Measuring the impact of wellness initiatives at work is far from being an exact science. An examination of sickness absence figures for example, must take into account many variables; from the state of health of employees before the outset of a wellbeing programme, to the reasons behind each individual’s days off sick after a health programme has been put in place.  There is though, a growing body of evidence that employers that bother to provide their workers with the tools to improve their level of health and wellbeing do benefit from a more engaged and more productive workforce. The latest bit of research by Unum and ICM finds that employees who feel that they have good workplace wellbeing are 27 per cent more likely to stay with their employer for over five years than those employees who feel they have only adequate or poor provision. More →

Unemployment dropped below 7 per cent for the first time since the recession, according to figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Jobless figures fell by 77,000 to 2.24 million in the three months to February 2014, taking the unemployment rate to 6.9 per cent for the first time since 2009. The figures also show a small growth in regular weekly pay, which, excluding bonuses was up by 1.4 per cent on the year. However, the recovery appears to remain regionally unbalanced, with London and the Greater South East powering ahead of the rest of the country. Said Ian Brinkley, chief economist at The Work Foundation: “Employment levels in the North East are lower today than they were at the end of the recession, measured by the workforce jobs indicator. Gaps in regional employment performance are also widening rather than narrowing.” More →

Human resources people are obstructive and most likely to reject reasonable requests in the workplace, finds a new poll. Almost 18 per cent of individuals polled by conference call provider Powwownow voted the HR department as the most difficult to work with; almost double that of Finance/Accounting, the next most maligned department.Why some members of staff are so uncooperative was interpreted by respondents as due to illusions of grandeur (68%), attempts to retain power and hold others back (67%) and confusion/lack of training/lack of confidence (40%). Unhelpfulness does not go unpunished it seems as the majority of respondents (53%) thought that unproductive or obstructive employees are more prone to bullying in the workplace. Those who encounter such unhelpfulness admitted to being driven to consider screaming out of sheer frustration (40%) or even seek new employment (36%) rather than speaking with their superior (30%) about an obstructive colleague. More →

Nearly 80 per cent of UK workers believe responsibility for managing staff health and wellbeing should be shared between both employer and employee. The ‘Employee View – Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace’ survey, conducted by health insurance provider Westfield Health, found the majority (79%) of respondents felt there should be an even balance between them and their employer when it came to taking care of their wellbeing. Nearly three-quarters (74%) also said knowing their employer cares about their health would make them more likely to be satisfied, loyal and motivated at work. And almost a third (30%) asked for better communication in the workplace about the types of wellbeing programmes on offer to them. More →