April 20, 2020
Search Results for: wellbeing
April 17, 2020
Half of people working from home say their mental health has declined
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing
Half of UK workers (49 percent) say that their mental health has declined since working from home, according to a new survey from Qualtrics. The study also claims that actions taken by companies are having a significant effect on the wellbeing of their employees, with one in five (18 percent) claiming that their organisation’s actions have had a negative impact on their mental health. (more…)
April 16, 2020
Isolation and stress from pandemic have profound mental health impact
by Neil Franklin • News
The effects of isolation and stress from the coronavirus pandemic could be having an extremely profound effect on people’s physical mental health – now and in the future, say a group of prominent psychiatrists and psychologists writing in the The Lancet Psychiatry journal. (more…)
April 13, 2020
Sleeping habits improve under lockdown, but conspiracy theories abound
by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing
One of the surprising consequences of the current lockdown for many people is that they are sleeping more soundly. A new study claims that nearly two thirds of people are getting the same amount or more sleep than they were before the UK went into lockdown on March 23rd. However the report also uncovered some troubling attitudes amongst groups of people, even though the majority are informed and behaving as advised. (more…)
April 7, 2020
Working from home creates significant physical and mental challenges
by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing
The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has published a series of interim findings from the first COVID-19 homeworker wellbeing study, looking at how working from home for an extended period is affecting the UK workforce. These initial findings depict a worrying snapshot of the declining mental and physical health of many homeworkers. (more…)
April 6, 2020
Working parents still not getting enough support to deal with pandemic
by Neil Franklin • News
A new report from work-life balance charity Working Families claims that there remains a pressing need for increased support for working parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is informed by queries to the charity’s free legal advice helpline, which the charity says have quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Since mid-March, over 36,000 people have accessed the charity’s coronavirus-focused legal advice web pages. (more…)
April 1, 2020
Humanscale offers new service of online ergonomic consultations
by Freddie Steele • Company news, Insight promotion
Humanscale, the designer and manufacturer of high performance ergonomic products, has built its business by focusing on the health and wellbeing of workers around the world. In these unprecedented times, where employers and employees are unexpectedly working from home full time, Humanscale’s team of board certified ergonomists is offering a new digital service that provides online ergonomic consultations, to ensure a healthy and comfortable home arrangement. ErgoIQ LIVE is a first-of-its-kind online ergonomic consultation tool that provides online, on-demand access to Humanscale’s skilled network of certified ergonomists. (more…)
April 1, 2020
The slacker`s guide to working from home in ten easy steps
by Neil Usher • Comment, Flexible working
It’s funny how all the stuff we read online over the last few years about how to be and behave at work suddenly contradicts all the guff about how to be effective while working from home over the last few weeks. Well, here’s the guide for those who’ve been taking their internet reading to heart over the last few years. (more…)
April 1, 2020
The lights are on and there is definitely someone home
by Chris Peach • Features, Flexible working, Lighting, Workplace design
As COVID -19 has taken hold and the very necessary lockdown begins, there are A large number of workers thrown into semi-permanent work settings that we hadn’t anticipated a month ago. The transitions will be easier for some than others but we all need a space that feels comfortable AND is conducive to productive working. (more…)
March 27, 2020
Nudges do not change the behaviour of commuters
by Neil Franklin • News
The use of nudge theory in the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has raised some fresh questions about the applicability of the idea. The idea – that people can be encouraged to make significant changes in their behaviour with small interventions – has gained widespread acceptance around the world. While some have argued that the use of nudge theory in the initial response was questionable, other analysis has suggested it did have an effect. (more…)
March 26, 2020
Now is a great time to talk about staff absence in the NHS
by Ian Caminsky • Comment, Wellbeing
The NHS lost nearly ten days per employee to absence last year, the highest level recorded in the last five years. Data is crucial to the decision-making and success of every business, and yet many NHS Executives will be unaware of this statistic. (more…)



















April 14, 2020
Picking through the workplace chatter
by Mark Eltringham • Comment