A new report by workforce performance firm CR Worldwide (CR), drawing on data from 287,000 employees at over 120 large enterprises, claims that as the incidence and awareness of the issue of stress grows, firms have responded with a 22 percent year-on-year increase in UK spending on perceived solutions such as corporate getaways with companies now spending an average of £3,100 per person per trip. The proportion of activity or nature-based business trips involved in such wellness programmes has more than doubled to 56 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year. With human-animal interactions believed to have therapeutic effects on mental health, UK firms are also increasingly offering ‘nature tourism’, from orangutan treks in Borneo to working with endangered rhinos in Rwanda and shark diving. Husky sledging is now among the top 5 Christmas corporate travel activities for UK firms. 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 →

A leading non-profit disability and business organisation is calling on the future Government to commit to a series of actions to support businesses to deliver on disability inclusion. Business Disability Forum published its ‘Manifesto for Inclusive Change’ today (3 December) to mark the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The manifesto calls for action in seven areas to ensure that the role businesses play in disabled people’s lives is enhanced, not inhibited, by government policy. To read Business Disability Forum’s ‘Manifesto for Inclusive Change’ go to www.businessdisabilityforum.org.uk . Follow the debate at #DisabilitySmart. More →

Over a quarter of people (28 percent) in the workplace suffer bullying and/or discrimination on issues such as gender, age or sexual orientation, according to a new study. The Workplace Wellbeing Census, conducted by leading healthcare provider Bupa, found that such actions are the most harmful factors influencing workplace wellbeing at work. Women in the workplace face significant challenges with over a third (34 percent) experiencing bullying or discrimination, compared to 22 per cent of men. Women are also more than four times as likely to suffer negatively from workplace gender discrimination than men (13 percent vs 3 percent). More →