Business Info - issue 135

Workplace mental health issues on the rise There’s been a sharp increase in the number of organisations that report having staff with stress and mental health-related illnesses, up from 55% last year to 68% in 2018, according to the Aon Benefits and Trends Survey 2018 . The proportion of organisations investing in proactive initiatives to tackle mental health and stress has also increased, from 36% to 42%, as has the percentage of employers providing health and wellbeing apps, up from 21% to 48%. There’s also been a 25% increase in the proportion of organisations with designated funding for their health and wellbeing programme, with over half of respondents either having a dedicated budget or intending to have one within the next three years. www.aon.com AGENDA Cardiff men most stressed workers in the UK Men aged 25-34, living in Cardiff and working for financial firms with more than 250 employees are the most stressed workers in the UK, according to the 2018 UKWorkplace Stress Report from employee benefits platform Perkbox. Its survey of 3,000 UK workers reveals finance, local and central Government, healthcare, education and hospitality to be the five most stressful industries. www.perkbox.com Teddy Sagi adds to co-working portfolio LabTech Investments, the technology and property co-working company of entrepreneur Teddy Sagi, has acquired BUPA House in Holborn. The company’s co-working portfolio already includes several properties in Camden and central London, including Labs Hogarth, a 27,000-square foot building that includes private offices, dedicated desks, dynamic lounge areas, fully equipped meeting rooms, event spaces and an open-plan café and bar. The nine-storey, 82,000 sq. ft BUPA House is to be renamed Labs House. www.lab-tech.comt Wearable Technology Show 2018 The fifthWearable Technology Show took place on March 13-14 at ExCeL London, where 100 exhibitors from more than 20 countries showcased the latest in wearables, AR, VR and IoT. Most of the products on show were aimed at the health, fitness and leisure industries, but there were also devices with interesting business and industrial applications. Assisted Reality smart glasses Toshiba took to the main stage to introduce its solution for hands-free working by frontline and field-based workers in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, maintenance, engineering and security. Its platform combines the power of a portable, battery- poweredWindows 10 Pro PC (the dynaEdge DE-100); industrial- grade Assisted Reality smart glasses (the AR100 Viewer) developed in partnership with Vuzix Corporation; and a variety of enterprise solutions offered through a partnership with wearable computing specialist Ubimax GmbH. The AR100 Viewer incorporates a built-in camera,WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS technologies. As well as connecting to the network and sending and receiving data, integration with Skype for Business allows wearers to share what they see with remote colleagues via images or live video. www.toshiba.eu/dynaEdge Smart gloves ProGlove showcased Mark, a smart glove that enables manufacturing and logistics staff to work faster, safer and easier. The glove features a barcode scanner, providing hands-free scanning of goods. This stops the repetitive action of picking up and putting down scanners and improves efficiency. The user receives instant confirmation via optical, acoustic or haptic feedback. www.proglove.de Back pain prevention Laevo demonstrated an exoskeleton designed to tackle back pain caused by repetitive bending and/or lifting. Claimed to reduce the strain on one’s back by up to 50%, the exoskeleton can be worn like a coat and is easily adjusted to accommodate different body shapes and sizes. The support angle can also be changed to suit different tasks or switched off completely, for example when resting for brief periods. www.laevo.nl TfL partners with ENGIE to generate clean energy Transport for London (TfL) has signed a contract with ENGIE to install solar panels across its buildings. The contract will see up to 24 properties across TfL’s estate fitted with the panels, including bus stations, train depots, manufacturing workshops, train crew accommodation and office buildings. The initiative is part of the Mayor’s £34 million Energy for Londoners programme, which aims to supply London’s homes and businesses with cleaner, more local energy sources. https://tfl.gov.uk businessinfomag.uk magazine 08 Teddy Sagi