“When I was told that I would never walk or talk again it put fire in my belly.”
In the BBC 2 series Employable Me, a programme that follows people with disabilities as they attempt to find work, Speakers Corner opens up a public speaking career for disabled businessman Andy Ibbott. Below, HRZone speaks to Andy about his inspirational journey to recovery and reemployment, and with Managing Director of Speakers Corner Nick Gold […]
How home working can help people with cancer maintain a work-life balance
With advances in treatment and long-term survivorship, we now talk about the ‘cancer journey’. For those living with cancer, and for those without, work plays a very important part in our life’s journey. It not only provides financial stability, but a sense of normality, routine, and self-esteem. And cancer patients often crave normality and routine […]
How and why wellbeing proactivity pays
A proactive approach to employee wellbeing shouldn’t just be for the privileged few, says Courtney Marsh, Commercial Director of Health Shield. No matter the size of your company or budget, it can be a reality for all. Everyone’s talking about wellbeing these days. Yet how many employers are still paying lip-service to it? And how […]
It’s National Sickie Day. Let’s analyse this dangerous abstraction…
I’ve been indundated with ‘news’ around National Sickie Day today – the day of the year when absences due to sickness are highest. Many factors explain the high absence rate, including job interviews for those spurred by the new year into jumping ship, an increase in flu and colds due to the cold weather and general […]
Employee benefits uptake: why less choice is more
The benefits industry has long held to the mantra that offering more employee choice is the way to deliver better benefits but there’s not much evidence that this, on its own, is the lead factor is employee satisfaction. So it’s worth digging a little deeper and seeing whether choice is always the best thing to […]
Employee benefit uptake: 4 thoughts to better results
It’s February. The “New year, new me” phase is all but a distant memory and fewer and fewer employees are making full use of the onsite staff gym. The free fruit initiative is beginning to ferment and grow fur. Uptake on the EAP is dwindling by the day despite increasing absence figures. Employee benefits are […]
How to build and maintain an effective wellbeing strategy
You will no doubt be familiar with the saying “build it and they will come”. This can work, but in most cases, unless you’ve luckily hit upon a genius solution to a major need (including a need we didn’t know we had – such as the smartphone), it won’t. The simple reason for this is […]
Seven employee benefits that help build resilience
There’s an interesting relationship between stress and productivity. A little stress at work can actually do us good – helping us focus and prepare the body for action. But it can also lead to mistakes, cause difficulty when making decisions and impact our ability to concentrate. There are also physical side effects of stress – […]
One man’s experience of life after cancer
Aside from the more obvious physical symptoms of cancer and fatigue following treatment, there can also be emotional and mental side effects such as depression and low mood. All of this can have an impact on a patient’s ability to work; many people are forced to reduce their working hours, or even stop working altogether. […]
Why communication is key to supporting employees with cancer
One of the main challenges line managers face when supporting an employee affected by cancer is how best to start initial conversations. It can be difficult to know where to start, what to say and, importantly, what not to say. Despite concerns, it is vital that employers initiate talks and keep communication channels open, so […]
How can line managers support employees with cancer?
When some people think of cancer, they may not realise the long-term impact it can have. In fact, 40% of cancer survivors are unaware of the long-term side effects of cancer and cancer treatment, despite 65% saying they’ve had to deal with fatigue during and after treatment. These long-term effects – such as persistent hair […]
How to tackle workplace discrimination against people with cancer
For those going through an illness such as cancer, discrimination can unfortunately be a very real and stressful part of their experience. This is despite the fact that if you have or have had cancer, you are protected by law from unfair treatment at work. Research from Macmillan Cancer Support, exploring the impact of cancer […]
Home worker wellbeing: how to manage it properly
With the exponential growth of technological development and the concept of multigenerational workforces, working from home is becoming more commonplace and feasible. Flexible working is also becoming more in demand from younger generations entering the workforce now, and never has there been a more opportune time for HR and managers to keep up with the […]
6 ways to support the health and wellbeing of shift workers
For someone standing on the outside, it’s hard to fathom how such a rewarding and compassionate profession can be equally frustrating, demoralising and, to put it frankly, bad for one’s physical and mental health. Working in the NHS as a young, single woman, I would often work overtime, miss tea breaks due to unplanned emergency […]
What to do when you want to prepare for retirement
When I wrote The Good Retirement Guide 2018 I had one overriding objective: to help people achieve a better retirement. Over the years I have drawn on my experience in financial services regulation, on giving business and taxation advice and, significantly, helping people prepare for retirement. Below are some practical hints and tips from my […]
Do your HR policies and processes support employees with cancer?
The workforce comprises increasing numbers of people living with a cancer diagnosis. One in two of us will now face a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime with almost 340,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with cancer every year. Furthermore, in 2012 Macmillan Cancer Support estimated that there were over 750,000 people of working age with […]
Pensions: Is your best and most costly employee benefit your least appreciated?
The government’s recent review of auto-enrolment found that 12 million workers are not placing enough importance on saving for their pensions. When it comes to engagement analysis, the government’s review was particularly enlightening, offering guidance covering ways in which employers can refocus pension engagement strategies to encourage a higher level of adoption and lower level of drop […]
Blood cancer: what you should know if an employee is diagnosed
Managers and HR professionals can play a key role in supporting someone who is living with, or recovering from, blood cancer – so it’s important to know where your responsibilities lie. This article was co-written by Rose Sunter, Partner specialising in employment law at Sharpe Pritchard LLP and Emily Peters, Patient Information Officer at blood cancer research […]
One woman’s journey to the world of freelance
What you’re looking for is right under your nose. I was musing for quite some time, before I made the move. In a job that I enjoyed, with flexibility, autonomy, permission to create, however, I just knew deep down, that there was more; that I was capable of more. I knew I must spread my wings and […]
Why creating a culture of kindness and gratitude is more important than a discounted gym membership
We have all seen health and wellbeing programmes that just tick a box and do the same old thing, such as money off gym membership, EAP programmes and maybe an onsite massage. But there is so much more workplaces could do to have a real benefit for employees. Happy, engaged employees perform better and have […]
