June 26, 2023

Over half a million people with long-term sickness want return to work

Analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from consultants Broadstone, claims that between January-December 2022, nearly a quarter (22 percent) of those forced out of the workplace because of long-term sickness said that they wanted a job. With economic inactivity because of ill-health surging to 2.6 million people as per the latest estimates through February-April 2023, it suggests that over half a million people – around 560,000 – are keen to return to employment so long as they can improve their health. According to the firm, would be a major boost to the UK economy, employers struggling with staff shortages and employees grappling with the continued cost of living crisis. (more…)

June 16, 2023

Whinging Poms? Why the UK workforce is one of the unhappiest in Europe

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Nearly all UK workers (90 percent) are not enthused by their work and workplace, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report. The UK workforce rate of engagement at work (10 percent) remains one of the lowest in Europe, ranking near the bottom among peer countries (33 out of 38) with countries like the US reporting triple the number of engaged employees (31 percent). The poor state of disengaged workforces is not unique to the UK, with just 13 percent of employees across Europe feeling engaged at work, and the lowest rates of engagement reported in France (7 percent) and Italy (5 percent). (more…)

March 23, 2023

Canary Wharf Group shifts its focus to life sciences sector

by Neil Franklin • News, Property

The development of a major life science cluster at Canary Wharf continues to build momentum with a range of life sciences focused start-ups and scaleup businesses joining the growing community of technology businesses at its specialist co-working and office hub, Level39, according to a new statement from Canary Wharf Group. Launched by Canary Wharf Group ten years ago, Level 39 is now home to over 180 start-ups and scaleups innovating in FinTech, Cyber Security, CleanTech, Blockchain, Life Sciences and HealthTech. (more…)

March 15, 2023

The UK workplace sector reacts to the Spring Budget 2023

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News, Property, Workplace

Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget to the House of Commons. In it he announced what her referred to as his ‘four pillars’ of industrial and productivity strategy, namely: ‘Enterprise’, ‘Employment’, ‘Education’, and ‘Everywhere’. Perhaps the headline element of this announcement was the creation of twelve new investment zones across the UK as well as incentives for older workers to return to the country’s patchy workforce. This includes£63m for programmes to encourage retirees over 50 back to work, “returnerships” and ‘skills boot camps’. Another headline for the workplace sector was the offer of improved childcare arrangements, especially for the parents of very young children, who will see 30 hours of free childcare expanded to include one and two-year-olds. (more…)

March 10, 2023

Hybrid workers exercise more, sleep longer and eat better

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study claims that hybrid working is leading to a healthier workforce, with more time being dedicated to exercise, sleep and healthy eating. Research among more than 2,000 hybrid workers by IWG suggests that the time saved by reduced commuting has led to multiple health and wellbeing benefits including weight loss, better cooking habits, improved mental health and a longer night’s sleep. (more…)

August 24, 2022

People feel too busy to move around enough during the working day

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A large proportion of workers (86 percent) feel they have too much work to be able to move during the working day, with chronic stress and anxiety becoming increasingly prevalent, according to a new report [registration] by Magic Mountain, supported by CIMSPA (The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity). Despite growing health issues linked with consistently spending too much time seated, the report claims that over half of workers remain sedentary for eight hours or more during the working day alone. (more…)

July 28, 2022

MPs call for Menopause Ambassador role to help women in the workplace

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Lack of support from employers for women with symptoms of the menopause is pushing ‘highly skilled and experienced’ women out of work, claims a new report from the cross-party House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. The authors call on the Government to act, amending the Equality Act to introduce menopause as a protected characteristic, and to include a duty for employers to provide reasonable adjustments for menopausal employees. The MPs also urge the Government to remove dual prescription charges for oestrogen and progesterone as part of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) nationwide, replacing it with a single charge for all women.

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July 20, 2022

Toxic work culture continues to bedevil certain sectors

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Healthcare is among the worst industries in the UK for a certain type of toxic work culture, a new study by Delamere claims. The study claims to have identified the industries with the worst attitudes towards what it calls toxic hustle culture. Hustle culture refers to people feeling pressured to work tirelessly in order to constantly make money and be productive. (more…)

July 14, 2022

There are now fewer taboo workplace subjects, and we should talk about that

by Peter Nagle • Comment, Wellbeing

Rewind even a few years and issues like mental health were not really talked about in the workplace. Now we’ve seen dramatic improvements around certain topics, we should ask what other areas of employees’ lives could employers help with? There’s been a lot of discussion around what employers can do to support women going through the menopause. Though the construction industry is a traditionally male dominated sector, NHS Employers says that “Menopause is not just a gender or age issue as it can impact on colleagues both directly and indirectly and it should therefore be considered as an organisational. issue.” (more…)

June 14, 2022

London Tech Week kicks off with new Government announcements on future of tech

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology

The Government’s review into the future of computing and its new UK Digital Strategy were unveiled at the start of London Tech Week as the world’s technology leaders, founders and next generation of tech superstars gather in the capital to collaborate on the future of the industry. Opening day speakers included Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson, Darren Hardman, VP & General Manager, AWS, Theo Blackwell MBE in conversation with New York City’s CTO Matt Fraser, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemi?tkowski and The Body Coach CEO & Creative Director Nikki Wicks. (more…)

May 29, 2022

Office occupiers should invest in neurodiversity, report argues

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Wellbeing

A new report from the British Council for Offices urges landlords and office occupiers to invest in design for neurodiversity, as disabling workspaces continue to hinder wellbeing. The report examines how the neurodiverse community remains underserved and often unsupported in the current employment ecosystem, and in turn, outlines the considerations that built environment practitioners can take to make offices enabling environments, and the crucial role of more inclusive designs. (more…)

May 11, 2022

Half of workers worried about the financial cost of the return to the office

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Slack has released the results of a new poll which the firm claims reveals the current state of mental wellbeing among UK workers. Commissioned in partnership with NHS GP and TV Doctor, Dr Sara Kayat, and to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the survey sets out to examines the impact of the office on wellbeing, the effects of the return to the office after the pandemic and indicates how businesses can build healthier workplaces. (more…)