The record number of older people in employment[1] are being urged to make their eye health a priority as pension entitlement ages increase.

Ageing working population

Official figures show that there are now more than 1.2 million working Brits over the age of 65[2], with a further 500,000 expected to be in employment by 2030[3], as people continue to live longer and healthier lives.

As the over 65s are almost twice as likely to develop an eye health condition[4], such as glaucoma or cataracts, that could significantly hinder their ability to do their job effectively, Specsavers and sight loss charity, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), are campaigning to urge Britain’s ageing workforce to take their eye health seriously.

Eye condition’s effect on career of Hairy Biker

With research showing that one in four people are not having an eye test every two years[5], as recommended by the College of Optometrists, celebrity chef and Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers, 61, is backing the campaign ahead of National Eye Health Week (24-30 September) after discovering that he had a serious eye condition that could have had a huge impact on his career.

Dave says:

‘I was shocked when I found out that I’d developed glaucoma when I was just 51. Thankfully it was spotted during a routine eye test but if it had gone unnoticed, I could have gone blind, and that would have had a huge impact on how I do the job I love so much.

‘Like so many people, my career is my passion and it’s so hard to be able to imagine doing all the things I love to do if I couldn’t see, whether it’s riding my bike, reading an autocue or preparing ingredients. The thought that I could have lost my sight is really scary. As we get older lots of things need closer attention, not least our eyes.’

Support for employees and employers

RNIB Interim CEO, Eliot Lyne, said:

‘With the right support, people with sight loss can continue working, and if you’re an employer, RNIB and other organisations can help you to properly support a member of staff who is losing their sight.

‘Advances in technology mean that blind and partially sighted people can now overcome many of the barriers to work that they have faced in the past, and government schemes, like Access to Work, mean that many of the costs can be met.’

The economic effects of sight loss

The See the Light report[6] from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment determined that more needs to be done to make eye health a priority. According to the report, the number of people in the UK that will be affected by sight loss is predicted to increase by more than 10% by 2020[7], rising to more than 40% by 2030, due largely to our ageing demographic.

Research estimates that the total cost of sight loss to our economy is in the region of £28 billion a year[8] which is projected to increase to £30.8 billion by 2020[9].

Doug Perkins, Specsavers founder, still working at 75 years

Specsavers founder Doug Perkins, 75, an optometrist of more than 50 years and who co-runs the joint-venture family business, wholeheartedly agrees: ‘More needs to be done to make eye health a priority in the UK. Britain’s baby boomers are finding a new lease of life in the workplace. However, ageing can come hand-in-hand with various ailments that, if left untreated, could cause sight loss.

‘An eye test can help detect conditions including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts. It also provides a window on wider health, helping spot indicators of other issues, such as diabetes, that could hinder older people from working as long or as effectively as they might want to.’

Simple solutions

Specsavers Corporate Eyecare offers eVouchers as a simple and cost-effective way for employers to provide workplace eye care. eVouchers can be purchased and distributed online, as required, so the employer can easily manage the provision and cost. Available specifically for requirements like DSE, Driver, and Safety eye care, the eVouchers enable employers to effectively meet all health, safety and wellbeing responsibilities.

For more information eye care in the workplace, visit www.specsavers.co.uk/corporate

Smarterly, the online savings & investment platform, is raising funds via crowdfunding to support its continued growth. With existing high-profile clients, it follows in the footsteps of major fintechs like Perkbox and Revolut by raising investment through crowdfunding through Seedrs.

Focused on the workplace, Smarterly supports companies with their financial wellbeing programmes and helps employees save with the convenience of payroll deduction, often with a contribution boost from their employer as a complement to pensions.

“Financial Advisers are not interested in giving advice to people with less than £100k in liquid assets so the average consumer gets caught in the growing advice gap. Research highlights nearly half of employees feel their workplaces should do more to help make them better informed about their finances,” says Phil Hollingdale, Smarterly co-founder.

ISAs are increasingly seen as an attractive alternative to pensions as millennials prioritise getting on the housing ladder and higher earners are restricted by tightening limits on pension savings. As a result, many companies are now considering introducing Workplace ISAs.

Low rates on savings stimulates interest in investing, but choosing investments is daunting and confusing. Smarterly’s digital platform makes it easy with independent comparison tables covering over 90 investment providers and ready-made portfolios to suit different people’s needs. Its technology uses data analytics and algorithms to continuously design and monitor portfolios and provide regular alerts to ensure portfolios stay on track and investors get best potential outcomes.

To find out more visit: http://smarterly.seedrs.com/ where you can also pre-register your interest in the Smarterly crowdfunding campaign.

Kay Phelps is the consummate PR professional – and she’s increasingly in demand.

Dedicated, respected and with a long career specialising in the HR sector, Kay has worked with some of the world’s largest HR and benefits companies, and her company, PR in HR, is  in such demand that she doesn’t need to advertise – all clients come through recommendation.

It’s this experience that means Kay is being asked to help HR teams communicate, and there are two key drivers – to engage internal audiences better and manage media reputations.

PR and HR are Evolving

24/7 social media and review sites like Glassdoor are giving employees a loud voice, amid a growing worldwide media appetite for stories about employees, perks and interview quirks. HR Managers are inadvertently becoming a key part of supporting the ‘employer brand’, perhaps acquiring it fully or working alongside communications teams. This new function may not have been actively sought out – but it’s a role that HR people are keen to take responsibility for or actively participate in to get the right results.

Kay explains:

“For anyone who doesn’t think HR makes a difference to a company’s reputation, I’d mention some of the high profile consumer brands that have featured negatively in the news recently. There is an indelible impression for some companies based entirely on high-profile negative coverage surrounding how staff are treated.  Meanwhile, others are seen as very desirable employers, thanks to headline-generating perks and positive company and employee communications. These companies attract valuable, positive press coverage which has a huge impact on talent attraction and retention. Reinforcing strong employer branding is proven to reduce employee turnover by 28%. That’s something HR is keen to drive.”

So as well as traditional PR representation, Kay’s now turning her experience to help HR leaders manage internal and external communications in a stronger way.

Communications training for HR Teams

Kay believes that communications training adds value by equipping HR teams to excel at their primary role and empowering them to handle any ‘added’ employer branding responsibilities. Kay explains:

“Clear, concise communications are essential for anyone in an HR role, a fact acknowledged by the CIPD. It’s not just about improving press perceptions of the employer, but also about helping improve HR communication. I help HR people to ‘own’ their communication, so they sound clearer in every interaction,making their points to different audiences, internally or externally.”

Training feedback from an Imperial College participant sums it up:

“I enjoyed the training session; it gave me an opportunity to think about communications, goals, engaging others and working as a team – as well as being a good opportunity to listen to my colleagues’ ideas and perspectives.”

While Kay believes she is the only communications trainer that understands HR nuances and issues so can directly support the HR teams, she expects to see more deliberate PR and HR collaboration going forwards. Some brands are already leveraging HR issues for massive PR gains.

The impact of issues like gender equality on employer brand

Car manufacturer Audi used the Super Bowl to run an ad that focused on gender pay equality. The media attention the ad created ensured the brand was talked about for days – doubling the value of the prestigious advertising slot – while cementing the company’s reputation as an equal opportunities employer. Kay says:

“PR and HR are a natural fit, and the two disciplines have much to learn from each other. While one knows what the media wants and how to communicate, the other knows employee and employer needs.“

In a talent-driven market, employees want to work for companies with a strong employer brand and increasingly, conscious consumers want to support companies with a strong employer brand and ethical work practices. Companies who get their HR right can leverage that in their communications – while attracting and retaining the best talent.

Communication skills training adds huge value to the HR function, raising their profile as the link between the boardroom and their employees. That isn’t just good for PR and HR – it’s good for business.

To learn more about HR Communications Training Courses, visit Kay’s website: https://www.prinhr.co.uk/hr-training-2/

Kayleigh Alexandra discusses why traditional employment is not necessarily the best route for Millenials – and why sometimes buying a business is their best option

Regardless of what you think of them, there’s no denying that the millennial generation is facing some major challenges. Economic uncertainty rumbles on, wages stagnate, investment seems incredibly risky, and committing to a drawn-out creation project can seem like inviting fate to deplete your savings account. It’s time for a new approach to business.

Fortunately enough, having the incredible possibilities of the internet at their beck and call gives the aspiring millennial just what they need to plot a route ahead (even as that same technology gives them cause to fear for their prospects) — and one such route that continues to gain traction is that of buying an existing business. It’s really that simple: you stump up the asking price, assume all the ownership responsibilities, and take things from there.

Now, buying a business certainly isn’t a magic solution to financial woes (it isn’t even always advisable), but it’s a tremendous option to have on the table for any millennial aspiring to achieve some kind of security within their lifetime. Here’s why:

It’s easier and faster than starting from scratch

Those who grew up in a time when the future seemed incredibly bright might have been very focused on patiently building up their careers — finding secure positions and steadily moving up to the managerial level with pay increases and perk improvements along the way. That seems a very questionable approach to many today. Success seems so fickle and the world moves so quickly that millennials want to take meaningful action ASAP.

After all, the faster they move, the sooner they’ll succeed (or fail, but that’s also a valuable experience). By stepping into the shoes of a successful business owner, you can get a trial by fire, so to speak. If you can handle the heat, you’ll flourish, and if you can’t, you’ll at least learn more about your weaknesses and limitations.

Factor in the very reasonable cost of a basic functional ecommerce store and you have an environment closer to that of a house-flipping marketplace. Pick up a store, improve it, then sell it and move on to a fresh store. Startup time is greatly reduced and buyers can find lessons to learn from the sites they pick up.

Online businesses can easily be adjusted

In the real estate world, new builds are so expensive for two big reasons: firstly, they follow the latest design philosophies, and secondly, they provide completely fresh starts. You can move into a new build and straight away start turning it into your ideal home without needing to strip away any old parts, styles, or customisations. Older (but larger) properties are cheaper because they require work — electrical wiring might need to be redone, for instance.

However, in a time of online-only businesses that simply don’t need physical premises, this simply isn’t an issue. The most analogous element is the content management system (CMS) upon which a site is built, because a site built on a very old CMS is likely to need some updating to make it viable today, but the online business is both fairly new and dominated by standard systems — in fact, you’ll have a hard time finding an offered business that doesn’t run on a solid platform.

Given a decent CMS, you have total freedom to overhaul the business you’ve purchased. Change the theme, alter the fonts, overhaul the imagery, even swap the domain name (though that isn’t generally advisable since existing domain names have search ranking value). Within the course of a day, you can buy an ecommerce store and completely rebrand it.

Younger people want flexible working

Millennials have different priorities from older generations. They’ve grown up with (or even alongside) the internet, and it has massively informed how they view the world and form aspirations. Settling down in one place and starting a family doesn’t feel like a pressing priority to the average millennial since they can so easily target the itinerant lifestyle, staying connected while taking a laptop and a smartphone across the world.

With no immediate desire to set down roots, then, why would they want to get tied down to the role of a traditional business owner (working a ludicrous number of hours each week) or even a standard full-time worker trapped in an office? They can simply go online, research some local businesses for sale, find something compatible with their interests and intentions, and pick up a working online store (either with supply relationships already established or with a dropshipping arrangement in place). Following that, they can maintain it from anywhere with internet access.

You’re probably familiar with the oft-cited concept of the ‘gig economy’: an employment market in which the traditional 37.5-hour workweek is dead and employees work for multiple employers through more modular arrangements. While that model is rife with employee exploitation, the entrepreneurial freelancer can influence their destiny to a much greater extent.

As full-time work comes to feel less rewarding and secure, other avenues inevitably become more viable, and the world of online businesses (driven mainly by ecommerce) offers a fresh direction. Through buying a business, a millennial can assume direct control over their career — who in that situation wouldn’t find that attractive?

Kayleigh Alexandra is a content writer for Micro Startups — a site dedicated to helping startups and entrepreneurs grow their businesses and achieve their goals. Visit the blog for the latest entrepreneurial news and side hustle tips, and be sure to follow us on Twitter @getmicrostarted.

Research reveals public sector workers are more downcast than those in the private sector

Despite the perception of an ‘easy life’ for employees in the public sector, and demanding millenials, new research reveals than many of the UK’s public sector workers are miserable, far more so than private sector workers, and it is Generation X who are most feeling the strain

42% of public sector workers feel job affects home life

A worrying 42 per cent of UK public sector employees told researchers that their situation at work is hurting their ability to be happy away from work, whereas only 29 per cent of private sector workers felt their workplace was having this impact on their home life.

Researchers revealed than a ‘Generation X’ man working in ‘operations’ for the public sector, was likely to be among the unhappiest workers in the UK – and those who work in the public sector are more likely to have a poor work-life balance and a job that is having a negative effect on their physical health.

The in-depth survey was conducted by workplace culture specialist O.C. Tanner, which questioned 476 UK adults working at companies with over 500 employees about how their job impacts their health.

“Despite the latest Office of National Statistics figures showing that sickness absence levels are now at an all-time low, many UK workers are still having a challenging time at work. Public sector workers are amongst the most unhappy with their jobs putting considerable strain on their physical, mental and emotional health”,

says Robert Ordever, Managing Director of O.C. Tanner Europe.

Men more unhappy than women

UK men are also unhappier in the workplace than women with more men admitting that their job has a negative impact on their physical health and is hurting their ability to be happy in other aspects of their lives. In fact, nearly a third of men feel as though their job is having a detrimental effect on their health.

It is women who seem to be enjoying a better work-life balance with 59 per cent stating that their job allows them to effectively balance their work and personal lives compared with 54 per cent of men.

Generation X-ers are Struggling Most – ‘Moaning Millenials’ are actually happiest age group in work

Despite the much maligned millenials being labelled as ‘demanding’, ‘moaning’ and ‘entitled’ in the workplace, these popular stereotypes were not borne out by research.

In fact, if you class yourself as ‘Generation X’, chances are you feel more miserable than Baby Boomers and Millennials. Over one third of ‘Generation X’ workers (born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s) state that their job is damaging their health compared with just one quarter of Millennials.

“The younger generation seems to be having a far happier time in the workplace”, says Ordever. “This could be for many reasons including Millennials’ propensity to ‘job hop’ or organisations doing more to cater for the younger generation. Whatever the reason, it’s important that companies don’t ignore older workers when it comes to culture and working conditions.” 

Those who work in ‘operations’ and ‘IT’ most unhappy

In terms of job functions, UK workers in ‘operations’ are the most unhappy, however when looking at employees globally, those working in customer services followed by IT are the most downcast. Both these job functions were reported as having the greatest negative impact on workers’ health.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, part-time workers believe that they have a better work-life balance than those who work full-time, however salaried workers are happier than those on an hourly wage. In fact, 37 per cent of hourly wage earners admit that their job has a negative impact on their health compared with just 29 per cent of salaried workers.

Ordever concludes,

“With workers’ health directly linked to happiness levels, it’s time for organisations to invest in a workplace culture that makes staff wellbeing a top priority. By encouraging a good work-life balance and a ‘stress-less’ working environment where staff appreciation is king, a happy, engaged and healthier workforce will result.”

Health Assured CEO & wellbeing expert David Price discusses 5 strategies that can help HR Managers keep employees motivated as the Summer weather starts to fade

During autumn the seasonal shift away from summer and the arrival of colder weather can leave employees feeling unmotivated. To avoid the seasonal change having a detrimental impact on your business, here are five steps HR and business leaders can take to ensure employees’ spirits and productivity levels remain high, even as the temperature drops.

1.   Introduce brief, concise ‘buzz meetings’

As the days become shorter, employees making the morning commute are likely to be arriving in the dark. This can impact alertness and employees may need longer to get into their stride as the day progresses. With this in mind, you should avoid planning any prolonged or arduous activities at the beginning of the day. This includes any large team meetings, which commonly take place first thing in the morning, as these can cause even the most diligent employees to switch off under the circumstances. Instead, you can replace these with brief and concise ‘buzz meetings’ which focus solely on essential information to get staff engaged in the morning and ready for the day ahead.

2.   Annual leave may be spent, so offer inexpensive perks

It is not uncommon for employees to use a large amount of annual leave during the summer months, leaving many with little opportunity to take a break from work until the new year. This can often be demoralising for staff and you should consider how introducing performance targets and providing inexpensive perks as rewards can offer a break from the standard working routine. Measures such as these can help motivate staff and increase performance, whilst also fostering a sense of camaraderie where team targets are measured.

3.   Don’t let cold premises lead to frosty relationships

The colder weather can, unfortunately, create significant issues and you should listen to any employee complaints regarding temperature, ensuring central heating remains operational and that temperatures are reasonable at all times. You should specifically look out for employees who may be adversely affected by the low temperature, such as those who are pregnant or suffer from a disability, and consider moving them away from doors and windows which can create a draught.

4.   Make sure staff rest areas are fit for purpose

Another impact of the weather becoming less welcoming is that staff will be less inclined to go outside on their lunch breaks. With this in mind, you can check that staff rooms and kitchens are up to scratch and fit for purpose dependent on the amount of employees in your organisation. Having a clean and relaxing environment in which all staff are able to enjoy their lunch will help them make the most of their breaks and prevent the unhealthy practice of ‘working through lunch’ which can lead to instances of burnout.

5.   Capitalise on Themed Seasonal Events

Finally, Autumn also offers you the opportunity to host a series of themed work social events based around events such as Halloween, Bonfire Night or Children in Need. If organised appropriately, these events can help lift employee’s spirits and improve relationships between co-workers who are able to communicate in a less formal setting. All events should be inclusive and non-discriminatory, avoiding these centering around alcohol consumption as this could exclude certain employees with differing religious beliefs.

Competing to land a job in the UK is tough – although a new study from StandOut CV reveals it’s significantly tougher if you don’t have a “British sounding” name on your CV.

The CV advice site took one good CV from 6 major job sectors, and created 2 separate versions of each that were almost identical – except each had one differentiating factor – the two were  headed with a different name.

CV 1 was headed with Adam Smith

CV 2 was headed with Ravindra Thalwal

Each CV was used to apply for 50 similar jobs in the same field and experience level, with care taken to match location and salary expectations each time.

Applications were spread evenly across the major UK job websites and staggered equally over the course of one working week.

Essentially, everything about these applications were the same… except the candidate name

What does the research show about names on CVs?

Overall, researchers found that having a non-British name makes candidates less likely to receive a response from recruiters when applying for a job in the UK, although the results varied by sector.

In the Sales and Admin fields in particular, the non-British named CV received less than half the amount of responses than it’s British named twin.

In Finance it is almost as tough for non-Brit’s, with Adam’s CV receiving 34 responses out of 50 applications, whilst Ravindra’s identical CV only getting 21 out of 50.

The graduate sector seems to be a slightly more level playing field, although still tipped in favour of the British-named CV, with Adam’s CV achieving a 78% success rate and Ravindra’s just slightly behind with 72% of applications getting a response.

The only sector where the Non-British CV found more success was Technology, with the British named CV receiving 39 responses from 50 applications, and the non-British CV receiving 42 responses from the same amount of applications. This translates to a 6% increase in success rate for the non-British named CV in the Tech sector.

StandOut CV director Andrew Fennell commented;

“Many of our clients complain of discrimination against non-British names in the job market, so we thought we would try to learn if there was any truth in these claims. Sadly, the results do seem to suggest that job seekers with non-British sounding names don’t seem to be getting fair treatment.”

“It was actually quite shocking to see that in some cases, when we applied to a job with the non-British named CV and didn’t get a response – we would apply the next day with the same CV but headed with a British name, and it got a fairly rapid response”

“The graduate and tech sectors seemed to buck the trend – maybe it’s because those sectors are a little more forward thinking? We are hoping to carry out a bigger study soon to get some conclusive answers, as we’ve only really worked with a relatively small data set thus far.”

UK employees seem to take a more lenient approach than the European average to questionable workplace practices, according to a survey by the Institute of Business Ethics, which looks at employees’ experiences of ethics at their place of work.

An important part of the survey is to establish whether employees are able to identify ethical issues relating to everyday choices that they might have to face in the workplace and whether they apply ethical values to their decision-making.

To answer these questions, respondents to this survey were presented with nine common work-related scenarios and were asked whether or not they considered them acceptable.

Pretending to be sick to take a day off; minor fiddling/exaggeration of travel expenses and charging personal entertainment to expenses are considered the most unacceptable practices in the UK, in line with views from employees across Europe. But a higher percentage of UK respondents say these practices are acceptable. One of these issues (making personal phone calls from work) is considered acceptable by more than half of UK respondents (53%) – the first time in the history of the survey that any issues has been reported as acceptable by more than 50% of UK respondents.

IBE’s Director, Philippa Foster Back CBE says:

“Although some of these issues may seem trivial, respondents’ answers are an important indicator of changes in acceptability of practices, as well as where employees’ ethical boundaries lie. Employees either ignoring or being unable to identify the ethical dimensions of a specific situation increases the ethics risk for organisations.”

The Ethics at Work: 2018 survey of employees is the only one of its kind covering Europe which provides real insight into employees’ views on ethics across all sectors and job roles. This new report by the IBE looks specifically at the data from UK employees and compares it with other countries.

The survey, first introduced in 2005, asks employees how they experience ethical dilemmas in their day-to-day working lives. It looks at whether they have witnessed misconduct; whether they have reported it; and what stops them reporting ethical violations. It provides real insight into what supports employees in doing the right thing.

Pressure to compromise ethical standards has risen.

One in eight (12%) respondents in the UK say that they have felt some form of pressure to compromise their organisation’s ethical standards (compared with 16% across Europe). But the UK figure has increased from 8% in 2015. For UK employees, the main source of pressure to compromise ethical standards comes from being under-resourced.

“Although we see this increase in pressure across other countries surveyed, this is particularly relevant to the UK as we are about to enter a period of uncertainty regarding Brexit,” says Philippa Foster Back CBE. “Employees are under more stress to deliver than ever before, and this is increasing the pressure to then cut ethical corners. These figures should be seen as a warning sign to organisations that they need to be more supportive of their employees when it comes to making ethical decisions.”

More encouragingly, a quarter (24%) of UK employees say they have been aware of misconduct, which is below the European average of 30%). However, the overall percentage of UK employees who have been aware of misconduct is the highest it has been since 2005.

Two thirds (67%) of those who had witnessed misconduct had raised their concerns compared with the European average of 54%. This is a 12 percentage point increase from the UK’s 2015 figure and shows an increased willingness of employees to raise concerns.

“Global movements like #metoo and #timesup are having ramifications throughout the workplace,” says Philippa Foster Back, “not just in terms of people speaking up about harassment, but in feeling empowered to raise concerns about other issues. We hope that this is the beginning of speaking up being seen as business as usual.”

Poor management is the number one cause behind staff leaving, despite high employment rates and economic growth.

Employment rates are at a forty year high, and the legal sector traditionally has one of the lowest turnover rates of any industry. However with new technology and professional networking sites increasing in popularity finding a new job has become easier than ever before, meaning companies must work even harder to keep staff.

The cost of turnover can be both financial and personal, forcing companies to spend on average £30,000 replacing a single member of staff, as well as taking a toll on office morale and overall team skills. It takes around twenty eight weeks for a new recruit to get up to speed, let alone rise to the level of ability that their predecessor had.

One of the best ways to reduce this is to invest in employees, giving them incentives to stay as well as learning skills both they and the company can profit from.

Mike Smith, MD of Ripley Training offers this piece of advice to businesses:

‘We find legal firms invest time and money in developing and refining the legal skills and knowledge of senior fee-earners however leadership and management skills are often over looked leading to higher levels of turnover and reduced levels of team performance’

If staff are invested in, it makes them feel valued, increases their productivity, and makes new job opportunities less attractive.

Factors that can contribute to employee dissatisfaction can be office culture, opportunities, and recognition, all things under the control of management. But something that’s usually overlooked is the management team itself. Bosses who have poor delegation skills, overwork employees, and fail to reward good work drive people away from otherwise exciting companies because they’re who the employees answer to. But these are all things that can be corrected, or improved on.

Mike says:

‘Investing time and energy into your team members will pay dividends many times over and they will see higher levels team motivation and financial performance as a result.’

Opposed to bad bosses, good bosses listen, offer feedback, and manage their time effectively. Having good managers in your company will help things run smoothly, lift morale and result in less staff turnover. The average legal employee is worth around £40,000 in terms of productivity to their firm, which could be raised even higher under a manager who helps bring out the best of those around them.