New research commissioned by office supplies firm Viking claims that many people working for small businesses are unhappy, stressed and demotivated in the workplace for much of the time but that their misery can be alleviated with flexible working, training, social events and generally a bit more information and attention from their employers. The research found that a third of the employees surveyed, all of whom work for firms with fewer than 50 employees, claim to be unhappy for more than half of their time at work, with 42 per cent saying they are also stressed and unmotivated. The respondents claim that these issues could be resolved with more flexible working, social events, personal development and business updates. With workers rating such displays of affection more highly than a pay rise, a spend of less than £500 per employee each year on the things they cherish could make them more happy and motivated.

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Flexible working may be perceived as more advantageous to employees than employers, but there’s new evidence that it encourages presenteeism rather than promoting a better work/life balance. The Glassdoor UK Annual Leave Survey has discovered that 44 per cent of employees undertake some work while on holiday; 18 per cent report that a colleague and 13 per cent their boss, have contacted them about work related matters while on leave. And that’s just those who take their allocated holiday time. The average UK employee uses just 77 per cent of his or her annual leave, and only half (50%) of UK employees take their full annual leave. Given that the average annual leave in the UK is approximately 28 days per year, this means that employees could be losing 6.5 days every 12 months. More →

As we reported earlier this week, an employee wellness programme can be worth doing alone as an incentive and engagement tool. But for those employers who need some evidence of their impact on the bottom line comes a new CBI report, which shows the costs to employers who fail to address employee health and wellbeing. The direct costs of employee absence to the economy is estimated at over £14 billion per year and the average total cost to business for each absent employee is £975. These figures would be higher still if productivity lost due to presenteeism – staff attending work despite being unwell – was included as well. The new CBI report – Getting Better: Workplace health as a business issue – outlines exactly how businesses can improve the wellbeing of their staff and provides a practical support tool to support firms, based on the experience of CBI members. More →