Search Results for: people

Employers must take better action to avoid sick building syndrome

Employers must take better action to avoid sick building syndrome

by • Company news, Facilities management, Workplace design

Sick building syndrome is a collective term to describe when occupants of a specific building suffer from a related illness. Problems can either be localised to a specific room or more widespread throughout a building. The symptoms can manifest as headaches, blocked or runny noses, skin irritations, sore eyes or tiredness and difficulties with concentration. A number of building-related factors are linked to the condition with ageing offices and factories acting as magnets for sick building syndrome. Studies have shown that headaches and respiratory problems among office workers were directly related to the use of air conditioning and inadequate ventilation. Room temperature, light and noise, humidity, carbon dioxide, chemical contaminants (volatile organic compounds – VOCs), air quality and naturally occurring poisons can all inflame symptoms for sufferers requiring more precise control over environmental factors in the workplace. Making sure buildings are healthy for their occupants is a challenge. (more…)

Working environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staff wellbeing

Working environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staff wellbeing

by • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

Working environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staffHalf of employees say that their working environment has a negative effect on their mental health (51 percent) and wellbeing (49 percent) and two-thirds (67 percent) say that they only ‘sometimes, rarely or never’ feel valued at work. The research by Peldon Rose shows that two-thirds of employees (64 percent) currently have poor or below average mental wellbeing and that the majority (56 percent) claim increasing workloads, followed by a lack of time to focus on wellbeing and exercise (46 percent) are the leading causes of their stress.  While half of employees think introducing exercise facilities will help them to better tackle their workplace stress (50 percent) – less than a fifth of workplaces (16 percent) currently provide these facilities, something employers should consider when looking to boost the morale of their workforce.

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Only a quarter of women and minority employees believe they benefit from corporate diversity programmes

Only a quarter of women and minority employees believe they benefit from corporate diversity programmes

by • News, Workplace

Investment in diversity programmes has become commonplace: 98 percent of companies offer such programs. But that investment is falling far short of the mark: three-quarters of employees in diverse groups—women, racial/ethnic minorities, and those who identify as LGBTQ—do not indicate that they have personally benefited from their companies’ diversity programmes. This is one of the findings of Fixing the Flawed Approach to Diversity, a report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report claims that a key impediment to progress is that older men (age 45 or older), who often lead decision making within corporate environments, are underestimating the obstacles in the recruiting, retention, and advancement of female and minority employees by 10 percent to 15 percent, as measured by comparison with the estimates of members of those actual groups: women, people of colour, and LGBTQ employees. This can lead to a misallocation of resources and a lack of investment in programs that could otherwise have the largest impact.

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Quarter of UK workers have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

Quarter of UK workers have turned down a job for not offering flexible working

by • Flexible working, News

A new study from communications technology business TeleWare claims that a growing number of employees are turning down jobs that don’t offer some form of flexible working. The survey of 2,300 UK employees claims that a quarter of all employees have turned down a job in the past for this reason. Whilst a further third (31 percent) would actively do so. Although the proportion of those that have done so is higher amongst younger workers (40 percent), three in 10 (29 percent) employees over 45 would turn down a job if flexible work options were not on offer.

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Flexible working mothers more likely to work the most unpaid hours

Flexible working mothers more likely to work the most unpaid hours

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Flexible working mothers more likely to do most unpaid hoursFlexible working is supposed to be a boon to working parents, but it seems it’s not without its disadvantages, as a new academic study has found that part-time working mothers who have the ability to control their own schedule often end up working an increased amount of unpaid overtime.  The research from the University of Kent found that for those who gained schedule control over their work there was an increase in the amount of unpaid overtime worked, as on average in the UK men work an extra 2.2 hours a week in unpaid overtime while for women it is about 1.9 hours.

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Surface Design Show 2019 Preview

Surface Design Show 2019 Preview

by • News, Workplace design

Surface Design Show hosts over 150 exhibitors highlighting the very best in exterior and interior surface design from 5 – 7 February. Taking place at London’s Business Design Centre, the show provides a platform for architects, designers and specifiers to explore interior and exterior surface materials, lighting design, development and innovation. Visitors will uncover thousands of new materials from the latest technological advances in building materials to innovative workplace surfaces and everything in between.

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Workplace productivity plummets during January

Workplace productivity plummets during January

by • News, Workplace

Around a quarter (26 percent) of British workers believe that January is their least productive month with the nation still recovering from the Christmas period, according to a new report from Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance. The report also claims that December is the second least productive month (14 percent) whist 32 percent surveyed suggested that they’re equally unproductive across the entire year. Residents of the Welsh capital Cardiff were found to be the least productive in January (34 percent) closely followed by Southampton (31 percent) and Sheffield (30 percent).

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The problem with predictions, the cult of Facebook, WeWork woes and some other stuff

The problem with predictions, the cult of Facebook, WeWork woes and some other stuff

by • Features

If it makes you feel better about Blue Monday (today – ‘officially’ the year’s glummest day), it also marks the closure of the Predictions Window in my view. If somebody still has an unpublished list of forecasts for the coming year on their specialist topic, they’ve missed their chance. At least with us they have. But not to worry, there’s a good chance they can trot most of them all out again next year and they’ll be just as relevant. Anything else can be quietly dropped.

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Tackling mental ill health in the workplace requires changes at the top

Tackling mental ill health in the workplace requires changes at the top

by • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace

The collective effort to improve mental health awareness has gained real momentum in recent years and in the workplace there’s growing recognition that mental wellbeing among employees is good for business. But the way we’re working – the ‘always on’ culture, innovation moving at breakneck speed, and a global workforce operating 24/7 – is creating a mental burden among employees that is generating more mental health challenges. According to the City Mental Health Alliance, 44 percent of employers are seeing an increase in reported mental health concerns. Our own research of international business leaders has also shown that two thirds of them have suffered from mental health conditions. This is not only worrying for the individuals but problematic for the wider business, as culture is driven from the top.

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Corporations must harness prop tech to adapt to new ways of work

Corporations must harness prop tech to adapt to new ways of work

by • News, Technology

The world of work will continue to evolve in 2019, and corporations must find ways to adapt their office real estate. That is the conclusion of a new piece of research by flexible workplace provider Abintra. Published in a new report, the study highlights how corporations are struggling to manage office space efficiently as the trend towards agile and flexible working gathers momentum. The publication explores methods for responding through office space utilisation techniques, including the latest tech options.

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Government and employers unite to kick-start stalled flexible working 

Government and employers unite to kick-start stalled flexible working 

by • Flexible working, News

The Flexible Working Task Force, a partnership across government departments, business groups, trade unions and charities, has today launched a campaign to increase the uptake of flexible working.  Members of the task force are collectively using their ability to reach and influence hundreds of thousands of employers to encourage them to advertise jobs as flexible by using the strapline Happy to Talk Flexible Working in their job advertisements, regardless of level or pay grade.

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Overwhelming majority of workers have changing workplace expectations

Overwhelming majority of workers have changing workplace expectations

by • Flexible working, News

New research from Aon claims that 97 percent of employers agree that employees’ expectations of their experience in the workplace are changing. Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2019 (registration required) suggests that employers are saying that employees’ top priorities now include flexible working hours, agile working, mental health, diversity and inclusion and parental leave. Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey, now in its ninth year, is formed from the responses of over 200 employers of all sizes, including those with fewer than 100 employees to many thousands, who work across a broad range of sectors, with 75 percent of them working internationally. This year, a number of new questions were introduced, including changing workforce demographics, to support employer benefit strategies and provide industry analysis.

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