Search Results for: health

Half of workers claim they are more productive while listening to music, Come on Eileen is their unlikely song of choice

Dexys Midnight Runners has shaken off Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber to top the list of songs most likely to make Brits ‘work faster’, a new study claims. With 20 percent of the nation saying that they listen to music at work every day, the study from Trade Direct Insurance set out to discover what effect this is having on the work environment and the level of work employees can complete during working hours. The study’s findings claim that over half (53 percent) of the 1,007 British workers who took part think they are more productive when listening to music at work.

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Global insurance sector workers call for workplace culture modernisation

New research from Dive In, a festival for diversity and inclusion in the insurance sector, claims that almost three-quarters (71 percent) of insurance professionals surveyed believe that the culture in their firm needs to change. The survey of over 2,800 festival attendees, suggests that in order to attract and retain the best talent for the market, firms need to become more inclusive. Close to two thirds of the insurance industry believe that their firm should do more to advance diversity and inclusion in gender, LGBT and mental health.

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Sexual harassment by colleagues may be associated with more severe depression

Employees who experience sexual harassment by supervisors, colleagues or subordinates in the workplace may develop more severe symptoms of depression than employees who experience harassment by clients or customers, according to a study involving 7603 employees from across 1041 organisations in Denmark. The research is published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.

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British organisations must step up to the challenges of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation

A report published by the RSA think-tank has encouraged UK businesses to embrace artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. arguing that new technology has the potential to raise productivity levels, boost flagging living standards, and phase out ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’ tasks in favour of more purposeful and human-centric work. The Age of Automation report warns, however, that the UK is fast becoming a ‘laggard’ in the adoption of new machines and called on UK business leaders to accelerate their take-up of technology. The RSA found that sales of robots to the UK decreased over 2014-15, with British firms falling behind the US, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. A YouGov poll of UK business leaders, commissioned by the RSA, found that UK business leaders are currently wary of adopting AI and robotics, with just fourteen percent of firms currently investing in this technology or soon planning to. Twenty-nine percent of businesses believe AI & robotics to be too expensive or not yet proven and twenty percent want to invest but believe it will take several years to ‘seriously adopt’ the new technology.

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Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyle

Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyle

Majority of employers fail to support workers’ efforts to lead an active lifestyleThe majority of UK employees (61 percent) do not feel encouraged by their employer to lead an active lifestyle, despite most managers agreeing that exercise positively impacts employees’ productivity (78 percent) and their ability to handle stress (82 percent) claims new research from AXA PPP healthcare. Of those British employees who do exercise after work, nearly half (46 percent) would prefer to do so before work but 79 percent blame a lack of time in the morning; yet for those who find time to be physically active before work, three quarters (75 percent) feel it spurs them on to be more effective in the morning while 69 percent feel more productive. More worryingly, nearly half of employees (45 percent) of employees admit they do not do the NHS recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise, five times a week, but finding time to be physically active during the working day can be difficult, or undesirable. Sixty?two percent of employees with good intentions to exercise at work find they’re cancelling their lunchtime exercise plans due to workload or work commitments.

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Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

Brexit having a significant impact on London firms, but tech and media sectors growing

With the overwhelming majority of London businesses employing staff from the EU (88 percent), Brexit is having a significant impact on the capital’s companies, according to the latest CBI/CBRE London Business Survey. Just under three quarters of firms (73 percent) view uncertainty over the UK’s role in Europe as their top concern, whilst a similar number (69 percent) have developed, or are developing, a contingency plan for when the UK leaves the EU. Indeed, over a quarter of respondents (27 percent) indicated they are planning to move part of their operations overseas. Close to two thirds (62 percent) have, or are developing, a strategy to address skill shortages that could be incurred if restrictions are placed on EU nationals working in the UK. However, two thirds of the 271 respondents to the Survey (65 percent) said that the tech and creative sectors were the principal sectors for the capital’s economic growth over the next five years, followed by professional services (49 percent) and FinTech (47 percent).

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The mega trends that continue to reshape the workplace around the world

Last week, over 600 workplace and property experts met in London at the CoreNet Global Summit 2017 to discuss some of the most important trends affecting the sector. The debates underlined one important fact about property and workplaces, which is how they are shaped by major, globalised events as much as they are local needs and the objectives of specific organisations. This quickly became evident on day one, which demonstrated how dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape, all of which are impacting corporate real estate – from America First to Brexit – remain key talking points for the industry. Opening speaker Linda Yueh (University of Oxford and London Business School) explored several possible scenarios, including how the focus of ‘Trumpism’ would have a significant effect on the U.S. role on the world stage, with the priority on the domestic economy leaving little scope for global trade. She also predicted that a ‘hard Brexit’, with no new trade deal with the EU, will be the most likely outcome for the UK’s withdrawal process; and that businesses will need to focus on alternative WTO rules as an urgent priority. Other impacting factors covered by Yueh included the rise of a dominant global middle class, and China’s need to rebalance its economic growth drivers.
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High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

High expectations mask large gap between understanding of artificial intelligence and its implementation

New research published by the Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that there remains a wide gap between the understanding and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at most companies. The global study of over 3,000 firms and industry experts claims that almost 85 percent of executives believe AI will allow their companies to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. However, only about one in five companies has incorporated AI in some offerings or processes. The new report claims to identify the key characteristics of AI leaders and offers companies a starting point for developing an AI strategy.

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Robots and climate change head list of concerns of young people worldwide

Robots and climate change head list of concerns of young people worldwide

The World Economic Forum has published the third edition of  what it claims is the world’s most geographically diverse survey of millennials, the Global Shapers Annual Survey 2017. Over 31,000 people aged between 18 and 35 responded to the survey, giving insights into their views on society, business, politics, the economy and technology as well as their workplace and career aspirations. The survey, which is available in 14 languages, surveyed young people from 186 countries and territories. According to the survey they are optimistic that technology will create more jobs than it destroys, although only a quarter would trust a robot to make decisions on their behalf.

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New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildings

New property scheme launched to cut the cost of empty space in NHS buildingsA new scheme to help the NHS cut the costs of empty space in their buildings has been launched this week by NHS Property Services (NHSPS). Properties that qualify for the scheme must be deemed surplus to NHS requirements and may be re-let, disposed of or considered as a development opportunity. The new Vacant Space Handback Scheme comes in response to feedback from commissioners who want to reduce the cost of maintaining space that is no longer needed for clinical services.  The cost of maintaining vacant space is kept as low as possible, though some costs are unavoidable where rent, business rates and some service charges remain payable. The total amount and cost of maintaining vacant space in the NHS is difficult to calculate, but costs are estimated to be in excess of £10 million a year on the NHS Property Services estate.

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Standing at work may be linked to significantly increased risk of heart disease

Standing at work may be linked to significantly increased risk of heart disease

The simplistic idea that ‘sitting is the new smoking’ has taken a new hit with research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. According to the study of 7,300 Canadian workers over a 12 year period, those who were primarily engaged in standing at work were twice as likely as those who primarily sit to suffer from heart disease during a 12-year period. The usual caveats apply with the study, but even after taking into account a wide range of personal, health and work factors, the study concludes that people who primarily stand for work are over twice as likely as people who primarily sit on the job to have a heart attack or congestive heart failure.

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The most productive thing you may do today is go for a walk

The most productive thing you may do today is go for a walk

According to a widely reported government study in today’s news, 40 percent of middle aged English adults do not even manage a ten minute walk each month. The report from Public Health England says that so many people are sedentary that official activity guidelines are so unrealistic and people should be encouraged to walk ten minutes a day – half the current guidance – to improve general levels of health and mental wellbeing. Little steps, in other words. We can confidently say that the underlying problem here is cultural, including the amount of time people spend on their backsides at work. This is in spite of all the evidence that shows that we may not only be fitter and happier by moving more but more creative too.

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