All Opinion articles – Page 43
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OpinionHina Belitz: Harassment and bullying - employers are letting themselves down
In a dramatic wake-up call for the legal profession to examine its culture and working practices, the preliminary findings of a recent International Bar Association (IBA) survey, revealed in October 2018, found that bullying and sexual harassment are rife.According to more than 5,000 lawyers in 120 jurisdictions, one-third of male ...
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OpinionChris O’Sullivan: Psychological hazards need to become a focus for employers
In the last decade or two, there has been an increasing acceptance that the boundaries between work, family and the third spaces in which we rest and recharge have become blurred. These days, it is less 'work-life balance' and more 'work-life blend'; life does not stop on the way into ...
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OpinionNigel Morris: A warning to the private sector – IR35 is coming
The October 2018 budget brought with it confirmation that IR35 rules changes, introduced for the public sector in April 2017, will come into force for medium and large private sector businesses from April 2020. The definition of medium and large, however, remains unspecified.Organisations in the public sector, such as NHS ...
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OpinionNick de Mestre: Create a brand which puts talent, retention and engagement first
Now more than ever, organisations must be both commercially successful and morally sound to survive. Authenticity is increasingly important to employees, and no business has the right to exist, but rather a license to operate; at a time of increased scrutiny and demands for transparency, this license could be brought ...
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OpinionJonny Gifford: Measuring the happiness of the workforce
The key to effectively measure happiness at work is to consider a wide range of contributing factors. The UK working lives survey, published by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) on 24 April 2018, explores the components that lead to a positive or negative working life.For example, we ...
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OpinionPhil Hall: Timidity around ethnicity pay reporting will not deliver real change
Labour force survey data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October 2018, indicates that, in general, ethnic minority groups earn less per hour than white employees.The independent Race in the workplace report, published by Baroness McGregor-Smith in February 2017, indicated that equal participation and progression across ethnicities ...
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OpinionVanessa King: The serious business of happiness at work
There is a growing body of evidence that happiness is serious for business. According to the World happiness report 2013, published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network in September 2013, happier people are more likely to perform well, adapt to change, help colleagues and be physically healthy, to name ...
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OpinionAnnie McKee: Who is responsible for happiness at work?
Life is too short to be unhappy at work, but is it a manager's responsibility to ensure that employees are fulfilled, excited and passionate about what they do, or is happiness something they must tend to on their own?Happiness at work starts with the individual. True, colleagues can be difficult, ...
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OpinionKatrina Philippou: What is the key to increasing workplace happiness?
Most forward-thinking employers have begun to recognise happiness at work as a key piece of the productivity puzzle; it is a factor that cannot be ignored, with research conducted by Warwick University finding that happy employees are 12% more productive.Personal Group runs a UK employee happiness survey each year, which ...
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OpinionProfessor Cynthia Fisher: Rewarding work influences employee happiness
There are many ways in which the workplace influences employee happiness. These include leadership, friendships and fair treatment; however, employee happiness is much more heavily influenced by the work itself.First, and most immediately, employees feel happier when they think they are doing well, and worse when they experience setbacks. Research ...
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OpinionSusy Gould Obiora: What can employers do to ensure bereavement leave policies are effective?
Sadly, one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage or stillbirth. However, a survey by Sands, conducted between April and May 2018, found that nearly 50% of people reported that no one talked to them about the death of their baby once they returned to work. Shockingly, 80% were offered no ...
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OpinionSimon deMaid: What can employers do to ensure bereavement leave policies are effective?
The death of a child can have devastating effects on mental and physical wellbeing, yet there is currently no legal requirement in the UK for employers to provide paid leave for grieving parents. It must, therefore, come as no surprise that campaigners have petitioned so forcefully to change the law ...
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OpinionJohn Palmer: What can employers do to ensure bereavement leave policies are effective?
There is a lot to consider when making bereavement leave policies work for both employees and employers. Employees have the right to a reasonable amount of unpaid leave to deal with bereavement, while organisations have a duty of care to their bereaved staff members.Many employers find that a bereavement leave ...
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OpinionEmma Hamnett: What can employers do to stamp out workplace bullying?
Failing to curtail the threat of workplace bullying increases the risk that an unhappy employee will issue a claim for harassment or unfair constructive dismissal in an Employment Tribunal (ET).These claims are costly, time consuming, bad for the reputation of the business, and demoralising for staff.There is no definitive legal ...
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OpinionKaroli Hindriks: Office anywhere – why remote work improves employee satisfaction
The nature of work has changed significantly over the past few decades; advancements in technology mean that modern workforces are better equipped to function with greater efficacy than ever before. Employees are able to communicate faster and more effectively, which means that businesses can provide more services, generate more revenue ...
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OpinionMark Earl: Workplace communities bring benefits to health and wellbeing
Good employers are always looking for ways to support the health and wellbeing of their employees, and it is more than window dressing; staff who feel supported tend to be healthier and more productive. Establishing employee networks is an effective part of any strategic approach to health and wellbeing.At Shaw ...
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OpinionHelen Ball: Continued supervision of master trusts implemented on a scale not seen before
Master trust schemes that wish to continue in business after 31 March 2019 are currently applying for their authorisation badge from The Pensions Regulator (TPR). However, getting that badge is only stage one. During stage two, there will be continued supervision of the master trust by TPR, on a scale ...
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OpinionEwen MacPherson: Health and wellbeing during organisational change
For many organisations, wellbeing has just become a focus point, as the social movement around the topic gathers momentum. For Havas Media, however, health and wellbeing have been long-term strategic objectives for some time, under the guiding lens of the overall employee experience.It is widely accepted that most employees spend ...
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OpinionJames Shillaker: Employee wellness is more than a tick-box exercise
Many organisations still do not see the value of wellness strategies, despite beginning to realise the extent of poor mental health within the workplace and the widespread negative effects of poor employee wellbeing.The Employee Benefits/Health Shield healthcare research 2018, published in August 2018, found that 37% of organisations do not ...
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OpinionJoe McIndoe: Using corporate social responsibility to promote employee wellness
A report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), published in March 2018, found that in 2016 to 2017, a total of 526,000 employees in Great Britain were suffering from work-related stress, anxiety or depression, which amounted to 12.5 million lost working days.While it is important that employers ensure their ...