October 16, 2017
Third of employees complain employers do not offer any wellbeing programmes
Over half of employees would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing, over one that pays 10 percent more, a new survey claims. According to the research by Reward Gateway, over 22 million British workers, or seven in 10 employees (71 percent), have felt stress or financial strain in the last five years, however, a third of workers said their company currently offered no programmes and just 29 percent of respondents said that their company currently offers a physical programme. The findings also suggest a disparity of opinion between employee and employer. While over half (51 percent) of employers agree that their company shows they care about employees mental, physical and financial wellbeing, only 14 percent of employees say that their company couldn’t do more to show they care. But employers too would benefit from taking a more proactive approach to wellbeing, as more than half (52 percent) of UK employees agree that they would choose a company that cared about their wellbeing over one that pays more.
July 24, 2017
Employers have a growing responsibility to provide staff with cycling facilities
by Peter Ferrari • Cities, Comment, Property, Wellbeing
This month, the British Council for Offices (BCO) launched a new report looking at the importance of offering better workplace facilities for cyclists in order to support the Government’s ambitious cycling growth targets. The Department for Transport’s £1.2bn cycling and walking investment strategy, published in April, aims to make cycling “the norm” by 2040. It plans to do this by improving cycling infrastructure and expanding cycle routes between city centres, local communities and key employment and retail sites, making improvements to 200 sections of roads for cyclists and providing funding for councils to invest in cycling schemes. In addition, city councils across the UK are making improvements to their cycling infrastructure. Last year, Sadiq Khan announced plans to spend £770m on cycling initiatives in London over the course of his term, in order to make riding a bike “the safe and obvious” transport choice for all Londoners. Birmingham City Council has pledged to invest more than £11m in creating two-way cycle paths, resurfacing canal towpaths, and even offering free bikes, with the aim of doubling the number of trips in the city made by bike from 5 percent to 10 percent by 2033, in order to make the city healthier, greener, safer and less congested.
More →