of sustainability, according to a new report from the Better Buildings Partnership. It claims that major commercial property lenders are already exploring new opportunities that go well beyond traditional risk management through sustainability initiatives that ‘drive new business, strengthen customer relationships and improve the data they hold on the buildings in which they have underwritten’. The report, Beyond Risk Management: How sustainability is driving innovation in commercial real estate finance, is sponsored by CREFC Europe, GeoPhy, ING Bank and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, and claims to reveal pioneering examples of how lenders are incorporating sustainability into their core business activities.

April 20, 2017

US telecommuting cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 3.6 million tons a year ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Environment, Flexible working, News

Ahead of Earth Day this Saturday, FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics have released new data on the environmental impact of the existing flexible workforce of ‘telecommuters’ in the US. Assuming they work from home around half of the time (2.5 days out of a 5 day working week), these flexible workers cut the distance travelled in cars by around 7.8 billion miles a year and the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by 3.6 million tons per year, according to the report. The study claims that the environmental impact of telecommuting is seen in a number of ways because commuting contributes greatly to driving, the second largest source of US greenhouse gas emissions, while company offices are a part of the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the US.

April 19, 2017

Jobs should be redesigned to improve wellbeing ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

It’s not just the nascent fourth industrial revolution that is challenging our traditional views of work, but also the growing realisation that we could be doing things so much better anyway. The author Douglas Coupland and the World Economic Forum are already holding conversations about the fundamental issues with work and how we go about it. At the heart of this is the very design of jobs and what it means for us and our wellbeing. Only 28 percent of people in the UK are highly satisfied with their jobs, and yet, estimates suggest that an adult in work would spend an average of 57 percent of their waking hours working. A new international study from the University of East Anglia and the What Works Centre for Wellbeing based on a review of 4,000 pieces of research claims to show why organisations often fail to improve staff wellbeing. It suggests that employees should be encouraged to design their own jobs, and find ways to help managers better understand their concerns.

April 12, 2017

Research shows how the gender pay gap can be directly related to motherhood ⁰

by Sara Bean • Comment, Flexible working, News, Workplace

A new piece of academic research provides more evidence that the underlying reason for the gender pay gap is the discrepancy between the way women with children are treated compared to men, and other women without children. According to new research from Université Paris-Saclay, mothers are paid 3 percent less for every child they have compared to their female colleagues who do not have children, while fathers suffer no such penalty at all. The figures were compiled from a 16-year study of data from organisations in the French private sector between 1995 and 2011 by Lionel Wilner, Director of Graduate Studies at engineering and statistics school ENSAE, a founding member of Université Paris-Saclay. He separated the effect of childbirth from other firm-specific wage determinants, and accounted for full-time and part-time work, to find that the difference between mothers and non-mothers is approximated a 3 percent lower hourly wage. The effect was found to be more pronounced after the birth of the first child. More →

April 11, 2017

More needs to be done to boost happiness in the workplace, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A new report from Office Genie claims to identify the factors that affect the happiness British staff in the workplace. While the average level of workplace happiness for British employees sits at 3.63/5, the study of 2,000 staff claims to have found some serious causes for concern. Junior staff were the least happy in the workforce: they rank at 3.40 on the happiness scale – comparatively, business owners rank at 4.20 – a significant 25 percent higher. Of further concern, according to the report, was the fact employees with mental health issues feel unsupported in the workplace: Over half (51 percent) of such respondents believe their place of work offers inadequate levels of support. Amongst this demographic the most called-for support method is wellness initiatives, with 45 percent of people with mental health issues saying they would be beneficial – well above the overall average.

April 5, 2017

Drastic changes needed to workplace laws as age of automation dawns ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Technology

The rise of robots and automation in the workplace will lead to drastic changes to laws across the world, a new report suggests. The present wave of automation, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) – the development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence – is creating a gap between current legislation and new laws necessary for an emerging workplace reality, states a report published by the International Bar Association Global Employment Institute (IBA GEI). Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and Their Impact on the Workplace focuses on potential future trends in AI, and the likely impact intelligent systems will have on the labour market, companies, employees’ working time, remuneration and the workplace environment.

March 30, 2017

Social technology has the power to make the workplace more humane

by Amanda Sterling • Comment, Technology, Workplace

Social technology can, and should, make the workplace more humane. That’s because it has the potential and ability to shift the power dynamic from the few to the many. It gives more people a voice: one that they’re not afraid to use. You’ve only got to look at the uprisings, and the overthrowing of governments, in Egypt and Tunisia, to see the power of greater connectivity enabled by platforms such as Facebook. What was dubbed the Arab Spring was change on a grand scale. But, as Seth Godin points out in his book Tribes, it’s “tribes, not money, not factories,” that will change the world. The consequences of this are not lost on the people and cultural practices within organisations. The functions of how we recruit, how we learn, and how we communicate are all under pressure to bring greater humanity into the approach.

March 29, 2017

Design Commission publishes report on how design shapes people’s behaviour ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, News, Workplace design

A new report from the Design Commission in partnership with the BRE Trust is the latest to outline how the design of the built environment influences the way people think and behave. The report has been published following an inquiry chaired by Baroness Whitaker and Professor Alan Penn, Dean of The Bartlett, University College London and is endorsed by Richard Rogers and Kevin McCloud. It calls on central and local government to escape their muddled thinking on the matter and instead create a policy framework that acknowledges the link between design and behaviour. It also suggests that more private sector organisations should wake up to the link and do more than merely comply with their legislative obligations.

March 29, 2017

Third of HR professionals say Brexit will impact the profits of their business ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Workplace

Today (29 March) the Prime Minister triggers Article 50 to begin the UK’s exit from the European Union, and a new piece of research claims that almost two thirds (62 percent) of HR professionals expect this to impact their HR strategy and more worryingly, over a third (35 percent) say that the leave vote will impact the profits of their business. According to the research from employee benefits specialist Secondsight, 37 percent have opted not to hire over the coming year, and 39 percent agreed that recruiting the right people into their business will now be more difficult than before the decision to leave was made. However, on a more encouraging note, 95 percent of the HR professionals surveyed will see their budget rise in 2017, and 18 percent plan to introduce new benefits in the year ahead.