Tag Archives: employees

Mental Health, News

62 per cent of employees suffering from mental health issues, survey finds

New research involving 150 HR leaders has found that 3 in 5 UK workers have experienced mental health issues since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The report authors, leading Accountancy and Finance, HR and Data Analytics recruiter, Wade Macdonald, and workplace law specialist, Doyle Clayton, have raised concerns of an increase in known incidences as a result of the current lockdown measures.

Since March, supporting employee health and wellbeing amidst the global pandemic has risen to the top of employers’ agendas. This research explores how senior teams are adapting, managing and responding to this unprecedented welfare crisis.

Overall care

Of those surveyed, it was found that 94 per cent of respondents have put measures into place, proactive and reactive, to protect staff welfare. The types of support vary significantly from businesses to business however, the most popular form of support is Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) (88 per cent), followed by self-service platforms (55 per cent).

Some businesses have chosen to go the extra mile and offer personal medical support including access to counselling services (33 per cent), coaching (21 per cent) and a private doctor (16 per cent).

Furlough

Brought in to ease the financial pressures of the pandemic, the government’s furlough scheme was welcomed with open arms by many businesses nationwide, with 72 per cent of companies utilising the scheme so far. Of the 150 HR leaders surveyed, 60 per cent state to have used, or be using, the furlough scheme.

However, furlough has added extra strain on employee’s mental health with many citing a fear of the unknown, job insecurity and further isolation. To combat this, a large percentage (83 per cent) of employers are using multiple channels of regular communication with furloughed employees. The most popular being phone calls (54 per cent), video calls (41 per cent), company newsletters (39 per cent) and virtual company social gatherings (32 per cent).

Encouragingly, over a third of businesses ensured that furloughed employees were still given access to training days whilst away from the day-to-day working routine. A very pragmatic use of time, enabling employees to build upon skills and stay active, engaged and positive.

Returning to work

The return to the normal routine of office life is overwhelmingly low on many employers’ lists, with only 30 per cent planning on going back in when it is possible to do so. The need to adapt and flex to working from home over the past eight months has begun a nationwide debate as to whether this is the death of the office space as we know it.

On one hand it may be; 96 per cent of employers believe that remote working has no negative impact on productivity, and less than 20 per cent of employees have requested to return to the office on a full-time basis.

However, as it has been widely discussed over the past few months, complete cut-off from the office environment can lead to further complications such as isolation, anxiety, depression and a severe reduction of work/life balance.

This argument has meant that, undoubtedly, our working practices will follow a much more flexible, hybrid approach post-pandemic. 90 per cent of those surveyed have stated that the choice to remote work would continue post-pandemic, with 77 per cent stating flexible working options would become the norm.

Ongoing care

Chris Goulding, Managing Director of Wade Macdonald, said: “COVID-19 has created a host of unprecedented pressures for businesses and individuals alike. While economists could have predicted the large-scale financial difficulties the world was about to witness, no one could have been prepared for the physical and mental burdens that would follow.

“The recognition of the strain the last eight months has had on internal teams has meant that a large proportion of employers are looking to seriously ramp up their support efforts indefinitely.”

76 per cent of respondents stated that their business intends to continue offering welfare support post-pandemic through EAP (88 per cent), training (44 per cent), counselling (29 per cent) and private doctors (15 per cent).

Tina Wisener, Partner of Doyle Clayton, said: “What is most encouraging throughout these findings is that the importance placed on staff welfare support is not simply a fad because of the times we live in, but something that holds gravitas for many employers now and going forward. A welcome change for businesses and their teams across the country and hopefully, the right steps forward to a much happier, more resilient workforce.”

Business Research, News

Claiming to be patriotic can improve a company’s performance

Companies that operate on a national level can boost their success by stressing their contribution to national interests, according to new research by Vienna University of Economics and Business.

The research, conducted by Professors Alexander Mohr and Christian Schumacker, found that companies which emphasized their commitment to act in line with the national interest perform better under certain conditions.

This is because nationalist sentiment can affect the employee’s identification and motivation to work for the firm, as well as consumers’ willingness to buy a firm’s products and services.
The researchers analysed corporate communications using statements made by the CEOs of US firms during 20,458 conference calls with investors and analysts, and looked at 12,260 press releases issued by these companies in the period from 2002 to 2015.

“From what we can see, strong populist sentiment in a firm’s home country can lead governments, consumers, and employees to expect a stronger commitment to national interests on the part of the company. Companies are rewarded by these groups if they claim to live up to this commitment. In contrast, a lack of patriotism might be sanctioned, governments might cancel tax discounts, employees might quit their jobs, and consumers might boycott companies’ products and services,” says Professor Mohr.

However, the results also show that the use of patriotic rhetoric has negative effects on performance for companies that depend strongly on foreign markets.
These firms are rewarded in their home markets but, at the same time, might be sanctioned by governments, consumers, and employees in other countries.

“Under certain circumstances, catering to nationalism and populism may be beneficial for firm’s operation mainly in the domestic market, but we see that this strategy backfires for companies with significant operations abroad, for instance export activities or international branch locations,” Professor Mohr adds.

The research was published in the journal Strategy Science.

Business Research, News

Finance employees are the least trustworthy

Employees in the financial sector are 30 per cent less trustworthy than other industries, according to new research by the University of Cologne.

The study, conducted by Professors Matthias Heinz and Matthias Sutter, measured the trustworthiness of students and found that those who were less trustworthy ended up in the financial sector after graduation.

In order to show this, the researchers identified the degree of trustworthiness of business and economics students several years before they entered the job market by analysing their career aspirations, social preferences and personality traits.

They then followed up on the students’ professional specialisation as well as their job placement after graduation and found that most of those who were considered untrustworthy, had entered the financial industry.

“A well-functioning financial market is of the utmost importance for social welfare, however, the industry struggles with widespread misconduct and corporate scandals which compromises its benefits for society. Our paper argues that this is as a result of the companies selecting candidates with little trustworthiness,” says Professor Heinz.

The research also highlights that that companies within the financial industry do not screen out less trustworthy individuals, in fact, it seems that the opposite is the case.

The researchers suggest that policy interventions might be needed to change incentive structures in the financial industry to ensure that they attract more trustworthy and pro-social candidates in the future.

Professor Matthias Heinz and Matthias Sutter are scientists at the University of Cologne and the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy.

Business Research, News

It’s harder to progress at work in prestigious companies, but promotion comes with a greater reward – new research into football reveals why

Highly talented workers join prestigious firms, according to new research by the University of Cologne, Bielefeld, Braunschweig and the California State University, East Bay.
The study, conducted by Professor Oliver Gurtler, confirms that it is harder to advance in a competitive firm, but the promotion is higher valued by the labour market.

This leads the most talented workers to join prestigious firms in an attempt to receive promotion, while less talented workers join less competitive companies where their promotion is more likely but less rewarded by the labour market.

The researchers used data from players who were newly transferred to the German Bundesliga between 2010 and 2017. They examine how the decision of players to join a specific club affects their chances of promotion and the development of their market values.

“We used football data in our analysis because the availability of detailed information regarding players’ characteristics and their performance allowed us to test the implications of out model in a very clean and direct way,” says Professor Gurtler.

Being promoted and receiving playing time is shown to be harder on talented rosters. Those players who still get promoted despite facing strong intra-club competition see their market value to increase the most. The positive signal of job promotion is the biggest for the youngest workers, as their talent is relatively unknown.

“Workers face different challenges in different firms – in some, workers may find it relatively easy to progress since the level of competition is low and while at first this seems beneficial, other potential employees would not be overly impressed due to the lack of competition,” says Professor Gurtler.

Deutscher, C., Gürtler, M., Gürtler, O., & DeVaro, J. (2020). Firm choice and career success-theory and evidence. European Economic Review, 103470.

News

Commute, not Covid, main reason employees are avoiding offices

– Only one in four cite health concerns as their main reason for not wanting to return to the office
– 70% say loss of work-life balance and commuting again are their main issues
– Two-thirds of people think they are more productive working at home rather than the office

Nottingham, UK. 20th August 2020: Employees worried about returning to the office post-lockdown are most concerned about work-life balance and the daily commute, rather than their health, according to research from absence intelligence company e-days.

Whereas only a quarter of employees are most worried about potential health implications, results of a snapshot poll of 100 workers show that 7 out of 10 of us are more concerned with impact to work-life balance (37%) or the office commute (34%). The research follows the change in government advice on 1 August 2020 meaning employers can make their own decisions about staff returning safely to work.

Respondents were asked to choose between ‘health implications’, ‘commute’, ‘work/life balance’ and ‘routine’ as the area they are most worried about in returning to their place of work. The results come as analysis from US bank Morgan Stanley showed only one-third of UK white-collar employees have gone back to work, lagging far behind their European counterparts, where twice as many have done so. A previous e-days survey showed that 1 in 3 UK workers are ‘reluctant to return’ to office spaces at all now that lockdown measures have been eased, and that 63% felt they were more productive working from home anyway.

Work-life balance is key to employee wellbeing and helping avoid potential burnout. Enabling employees to spread their annual leave throughout the year is just one of the ways e-days helps to prevent burnout. e-days also offers direct health & wellbeing advice from the NHS through its NHS Wellbeing Module including how to manage sleep and tiredness.

Steve Arnold, CEO of e-days, commented: “As more staff return to work, companies need to ensure the time employees do spend in the office is as stress-free as possible. This means being aware of what your staff member’s concerns actually are and how you can help address them. We have e-days customers already using the platform to register who is in the office and who is not, to help address concerns around social distancing. Building in more flexibility to where people do their best work, or making sure that those who like to start earlier or finish later are allowed to do so will also help. And with COVID-19 already restricting how employees spend their free time, managing annual leave to ensure a healthy work-life balance has never been more important.”

Absence Management, Business Advice, HR News, News

Half of businesses not ready for safe return to work

Half of companies are not ready for a safe return to work, as they have no way of monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on employees, according to e-days, the absence intelligence platform.

The findings came from an exclusive survey of 100 senior HR executives from well-known global brands by e-days.

The news comes as non-essential retailers in the UK prepare to re-open their doors on 15th June. Stores and shops are expected to put in place stringent physical measures to stop staff or customers being exposed to infection, but HR teams don’t have similar measures in place. In its survey, e-days found that 50% of companies had no way of assessing the impact of Covid-19 on their staff. It also found that many are still relying on paper spreadsheets to log sickness, furlough, and holiday.

In response, e-days has made its sickness management software more widely available to companies, which will help reduce the devastating impact faced by workforces as a result of Covid-19.

The technology, which can integrate with larger company’s existing HR systems if required, allows teams to track and manage, amongst other factors, employee sickness, self-isolation, and furlough. Anyone who displays symptoms can be quickly sent the support they need and told to self-isolate, and simultaneously their team can be alerted to the fact they may have been exposed to the virus. This aims to keep employees as safe as possible and prevent the spread of Covid-19 in offices and workplaces.
e-days has also entered into a partnership with health insurer BHSF to offer an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP); a confidential service that supports employees with any issues that could be affecting their work or personal life. The EAP available via e-days will offer 24/7 telephone counselling and manager support to staff and management alike. Access to an online portal for further health advice will also be available.

Adam Hale, Board Advisor to E-days and Chairman of the ScaleUp Institute, commented: “Early intervention is the only way to avoid long-term damage to your business. Without precise tracking and reporting, your organisation will be unable to spot increased absence and give employees the support they need. I’d urge businesses of all sizes to adopt thorough and reliable sickness management software before they look to bring employees back to a place of work.”

Steve Arnold, e-days’ CEO commented: “Everybody is at risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19; even more so in confined working environments. E-days gives you the case management tools to be proactive and prevent spikes in unplanned sickness absence; alerting managers to workplace Covid-19 cases and helping your team stay safe and productive.”

Healthcare News, Home Working

Explosion in home-working leaving half the workforce in pain

Half of home workers are experiencing physical pain due to a poor home office set-up, a new report reveals.

Major culprits include being forced to use sofas, beds and beanbags instead of desks, less movement due to not having to walk to see colleagues and a lack of ergonomic advice from employers, according to research of 2,000 people.

The ‘Are Home-Workers Sitting Comfortably?’ report by Ascenti, the UK’s leading physiotherapy group, reveals that back, neck, shoulder and hand pain are common among the half (49%) of home workers already experiencing discomfort since they stopped being office-based.

Workplace-induced musculoskeletal pain affected half-a-million UK workers last year, costing businesses £15bn. With the report suggesting a 10-fold rise in home working since the coronavirus outbreak, it is feared this could increase dramatically due to non-ergonomic set-ups.

The sofa is the new ‘seat of choice’ for office workers, the research found, with seven out of 10 (72%) having worked from the couch since the outbreak, while more than half (56%) have used their bed, making them both more popular than the traditional desk (47%).

Younger employees are particularly likely to use alternative work set-ups, with nine out 10 (91%) 16-24 year olds having based their office out of bed, two thirds (65%) on the floor and half (52%) from a beanbag.

The improvised set-ups are the result of half of home workers being unable to access a desk, adjustable chair or separate monitor and keyboard, and many others having to share. Women are particularly likely to miss out and are experiencing more signs of injury as a result.

The good news for employers that are investing into supporting staff with their home-working set-up is that eight out of 10 (85%) would be more likely to want to work for a company like this. The research found that recognising employees’ responsibilities at home (28%), providing a work computer/laptop (25%), inviting questions about setting up a workspace (19%) and the promise of work-from-home options in the future (26%) would all improve an employer’s reputation.

To help businesses who would like to provide their employees with an engaging way to test their home-working set-up, Ascenti has created The Ergonometer quiz. This fun 10 question quiz provides a great way for employers to open the conversation with their staff and invite them to contact the business for further advice.

In addition, the ‘Are Home-Workers Sitting Comfortably?’ report contains evidence-based expert advice for employers to help them answer questions.

Stephanie Dobrikova, CEO of Ascenti, which works with more than 400 businesses to provide physiotherapy support to staff and which recently added a home-working health assessment to its list of services, commented: “Organisations have had a really tough time having to quickly adapt their systems, services and communications to meet the unique needs of the current situation and we all know how incredibly hard people have been working to make that happen.

“However, the results of this report suggest that a majority of home-workers are carrying out their daily duties in a way that increases their chances of physical injury, which could add extra pressure to individuals, businesses and the health service at what is already an exceptionally challenging time – and that is a worry.

“Having a good ergonomic workspace can reduce pain, prevent injury and increase productivity, so it’s well worth supporting home workers with setting one up, especially as it looks likely that this situation could be with us for a while yet.

“Creating an ergonomic home office doesn’t have to be expensive and advising employees of simple tricks like using a rolled up towel to provide lumbar spine support and adjusting their seat height with a cushion can really help to protect the health of those who don’t have access to an adjustable chair. Movement and stretches are also important and home-workers should be advised to try to stand up every 20 minutes and move for 20 seconds – our data shows that nearly one in four are now moving less than they used to.

“Many home-workers told us that they’re feeling distant from their colleagues and struggling to switch off at the end of the day. Video conferencing can be a good way to stay connected to others, while rounding off the workday with a 30-60 minute walk can help them to stay fit and provides a great way to unwind and transition from worklife to homelife.

“From a company culture and employer brand point of view, it’s clear from this research that demonstrating an understanding of the pressures your employees are facing at this time and taking steps to make things easier for them – whether through providing equipment, advice or the offer of flexibility – will go a long way to supporting their health and wellbeing, and in turn improve both their productivity and your reputation as an employer.”

Ascenti, which is providing free virtual physiotherapy appointments to NHS workers and over 65s during the lockdown, invites businesses and organisations to get in touch for further advice. Home-workers who complete The Ergonometer test and share their results to social media can win one of 20 free online appointments where they can have a home-working health check.

Business Research, Pay and Reward

Having an employee representative on the company board does not reduce CEO pay

Having an employee representative on the director’s board has absolutely no impact on reducing the pay level of the company’s CEO, according to research from Vlerick Business School. This research finding comes contrary to the belief that employee representation on the board reduces high profit margins and greater controls the remuneration of CEOs, giving more ownership and finances to a company’s employees.

This research comes from Xavier Baeten, a professor in reward and sustainability at Vlerick Business School and director of the school’s Executive Remuneration Research Centre, alongside Vlerick researcher, Bettina De Ruyck. The study examined the pay levels, habits and incentives of CEOs in 899 major European companies. The main focus of this was on the STOXX 600 – a stock index of the 600 largest firms across European countries, including 159 UK firms.

Analysis of the data by the researchers revealed that there was absolutely no relationship between having an employee representative on the board, and the level of CEO remuneration. This type of board representation is not as common in the UK as it is in other European countries, such as Germany, France and Scandinavia, where the percentage of companies with employee representation on the board were, 78%, 72% and 60% retrospectively.

Professor Xavier Baeten said,

“This finding runs counter to the belief that having an employee representative on the board would lead to more modest remuneration levels at the top, as an employee representative could be expected to keep an extra eye on pay ratios. I would not push it that far to say that employee representatives on the board do not care that much about executive remuneration, but the least we can say is that such an intervention in corporate governance does not seem to be very effective. Moreover, we have found that in Germany, a country with strong employee representation on the board, CEOs are among the highest paid in Europe.”

The analysis also found that the more nationalities that featured on a company’s board, the higher the CEO’s remuneration tended to be. Whilst this was also the case with directors who had a broader network and other ventures they were involved in, meaning that firms should not construct their boards around as many nationalities as possible, and that they should also not hire as many directors as possible who have many other board obligations – otherwise none as ‘busy directors’.

Professor Xavier Baeten also said;

“Our research has already proven quite frequently that ‘modesty’ seems to be a key word in the field of executive remuneration. In this respect, having some diversity on the board will help, but having too much diversity in terms of nationalities might negatively impact board cohesion, making the board more vulnerable to the exercise of CEO power.”

The researchers also found a number of other interesting results about European CEOs, including the average, median remuneration of a STOXX 600 seeing being €2.88m, UK CEOs earning significantly more than their colleagues in Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia and South Europe and long-term incentive grants being much bigger in the UK compared with rest of Europe.

The Executive Remuneration Study by Professor Baeten from Vlerick Business School, has been carried out for nine consecutive years.

Health, News

Back in Action UK launches brand new Physiotherapy product

Back in Action UK, the national specialist Occupational Physiotherapy company, has launched a new product designed to provide employees with specialist occupational musculoskeletal treatment and support remotely, either by phone or video.

myprivatephysio is the latest addition to the company’s flexible benefits programme and provides companies with a low-cost option that provides quick and easy access to a private specialist through PhysioFast, reducing absence and providing early intervention to reduce risk of long-term conditions. In addition, the service will link into Back In Actions occupational products and expertise to provide workplace recommendations and support.

Back in Action UK advise that they can demonstrate from their own experience that between 40-50% of musculoskeletal issues can be resolved without the requirement for face to face musculoskeletal physiotherapy. With this in mind the benefits of the approach are; a reduction in the length of time employees need to take from work to attend appointments, reduced spend on other benefits that provide face to face physio, and ensuring better outcomes by including an occupational focus in the patient journey.

Gary Peace, Business Development Director at Back In Action UK, said:

“We have launched this new product in response to continuing market demand for flexible products. It is a great way for companies to bring proven musculoskeletal solutions into their business at a relatively low cost and has the added benefit that all recommendations will be discussed with employers to ensure best possible outcomes.

“We are committed to providing innovative and transformative services that are designed to meet our patient and client’s needs and we believe that this service will deliver real value.”

Health

Worst things employers have said to employees dealing with cancer, according to RedArc

It is not an unreasonable expectation for an employee diagnosed with cancer to look to their employer for support, but according to RedArc, many employers handle the situation incredibly untactfully.

Every year, RedArc speaks to over 650 people with cancer every year – from the newly diagnosed through to those who are dealing with the longer-term consequences of the disease. Despite the high prevalence of cancer in the workplace, (there are over 900,000 people of working age living with cancer in the UK), RedArc’s nursing team continue to be shocked by the comments made by employers.

During the past year, RedArc logged the following statements, as reported by their employee patients:

  • “We may have to let you go as you are no longer able to carry out your duties.”
  • “Perhaps you should retire.”
  • “We may need to replace you as we can’t wait any longer for you to return.”
  • “You have had your treatment now and so should be fine.”
  • “We are unable to look at alternative work roles.”
  • “We need you to be back at work full-time, we are unable to accommodate short-time working.”
  • “Can you not come into work around your treatment appointments?”
  • “Mandatory training was not up to date due to your sickness.”
  • “How long will you be off?”

Christine Husbands, managing director for RedArc said:

“It is employers’ rightful duty and responsibility to provide support for staff who are diagnosed with a critical illness, and that support starts with what an employer says and how they say it.

“Of course, not every employer will feel at ease having these potentially difficult conversations, and where this is the case, they may benefit from having access to specialists who can support both the individual employee as well as signpost to coaching, training and support for the line manager and HR team.”

Such support, can often be included within Private Medical Insurance, Group Risk products or Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), and can be a great benefit to employees should they need it, including offering access to second medical opinions on a diagnosis or treatment programme; help in navigating and joining up NHS services and charities; additional therapies including reiki, osteopathy, acupuncture and psychotherapy; as well as a medically trained individual who is able to provide emotional support throughout the cancer journey, including how to manage difficult conversations with their employer.

Christine Husbands concluded:

“In our experience, many people with cancer want to continue working, or get back to work as soon as they can. There can be many obstacles both physically and mentally for the employee and also limitations within the workplace. Managed well, the workplace can be a safe haven for those with, and recovering from, cancer: somewhere where they have a purpose and where they can get away from their health matters. Employers who understand this, take the time to appreciate and accommodate the issues and treat their staff with respect, understanding and support will be repaid in commitment and loyalty.

“Employers should also be aware that the opposite is also true: inappropriate treatment or failure to accommodate an employee’s needs are also noted by the wider workforce, so a badly worded comment or poorly phrased question to one individual can quickly circulate around the office and cause damage to employee relations as a whole.”