October 11, 2018
How the media oversold standing desks as a fix for inactivity at work
Sitting is so culturally ingrained at work, at the wheel, in front of the TV and at the movies, it takes a great effort to imagine doing these things standing up, let alone pedalling as you work at a bike desk. So, when the world’s first specific guidelines on sitting and moving at work were published, they generated headlines such as: Abandon your chair for four hours to stay healthy, office workers are told and: Stand up at your desk for two hours a day, new guidelines say. But what many media reports did not mention was the guidelines were based on limited evidence. They were also co-authored by someone with commercial links to standing desks (desks you raise and lower to work at standing or sitting), a link not declared when the guidelines were first published in a journal. Media reports also overplayed the dangers of sitting at work, incorrectly saying it wiped out the benefits of exercise. Our new study reveals the nature of this media coverage and its role in overselling standing desks as a solution to inactivity at work.
In spite of all the evidence and their own experiences, over half (55 percent) of office workers believe access to the latest workplace technology would make them more productive; 43 percent said this would make them feel more valued, while 38 percent said it would motivate them to work harder. This is according to research for the report, The Hidden Value of Workplace Technology, conducted on behalf of Econocom by survey consultant Censuswide. The research found that workplace tech is important not just for companies looking to retain existing staff, but also to recruit new members. 
The majority of employees (77 percent) agree that people should take proactive steps to manage their mental health a new survey has revealed. Of those surveyed, the vast majority felt that there is increased awareness about mental health (87 percent) and that people are more willing to talk openly about mental health issues than they were a few years ago (82 percent). The impact of high-profile people speaking out about their own mental health challenges was believed to be the biggest influencing factor, cited by more than half (53 percent) of respondents. 
More than half of CEOs (53 percent) admit they can’t find candidates with the necessary skills to help them navigate an increasingly digitalised business landscape a new survey from Robert Half has claimed. These include data analysis and digital skills, as well as softer skills such as resilience, adaptability to change and critical thinking. This means that nearly five million UK SMEs, the equivalent to four out of every five (82 percent) small and medium-sized companies, are struggling to attract the skills they need. As a result, many are being forced to offer salary packages higher than originally expected to recruit the right talent. 
Employee motivation levels appear to be the decline, with 29 percent of employees surveyed saying they were not motivated at work in 2017 compared to just 18 percent who said the same in 2016 the research report, “Living to Work” has claimed. Motivates Inc. has commissioned its employee motivation research for the past three years, surveying over 2,000 UK employees in full-time employment. The full data shows like-for-like how employees are feeling in the workplace and what hygiene factors have affected behaviours year-on-year. According to the latest data 71 percent of UK employees were motivated in 2017, which on its own shows a positive result, yet when you look at the motivational statistics from 2016 the data actually shows the percentage of motivated employees has dropped by 11 percent in just one year. That’s 220 more employees in an organisation of 2,000 who are not feeling good about their job.
Almost half (49 percent) of UK workers are in jobs they are either under- or over-skilled for, according to new research from the CIPD. Its report ‘Over-skilled and underused: Investigating the untapped potential of UK skills’ surveyed 3,700 UK employees and found that more than a third (37 percent) of workers have the skills to cope with more demanding duties than they currently have. At the opposite end of the scale, one in ten (12 percent) employees said they lacked all the skills needed to carry out their job effectively. This means that as many as half (49 percent) of UK workers could be in the wrong job, based on their skill level. The UK has one of most skilled workforces in the world, with 42 percent of workers qualified to degree level, yet it also has the highest proportion of jobs within the OECD which require no qualifications at all.
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October 5, 2018
Developing a resilient mindset to cope with stress
by Portia Hickey • Comment, Wellbeing
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