April 7, 2020
The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has published a series of interim findings from the first COVID-19 homeworker wellbeing study, looking at how working from home for an extended period is affecting the UK workforce. These initial findings depict a worrying snapshot of the declining mental and physical health of many homeworkers. More →
April 6, 2020
A new report from work-life balance charity Working Families claims that there remains a pressing need for increased support for working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is informed by queries to the charity’s free legal advice helpline, which the charity says have quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Since mid-March, over 36,000 people have accessed the charity’s coronavirus-focused legal advice web pages. More →
April 1, 2020
Humanscale, the designer and manufacturer of high performance ergonomic products, has built its business by focusing on the health and wellbeing of workers around the world. In these unprecedented times, where employers and employees are unexpectedly working from home full time, Humanscale’s team of board certified ergonomists is offering a new digital service that provides online ergonomic consultations, to ensure a healthy and comfortable home arrangement. ErgoIQ LIVE is a first-of-its-kind online ergonomic consultation tool that provides online, on-demand access to Humanscale’s skilled network of certified ergonomists. More →
March 31, 2020
No more than 15 percent of healthy workers confined to their homes will work productively, argues new research from right leaning think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs. Government restrictions on social interaction designed to slow the spread of coronavirus have led to a rapid increase in the number of people working from home. But a new briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) suggests this is unlikely to be maintained in the long term. More →
March 27, 2020
The use of nudge theory in the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has raised some fresh questions about the applicability of the idea. The idea – that people can be encouraged to make significant changes in their behaviour with small interventions – has gained widespread acceptance around the world. While some have argued that the use of nudge theory in the initial response was questionable, other analysis has suggested it did have an effect. More →
March 27, 2020
A new study by Mercer claims the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent uncertainty are accelerating changes in the way organisations around the world are working and will continue to work into the future. Particularly in challenging times, employers are focusing on their workforce, specifically fostering healthy lifestyles, supporting financial wellness and providing skills and training as careers change due to AI and technology developments. More →
March 26, 2020
The NHS lost nearly ten days per employee to absence last year, the highest level recorded in the last five years. Data is crucial to the decision-making and success of every business, and yet many NHS Executives will be unaware of this statistic. More →
March 25, 2020
Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a serious issue in modern society. In the UK, the Office of National Statistics reported that 5 percent of adults feel lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’, with further 16 percent of adults reporting feeling lonely ‘sometimes’, equivalent to approximately 9 million adults suffering from loneliness to some degree. More →
March 25, 2020
FTSE companies that prioritise wellbeing and engagement outperform others by 10 percent according to a study from SOMA Analytics. Similar results are apparent across a range of related studies. With such a significant impact, it’s surprising that businesses are still not measuring the impact of wellbeing activities to optimise their offering. More →
March 25, 2020
One of the first research projects aimed at gauging the UK public’s attitude and responses to the coronavirus pandemic is being launched. Experts at Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University are urging people from across the UK to take part in a survey to assess how people feel about – and how they are responding to – one of the biggest health crises facing the country in recent history. More →
March 24, 2020
I am not a philosopher. I sell home and workplace furniture. But I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how radically different things will be – both in how we work and how we live – once we get through this dreadful period of our lives. We have the opportunity to embrace a whole new way of working which recognises and gets the best out of all parts of our community. More →
April 1, 2020
The slacker`s guide to working from home in ten easy steps
by Neil Usher • Comment, Flexible working