September 3, 2020

Long hours main reason workers take their employer to tribunal

by Jayne Smith • Legal news, News, Workplace

UK workers are most likely to log a claim against their employer for making them work excessively long hours, claims new data by health and safety training provider DeltaNet International. The data, which looks at the number of employment tribunal cases over the last five years, suggests there have been 160,299 jurisdictions (complaints) in relation to employers breaking the Working Time Directive, which outlines the maximum weekly working hours. Under the directive, a UK employee cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average – normally averaged over 17 weeks – unless there is an exception. (more…)

September 2, 2020

Remote work and the coming race to the bottom

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives

One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employment. The recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a more stable rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. That’s fifteen percent of the workforce. (more…)

September 2, 2020

New strategy tackles the post-COVID climate emergency

by Jayne Smith • Environment, News

Supported by its Green Building Councils and their members, the WorldGBC (World Green Building Council) network has launched Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere — a new strategy to accelerate and mainstream the transformation of built environments around the world. Based on climate science and the Global Goals of Sustainable Development (SDGs), the strategy tackles global warming, health and wellbeing and resource impacts to deliver quality infrastructure — a critical need for our planet, communities and economies in the context of the COVID pandemic.
(more…)

September 2, 2020

Stress and burnout threaten the benefits of working from home

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

A new study by Adaptavist, suggests the threats to long-term productivity and employee wellbeing posed by improvised solutions during the transition to remote work. Overall, 82 percent of people report they are equally (47 percent) if not more productive (35 percent) working from home, and company-wide communications have improved during the pandemic. However, the lack of a shared understanding of which tool to use and how to communicate with it, combined with the ‘always on’ nature of working from home, brings added stress and motivational challenges for remote workers. (more…)

September 2, 2020

Video call fatigue amounts to millions of unproductive businesses hours

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

A recent study, which was commissioned by Bayfields Opticians & Audiologists and questioned 2000 people, claims people spent an average of three hours and 12 minutes each week on video calls – an increase of 120 percent compared to before lockdown. Connected Brits admit to spending hours getting ready for work-related video calls during lockdown and struggling to get back into the zone once the call is over, leading to millions of hours of ‘wasted’ work time since lockdown.

(more…)

September 2, 2020

Are employees more productive since lockdown?

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News

With many companies announcing that they will not force employees back to the office until next year, 34 percent of UK workers have admitted to feeling more productive since working from home. That’s according to new ‘Work Different’ research from Qualtrics.

The research, which surveyed 2,000 UK workers, also claims that a third (31 percent) of workers have felt creative since working outside of the office, while over a quarter (27 percent) believe it’s been easier to collaborate with their colleagues since the coronavirus lockdown began. (more…)

September 1, 2020

Permanent working from home would reduce UK economy by £480 billion

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new study claims that if British workers do not return to their offices at all, the UK economy could contract by £480 billion. The study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), and led by Douglas McWilliams, a former chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry, suggests that in a worst case scenario, the British economy would not return to its size before the coronavirus pandemic until 2025 if people continue working from home as they have over the past few months. (more…)

August 28, 2020

A new social contract can improve the everyday experience of work

by Mark Spratt • Comment, Workplace

It’s not happening quickly enough for some and too slowly for others, but most companies are in the midst of managing a return to work and grappling with a very different post COVID-19 world and what it means for employees. HR professionals are paying close attention to how well employees are faring and are looking to build new forms of employee care into company cultures and values. But maybe there is something more they can do to foster employee trust and safety? (more…)

August 28, 2020

German trial of universal basic income set to begin

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

A new trial of universal basic income and its effects on people’s wellbeing, work and wealth is set to start next year in Germany. The study will see 120 people receive €1,200 each month for three years, and researchers will compare their experiences with another group of 1,380 people who will not receive the payments. (more…)

August 27, 2020

Number of calls to mental health helpline jump as depression cases double

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing

Data from the health and wellbeing provider, Health Assured has revealed the number of people calling for support for depression on their EAP (employee assistance programme) helpline increased by 31 percent in June compared to May this year. In June, the helpline received an additional 249 calls regarding the illness. (more…)

August 27, 2020

US workers under lockdown three times more likely to report mental health issues

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

According to a recent survey of more than 1,500 US based respondents, workers are now three times more likely to report poor mental health than they were before the pandemic. The study also claims that seventy-five percent of people have experienced burnout at work, with 40 percent saying they’ve experienced burnout during the pandemic specifically. The report suggests that this is not surprising, given that 37 percent of employed respondents are currently working longer hours than usual since the pandemic started. (more…)

August 27, 2020

Workers routinely conceal mental health issues from employer

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Three-in-ten (30 percent) office employees have claimed to be physically ill when calling in sick despite in fact suffering from a mental health problem, according to a new survey of 2,000 white-collar employees in London by Helix Resilience. The responses suggest that 18-24-year olds are the most likely to conceal a mental health problem when calling in sick – with 37 percent of this age group reporting to have done this at least once. (more…)