Search Results for: employer

It is time to take action to support older people’s health at work

It is time to take action to support older people’s health at work

by • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Poor health is one of the biggest factors causing people to leave work earlier than they would like to; yet poor health isn’t an inevitable part of ageing. We know that health conditions can become more likely as we get older. While some health conditions are not any more likely the older you get, others certainly are. Musculoskeletal conditions (affecting joints, bones and muscles) and heart and circulatory conditions increases significantly as we age. The fact that 14 percent of all 50-64 year olds have a musculoskeletal condition, and that musculoskeletal conditions alone account for 30 million days of sickness absence each year, is significant. People are by impacted by health conditions in different ways, and you can have a dramatically different outcome depending on how early you spot and take action to address a health issue at work. Sometimes slow-onset physical conditions such as musculoskeletal conditions, might start off mildly, but gradually lead to a painful exit from work. Because they change slowly they are more difficult to identify and there isn’t always a clear trigger point to do something about them.

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The partners of men with flexible working hours have higher incomes

The partners of men with flexible working hours have higher incomes

by • Flexible working, News

A new study suggests that the partners of men who have access to flexible working earn significantly more than those who have more rigid working cultures. The study of German couples, conducted by Dr Laura Langner at the University of Oxford’s Department of Sociology, explored changes in incomes once at least one partner is able to begin flexible working. The study suggests that once men started working flexible hours, their wives’ hourly wages increased significantly, particularly if they were mothers (14.2 percent after four years). The husband’s own hourly wages also increased by 7.4 percent over the following four years.

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Retaining working mothers in the workforce is a top HR priority this year

Retaining working mothers in the workforce is a top HR priority this year

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Nearly three quarters of employers in a recent poll say retaining female talent in the workforce is the most important issue in HR in 2017, as changes to childcare funding could impact on the recruitment and retention of working mothers. The research, which was carried out by My Family Care and recruitment firm Hydrogen, found that most employers thought that flexible working and supporting working parents and carers was important to them but strikingly, nearly three quarters (70 percent) rate the issue of retaining female talent after parental leave as the most important issue. However, 60 percent of HR professionals said their company provided no form of coaching or training support for their employees going through the parental transition. When it comes to the success of their family friendly initiatives, flexible working proved to be the most successful, followed by their Childcare Voucher Scheme and then enhanced maternity or Shared Parental pay.

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Employees accessing workplace IT systems from holiday may be cyber security risk

Employees accessing workplace IT systems from holiday may be cyber security risk

by • Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Employees remote working while on holiday may pose a Cyber Security riskOrganisations are taking serious security risks by allowing employees to access workplace IT systems remotely while on their summer holiday, a telecoms company has warned. According to research by the corporate IT and cyber-security arm of Deutsche Telekom, nearly a third of employees (31 percent) use free Wi-Fi hotspots, and nearly a quarter (24 percent) use them for work-related emails and documents.  These are a big danger area as they are insecure and easy for hackers to clone (getting access to all email and web traffic, including any work documents and passwords). It also warns that 28 percent of employees email work documents to and from their personal email, despite this creating numerous security problems.  Ten percent use free USB charging points at airports and stations; and these ports can be used to transfer viruses and malware to unsuspecting users. The blame cannot solely be placed on the employees though, as just 28 percent of employees have never in their working career had any cyber security training to protect themselves and their employer.

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Flexible working increasingly seen as top option, claims major new study

Flexible working increasingly seen as top option, claims major new study

by • Flexible working, Workplace

A new report from ManpowerGroup Solutions claims that 40 percent of job candidates cite flexible working as one of their three most important career considerations. The firm polled 14,000 people in 19 countries. Among the countries surveyed, the US had the highest percentage of job candidates who want work flexibility (45 percent). A majority (63 percent) of workers said they believe they can work outside the office, and the number of men who want flexibility has significantly increased according to the study. The report, Work, for Me: Understanding Candidate Preferences for Flexibility, Manpower Group Solutions claims to offer ‘both the immediate steps and the long-term actions that companies can take to better meet their prospective employees’ preferences around flexibility’.

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Over 200,000 British workers will aim for smarter working on Monday as the Summer holiday season begins

Over 200,000 British workers will aim for smarter working on Monday as the Summer holiday season begins

by • Flexible working, News

On Monday, 24th July, over 200,000 British office workers from 200 different companies will be given the option to work flexibly as part of the Smarter Working Initiative. The campaign claims to encourages companies to give their staff the opportunity to spend one day working from a location that suits them, to show organisations the positive impact of smarter working. Businesses including Purplebricks, RED Driving School, MediaCom and Farfetch are signed up, with Timberyard, Haus and NearDesk offering free coffee and access to over 40 cafes and co-working spaces across London and the UK. The campaign’s own research claims that nearly half of employers (48 percent) do not encourage flexible working, despite 70 percent of workers saying the option would make a job more attractive to them. Over half of workers (53 percent) stated they would be more productive if they could spend some time working out of the office, and the campaign aims to demonstrate how flexible working results in improved wellbeing, increased productivity and faster business growth.

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Insurance claim data suggests that musculoskeletal disorders dominate workplace health

Insurance claim data suggests that musculoskeletal disorders dominate workplace health

by • News, Technology, Wellbeing, Workplace design

According to an analysis of the private medical insurance (PMI) records of over 45,000 UK employees carried out by Aon Employee Benefits with its largest clients, the highest claims are for musculoskeletal disorders- almost double those for cancer related illness. In a study of reports from private medical insurers (PMI), Aon found that 31 percent of claims were for musculoskeletal concerns, while 15 percent were cancer related, 4 percent were for mental disorders and 4 percent for urology. The data forms part of its new report, Wellbeing: Examining the correlation between employee health and financial wellbeing. Among the remaining 46 percent of claims, problems included gastrointestinal issues, diagnostic and treatment planning (equally prevalent), followed by obstetrics, heart, respiratory, head/neck, trauma/injury, nervous system, and eyes, ears and dermatology.

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Job insecurity fears more than double in aftermath of Brexit vote

Job insecurity fears more than double in aftermath of Brexit vote

by • News

A survey of 1,257 British workers claims that job insecurity has more than doubled since the decision to leave the EU, with the percentage of those feeling insecure in their jobs rising from 5 percent to 13 percent. According to the study from Office Genie, for those who felt secure, Brexit has also done considerable damage: job security levels have dipped by 17 percent. Pre-referendum, 70 percent of workers felt secure in their job, now just over half (58 percent) feel secure. Nearly three quarters (70 percent) of the workforce believe it’s an employer’s duty to calm Brexit-related distress. 54 percent of workplaces have experienced such concerns but only 31 percent of these employers chose to comfort staff.

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Average UK worker takes just half an hour for lunch each day

Average UK worker takes just half an hour for lunch each day

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The average worker in Britain now takes just 34 minutes for their lunch break with over half of workers (52 percent) skipping their lunch break completely – a significant shift from the traditional one hour break.  Londoners are most likely to skip their lunch hour altogether, closely followed by Birmingham, Manchester and Norwich. This is according to new research from Workthere, the flexible workspace search service launched by Savills last year. Workthere commissioned a poll of 2,000 full time workers across Britain on their lunchtime habits to find out how long they actually take. The results show that office employees eat at their desk on average four days per week and even when they do take a break, they often don’t step out of the office, with over a third of those polled (37 percent) saying they rarely leave the office at lunch time. Additionally, 12 percent agreed they felt pressure to work through their lunch hour. Workthere also asked how the office environment affects these behaviours and found that over a third (36 percent) of those questioned said that access to outside space at lunchtime would make them more productive at work, with 32 percent confirming a quiet area to escape to would make a difference to the time they spend on their break.

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Employee wellbeing rising up UK corporate agenda in comparison to other countries, claims report

Employee wellbeing rising up UK corporate agenda in comparison to other countries, claims report

by • News, Wellbeing

A study from the Top Employers Institute claims that employee wellbeing in the UK has risen up the corporate agenda with 82 percent of many large companies consistently defining an organisation-wide total wellbeing programme in 2017, increasing from 73 percent in 2016. What’s more, the impact and effectiveness of programmes are evaluated consistently with 71 percent doing so, up from 65 percent last year, while employee wellbeing education has also jumped from 61 percent to 85 percent in the last year. This compares to global Top Employers increasing employee wellbeing programmes from 67 percent to 68 percent, evaluation increasing from 55 percent to 57 percent and employee education increasing from 20 percent to 21 percent in the last year. The data comes from research into 71 companies certified as Top Employers UK for 2016, and 78 companies certified in 2017, plus a further 1,100 globally.

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Large majority of working mothers cut short maternity leave over job fears

Large majority of working mothers cut short maternity leave over job fears

by • Legal news, News

New research claims that just 12 percent of working mothers take a full year’s maternity leave and almost one in five (18 percent) take four months or less. The research claims that almost half (44 per cent) of working mothers were unhappy with how they had been treated by their employer during their pregnancy and after their return to work. While many mothers return for financial reasons or simply because they want to, many worry about being side-lined, edged out or feel pressure from their boss to go back. The survey of 2,000 working mothers by law firm Slater and Gordon found that almost a third (30 percent) felt their managers wouldn’t have supported them staying off for any longer, and thirty-nine per cent weren’t sure their job would be waiting for them when they went back.

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The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices

The world has its say on the Taylor Review into modern working practices 0

by • Features, Flexible working, Legal news

Yesterday, the much-awaited Taylor Review into modern working practices was finally published. And by modern working practices, the report focussed primarily on what has become known as the gig economy. People have been speculating about the contents of the report for months and things ramped up last week after a partial leak to the media. So, things were already bubbling under nicely before the actual publication of the document brought things to a boil yesterday. Assuming the government do more than kick the whole thing into the long grass, always a possibility, debate will continue for a while. We’ll let politicians do their thing with it, but here are a few of the initial reactions from interested parties and the experts. More →

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