Search Results for: anxiety

December 13, 2016

Commuting woe will drive uptake of flexible working in 2017, claims study ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

As more rail strikes grip the South East of England, a new study from Regus suggests that commuters are increasingly frustrated by the sheer tedium and disruption of getting to work in the first place and would like to adopt more flexible working practices as a result. In a study of 1,700 UK professionals carried out by the serviced office provider, 58 percent of respondents said they are looking to ‘work remotely in order to improve their travel schedule’ next year. The study cites recent reports which estimate that today’s average UK commute takes anywhere from 55 to 90 minutes with more than 3 million workers regularly facing journeys of two hours plus to get to and from work. Research has found that the commute has a detrimental effect on wellbeing, with the Office of National Statistics reporting that commuters have lower life satisfaction, lower levels of happiness and higher anxiety.

December 8, 2016

Gig economy represents a race to the bottom for many because of client behaviour ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

For many people, the gig economy represents a race to the bottom, with a large number of freelancers asked to work for free by entitled clients on the vague promise of future work, breeding anxiety and disillusionment. That is the key finding of a new study by Approve.io which found that half of freelancers and self-employed creatives had been asked by clients said that work had caused them anxiety this year with three quarters citing client behaviour as the primary cause. More →

November 17, 2016

New advice published on how to better manage mental health at work ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workplaces that create positive environments for mental health are more productive as they can reduce employee absences due to stress and anxiety at work, but managers need to learn the skills needed to help reduce stress and poor mental health among staff. This is according to a new report based on research by Essex Business School commissioned by Acas. The report makes the human case that employers should prioritise mental health in the workplace to include careful management of those with mental health conditions, making reasonable adjustments to working practices where appropriate, and educating their whole organisation to challenge stigma. Leaders and line managers have a crucial role to play in reducing anxiety levels claims the report, and those trained in ‘people skills’ are best equipped to build trust and respect among their teams and individuals. This trust can help staff to disclose their mental health conditions so that appropriate support can be provided. Alongside the report Acas has published specific advice for managers on how to manage anxiety in the workplace.

November 10, 2016

Nearly half of HR professionals don’t feel up-to-speed with new workplace legislation ⁰

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

New research from identity data intelligence firm GBG claims there are a startling number of HR professionals (41 percent) who are struggling to keep up with new and changing workplace legislation. Recent changes to UK law, such as those made to the Right To Work in the Immigration Act and Modern Day Slavery Act are met with anxiety by 34 percent of respondents. Only 26 percent feel prepared and just 4 percent feel optimistic that the changes will be advantageous for their organisation. Despite half of HR professionals not feeling prepared to handle legislation changes, 62 percent believe it’s their primary responsibility. Almost one in five (18 percent) said it was their manager’s obligation and 9 percent believed the Board should be in charge of monitoring for change.

October 21, 2016

Triple threat to worker wellbeing is financial, mental and physical ⁰

by Sara Bean • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Workers are under siege from a triple threat to their wellbeing, often dealing with a combination of financial, mental and physical health problems. Research from AXA PPP healthcare claims that over half (52 per cent) of nearly 2,500 workers polled had faced financial difficulties, while around a third say they’ve lived with mental ill health (36 per cent) or had problems with their physical health (30 per cent). Most workers (81 per cent) say that, when they’ve experienced difficulties with their mental health, their physical health has suffered too, while over half (52 per cent) admit that their finances have been adversely affected. Similarly, when facing problems with their physical health, 71 per cent say that they’ve also experienced difficulties with their mental health, while 40 per cent report that their finances have taken a turn for the worse. A sizeable proportion of employees who’ve had financial difficulties say that their mental health (76 per cent) and physical health (50 per cent) have also been adversely affected.

October 19, 2016

Where are zero hours contracts and the gig economy taking us? ⁰

by Mike James • Comment, Flexible working

Zero-hours contracts have had a bad time in the press. Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, has taken a pounding after uproar over workers conditions, and after vehemently defending his position, he is remarkably making a U-turn, ditching the controversial zero-hours employment arrangements. A large number of companies new also turning their backs on zero hours, including Cineworld, Greene King and Wetherspoons. Casual work isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, the secure, jobs-for-life of post-war Britain lasted merely a few decades. Prior to the 1940s casual work was the longstanding nemesis of the working class. The welfare state and the much-cherished political mantra of full employment emerged in a post-war, golden age. In the 1980s capitalism found its sway. Margaret Thatcher redefined worker’s rights, and it paved the way for employers to benefit again from a more flexible workforce and ultimately what we now refer to as the gig economy.

October 18, 2016

Stress and overwork in the City of London remains endemic, finds research ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

The financial services industry has never been known as a ‘touchy-feeling’ environment, and despite efforts to raise the issue of mental ill health at work, appears resolutely resistant to cultural change. This perception is reinforced by a new piece of research which claims that rising stress in the City is driving more than two out of three investment bank staff to consider quitting their job – but employees believe talking about stress or mental health issues to management will damage their careers. In a study by MetLife among decision makers at financial institutions two out of five (40 percent) think their job is extremely stressful with 67 percent considering quitting their jobs in the next year if stress levels do not improve. However, despite the impact of stress on their work and home lives, around 70 percent believe that admitting to suffering from anxiety or mental health issues will damage their career prospects and there is a reluctance to offer staff more flexible hours to help reduce the strain.

August 30, 2016

Overwork leads to sleeplessness and lower workplace productivity ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new study claims that there is a direct link between sleep and productivity. A survey of more than 97,000 employees in 33 industries and 139 countries from Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), found evidence of a link between sleep and performance. Currently, one in three adults regularly fail to get enough sleep, according to the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Harvard Medical School estimates that the cost adds up to USD $63.2 billion annually. This includes money lost through absenteeism as well as the accidents, mistakes, and impaired productivity employees suffer when they do show up to work. And the one of the primary causes is working long hours and forms of presenteeism such as checking emails at home. To help combat this problem the report urges those at the top of the organisation to set an example and demonstrate that working long hours in exchange for reduced sleep is counterproductive and won’t be encouraged.

August 1, 2016

One in five UK workers believe their job is less secure due to Brexit vote ⁰

by Sara Bean • Legal news, News, Public Sector, Wellbeing, Workplace

Around one in five employees in the UK are feeling pessimistic about the security of their current job because of the Brexit vote to leave the EU, a new survey by the CIPD claims. Answering a range of questions, including how they felt about the future as a result of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, around 44 percent of the 1,000 working adults who took part felt pessimistic about the future, with this being particularly high amongst public sector workers (61 percent), voluntary sector workers (58 percent) and people aged 25-34 (63 percent). 22 percent said they felt their job was less secure now. The CIPD’s survey also highlighted incidents of harassment and bullying in the workplace relating to the Brexit decision, with more than one in ten employees saying that they have experienced, witnessed or heard of incidents of harassment or bullying of a political nature and just under one in ten (7 percent) referenced incidents of a racist nature (7 percent).

July 26, 2016

Workplace design that hands people control is the key to their wellbeing ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Giving employees more control over workplace design is the single most important contributing factor to their wellbeing, according to a new study. The Workplace & Wellbeing report examines the workplace design factors that influence wellbeing. The research team discovered that an invitation to participate in the design of the work environment raised levels of wellbeing, although increasing the level of participation did not necessarily increase the level of wellbeing. The research was led by the Royal College of Art’s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in partnership with architects Gensler and supported by a consortium of leading industry names: Milliken, Bupa, Royal Bank of Scotland, Kinnarps and Shell. The context for this project lies with a current ‘wellbeing deficit’ in the workplace which means absence from work costs the UK economy more than £14 billion a year according to the Confederation of British Industry.

July 6, 2016

Which aspects of workplace design are most important to personal wellbeing? ⁰

by Marc Bird • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

There is no doubt that the UK’s office based knowledge industry is facing a crisis in the form of a ‘wellbeing deficit’. Both the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have reported record levels of absenteeism, with the latter attributing 23.3 million lost working days to work-related ill-health, such as depression, stress, anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders. A great deal is already known about the causes of the key issues of employee stress and demotivation, but more work needs to be done to establish how organisations can meet their corporate goals with regard to these issues, whilst still engaging, motivating and nurturing their workforce. A significant body of published research has identified that a sense of ‘personal control’ can have a hugely positive impact on employee wellbeing, but how can we engender that control when it comes to creating a productive working environment?

May 31, 2016

Large scale study finds link between mental health and workaholism ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, Knowledge, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

A new large scale study from Norwegian researchers finds that workaholism is closely associated with a range of mental diseases and psychiatric disorders. Although the link has been the subject of speculation and study, the authors claim that the new research is one of the few large scale, academic studies into the subject and so comes up with unequivocal results. The study of 16,426 Norwegian subjects in The Relationships between Workaholism and Symptoms of Psychiatric Disorders found that workaholism is significantly related to psychiatric conditions such as adult ADHD, OCD, clinical anxiety and depression. The web-based survey assessed the mental health and workaholic characteristics of subjects and used statistical analysis to establish a correlation. It concludes that while disorders can be put in part down to demographic and other factors, the ‘correlations between workaholism and all psychiatric disorder symptoms were positive and significant’.