Over a third of employees (39 percent) at small-to-medium sized (SMB) businesses in the UK are unhappy with their jobs and 36 percent believe their employer does too little to retain them, according to new research from People First, the HR solutions provider. Exploring the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees across the UK, the research found a major difference in outlook as more than eight-in-ten (86 percent) SMB bosses believe they have happy workforces. When asked to rate out of ten the scale of engagement among employees at their companies, 77 percent of these bosses said it was between eight and ten, with ten being the most content and engaged. (more…)

Coworking provider Mindspace has announced the UK findings of its global work culture survey, which polled 5000 employees across Europe and the US. On the UK side, the survey covered 1000 employees from across the country. In what the report claims is a dramatic wake-up call for UK employers, the survey revealed that around one-quarter of British workers are unhappy in the workplace and looking to change their situations. This places the UK at the end of the line up in workplace happiness among the other countries surveyed. UK workers rated only 73 percent on the report’s happiness index, compared to 81 percent in Germany and 93 percent in the US. (more…)

The results of a new academic study on the relationship between global economic growth and physical activity, carried out by Vitality and RAND Europe, reveal significant benefits to the economy and life expectancy if people adopted a more active lifestyle. The study suggests that the world’s GDP would gain more than $100bn (£80bn) each year until 2050 if people adopted a more active daily routine that could involve simple choices such as walking 15 minutes more a day, jogging slowly for half a mile a day, or walking 1,500 extra steps a day. (more…)