Mediation and wellbeing: An all-weather strategy
Conflict in the workplace is as common as a rainy day in the UK. And, like a miserable wet day, workplace disputes have a negative effect on our wellbeing in the workplace. Whilst we can prepare for rain, with stylish wellies and colourful umbrellas, most HR professionals and line managers feel ill-equipped and lack the […]
Want wellbeing? Time to be flexible
According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), companies looking to make sure staff aren’t under too much pressure, should consider implementing flexible working policies, such as remote working. In fact, it claims that employees who work for organisations that offer flexible working practices are the happiest of all. The Office of National Statistics reveals […]
Health and safety cuts will put employees at risk
Cuts of a third to the number of automatic health and safety inspections from April will put employees at risk and inevitably lead to more workplace injuries and deaths, lawyers have warned. The Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling announced yesterday that automatic inspections would now take place only at high risk installations such as […]
Wellbeing: become more resilient
Do you feel under pressure to deliver at work? You could do with a spot of resilience training. Mark Walsh will help you out in this area. I help people build their personal resilience and stay sane in difficult environments – in both the high-pressure business world and in areas of more obvious conflict globally. […]
Sickness insurance could replace sick pay from employers
Employers could be required to take out income protection insurance for their staff rather than provide statutory sick pay in a bid to cut a sickness absence bill that currently costs them £8 billion a year. This is a leading proposal before Lord Freud, the coalition government’s welfare reform minister, and is one of several […]
Health and safety spot checks could be reduced: good or bad for business?
The British Safety Council has called for public debate on the implications of proposals by the Health and Safety Executive to reduce unannounced workplace inspections by a third following deep budget cuts. The move follows the leaking of a letter signed by HSE’s chief executive Geoffrey Podger to the BBC’s File on 4 programme on […]
Overworked employees napping in the office
One in ten office workers have slept overnight at their desks over the past year, with a further 10% calling it a day between 12pm-3am as they try to tackle ever-growing workloads. According to a poll undertaken by officebrokers.com, which helps companies find office space, some three out of five also regularly started work ahead […]
UK small business ‘not prepared for disruption’
Although the majority of UK small-to-medium enterprises suffered business disruption due to adverse weather conditions, health or transport issues last year, nearly a quarter had no contingency plans in place to deal with the situation. According to a survey undertaken by telecoms provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s Demon Broadband, a huge 86% of respondents experienced […]
Sickness absence rates back at pre-recession levels
Absence rates due to sickness had returned to pre-recession levels by the end of last year, but in overall terms have fallen over the last decade, official figures have revealed. ____________________________________________________________ Download a free guide to absence management from Access here to discover ways to record and analyse absence___________________________________________________________ The Office for National Statistics found […]
How to: support dyslexic employees – spot the signs
Sharon Goldie, consultant at iansyst Ltd (www.re-adjust.co.uk), looks at how to recognise the signs of dyslexia and offers simple strategies which Human Resources can utilise to ensure they create a dyslexia-friendly workplace. What do Richard Branson and Steve Jobs have in common with Walt Disney, Salma Hayek, John Lennon and Pablo Picasso? In addition to […]
Creating a resilient workforce: management hold the key
Robertson Cooper’s research has shown that the amount of support provided by managers is related to how resilient people perceive their organisations to be. Of all working respondents, just over half (55%) felt that their manager provided either ‘a lot of support’ or ‘a fair amount of support’. Of those respondents who felt their organisation […]
Sickness review welcomed by employer bodies
The setting up of a sickness review as part of the coalition government’s benefits shake-up could “help shine a light” on the obstacles that currently prevent employers from supporting staff during illness and managing absence more effectively. The review led by Dame Carol Black, the government’s national director for health and work and a former […]
Risk in the workplace – the role of HR in helping to manage incidents
The number of costly injury claims against business has risen sharply but human resources can play a role in helping the organisation avoid risk of injury at work and associated fines, says expert laywer, Fiona Gill. In the past few years, the number of high value injury claims contested in the High Court has jumped […]
Tiny bikes set to save health of office workers
A portable mini-exercise bike used by office staff while working at their desks could help improve the health of those with sedentary occupations, according to US scientists. The researchers at East Carolina University argued in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that, while sedentary lifestyles were a serious problem as lack of exercise was linked […]
Breast cancer – what can employers do to help?
John Picken, Director of the health and wellbeing consultancy Shandwell, reviews the latest research on breast cancer and the implications for employers. It’s a startling statistic, but according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK) one woman in eight will get breast cancer. The risk increases with age yet this is not a condition that just affects […]
Defining resilience: what we can learn from resilient role models?
Resilience is becoming a common word in the HR community and an increasingly important and desirable quality for employees. In this article, we look at what resilience really means for individuals, the key components that make up resilience and explain why it’s important to learn from our resilient role models. Why is resilience important?Resilience is […]
Future looks bleak for employee relations
Deteriorating employee relations will be a hallmark of the year ahead as longer working hours for no additional remuneration, growing skills shortages and worsening relations with management lead to increased levels of stress and disengagement. According to a survey among 550 HR professionals undertaken by King’s College London and law firm Speechly Bircham, 46% saw […]
Pre-employment health questions – an FAQ
Last October the Government brought into force most provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA). One of the more controversial aspects of this new law is turning out to be the prohibition on pre-employment health questions. The law is potentially a minefield and the Act itself is less than helpful, not even specifying what amounts […]
Tuesday, 10am – stress alert
A huge three quarters of workers regularly come to the end of their tether by 11.16am each day, but Tuesday morning at 10am is when they peak in terms of stress, according to research. A survey undertaken among 3,000 UK employees aged between 18 and 45 by recruitment agency Michael Page, revealed that, after staff […]
Ask the expert: AWOL or Sickness?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on dealing with an employee who appears to be AWOL… The question: AWOL or Sickness? A member of staff has been off sick since beginning of October. The last contact was via a "family friend" in mid November which was followed up with […]
