Search Results for: mental

August 25, 2016

More organisations worldwide offering parental leave rights to employees ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Workplace

Despite the complexities of parental leave legislation, a growing number of organisations worldwide are making the benefit available to their workforce, according to the new Global Parental Leave report from human resources consultancy Mercer. According to the study – which is behind a paywall – more than one third of organisations have one centralised global policy. Around 38 percent provide paid paternity leave above the statutory minimum and several countries mandate a parental leave programme that may be used by either parent or carers. A growing number of organisations have extended the right to part time employees and see it as a valuable tool for attracting and retaining talent regardless of the gender or contract of employees. While almost two-thirds (64 percent) of companies provide maternity leave for only the birth mother, 24 percent of companies provide this leave to a primary caregiver.

August 24, 2016

Futurist says UK gender pay gap will close much earlier than predicted ⁰

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

Following the latest report that shows that the gender pay gap is still wide open comes claims that in the UK, the gap will close within the next 30 years. That’s the view anyway of futurist, trend forecaster and journalist, James Wallman. While the World Economic Forum believes that the world-wide gender pay gap won’t close by 2133, Wallman paints a more positive picture, forecasting the UK pay gap will actually close much sooner — by 2045. His reasoning is that it’s far harder to hide wage disparity in an age of data digitisation, meaning companies are compelled to be transparent. There is manifest political will behind pay parity, with new legislation meaning that by 2018 all companies with more than 250 employees will have to publish their gender pay gap data. And he argues there are numerous economic imperatives to get women working; if the same proportion of women worked in Britain as in Sweden, it would add £170bn to the UK economy and boost GDP by 9 percent.

August 22, 2016

Two thirds of employers don’t understand impact of workplace health issues ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • News, Wellbeing

A new study from Aon Employee Benefits claims that UK employers are less likely than other employers in the EMEA region to have a defined workplace health strategy with just 37 percent understanding the impact of their employees’ health issues. The 2016 EMEA Health Survey suggests that UK employers are less likely than others in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region to have a defined health strategy (30 percent vs 40 percent). The survey also claims that UK employers’ actions are out of line with their actual concerns. 63 percent believe their top issue is managing stress and mental health issues, while 51 percent suggest that physical health is their second highest health and wellbeing priority. However, more employers have physical and social programmes to support employee wellbeing (57 percent and 55 percent respectively), while just 41 percent have an emotional or psychological programme in place.

August 19, 2016

Over a third of office workers complain about poor air quality ¹

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Almost 70 percent of office workers believe poor air quality in their place of work is having a negative effect on their day-to-day productivity and wellbeing, claims a survey commissioned by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA); and a third of workers are concerned that poor air quality could be having a negative effect on their health. Opening windows is the most commonly used form of ventilation with 60 percent of workers saying it is the first thing they do if they need fresh air. However, although this is seen as a natural response, opening windows runs the risk of further polluting the working environment by letting in outdoor toxins, the survey claims. Given that we spend 90 percent of our time indoors and on average, 212 days a year at work, BESA has called on firms, managers and employees to ensure proper, effective, well maintained ventilation systems are operating in all offices across the UK.

August 17, 2016

Do people really matter when we design workplaces? ⁰

by Steve Maslin • Comment, Events, Facilities management, Workplace design

Some may think this is a daft question. They’ll argue that of course people matter when we design workplaces. Granted, there are those for whom the human experience of the built environment is really important. They demonstrate this it in their attitudes and actions. However, based on some of the attitudes and actions I have observed over the years, I would suggest that the belief that people really matter when some designers design workplaces for them is quite frankly all too often skin deep. How do we know this? And if we accept that it is true, it then begs the secondary question of why this should be the case. Is it entirely our fault? What might we do to address the issues? In part, we know that people haven’t really mattered enough in design because of mistakes of the past. Meanwhile, society is facing many pressing challenges, ranging from health to housing, work to economy and climate change to resource depletion.

August 17, 2016

Intelligent lighting can enhance workplace wellbeing and productivity ⁰

by Andy Gallacher • Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Lighting, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The main driver of the growing interest in wellbeing in recent years has undoubtedly been absenteeism. But workers don’t have to be ‘absent’ from the workplace to hamper productivity. Presenteeism, where employees are present but not productive can also influence the long-term success of an organisation. The interaction between the worker and their work environment has a huge influence on an individual’s wellbeing and overall productivity, with employees’ performance more likely to be enhanced when they are immersed in a comfortable and stimulating environment. This can include all the usual stipulations, such as a well-designed workstation, a comfortable office temperature and carefully considered and appropriate lighting. In fact, improved lighting is an essential element in the overall mix, not only because of the cost savings that their energy efficiency brings but also in the way lighting contributes to workplace wellbeing and people’s performance.

August 16, 2016

A well executed wellness strategy benefits staff and employers ⁰

by Beate O'Neil • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

Employee health and wellbeing is moving up the agenda of many companies. A recent report from the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (Reba) and Punter Southall Health & Protection found that a third of companies have a wellness strategy in place, with 80 per cent having introduced one in the last three years. Of the 70 per cent that don’t yet have a strategy, a third plan to implement one this year, a third plan to implement a plan in the next few years and the final third have it firmly on their wish list. This is driven by the fact that the UK is experiencing a major demographic change – in 2014 the average age of the population exceeded 40 for the first time. With the percentage of the total population over 60 predicted in a report from AgeUK to rise from 24.2 percent at present to over 29 percent in 2035, employers are beginning to wake up to the fact that wellness is good for staff and good for business.

August 16, 2016

How to save a sinking ship: lessons from Marissa Mayer’s experience at Yahoo ⁰

by Andrea Hak • Case studies, Features, Flexible working, Technology, Work&Place

When former Google employee Marissa Mayer joined Yahoo as its CEO in 2012, she inherited the company’s vast problems. Though it was once seen as one of the first tech behemoths, Yahoo’s inability to come up with ground breaking products like Google and others, put it in a slow, steady decline. Mayer was immediately tasked with trying to reinvigorate the stagnating company. Her focus was to find a way to identify and retain talent, while phasing out ineffective employees. However, Yahoo’s new management policies have brought about much debate and criticism from HR experts. A controversial book by journalist Nicholas Carlson titled “Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!” paints a highly critical view of Mayer’s first years as CEO. In response others have defended her, arguing that she has done the best she can with the resources available, but has become a scapegoat for poor management, like so many other women in powerful positions.

August 11, 2016

Disabled workers continue to face barriers in the workplace ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace

A series of reports published in the past few days highlight the challenges faced by Britain’s disabled workers. The studies claim separately that disabled workers are keen to work but are less likely to be in employment and may be hiding disabilities from employers, are paid less when they are in work and that many employers do not feel they are well equipped to deal with the needs of disabled staff. The first study from Reed in Partnership and Disability Rights UK found that one in ten employers do not feel able to support a disabled employee. Meanwhile research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that employees who experience mental ill-health earn up to 42 per cent less than colleagues. A third report from Citizen’s Advice found that 40 percent of disabled people would like to work but can’t find a job. And finally a report from RIDI claims that many people applying for jobs may be hiding their disability from employers.

August 9, 2016

Watercooler moments are the key to workplace wellness claims study ⁰

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

The skills people require to perform at their optimum throughout the working day, such as patience, focus and diplomacy can be fuelled by the food they’ve eaten; while ‘the wrong kind of fuel can derail their whole day,’ a new academic report has found. And the study in the journal Food, Culture & Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research reveals that water is the main redeemer of ‘negative nutrition’ in the workplace; not only because it provides vital hydration for physical wellness but because it encourages people to walk to the watercooler or break out area to drink. According to the researchers, a culture of grabbing something quick to eat amid a mounting pile of to-dos at work often leads to making the wrong decisions when searching for something to eat in the workplace. Unplanned cakes and the emergence of ‘food altars’; central places for leftovers from work meetings or unhealthy snacks present workers with endless choice.

August 8, 2016

Universal basic income is an idea whose time has come at last ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Wellbeing

It is no longer a question of whether one of the world’s major economies will introduce a universal basic income for all of its citizens, but when. Over the weekend, the leader of the UK’s Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn announced in an interview in the Huffington Post that he was ‘instinctively looking’ at an idea that is already being discussed and piloted in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada. Corbyn may be one of the current glut of what would have once been political outliers in the Western World, but the idea of a universal basic income is one that is increasingly accepted in mainstream economic thinking. The RSA continues to campaign for it and has even put a number on it, suggesting that every UK citizen should be offered £308 between the ages of 25 and 65. Andrew Flowers offers up a masterful and detailed analysis of the economic and political issues involved in this piece on fivethirtyeight.com.

August 6, 2016

HR analytics has the potential to stem the silver brain drain ⁰

by Matt Henderson • Comment, Technology, Workplace

We’re operating in an increasingly tech-centric environment, but human talent still remains one of the core differentiators if a business is to thrive. Not surprisingly, the mission to get the very best people on board and optimise the potential of those already in situ has become the Holy Grail for many companies, irrespective of scale and sector – a challenge that demands a more intuitive and precise, even scientific approach to human capital management. Data analytics is a case in point, designed to extrapolate insight from intelligence across a variety of disparate sources and establish actionable intelligence, capabilities which naturally lend themselves to powering key decisions around hiring and retention and building on existing talent. Yet despite the proliferation of analytics across many strands of the workplace, take up in the HR sphere remains relatively modest, in tandem with a long-held reticence over the use of the technology in this area.