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Managers lack confidence when talking to employees about informal issues

Recent research reveals that HR leaders are less confident in managers’ ability to hold effective conversations around informal issues compared with more formal topics such as objective-setting and development. Overall, HR respondents indicated a ‘medium’ level of confidence in managers’ ability to talk about formal issues, however for more informal matters such as employee wellbeing and flexible working, confidence levels were significantly lower.

The research study, which involved 20 in-depth interviews with senior HR leaders between January and April 2022, was commissioned by OpenBlend – the platform for effective conversations at work – and suggests managers need more guidance on how to broach and discuss the informal issues that have an increasing impact on employee performance in the new world of work.

Most notably, the research revealed a key correlation between high manager confidence and high organisational performance. Findings showed that the more confident a business is in its managers’ ability to have those grassroots conversations, the more likely it is to exhibit high organisational performance. Commenting on the research study, Anna Rasmussen, Founder & CEO at OpenBlend, said: “Inevitably, managers will feel more comfortable talking about certain topics over others but if we neglect the human side, the data clearly shows that business performance will suffer. If the business can communicate the importance of enabling broad conversations that focus not just on objectivesetting, but on wellbeing and the employee’s relationship with work, managers will become instrumental in helping to create the associated performance gains.”

Study reveals 2 in 5 employees lack confidence that their employer will prioritise staff mental health

A new survey from Aetna International has asked global workers to rate their employer’s response to mental and physical health challenges in the workplace, to understand if corporate commitments to employee health and well- being have been put into practice over the last 12 months.

Employees in four global markets (UAE, UK, US, Singapore) were asked about what their employer said, versus what they actually did, to support workplace health and well-being over the last year. The survey of 3,520 office workers suggests that business promises to tackle health and well-being issues have largely been backed up by concrete actions – but a noticeable shortfall still remains when it comes to mental health support. Overall, 40% of global employees feel that health benefits at their organisation have improved in the last 12 months and results suggest that businesses are walking the talk when it comes to support for physical health conditions. More than two in five (43%) respondents rated the communication from their employer on physical health as ‘good’ and the same number (42%) said the action their employer had taken to support employees’ physical health was also ‘good’. Additionally, more than a third (35%) believe their employer has done a good job of communicating about work-related postural problems; while a similar number (38%) rated the action their employer had taken to address this issue as ‘good’. When it comes to mental health, however, responses suggest there is still a gap between what employers say and what they do. For example, over a third (36%) of global respondents believe their employer’s communication around mental health issues has been ‘good’ over the last year, but only a quarter (25%) say the same about the steps their employer has taken to support mental health and well-being days. This suggests that employees may appreciate a better work-life balance over salary increases.

A third of UK construction companies have lost employees as a result of fraud over the last year

A quarter of construction companies fell victim to fraud in the last year, a new report has revealed. Half of the larger construction companies surveyed (with more than 100 employees) have lost employees due to fraud, whilst a quarter of medium-to-large companies said their industry reputation was tarnished by this illegal activity.

With a quarter of construction companies experiencing fraud in the last year, two in five didn’t report it, suggesting that fraud is far more widespread than the authorities believe.

The study also found that larger construction companies were twice as likely to experience fraudulent activity, in comparison to only one in five small companies or sole traders. However, the impact on smaller companies can be much greater as three in five were close to bankruptcy following fraudulent activity. The report, collated by Herts Tools, specialist providers of plant hire in London surveyed 39 construction companies about their experience of fraud in the industry. With fraud costing construction businesses upwards of £10bn a year, the report exposes the shortfalls in fraud protection.

The need for employee support systems at construction firms is clear. Once hit by fraud, companies often struggle to keep employees on board, which further impacts the industry as a whole.

Stefano Lobban from Herts Tools said: “We, along with many businesses in our industry have been the victims of fraud in different forms over the years. We have noticed a significant rise in attempted fraudulent hires over the last two years, which may have some relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fraud negatively impacts our business, our customers and our staff, as well as potentially damaging our reputation. In order to tackle this growing issue and protect our business and assets and support our team we have taken steps to enhance our checks and implement staff training across all departments.

We believe fraud prevention training is an essential tool for any business in the current climate.

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Cancer Support UK introduces new workplace course to train businesses to support employees affected by cancer

If a work colleague told you they had cancer how would you respond? This scenario is fast becoming a reality, as by 2030 it is estimated that 1.5million people of working age will be living with cancer. The impact that a cancer diagnosis can have on an individual’s mental health is significant, yet 85% of employees with a cancer diagnosis want to carry on working. Knowing how to conduct a difficult conversation about cancer, and support those with cancer in the workplace, is at the heart of a new training programme – the Cancer Support Ambassador course – introduced by cancer wellbeing experts Cancer Support UK.

Developed by Cancer Support UK specifically to give individuals in an organisation the confidence and skills to support colleagues facing cancer, the Cancer Support Ambassador training provides a high-level introduction to cancer and cancer treatments. The half day course covers the physical and emotional side effects of both cancer and cancer treatments.

Most importantly, it contains tools and strategies that equip workplace cancer support ambassadors with the necessary skills and principles to have supportive conversations with individuals experiencing emotional turmoil due to or caused by the effects of cancer.

Marie Gardner, who works as a Cancer Coach volunteer for Cancer Support UK, has been key in developing the Ambassador training. She says: “When you are supporting someone going through cancer, it’s vital that you work with the other person’s agenda. You need to recognise that for many, having a conversation in the workplace about their illness can be challenging. The ability to listen is absolutely key and understanding where the person is in their thought process allows you to work out how best to help them. As a Cancer UK Ambassador, you don’t need to have the answers. The best support you can give is to listen deeply, question sensitively and show empathy.”

Mark Guymer, Cancer Support UK’s CEO, said: “With at least 85% of employees saying how important it is for them to keep working after a cancer diagnosis, there is an urgent requirement for employers to understand the needs of colleagues affected by cancer and to support them appropriately.”

Are Employers Still Liable For Home Worker Accidents?

For those minimal employers who had already embraced remote working prior to the pandemic, the transition was no doubt less bumpy. Two years later, however, there are still far too many employers oblivious to various aspects of home working.

One of the most important ones being their level of responsibility when it comes to employee health and safety.

At the beginning of the pandemic especially, countless employers neglected to carry out risk assessments for home working, as all their focus was directed towards simply keeping their business afloat. This inevitably led to further issues for many companies, however, with CIPD reporting that a shocking 8% of homeworkers reported being injured after using an ironing board as a desk, with far more complaining about back pain and strain injury due to a lack of proper equipment.

Kevin Ashley, CEO and founder of the healthcareoriented learning management system, My Ako has recently developed an accident and incident reporting system, catered to both employers and employees in remote working situations. As the mastermind behind this programme, Kevin is well versed in every aspect of employer liability for home worker accidents.

British women suffer from 180 ‘OFF DAYS’ a year, according to new research

A new report reveals modern women have more off days than good ones, feeling tired or uncomfortable in their skin, on average 15 days a month (a staggering 180 days a year). Six in ten say these days affect their sex life and relationships, while a fifth cancel social plans if they are not feeling their best. Yet, according to the poll by Symprove, women only feel genuinely good about themselves eight days a month (96 a year on average).

As many as 71 percent cite feeling tired as the main contributor to a lack of body confidence, with clothes not fitting properly (62 percent), and feeling bloated (60 percent) following closely behind.

Bad hair days (43 percent), bad skin days (40 percent) and making comparisons to other people on social media (30 percent) also knock confidence on a daily basis, according to the report. As many as three quarters (74 percent) said their stomach was the physical feature they felt least confident about.

Shockingly, just 6 percent of women described themselves as body confident on a day-to-day basis, while half (50 percent) said they were not body confident at all.

The research, conducted by gut health brand Symprove, found that two thirds (62 percent) of women suffer ‘off days’ on a weekly basis, with the percentage rising significantly to 73 percent for women who live with IBS.

While over a third (37 percent) of all women surveyed admitted to experiencing days where they feel bloated and their clothes do not fit properly, resulting in an average of four outfit changes before leaving the house.

Beyond physical insecurities, women are experiencing a host of gut-related issues including fatigue (66 percent), regular bloating (65 percent), cramping (40 percent), and constipation (39 percent).

Despite this, more than a third (37 percent) are not comfortable talking to a partner, friends, or family about gut health, with 55 percent saying talking about bloating or general gut health in front of their partner would be ‘embarrassing’.

Nine in ten British females (89 percent) believe there needs to be more information about taking care of your gut available.

Ranking employees hinders creativity

Forced rankings do not improve employee performance, according to new research by Tilburg University and Vienna University of Economics and Business. The study, conducted by Eddy Cardinaels and Christoph Feichter, looked at the effect of rating employee performance and analysed forced and free rating systems on both employee reactions and supervisor rating behaviour.

Cardinaels and Feichter found that forced ratings are unlikely to improve employee performance over free performance ratings, and instead increases their stress levels – this then negatively affects employee creativity. This is especially the case in jobs where performance is difficult to capture via objective measures such as consulting, auditing, and communications. But even in jobs in which objective criteria do exist (e.g., sales), performance evaluation ratings still heavily rely on the subjective judgment of superiors. In all these situations, forced ratings might lead to problems for employees and superiors.

The study revealed the lack of creativity stems from people ‘choking under pressure’ as a result of the forced ratings.

“It is really important that firms are aware of potential costs and side effects, such as higher stress and supervisors not assigning appropriate ratings. Especially as these can lead to other long-time side effects, such as higher turnover rates, health problems, and lack of motivation,” says Professor Christoph Feichter.

On the other hand, forced rankings also negatively impact employees because supervisors’ game the system, and focus on other aspects other than the true performance when evaluating employees.

“In our study, supervisors with forced rankings tend to incorporate aspects in their ratings that have no relation to the real performance of employees, but seem easier to justify towards employees. Moreover, supervisors strategically switch ranks of employees across periods, to assure each employee receives the highest rank at some point in time (although this cannot be explained by their real performance). Supervisors feel uncomfortable with the rankings and want to appear fairer towards the employees. Therefore, they start to game the system,” says Professor Feichter. The study was published in the Journal of Accounting Research.

Hybrid working has almost tripled, but staff want more flexibility in the office

A study has revealed that despite the rise of hybrid working preferences, the office still has a valuable role to play, but flexibility around hours is crucial in the modern world of work. That’s according to The future of flexible working, published by global leader in creating bespoke workplaces, Unispace..

In its report – which surveyed 3,000 office workers – Unispace found that hybrid working has almost tripled since the pandemic, with 63% of those surveyed now working in a hybrid way. The report also revealed that over three quarters (77%) said that flexible start times would encourage them back to the workplace, indicating that employees seek not only flexibility in where they work, but also when they work.

Flexible working demand is higher among certain demographics, with the report revealing that 86% of those with caring responsibilities desired flexible start times, compared to 71% of those with no caring responsibilities.

When analysed by life stage, the data revealed that 80% of individuals living as part of a couple with dependent children and 76% of single parents wanted flexi-hours. Similarly, those with housemates were most likely to be attracted by flexi-working, with 90% of this group admitting that the freedom to choose their own hours would entice them back to the office. This is compared to 70% of those living alone and 76% of those living with parents.

NatWest Group recognised World Mental Health Day with the launch of a digital wellbeing product for employees

NatWest Group recently announced a collaboration with Just Ask a Question (JAAQ), an innovative online mental health and wellbeing tool which will benefit employees across the organisation.

JAAQ is a platform, powered by AI, which allows employees across the organisation to ask leading mental health professionals questions about their own mental wellbeing. When a question is asked, employees are then presented with video responses from over 40 expert consultants, including David Veale, Professor in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies at Kings College and Consultant Psychiatrist, and Dr Erin Brown, Consultant Psychiatrist in Early Intervention in Psychosis

Jen Tippin, Group Chief People and Transformation Officer said: “I was proud to launch this collaboration on world mental health day back on 10th October. The wellbeing of our employees is of fundamental importance at any time, but particularly when faced with concerns around cost of living, and the challenges presented by the aftermath of COVID-19.

My team is focused on ensuring that employees have access to the right resources and support and I know that many will find this tool invaluable. I am delighted to be working with the JAAQ team to be able to include this as part of the physical and mental wellbeing support that we offer at NatWest Group.”

NatWest Group is among the first corporate organisations to partner with JAAQ. NatWest Group has decided to embed JAAQ within their Wellbeing hub, where employees already have access to a number of tools to help them with their physical and mental wellbeing, including a free, confidential, independent Employee Assistance Programme – available 24/7, a Virtual GP service and the Bank Workers Charity.

Keep your employees healthy and safe.

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