June 21, 2018
The hype surrounding wellbeing concepts can blind us to their true value
Digital detox. Does the phrase make you roll your eyes or grab your attention? Lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the idea of switching off from technology, particularly your smart phone (if people still call them that as they are so ubiquitous) has become a media fad. A litmus test for this might be how much air time BBC R2 give the subject. Over the past few weeks it has figured a lot, particularly Chris Evans referencing it in a Japanese themed week and a Friday morning interview with the neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis who shared his tops tips for a digital detox. No doubt the Daily mail is jumping on the bandwagon as well.
More than 6 million UK adults are already self-employed or working as a contractor in the so-called gig economy, with a further 6 percent of currently full-time professionals looking to make the transition this year. New research of more than 2,000 UK adults commissioned by 
UK office workers spend an alarmingly limited amount of time outdoors each day, claims new research from Ambius, which found that almost 40 percent spend a maximum of just 15 minutes outside, excluding their commute to work, and an additional 22 percent spend a maximum of 30 minutes outside. This is even less than prisoners, who require ‘at least one hour of suitable exercise in the open air daily’, according to UN guidelines. On average, the British workers surveyed spend more time per day at their desk or workstation (6.8 hours) than they do in bed (6.4 hours), relaxing at home (3.5 hours) or outdoors (37 mins). A lack of fresh air (57 percent), insufficient natural light (49 percent), and an absence of indoor plants (36 percent) were the biggest source of frustration for employees. Introducing indoor plants (49 percent), nicer artwork (50 percent), and a more interesting colour scheme (54 percent), topped the list of employees’ requests to improve their workplace.
A third of UK office workers (30 percent) have admitted to only completing 1-4 tasks every day, according to a new report from Fellowes, which claims productivity levels in offices across the UK have fallen to a dramatic low. A quarter of workers admit they are unproductive for up to two hours a day, equating to a staggering 40 million-hours in lost productivity across the UK every week. Compared to data from Fellowes in 2017, the average office worker has lost an extra 30 minutes each day to productivity issues., office product specialists, released their second Productivity in the UK report today to help businesses understand what their employees need to increase output and the tools that can help. The study also found that over a third (38 percent) of office workers felt their employers weren’t doing enough to help their productivity and nearly half (40 percent) even went as far as to say they were more productive than their boss. On average Brits failed to meet deadlines at least once a week and 65 percent think a four-day working week would improve productivity.
UK office workers are under a tremendous amount of stress, and much of it is directly related to the way their work is being managed. That is the conclusion of a report by Workfront, which finds that office workers are becoming frustrated and burned out by poor work tools, processes, and communication. Four out of five office workers confessed that they feel burnt out and 73 percent expect their stress levels at work to increase in the near future. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) admit to feeling unrecognised and un-useful at work. With lack of communication and not knowing what others are working on (37 percent) cited as the number-one pain point across the board for stressed UK workers, it’s clear that businesses need to break down current silos, allowing people to engage more freely with senior staff members and see how their efforts impact the wider team. The study found that poor communication and visibility into work is UK workers’ number-one pain point in terms of work stress. It also reveals that 42 percent of office workers put in more than 6 hours of overtime per week and that 7 out of 10 office workers expect their stress levels at work to increase into the future.
June 28, 2018
Ten demonstrable truths about the workplace you may not know
by Kerstin Sailer • Comment, Facilities management, Features, Workplace design
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