August 6, 2019

School holidays signal stress for home-workers

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Workplace

For many working parents the summer school holidays can be a cause of stress instead of a time for rest and relaxation.With children no longer occupied at school, many parents choose to work from home to juggle both work and childcare, but productivity can suffer with family, pets and noisy household appliances found to be the main distractions for home workers. The 2019 Global Workspace Survey, conducted by IWG on 2000 UK respondents, claims that interruptions from children or other family members is the number one obstacle being faced by professionals who take advantage of home working. More →

August 6, 2019

Stress most prevalent among health and social workers

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

Health and social care are the most stressful industries to work in, according to an analysis by The Office Group (TOG), which claims that health and social workers tend to work longer hours and report more cases of work-related stress, depression and anxiety than staff in other sectors. TOG calculated an overall stress score for 12 industries across the UK, using public data on the number of self-reported cases; average full-time hours; number of days lost to self-reported cases; and the likelihood of future automation. A recent report from the CIPD also highlighted how stress is now a fact of life for most workers. More →

August 2, 2019

Work is no more insecure than it was twenty years ago, claims report

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working culture, Working lives

Employment insecurity affects many people but, overall, work in the UK is as secure as it was 20 years ago, with limited evidence of growing casualisation, new research from the CIPD claims. The report Megatrends: Is work really becoming more insecure? finds that at 20 percent, the share of non-permanent employment in the UK – which includes the self-employed and temporary workers (including temporary zero hours contract workers) – has not increased since 1998.

July 31, 2019

CIPD offers new guidance on non-traditional work roles

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Following the recent government consultation on improving the rights of variable hours workers, the CIPD has published new employer guidance to help ensure that ‘atypical working arrangements’ benefit both the organisation and individuals. The guidance, Atypical Working: A guide to successfully implementing atypical work in your organisation, defines atypical working as practices which include the self-employed, temporary workers, agency staff and people on zero hours contracts.

July 30, 2019

Toxic workplace environments plague accountancy profession

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Working lives

Toxic workplace environments plague the accountancy profession, according to new research from CABA, a wellbeing charity for chartered accountants. The survey of over 250 accountants suggests that over half of chartered accountants think their workplace is toxic. Communication issues, working unrealistic hours and cliquey colleagues are also cited in the study. The survey found that 55 percent of respondents believe their workplace to be toxic.

July 26, 2019

Self-employment might be good for mental health

by Mark Stabile • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

The general picture of self-employment, the gig economy work and mental wellbeing is not a pretty one. Around the world, Uber drivers face wage and security worries. Deliveroo workers have too much competition. Airbnb owners face legal problems in Paris and other cities. But while these headlines suggest a dark cloud over the heads of gig economy workers, recent data I’ve looked at unexpectedly shows that they are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive mental health traits.
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July 23, 2019

Remote workers engage in harmful behaviour to signal commitment to employers

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

A new study, published in the journal Organizational Science and authored by researchers from the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) suggests that employees who are physically present in the office are seen as more committed, more productive, and harder working than colleagues who work away from the office. According to the study of two major blue chip organisations, perceptions of hard work and commitment translate to greater career opportunities including promotions that are not as readily available for remote workers. More →

July 23, 2019

Two million workers miss out on holiday entitlement

by Neil Franklin • Legal news, News, Wellbeing

Around seven percent of UK workers are not getting or taking their legal holiday entitlement, according to a new study from the TUC. The analysis estimates that nearly two million employees (1.960 million) are not getting the minimum paid leave entitlement they are due. And over a million (1.145 million) are not getting any paid leave at all. The analysis shows that women workers (8.3 percent) are worse affected than men (5.9 percent). In addition, the sectors with the highest numbers of staff losing out on their legal holiday paid entitlement are education (341,000), retail (302,000), and health and social care (264,000). More →

July 21, 2019

Sleeping on the job is now acceptable behaviour

by Colette Wade • Comment, Wellbeing, Workplace design

Recently, Cornerstone OnDemand tested which learning and training courses are of most interest and truly matter to employees to help them navigate the world of work. Among the top five most popular courses, there was a resounding demand for those that centred around wellbeing. And the training that claimed the top spot was ‘The Science of Sleep: Sleep hygiene’. More →

July 18, 2019

Demand for four day week continues to rise

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

With a recent report from Henley Business School highlighting that a shorter working week could add to businesses’ bottom lines through increased staff productivity and uplift in staff physical and mental health, a study from ADP (registration) has further emphasised these findings. ADP’s research claims almost two-thirds of UK workers (61 percent) would opt for a four day week at work if they had the choice. More →

July 8, 2019

Meetings ruined by late arrivals and setting up tech

by Neil Franklin • News, Technology, Workplace design

A report from Moo claims that people are wasting time by waiting for all attendees to arrive at or dial-in to meetings. Engaging in small talk with colleagues and tackling technology followed closely behind. The findings include the claims that nearly half of British workers spend up to ten minutes trying to find a meeting room on average, and around the same number spend up to 15 minutes waiting for other attendees to arrive or dial-in.

July 3, 2019

Gig economy and freelance workers would prefer secure work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

Freelancers, the self employed and workers in the so-called gig economy may like the flexibility but they would prefer a steady job, according to new research from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP). The rise of non-traditional work arrangements is not due to workers wanting or demanding these jobs, but rather because they have no other choice the report concludes. What’s more, workers would agree to earn less in order to increase their employment security. The results come from analysis of data from over 4,000 UK and US workers, who were surveyed on their current work arrangements and the job attributes they most want. More →