HRD Insight: Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Leigh Lafever-Ayer on flexible working
This week is National Work-Life Week, which is intended to encourage both employers and their employees to think about how they can strike a better work-life balance. One popular flexible working method is home-working and people who do so are reportedly less stressed and feel happier that they are getting the balance between the two […]
News: Higher stress levels and longer hours with us for next 3 years
Increasing numbers of UK workers are suffering excessive pressure in their job as they work longer hours than ever – and the situation isn’t expected to change any time soon. According to a survey of 1,606 companies across the world conducted by professional services firm Towers Watson, a third acknowledged that employees were under […]
Well-being at work: Learning to love what you do
One of the strongest predictors of health and well-being turns out to be the quality of our social connections. Yet, have you ever turned up for a doctor’s appointment, had your blood pressure taken and then been asked some rather direct questions about your social life: Do you often get together with family and friends? […]
News: Call centre workers in East Anglia most likely to throw a sickie…
Although a third of UK workers admit to having pulled a sickie, a worrying 55% soldier on when ill due to anxiety over what their boss or colleagues will think. According to a survey conducted among 2,000 employees by insurance comparison website Confused.com, some 35% admitted lying to their manager over why they had missed […]
News: Lack of first aid skills leads to death of 140,000 workers each year
Although up to 140,000 people die each year due to lack of access to first aid, about half of all UK employers have no formal processes in place to assess workers’ needs in an emergency. According to research conducted among 4,000 people by One Poll on behalf of St John’s Ambulance, less than 20% acknowledged […]
Ask the Expert: What legal issues do well-being initiatives generate?
The question I have been asked to introduce some health and well-being initiatives into our workplace. Where should I start and are there any particular legal issues/pitfalls that I need to be aware of? The legal verdict Esther Smith, a partner at Thomas Eggar Where to start indeed! There is pretty […]
News: Heart attack risk higher for disempowered workers under stress
Being under stress at work but not having the power to change the situation increases the risk of a heart attack or death from coronary heart disease, researchers have found. As a result, according to a team at the University College London, ‘job strain’, which is a form of stress, appears to be most common […]
Living Leader Learnings: Longer hours for less pay – How can I motivate my team?
The challenge The project team manager at a building refurbishment company asks: “Motivating my team is really hard at the moment – their salaries have been frozen for the last two years and, because we have been unable to replace some staff members who left, everyone is working harder than ever. They all feel […]
News: Two whistleblowers find themselves vindicated
Two whistleblowers, one employed by the UK’s Care Quality Commission and the other a US former banker at UBS, both found themselves vindicated in their actions this week. Dame Jo Williams, who stepped down as chairman of the health regulator last week, was forced to apologise to a hearing of MPs for making public allegations […]
Blog: Learning resilience from going with the flow
As you are no doubt aware, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (yes – spelling is correct!) is a key proponent of the theory of Flow – whereby Flow is described as the state when a person in an activity is fully immersed, creating a sense of energized focus, full involvement, and success. So what I hear you ask!? […]
News: Govt plans to axe employer safety checks garner mixed response
Government plans to exempt hundreds and thousands of businesses from “burdensome” health and safety inspections as part of its pledge to cut business red tape have garnered a mixed response. Under a binding statutory code that is due to be introduced in April 2013, proactive checks will no longer be routinely carried out on premises […]
News: State pension age rises to create “limbo zone” for older workers
Increases in the state pension age will lead to the creation of a new “limbo zone” in which many workers are too young to draw their pension but too old and infirm to work. The TUC issued the warning on releasing an analysis of official labour market data, which revealed that a mere 54% of […]
EU proposals: Tightening up Ts&Cs for temporarily posted workers
A recent government consultation on the potential impact of a decision by the European Union to enforce its Posting of Workers Directive has just closed, but the responses should help the UK to formulate its negotiating position. So what does it all mean and why is the move significant for employers? A worker is classed […]
Blog: How to build rapport during a job interview
Building rapport during a job interview. It’s not always the brightest and the best who get the job. Often it’s the person who interviews well. The bond you establish with an interviewer is a very important factor in doing well at interview. From their point of view, when they meet you they’re considering working […]
The HRZone Interview: Best Companies’ Wayne Clarke on engagement
Wayne Clarke is managing partner at workplace engagement specialists, Best Companies, the firm behind the prestigious Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ annual listing of high-performing organisations. It has identified eight key factors that are critical to be an employer that staff rate highly. They comprise: How employees feel about their leaders How […]
News: Ex-Apple exec sues over alleged ‘job for life’ promise
A former employee is suing Apple for emotional distress after being dismissed last December, claiming that co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs had promised him a job for life. Ousted executive producer Wayne Goodrich alleges that, during a one-to-one meeting in 2010, Jobs, who died last October after a five-year battle with cancer, had told […]
Blog: Learning to manage sickness absence more creatively
Newly published figures by the Health and Social Care Information Centre have revealed that NHS workers took an average of 15 days of sickness absence over the last year – an improvement on figures from three years ago. Sceptics have been quick to note that the level of sickness absence in the NHS is considerably […]
Ask the Expert: What do we do about a new hire who hasn’t told us about her disability?
The question We have recently offered a job to someone who gladly accepted it and the contract has now been issued and signed. But just before her start date, she indicated that she has a disability that has an effect both on her health and her ability to carry out the role. We […]
News: EU – Employers must assess staff well-being during redundancy
Employers may have to assess the psychological health of their staff if considering whether to make any of them redundant in future, according to draft European Union proposals. The proposed new directive, which the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on in November, would also mean that bosses had to evaluate the impact of job […]
Ask the Expert: What happens about holiday for staff on temporarily reduced working hours?
The question If your employees agree to do a four-day instead of the normal five-day week for a temporary period of four months, what happens in regard to their annual leave and bank holiday entitlement? Normally if someone works for four days, they would receive 4/5ths of the usual entitlement but as, in […]