Half (49 percent) of employed British adults feel positive about the prospect of returning to their place of work after lockdown, with less than one in five (18 percent) feeling negative, an Aviva study claims. The findings paint a relatively positive picture for businesses that have supported their people through lockdown, such as regularly communicating with workers and taking necessary steps to manage the risk of infection in the workplace. However, where businesses have not embraced risk management and prevention strategies, employees may decide not to return to work at all. (more…)

In an open letter to the Business Secretary Alok Sharma, the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, is calling on the Government to introduce the right to bereavement leave and pay to all employees experiencing a close family bereavement. The call follows the introduction of Jack’s Law, a legal right to paid bereavement leave for working parents who lose a child under the age of 18, in April this year. (more…)

A new study commissioned by Perkbox of 13,271 employees claims that 93 percent of employees have faced new wellbeing challenges in 2020. The most common being feeling less connected to the company/colleagues, increased loneliness/feelings of isolation and increased financial concerns.  The study looks at the wellbeing impacts of the events of 2020. Nearly 73 percent state that coronavirus has negatively impacted their mental health, followed by Brexit (29 percent) and Black Lives Matter (27 percent). (more…)