Search Results for: health

The slacker`s guide to working from home in ten easy steps

The slacker`s guide to working from home in ten easy steps

working from homeIt’s funny how all the stuff we read online over the last few years about how to be and behave at work suddenly contradicts all the guff about how to be effective while working from home over the last few weeks. Well, here’s the guide for those who’ve been taking their internet reading to heart over the last few years. (more…)

Most workers not productive while working from home, report claims

Most workers not productive while working from home, report claims

working from homeNo 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…)

Nudges do not change the behaviour of commuters

Nudges do not change the behaviour of commuters

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…)

Third of workforce expect role to vanish within three years

Third of workforce expect role to vanish within three years

WorkforceA 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…)

Now is a great time to talk about staff absence in the NHS

Now is a great time to talk about staff absence in the NHS

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…)

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

Loneliness has always been a workplace issue

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…)

The good, the bad and the ugly of workplace wellbeing

The good, the bad and the ugly of workplace wellbeing

Mental healthFTSE 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…)

Have your say on the coronavirus pandemic

Have your say on the coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus pandemicOne 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…)

A shift in the workplace axis might be a welcome outcome of this crisis

A shift in the workplace axis might be a welcome outcome of this crisis

workplace shiftI 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…)

Freelancer groups call for emergency fund during Coronavirus crisis

Freelancer groups call for emergency fund during Coronavirus crisis

Coronavirus crisisIPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), the Creative Industries Federation and other organisations representing freelancers have written an open letter calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a Temporary Income Protection Fund to support the self-employed during the Coronavirus crisis. (more…)

How important is it to be happy at work?

How important is it to be happy at work?

Happy at workHow supportive are you of your employees’ wellbeing? New research from CV-Library claims that two-thirds of Brits (61.7 percent) say being happy at work is the most important part of a job, but 87.9 percent feel their employer could do more to improve morale in the workplace.

What’s more, the study, which surveyed 2,300 UK professionals, suggests that Brits think being happy is more important than salary (22.1 percent) and location (15.5 percent) when it comes to work. Interestingly, being happy in their job was also more important for women (66.4 percent) than men (58.7 percent), as well as for 55-64-year olds (66.9 percent) and 45-54-year olds (64.8 percent). (more…)

Will coronavirus mean the death of the office?

Will coronavirus mean the death of the office?

Betteridge’s law of headlines declares that “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no”. And so I simultaneously ask and answer the question of whether the coronavirus pandemic will really lead to the death of the office. So it goes. Of course, I’m not the first person to raise the question over the last few weeks as the world adapts to the threat of the pandemic. But it’s worth reminding ourselves that the demise of the office has been predicted for at least a quarter of a century, although never in such circumstances. (more…)