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magazine
office
What’s an acceptable time to unwrap
your first snack of the day, 9a.m.,
10a.m., 11a.m.? The answer all depends
on when you start working, which is
why so many office workers reach for
the biscuit barrel long before elevenses.
A recent survey by Pomegreat found
that 54% of office workers need their first
snack of the day by 10.30 at the latest,
not because they are greedy but because
by then they have already been working
for several hours.
Almost one in four (39%) said they
now start work earlier than they did a few
years ago, with one in 10 sending emails
before even getting out of bed.
Dr Dorian Dugmore, Pomegreat’s
expert on well-being, argues that early
starts could spell the end of elevenses, a
term first coined in 1889.
“Elevenses has been a great British
ritual for many years, but as people are
now beginning their working day earlier
and earlier, it is simply too late to wait for
an energy boost,” he said.
www.pomegreat.com
Prices drop for desks in shared offices
The monthly cost of a desk in a serviced or shared office
fell by about £10 in the first quarter of 2012, according
to Officegenie.co.uk. Its analysis of more than 250,000
desks in the UK shows that in Q1 the average cost per
desk fell from £309 to £302 in serviced offices and from
£303 to £293 in shared offices. The biggest falls were in
Birmingham and Leeds, down by £12 and £11 respectively
to £173 and £209.
Bucking the trend were London, where the monthly cost
per desk rose slightly to £509, and Manchester where it grew
from £194 to £204.
Office Genie co-founder Ciaron Dunne said: “As the news
continues to worsen for the UK economy, commercial property
landlords are clearly struggling to fill their office space.
Many wanted to ride out the recession and hold the old rent
values, but with no end to the recession in sight it’s proving
impossible.
”
www.officegenie.co.uk
Acas has produced a guide to mental
illness at work in association with NHS
agencyWorkways. Describing it as
the ‘last taboo in business’, Acas says
mental ill health affects one in four
people in their working lives and costs
the UK economy £30 billion annually.
The step-by-step guide explains how
to spot the signs of mental ill-health;
raise awareness of the issue among
employees; develop a culture where an
employee feels comfortable disclosing
their condition; broach the subject with
an employee who may have a mental
health problem; and help them cope
with or overcome it so they can work
effectively again.
Mental health charity the Centre for
Mental Health says a total of 91 million
work days are lost to mental ill-health
every year, accounting for half the
£30billion cost of reduced productivity:
the remainder is the result of employees
turning up for work but not performing at
their best.
A recent survey by the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development
and healthcare insurance company
Simplyhealth found that stress is now the
number one cause of long-term absence.
The publication of Acas’s guide
coincides with a campaign by the Mind
and Rethink charities to end the stigma
of mental ill-health. The Time To Change
campaign is running until March 2015.
www.acas.org.uk
Save 60% on London meeting rooms
Flexible office space provider Avanta Managed Offices is
offering British Business Club members 60% off the cost of
meeting rooms this summer. A £399 subscription to Avanta’s
virtual office service for July and August gives subscribers a
London postal address and telephone call handling.When
physical space is needed, British Business Club members can
book space at any of Avanta’s 15 London serviced offices for
£20.12 per room, per hour, a 60% reduction on normal rates.
Free to all British businesses, the British Business Club is an
online networking tool developed by UK Trade & Investment,
London Business Network, London & Partners and the
Department of Business Innovation and Skills to maximise
business networking opportunities created by the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games and future sporting events.
https://britishbusinessclub.innovateuk.org
Ticks the box
The Oof Box from Out of
Office meets the growing
need for semi-private spaces
where people can work for
short periods without being
distracted or disturbing others.
Suitable for use in open plan
offices, communal areas and
public buildings, the small,
mobile unit provides just the
right balance between privacy
and accessibility.
www.oof.uk.com
Pomegreat has
replaced refined
sugar in its juice
drinks with a low GI
sweet fruit extract
that can help sustain
energy levels during
the morning.
Tenses the
new Elevenses
Acas guide addresses the ‘last taboo’