Category Archives: Home Working

Business Advice, Home Working, Technology

What Kind of Tech Do You Need in Your Home Business?

If you have decided to launch a small business from your home, you will be joining many other people who do the same thing each year. However, don’t assume that just because you are running your business from home that you can skip the important steps that a traditional business owner needs to take, such as writing a business plan. You also need to make sure that you have the necessary tech for success.

Home Lift

Ideally, everyone who runs a business from home needs their own space for it, but this isn’t always possible. However, if you’re going to be seeing clients in your home, whatever your profession, you absolutely do need a dedicated space. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you must tell your client to just move that laundry basket off the chair and have a seat.

This means that you also need to be able to take your client through a presentable section of your home. If you live in a multi-storey house, a great way to do this is with a lift. You can utilize Stiltz home lifts that can be installed in most types of homes, and it makes your place feel more like an office. It will also help you with the mental separation between work and home if you can finish breakfast, step into your lift and be at the office. Finally, it will be necessary for any of your clients who have mobility issues.

 

Reliable Internet

When you’re running a business from home, reliable high-speed internet is crucial. You can’t afford to miss a video conference or be unable to get work to a client on a deadline because your coverage is patchy. This means finding the best provider in your area that you can, even if you must pay more than you normally would for home internet. Your current router and provider may be insufficient for your needs, so do your research. A strong, reliable signal may also be important for payment processing, discussed further below.

 

Payment Processing

Depending on the type of work you’re doing, being set up with one or more online payment systems might be sufficient. You should consider multiple options since people will have accounts with different systems. However, the nature of your business might mean that you need a credit card terminal so that people can pay you with a credit or debit card.

 

Customer Relationship Management System

How do you keep track of your customers and your relationship with them and find new customers? If you are working on growing your business a good CRM is key to this. It will give you the tools to keep your data organized and safe. Often cloud-based, these systems have several functionalities and can help you cut your marketing costs and increase your lead conversion.

 

Accounting Software

You don’t need to be running a multi-person company to benefit from accounting software. Managing your finances and keeping them organized can be one of the more time-consuming and confusing elements of running a small business, and software that helps you track your expenses, keep on top of your cash flow, and stay current with your taxes will make a big difference.

 

Home Working, News, Remote Working

Décor Choices to Help You Avoid Home Working Burnout

Working from home is a common choice for many HR leaders and their teams. While there are many advantages to this, some home workers find it hard to switch off. Because they work at home, they may find it hard to properly relax and often spend more time working.  Burnout can be surprisingly common in people that work from home – including HR professionals. Fortunately, there’s plenty that you can do to avoid becoming burned out while working from home, and both the décor and layout of your house can have a big effect. Here are some of the choices that you can make to reduce the risks of burnout.

 

A Separate Work Space

A separate workspace is often the key to keeping home and work separate when you live and work in the same place – it helps resist the urge to pick up your laptop when you are spending time with your family. If you have a dedicated home office, great. If not, adding a desk to an unused corner like a guest room or even converting a large walk-in wardrobe or cupboard under the stairs can work well – and develop a routine when you finish work to set a clear boundary..

Lots of Natural Light

Natural light can help us to work more productively by increasing our energy levels and focus. It can also help us to feel more alert and boost our mood, all of which can reduce the risk of burnout.

A Comfortable and Cosy Bedroom

Wherever you work, a good night’s sleep can help you to avoid burnout and stress. A bedroom that you love with, for example, a white bed frame, a supportive mattress and luxurious bed linen can help you to relax and sleep at the end of a long day. You might also want to add lots of comforting touches, like cushions and rugs, and keep electronics to a minimum.

 

Areas for Hobbies and Relaxation

When you work from home, there’s a danger that your whole house becomes about work. Having places where you can practice your hobbies or enjoy time with your family, like a dining table and Vidaxl dining chairs, a comfortable chair to read, and a large table to play games on can make it easier to switch off and enjoy time at home, instead of just seeing it as a place to sleep and work.

 

Welcome in Nature

Nature is a great way to improve your mood and reduce your stress levels. Adding houseplants and fresh flowers to your office, and other rooms in your house can be an effective way to avoid burnout and feel more relaxed.

 

Choose Soothing Colours

Bold colours and patterns might look great, but they can make it hard to relax and unwind. Keeping colours neutral and adding relaxing shades like pale blues and pinks can help you to create a more soothing home.

 

Space to Exercise

Exercise is a brilliant way to reduce stress and anxiety. Getting outdoors for a walk or run can be especially beneficial but having a quiet space at home where you can practice yoga or gentle stretches can give you a way to quickly boost your mood and unwind after a tough day.

Many people find that working from home can help them to work more productively and creatively. They find that it gives them a better work-life balance and improves their mental health and relationships with their families, but only if they can avoid burnout and stress. Making a few of these simple changes to your home could help.

Home Working, Hybrid Working, Remote Working, Return to Work, Tech

SME’s Urged to Not Neglect Their Homeworker’s Needs

19 July (England) and 9 August (Scotland) have been heralded as ‘return to the workplace’ milestones, but with many major businesses continuing to meet the preferences of the three out of four workers who still want the flexibility of working from home1 Zen Internet is urging small to medium sized firms not to neglect their homeworker needs.  

Zen’s survey of UK businesses highlighted that despite nine out of 10 (86%) employers questioned professing they were willing to offer hybrid working, few felt prepared in achieving this – with one in five businesses (17%) claiming to be unprepared for long-term flexible working.

The research also highlighted the key challenges SMEs in particular were facing in realising the infrastructure needed to support flexible working practices.

  • Almost half (46%) of SMEs claim poor internet connections in staff homes is a major challenge.
  • One in five SMEs (21%) said staff were unable to access the company system from home.
  • One in 10 (12%) SMEs vs. one in six (17%) large businesses referenced poor integration of communication systems as barriers to a smooth remote working process.

While the government is promoting its ‘back-to-work’ message, the reality is that many small businesses are still facing the same issues of catering for new hybrid and home working cultures.

This is being compounded against a backdrop of large employers who are enabling employees to continue to work in a flexible way.  TUI, which last week told its UK staff that they only need to work from the office one day a month, is just one of thousands of major businesses enabling more flexible working longer term.

And according to the latest employee surveys, consensus is towards the continuation of home working. A recent study by CV-Library shows that in a poll of more than 1000 people, half felt anxious about returning to work and three out of four said they preferred the flexibility of working from home.

Whilst some businesses are geared up for longer term remote working (half of UK businesses are already using a cloud-based solution for integrating their communications channels), when figures are broken down it is clear that smaller sized firms are lagging behind, with only two fifths (40%) of SMEs having already transitioned to a cloud-based model.

Perhaps unsurprisingly over a third of business owners cited budget constraints as a hurdle to cloud adoption. However over half (53%) of SMEs and 38% of large businesses who don’t currently use a cloud-based solution claimed to be considering it.

Looking at how businesses are overcoming the other homeworking issues, the Zen Internet survey revealed that more than a fifth (22%) of businesses claimed that they planned to look to invest in providing / subsidising the cost of better home connectivity for their employees that work from home on a regular basis. Meanwhile, two fifths (39%) of businesses will invest in laptops and smart devices.

Georgina Lord, Managing Director of the retail division at Zen.co.uk, said: “As the government gives the green light for workplaces to return to normal, businesses which take their eye off the ball when it comes to catering for long-term homeworking will do so at their peril – especially as a flexible workplace and systems to support hybrid working will be high up on many job hunter’s wish list.

“There are clear indicators that it’s not a time to ditch digital advancement programmes that cater for homeworking.

“While poor internet in prosumers’ homes may have them rushing back to faster broadband speeds in the office, some sectors where there is high demand for talent, such as the digital industries, may find that employees will choose to work with firms that have focused on homeworking needs – as this is how many employees want to be able to work.

“As workers finally begin to consider the return to centrally located work spaces, or not, now is the time for organisations once again to re-evaluate their systems, IT and comms; it’s paramount that investment continues in remote working capability that truly meets the needs of their valued staff longer term.

“Where successful hybrid working is happening is where IT has become a core part of a business’ organisational strategy and a board level focus.

“From an employee perspective the crucial thing moving forward is investing in the systems and infrastructure that mean they can work seamlessly from any location – moving to cloud-based solutions, upgrading employee broadband connections and ensuring that they have the right technology and devices to do their job from anywhere. In particular, the rise of the prosumer has meant that reliable, ultrafast connectivity in the home is absolutely an essential commodity.

“And it’s not just about getting the infrastructure right for employees – customers and suppliers also demand a seamless experience when dealing with remote workforces. Taking a holistic business and board level view to remote working will continue to be vital.”

Georgina added:

“As hybrid and more digitised working models continue to be the norm, businesses of all sizes will need to adapt to this cultural shift in modern working practices by taking a pragmatic approach and adopting new technologies which can support the ongoing, long term transition to remote working. This will ensure businesses can continue to communicate effectively with their customers, clients and colleagues.

“Organisational culture will become increasingly important. Culture has always been central to digital transformation but getting the culture right and ensuring it permeates into employees’ homes is essential in looking after employee welfare and helping build a sense of community and purpose.

“It is clear that the next two to five years will be crucial for many businesses when it comes to adapting to the so called new normal and being agile to adopt to new ways or working and new customer habits. Those organisations who embrace these new requirements will flourish, while others who revert back to old practices could struggle and lose their competitive edge as well as valued staff.”

  1. Survey by CV-Library June 2021
  2. Survey by Zen Internet of  1000 SMEs

More information on homeworking can be found here https://www.zen.co.uk/business/large-business/challenges/remote-working-solutions and https://www.zen.co.uk/the-great-british-switch-off

 

Benefits, Home Working, HR News, News

Survey finds huge rise in home-working & increased Human Resources workloads

New research published today suggests that as many as 88% of employers expect to facilitate home-working post-pandemic, and that nearly two thirds (64%) of Human Resources (HR) specialists expect this seismic change in working patterns to increase their workload.

The survey, undertaken by employee benefits consultancy Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing (Howden) earlier this year, surveyed more than 200 senior Human Resources professionals from a range of public, private, and third sector employers.

The findings suggest that almost 9 in every 10 organisations are now intending to introduce at least some home-working.  Around 39% of respondents expected partial home working to be available to all workers, with a further 46% intending to introduce this for some employees only.  And a further 3% are intending to move to an entirely home-based working model after the pandemic restrictions are removed.

Commenting on these findings Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy, at Howden said;

“After more than a year of restrictions it’s no surprise that both employers and employees have become far more accustomed to the concept of home working, and both sides can now see the benefits.   

From the employer perspective the benefits of continuing with at least some home-working include cost savings, improved engagement, higher productivity, and better employee wellbeing too. 

Yet a permanent change to partial or full home-working will inevitably pose new challenges for employers and their HR departments to manage, and our survey demonstrates that many Human Resources professionals expect their workload to increase accordingly as a result.”

Indeed the survey found that nearly two thirds (64%) of all the HR specialists surveyed are now expecting more work pressures as a direct result of the move to homeworking, with 18% expecting a significant increase to the Human Resources workload.  That said, a very small minority of respondents (3%) expected the move to remote working would reduce the overall HR workload.

Howden also highlights that the move towards greater remote and homeworking should be matched with much greater flexibility and reach in company-sponsored employee benefit offerings to support employees.

More than half of the employers surveyed may need to improve (8%) or review (44%) their current benefits offering with this in mind.

Howden believe that the reality of the new remote-working employment world requires a different mix of benefits and delivery to ensure that all employees are supported, empowered, and engaged by their employee benefits offering.

Herbert concluded;

“We would strongly encourage many more employers to embrace flexible benefits and/or digital communication and delivery methods to better support the increasing numbers of remote workers in the 2020s. 

The pandemic is likely to represent a watershed moment in employment, and Howden would urge HR professionals to ensure that their company-sponsored employee benefits offerings reflect this significant shift in working practices.”  

For more information about the range of Howden’s Pension, Employee Benefits, and Financial Wellbeing services available please visit the Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing website:  www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/cover/employee-benefits-and-wellbeing-consulting

 

Home Working, News

Kitchen Table Talent: Britain’s kitchen tables are generating more than £37 Billion towards the British economy

The home kitchen and dining area have become the most lucrative money making locations in Britain, that combined are generating £37.4 billion to the British economy during lockdown – that’s being coined as ‘Kitchen Table Talent’. The research commissioned by Attic Self Storage, revealed that although restrictions are being lifted, 41% of office workers are expected to continue their jobs from home, with 44% saying it’s the most productive place they have ever worked.

For office workers, with 67% working for SMEs and 33% global heavyweights – over a quarter (28%) said their leaders see no point in returning to costly office spaces; and 19% are shutting down the office so that their staff can work mobile from home.

With Brits getting used to a work from home lifestyle, people are having to get creative. A quarter (25%) are now making their homes multifunctional; 27% decorating or converting their homes; 36% decluttering to carry on working from home – and self storage is being hailed as the biggest support for Kitchen Table Talents, with 51% of Brits saying they would opt for storage over upsizing their properties or office space.

The most productive places to work from home are:

1. Kitchen table / dining area
2. Sofa / living room
3. Bedroom
4. Home office/ study
5. Garden / garden shed
6. Balcony
7. Garage
8. Children’s room
9. Campervan
10. Bathroom

There is also expected to be a resurgence of entrepreneurship in Britain, with nearly 2 in 5 (37%) Brits saying they are considering their own venture as a result of the pandemic.
Those wanting to start up on their own stated 12% – wanted to become their own boss; 10% – are inspired by location independence; 9% – want to spend more time with loved ones. The top industry Brits want to start up in is technology and software.

Top industries Brits want to start businesses in:

1. Technology and software
2. Freelancer / Consultant
3. eCommerce
4. Finance/ investments
5. Arts & crafts
6. Property / construction
7. Travel / tourism
8. Hospitality
9. Health/ Fitness
10. Education

Brits working for themselves are expected to generate around £54 billion towards the economy – where on average those going it alone hope to make around £4,781 a month at their kitchen/dining tables.

Frederic de Ryckman de Betz, Founder and CEO of Attic comments: “We have seen an increase in business leaders and Kitchen Table Talent opting for storage over office space or upsizing their properties over recent months. To help support this talent, Attic is expanding by opening new locations including in Marylebone this August that offer 27 / 7 access for convenience. It’s great to see that Brits are finding new ways of working to boost the economy.”

COVID-19, Home Working, News

The 10 most flexible working industries

The IT sector is said to be the most flexible working industry in the UK with 14.8% of employees working from home. ONS data reveals that this figure more than doubled in the week before lockdown.

The latest report from the Office for National Statistics shows a rise in many employees working from home in the week before the Government declared lockdown on the country.

1.7 million people work from home permanently as a main base. This accounts for 2.6% of the entire UK population.

With lockdown measures currently in place and people heading back to work, Oriel Partners have looked into the rise in employees working remotely pre lockdown and during.

The top 10 industries that saw the biggest rise in workers logging on from home in the week before the Government enforced lockdown and distancing rules:

Industry Mainly work – own home (%) Work at home in the week prior to interview (%)
Public admin and defence 2.6 13.7
Education 2.7 12.8
Financial and insurance activities 5.2 22.8
Extraterritorial organisations 4.6 19.8
Water supply sewerage waste 1.9 6.5
Electricity gas air cond supply 4.9 13.6
Construction 3.8 10.2
Manufacturing 3.9 9.3
Information and communication 14.8 32.8
Other service activities 7.8 16.8

Figures for remote working YOY are increasing at a steady rate, according to further ONS data.

January to December 2015 saw 4.3% of employees working permanently from their home address.

In 2016 and 17 this figure rose to 4.6% and remained unchanged until in 2018 when it rose again to 4.9%.

Ending 2019, 5.1% of employees reported to mainly work from home. In March 2020, the week before lockdown, we saw this spike to 6%.

Olivia Coughtrie, Director at Oriel Partners says: “The introduction of remote working is changing the way businesses operate. There’s a notable shift away from traditional 9am – 5pm working hours and more and more companies are seeing the benefits associated with it.

“During these unprecedented times the hiring process has had to adapt. We are so fortunate that we have the means to work remotely and set up our teams virtually, and this has allowed us to continue to hire in a way never previously done before.

“Despite having to change the way we look at the hiring process, we can still be equally as thorough and successful in sourcing the right candidates for clients.”

To see further insights from ONS on demographics working flexibility including the ages, genders, location and job titles and industries, see Oriel Partners summary of the findings here.

 

Home Working, News, Research

Remote workers may be more dishonest than office workers – and its women that could be to blame

Women are more likely to be dishonest than men when working remotely, according to research by the University of Cologne.

The research, conducted by Dr. Julian Conrads and Dr. Sebastian Lotz, revealed that women were more likely to be completely dishonest if the method of communication is more distant and anonymous.

The study asked the participants to flip a coin four times and inform the researchers what it landed on. Each time the coin landed on tails; the participants received a monetary reward.
The communication channels used to inform the researchers differed – either no technology was used, for example face-to-face, or it was increasingly ‘distant’ or ‘anonymous’, for instance ‘’web-based’.

“The research reveals that an individual’s lying cost may be affected by social distance concerns, and this effect seems to be more pronounced for women than men when it comes to lying to the full extent. Women – communicating remotely from home – were more likely to report landing on tails for four times compared to men,” says Dr. Conrads.

This research is relevant in an organisational setting as decision makers have to decide which communication channel to rely on when organising communication among employees – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As face-to-face communication is unavailable due to most employees working remotely, the next best thing is video conferencing rather than chat. Dishonest behaviour was prevalent in all experimental treatments but increased as the method of communication became more ‘distant’ and ‘anonymous’,” says Dr. Conrads.

The study was published in the journal of Behavioural and Experimental Economics.

Home Working, News

Outsourcing company BYC Aqua share how to successfully transition to home working

Making the move to home working in the contact centre industry presents a range of unique challenges. BYC Aqua, a proudly South African market leader in Quality Assurance services, has recently completed a successful transition to a 100% remote working strategy for their colleagues, who are now safely working in the confines of their own homes.

To support other businesses considering such a venture, BYC Aqua now a part of the Woven group, share five of their tried and tested tips to minimise potential disruption to service delivery for employers making the move to remote working.

 

1)  Put safety first

 The health and safety of employees and their families should always come first, which is why it is essential to put safeguarding at the top of your list. Monitor all official guidelines in your area and ensure these are communicated with your teams as soon as possible. Create clear lines of communication so that any risks or concerns can be raised and addressed immediately.

 

2)  Communicate as much as possible

 It is vital for employers to be agile and flexible in their approach, plan meticulously and communicate with employees as often as possible through the WFH transition. As processes and guidelines change on a regular basis, ensure team communication is always a priority so any new messaging is provided to all relevant parties in a clear and consistent way. As face-to-face communication is lacking, make a conscious effort to check in with team members as often as you can.

 

3)  Provide effective technology

For remote working to be effective in keeping colleagues safe at home, whilst still being able to successfully service clients and customers, ensure employees have access to efficient hardware, software, telephone and internet access in their homes. There will inevitably be teething problems as teams get settled, so be prepared for these. The more advice and support you can offer throughout the process, the smoother the transition will be.

 

4)  Implement at home set ups in a timely manner

By enabling a quick and efficient shift to working from home, this allows colleagues to continue to demonstrate commitment to service delivery for clients and customers. Plan in very specific detail to ensure the WFH transition moves as quickly as possible to ensure minimal disruption to employees, the business and customers.

 

5)  Use technology to communicate with colleagues

To help create a sense of togetherness amongst colleagues, BYC Aqua utilised its technology to ensure morning huddles and coaching sessions still took place, as well as continuing to focus on colleagues’ quality in a self-motivated and empowered way. Routinely checking in with colleagues helps to forge a sense of belonging and may help to improve mental health during a difficult time.

 

Jackie Naughton, CEO at BYC Aqua said: “In the wake of the outbreak, a swift implementation of our working from home solution was absolutely imperative.

 “As with our parent company, Woven, a move to remote working had long been part of our strategy. We are proud to say that our transition to a remote working environment that simultaneously respects the safeguards expected by our colleagues and feels seamless for our clients has been successfully achieved.

 “In a matter of days, we now have 100% of our South African colleagues working from home. This is testament to the fact that BYC has once again demonstrated its absolute commitment to our service delivery to clients and customers.”

 

BYC Aqua was acquired by Woven Solutions, a UK-based leading outsourcing provider in February 2020. The acquisition helped build Woven’s global presence and capabilities in offering clients unique insights and solutions.

To find out more about Woven and BYC, please visit:
https://wearewoven.com/

https://www.byc.co.za/

Home Working, News

75% of business leaders now feel positive about remote working

Over recent years, remote working has become increasingly popular, as technology has reduced the need for a physical office space for some industries. Many employers and HR professionals also advocate this way of working as an approach to enhance the work-life balance of employees.

As many businesses continue to have staff work remotely in line with government advice, what have they learnt so far? Research conducted with 250 UK SME business owners by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance reveals new perceptions on the remote working of staff.

When the government first advised companies to work from home, just over half (52%) of UK business owners felt positive about their employees carrying out their work remotely. Now several weeks later, three quarters (75%) of business owners feel positive towards staff working from home, and less than seven per cent have any negative feelings towards this.

Despite the research from Hitachi Capital showing that many SME business owners view remote working positively now, many had concerns about this working approach before Covid-19 changed the way that they needed to operate. The top three concerns from business owners were the cost of setting up the business remotely (13%), the performance of staff (9.8%), and the productivity of staff (9.2%).

Performance of staff was the biggest worry for recruitment businesses and the business services sector, and the cost of setting up the business remotely was the biggest concern for the logistics industry.

Nearly half (44%) of businesses had to create a work from home policy for the first time to react to the Covid-19 pandemic. Manufacturing businesses (24%) and businesses in Scotland (11%) were the least likely to have an existing policy in place.

On average, of the SME businesses still trading in the UK, over three quarters (77%) of their workforce were operating from home in the first lockdown phase. In the South East this figure rises to 85 per cent, however in Wales this statistic drops down to 32 per cent.

An overwhelming 73 per cent of business owners agree that working from home during this period would help their business to become more successful in the future. Furthermore, 79 per cent of SME businesses plan to implement some form of work from home policy following the lockdown period.

A work from home policy is most likely to be implemented by logistics businesses (96.8%) and least likely to be implemented by manufacturing businesses (50%).

The remote working study by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance also revealed that the top positive outcome for SME businesses during this experience is that it will enable more staff to work from home in the future (47%).

“Generally speaking, SME businesses in the UK have been cautious to implement a work from home policy up until now. Our study shows a new response to remote working which hints at what the future of the workplace might look like post-Covid-19,” comments Andy Dodd, Managing Director at Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance.

“Of course, the benefits of remote working provide employees with a better work-life balance, the positive impact for both employee and employer through greater trust and empowerment cannot be understated. Business owners now have greater confidence that employees can perform successfully from their own home and have the technology they need to operate remotely. This demonstrates that the UK SME market who have adapted during this period, can seek to build more resilient businesses in the future.”

To keep business running successfully away from the office, SME business owners are keen to keep employee engagement high and to do so they are keeping employees communicating as often as possible through channels such as Skype, Zoom or Microsoft Teams (49%).

Additionally, business owners themselves are becoming more hands on with projects day-to-day (38%) and trying to keep the office culture alive with social events such as virtual yoga and team lunches (36%). SME business owners also considered it important to make sure that staff are not burning out or over working during this time (34%).

Home Working, News, Wellbeing at Work

Why back pain may not be caused by posture

As many people work from home during this pandemic, desk workers are keen to improve their home set-up, to find the ‘ideal’ chair and desk, to get everything perfectly aligned. However, new research has revealed that back pain is not caused by your posture.

To look into the true link between posture and back pain, Tide collaborated with expert Rushabh Savla, Tide member and founder of R&D Physio to discuss the true link between posture and back pain.

Rushabh, who is a specialist in shoulder, neck and head injuries, commented:

“Perfect posture doesn’t exist – If ‘poor posture’ was the only reason for your pain, you’d be in pain permanently. The problem is the amount of time we spend in a particular posture, so a more likely cause of your back or neck pain is lack of movement.

“In the tissues of our body are sensors called ‘acid sensing ion channels’ (ASICs). These sensors detect changes in pH – how acid or alkali the tissue is. If we don’t move, these sensors produce a sensation of discomfort or pain. I’ve set out six of the gentle stretches we recommend…

  1. Prone Cobra, on elbows

· Press down firmly through your palms and elbows.

· Keep your hips / pelvis on the ground.

2. Child’s Pose

· Lower your bottom as close to your heels as possible while stretching your arms out in front.

3. Child’s Pose with rotation

· A great variation to stretch your obliques and back muscles.

· Like the child’s pose, lower your bottom to the heels.

· Then take one hand and reach diagonally across.

· The other hand can rest on the lower back.

4. Bent leg spinal twists

· With feet together and knees bent, take your legs down to one side and hold.

· Then switch sides.

5. The Rocker

· Hold your knees together and pull them close into your chest.

· If you can’t wrap your hand around your legs, use a towel.

· Then rock gently back and forward, side to side, and make circles with your lower back on the floor.

6. Diaphragm Stretch, or deep breathing

· Lie comfortably with one palm on the chest and the other on the belly.

· Take long slow deep breaths.

· This opens up the abdominal area, and gently stretches the deep back and core muscles.

Liza Haskell, Interim VP of People and Culture at Tide, added:

“As people continue to work from home during this pandemic, the wellbeing, health and productivity of all employees is of the utmost importance. In particular, many desk workers are looking to further their home set-up to get everything perfectly aligned in a bid to avoid back pain or discomfort from prolonged sitting.

“As well as taking these practical set-up measures, as lack of movement is more likely cause of your back or neck pain than poor posture itself, it’s also extremely important to actively encourage your remote workforce to take regular breaks to keep their backs moving as they work from home. The 6 gentle stretches, as instructed by Rushabh, are a great way to do so”.

For more information, visit: https://www.tide.co/blog/productivity-wellbeing/why-back-pain-not-caused-by-posture/