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magazine
07
agenda
London has been identified as home to the
UK’s healthiest employees by VitalityHealth
(formerly PruHealth).
Its
2015 UK Health Map
shows that 24% of
the capital’s workers are at risk of poor health,
compared to 31% in the North East of England
where the risk of developing a health problem
is highest.
Greg Levine, director of corporate
healthcare at VitalityHealth, said: “Health
and well-being is playing an increasingly
important role in how businesses maximise the
productivity and happiness of their workforces.
Clearly there are some areas across the UK
where companies need to do more, but if
businesses are able to develop a culture in
which wellness programmes are integrated
into day-to-day life, the benefits for both
employees and the company itself will be
quickly realised as productivity is improved and
the cost of absenteeism is reduced.”
Stress levels soar
Almost half (48%) of senior managers say
they are stressed all or most of the time,
research fromAXA PPP healthcare reveals.
A third of senior managers listed financial
worries as their biggest cause of stress.
Amongst employees, workload was the greatest
problem, cited by 45%.
One in five (22%) of both groups said their
stress was caused by worries about job security.
Dr MarkWinwood, director of psychological
services at AXA PPP healthcare, says it is
important for employers to address the
problem, given the propensity of chronic stress
to cause or exacerbate mental health issues
such as anxiety and depression.
He said: “By promoting stress-reducing
behaviours wherever possible, such as a
reduction in unnecessary out-of-hours emails,
flexible working and an open culture where
all employees can discuss their concerns and
issues, businesses can minimise the effects of
stress on all levels of the workforce.”
London workers are healthiest
Ageing workforce report warns of talent shortage
HR consultancy Talentsmoothie is offering its report
The AgeingWorkforce –What’s Your Strategy?
as a free
download. The 54-page report produced in association with
HR magazine originally cost £345. It includes examples
of best practice, advice, case studies and a diagnostic
tool to help companies assess what actions they should
take now to reduce the risk of talent shortages in the
future. The report’s author Justine James said: “Eight out
of 10 organisations are not planning any policy changes
to recruit, retain and engage older
workers. This is despite estimations
there will be 13.5 million job
vacancies by 2022, but only 7
million school and college leavers.
Older workers are the main
untapped source of hidden labour
talent, but most organisations
aren’t equipped to recruit and
retain them. This has to change.”
The Bloomberg Square Mile Relay returns
to London on September 17 when 1,100
runners from more than 100 of London’s
biggest organisations swap their suits for
tracksuits. Each member of a 10-strong
relay team runs the one-mile course before
passing the baton to their next team
member. Barclays holds the record for the
most wins, with four victories since the
race started in 2007. The fastest individual
time was set in 2014 by Nicholas Torry
of Commerzbank who completed the
one-mile course in just under five minutes
(04:58.9). For details of how to enter, visit
User adaptable lighting meets needs of older workers
One of the challenges presented by a multi-generational
workforce is the need to create a working environment
suitable for all age-groups. One solution is to install
systems that can be adapted by the user, like the e-Sense
Tune adjustable lighting system from Fagerhult.
Product Manager Daniel Unoson said: “It is an innovative,
decentralised plug & play system which is exceptionally user
friendly. e-Sense Tune is truly personal – a wireless control
system that suits all applications where one owner at a time
can ‘own’ the lighting.”
He added: “Commissioning the system is incredibly quick
and easy. Just install the luminaires with the correct hardware
and software and get started. If you wish, you can start with
one room and expand the system over time, adding one room
at a time. The system is supremely scalable! If you wish, all
freestanding rooms can be monitored centrally via a gateway.”
Head in the clouds
Leading workforce management company
Kronos is encouraging SMBs to embrace
cloud technology to improve productivity,
following a report which found that 64%
of workers believe cloud applications play
an important role in supporting their day-
to-day work.
The
CloudReady Report
reveals that
workers today expect technology that
supports their preferred way of working,
with 86% seeing reliable software as a
fundamental requirement. Flexibility (91%)
and real-time access (89%) are seen as two of
the biggest benefits of the cloud.
primary research
|
july2013
theageingworkforce
what’s your strategy?
primary researchon theaspirationsof theageingworkforce,
theopportunitiesandchallenges for yourbusiness,andpractical
steps to takenow tomaximise thebenefits forall
by
justine james
,director talentsmoothie
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