December 5, 2017
How do you really go about creating a great place to work?
The topic of workplace wellbeing is becoming increasingly prevalent. And for good reason. In the UK, 45 million working days are lost due to stress, anxiety and depression and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Absence Management survey reveals that over two fifths of organisations have seen an increase in reported mental health problems over the last year. What’s more, a recent government report found that up to 300,000 people leave their jobs each year due to mental health-related issues. Last month, Symposium hosted the “Workplace Wellness & Stress Forum 2017”, back for its twelfth year, to help employers step up and tackle the greatest inhibitor of growth, innovation and creativity – stress. Medical professionals have their definition of “stress”, health and safety execs have theirs, and the academic community promulgate another. Forum host Neil Shah, chief de-stressing officer of The Stress Management Society, offered a definition that resonated with the entire audience: “where demand placed on an individual exceeds their resources”.
December 13, 2017
The ups and downs of wearables for workplace health and wellbeing
by Lee Sadd • Automation, Comment, Technology
Businesses in the 21st century have tried just about everything to improve productivity. For a long time, Google and its ilk were seen as model workplaces, with their open offices and abundance of ball pits and bean bags. Then the consensus shifted, and the cubicle or workstation was seen as the paradigm for employee concentration. Now the focus has shifted to technology, and the field of ‘wearables’. Devices like the Fitbit, Google Glass and Apple Watch have come and gone with significant consumer buzz, but relatively low uptake. What failed to impress consumers, however, may yet have a place in business. For better or ill, it seems the companies we work for are increasingly obsessed with collecting our data.
More →