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 […]
Your employees’ money worries are your business
Employers are recognising the link between a healthy workforce and staff productivity. They’re also prioritising the mental health of their employees for the same reasons – it makes good business sense. But beyond health and mental wellness, the financial wellness of employees also has business consequences. According to a recent study, financial stress costs the […]
Cancer in the workplace: simple tips for employers
750,000 people of working age in the UK are now living with a cancer diagnosis, contributing over £16bn to the UK economy every year. With survival rates on the increase – health insurance companies suggested that cancer accounted for almost a third of long term sickness in 2015 – this looks to grow to more […]
Depression in the workplace: why is ‘good work’ important?
Since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in the UK, we have seen a significant reduction in physical work-related injury, with fatal injuries to employees falling by 83%. This has been attributed to more awareness of workplace health and safety and changes in the organisation of work, moving away from […]
Mental health – a competitive advantage in a demanding workplace
We live in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times. For those in the working world that is compounded by the workplace expecting more from their people – doing more with less; being always on through technology; driving efficiencies through cost cutting; and facing and dealing with a much more demanding customer or consumer. These times […]
Cancer in the workplace: how employers can prepare themselves
It goes without saying that employers cannot ignore cancer. However, it is equally true that employers can – and should – be well-prepared to approach cancer in the right way. There are several barriers that organisations must overcome getting this approach right, but ultimately they have be described in terms of three key themes: our […]
Always switched on for work? Managing modern technologies – a joint effort
There’s so much rich insight coming out of the academic sector that HR professionals need to know. At Academics’ Corner we feature the best HR researchers that tell you what they’ve found and what you need to do differently on the back of the research. Get connected to the academic sector through Academics’ Corner and […]