Search Results for: working hours

Employee benefits policies still not family friendly, claims new report

by • Flexible working, Legal news, Workplace

Employee benefits fathersFewer than half (48 percent) of UK employers offer enhanced maternity pay to staff, claims a new study by Croner. According to the Croner reward employee benefits report, based on a survey of 127 employers, the most commonly offered enhanced scheme was 3 months leave at full pay. The research also found that fathers fare even worse with less than a third of firms offering paternity leave above the statutory minimum, with 62 percent offering full pay for a period of two weeks. Commenting on the findings, Viv Copeland of Croner says: “While some family friendly benefits such as flexible working and childcare vouchers have really grown in the last few years, the offer of enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay still has a long way to go. The recent legislation around shared maternity/ paternity leave should bring some fresh thinking to this area from parents and employers alike.” More →

Majority of UK workers concerned about their ability to retire

by • Legal news, News, Workplace

Man-with-empty-pockets-006A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development claims that the majority of UK workers are concerned that their current pension arrangements won’t allow them to retire. It found that the average employee pension contribution to a workplace-defined contribution pension scheme is currently 5 percent, but most employees think they should be saving almost double that (9 percent). Four in ten (43 percent) think they should be contributing more than 10 percent of their salary to their retirement savings and almost a quarter (22 percent) admitted they didn’t know how much they should be contributing. The shortfall between what employees are paying in and what they think they should be paying is highlighted by the fact that over half of UK workers have considered how they might work past state pension age and one in ten people (13 percent) are worried that they will never be able to afford to leave paid employment. More →

Majority of UK workers happy with work life balance, claims report

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

work life balanceA new report from private bank Investec claims that three quarters of the UK’s professionals working in fields such as law, finance and healthcare are happy with the current balance between their work and personal life. The survey of 2,000 people suggests that just a quarter (25 percent) claim to be unhappy with their work life balance and a third (32 percent) say that their friends and family would describe them as ‘workaholics’. However, a third (33 percent) are also confident of an improvement in their work life balance over the next five years even though the same proportion also claim that the past five years have seen it decline since 2010. Workers in London are most optimistic despite the fact they are most likely to see themselves as workaholics with nearly half (45 percent) feeling optimistic about the future state of their working and personal lives. More →

Lack of sleep of over a third of workers could be costly to the US economy

by • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

pillow02Forty-two percent of U.S. adults are getting less than seven hours of sleep on a typical night, the minimum number of hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation for those aged 18 and older. Gallup research reveals not getting enough sleep is not only linked to lower well-being for individuals, but it is also costly to the U.S. economy. Employees may not have enough time to sleep because of working long hours, family obligations, insomnia or having poor well-being in other areas. For example, poor physical well-being, social isolation or financial strain could adversely affect quantity of sleep. According to Gallup, employers should explore interventions to promote the value of sleep and its link to employees’ well-being, as this relates to engagement, healthcare costs and productivity. When possible, they may want to allow employees to work flexible hours, which could make it easier for workers to balance work and family demands with getting enough sleep. More →

Two fifths of employees say work has a negative impact on their health

by • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

chocolate-muffinMillions of the UK’s workforce feel they’re putting their heart health at risk due to the pressures of their job, according to a new survey carried out by the British Heart Foundation during the charity’s Heart Month. The survey shows that a large number of employees feel their working life leads them to eat a poor diet, not doing enough exercise and drinking and smoking more than is good for them. The BHF is calling for employers to encourage their workforce to spend at least 10 minutes a day improving their lifestyle during February. The survey found two in five (41 percent) people feel their job has had a negative impact on their health in the last five years, with more than half (55 percent) saying they have become more stressed as a result of their job over the same time period. More →

Workers face burnout as work continues to erode personal lives

by • Flexible working, News, Workplace

burnoutOver two thirds of UK professionals (69 percent) are required to work outside of their regular office hours more than they were five years ago, according to a recent research from serviced office provider Regus. The survey canvassed the opinions of over 3,000 business people in the UK on their attitudes and approaches to work. A similar proportion of workers (72 percent) say that fixed hours are no longer suited to their duties; perhaps offering some explanation as to why so much extra time is spent at the office. Three quarters (76 percent) of respondents also reported a rise in remote workers, further suggesting that the concept of 9-5 day in the office is outdated. An earlier report from Regus, published in January found that the past five years have also seen a growing concern that workers face burnout. More →

How well designed office hives can foster swarm intelligence

by • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace design

sourceimageA beehive in your back-garden is hardly ideal, nor is stumbling across an ants’ nest while searching for a picnic spot. However, these swarms have become the inspiration for a revolutionary new way of working. Swarm intelligence describes how a group of people find effective solutions to difficult problems and their ability to adapt automatically to changing environments and work as a team of equals. To get the full benefits of swarm intelligence, we need to make sure that our offices have areas where staff can collaborate. There can be no rigid structures or process chains that ideas have to go through. The flow of knowledge shouldn’t be restricted. It should be allowed to flood through our businesses and offices and take no account of whether the people sharing knowledge, ideas and opinions have been with a company for five days or five years. More →

Employers and fathers increasingly keen on shared parental leave

by • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

shared parental leaveOver three quarters of employers welcome shared parental leave despite concerns about its complexity and implementation and many are considering adapting their policies in light of new legislation set to be introduced in April, according to a report from Workingmums.co.uk. The survey of over 400 employers found that 81 percent welcomed shared parental leave, with 19 percent saying they would find it difficult to implement. The report coincides with new data from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which found that more than half of Britons (53 percent) believe that childcare should be divided equally between mothers and fathers with men more likely than women to back shared parenting with 56 per cent in favour, compared to 50 per cent of women. More →

Heavy workloads blamed as two thirds of staff fail to take statutory work break

by • Legal news, News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Heavy workloads blamed as two thirds of staff fail to take work breaksAlmost two thirds of UK staff are not able to take their legally required minimum break. In a Bupa study of 2,000 full-time workers – 64 per cent claimed they are not always able to take their legally required 20-minute break when working six hours or more. Less than a third (29%) of employees are taking a full hour for lunch every day and worryingly, over a quarter (28%) of workers never take a breather of any kind during their working day. The main reason UK workers are not taking a break is the weight of their workload. The research shows that two in five (43%) employees believe they have too much work to pause for a few minutes. Managers are also setting a bad example as a quarter (24%) of employees see their boss not taking lunch and feel pressure to do the same. More →

New report uncovers habits and habitats of London’s workplace tribes

by • Cities, News, Workplace

shandyCity workers have been proven to ‘work hard and play hard’ more than those in other areas of Greater London, according to an extensive study of the capital’s office workers. Those in the Square Mile have the longest hours (45.3), spend most nights out drinking (two) and as a consequence suffer from the highest number of hangovers on a weekly basis. The findings are part of a research project by Avanta Serviced Office Group, to reveal the contrasting habits, characteristics and lifestyles of those working in different areas. The study questioned over 1,500 office workers across the city and found: City of London workers are most likely to ‘work hard and play hard’, often snoozing in the workplace at lunchtime to catch up on their sleep; weary West Enders are out-shopped by workers in the City; Islington is the cycling and social media capital of London; and Croydon has the most office romances. More →

It’s no surprise a third of homeworkers choose to work in their pyjamas

by • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, News, Technology, Workplace

Third of homeworkers admit they work in their pyjamas When I worked for a large publishing house in the 90s, occasionally one of us would ask to work from home. My then editor always had an enlightened policy towards the home-working concept, telling people that she didn’t care if they worked in their pyjamas as long as they met their deadline. In the digital era, home working is a lot more accepted, and according to a new survey, working in your pyjamas is still in vogue, though the 10 per cent of people who admit to working naked must have huge heating bills. The study by Altodigital reflects the usual trade-off associated with flexible working, with 40 per cent of homeworkers claiming their productivity more than doubles, but motivation has a limited scope; peaking at just four hours a day, before it trails off. I’d argue that exactly the same thing happens in the office. Just because people are perceived to be ‘at work’ it’s assumed they are working. More →

Focus on the wellbeing of the occupants of the office, not that of the building

by • Comment, Facilities management, Wellbeing, Workplace

The design of the office has a big impact on health and wellbeingIf you ask a typical corporation about their real estate strategy you will most probably hear a lot about rationalisation, minimising cost and synergy. Real estate strategy should include all these but a cost-cutting approach can be very short-sighted. Staff costs usually account to about 90 per cent of the business operating cost, while any improvement in staff’s productivity will have a stronger and more positive outcome than any cost saving on a building. The recently released World Green Building Council (WGBC) report Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices developed with the support of JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, clearly shows that the design of an office has a strong impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. It describes the impact of acoustics, interior layout, look & feel, amenities, air quality, thermal comfort, location, daylight and user control on occupants. But it doesn’t stop there. More →
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