Business Info - issue 136

Workers don’t mind mental health monitoring Over half of British workers (51%) would be prepared to wear a device that detects the early signs of mental health problems if their employer supplied it free of charge, claims AXA PPP healthcare. Almost half say they would be happy to share that information if it helped with employee health and wellbeing strategies. Of those who aren’t comfortable sharing information on mental health with their employer, 69% fear workplace discrimination or don’t want their employer to know details of their health and lifestyle. However, 50% would relent if the information was anonymised. Suzanne Scott, HR director at AXA PPP healthcare, said: “In my experience line managers want to support people in their teams who experience mental health issues. Technology opens up a new way to help both the employee and the manager broach the subject, and having the relevant data is always a helpful way into a conversation. At AXA PPP we are looking at ways we can introduce technology to help us take the next step forward in supporting our people’s wellness.” www.axahealthtechandyou.com AGENDA Workers unproductive for two hours a day A quarter of UK workers are unproductive for as many as two hours a day, equating to 40 million hours of lost productivity every week. The Fellowes Productivity in the UK report, based on a survey of 1,250 office workers, reveals that 38% of employees feels their employer isn’t doing enough to improve their productivity. Almost two thirds (65%) think a four-day working week would help. www.fellowes.com Self-employed put business before pensions More than three quarters (79%) of the self-employed and workers in small businesses admit to not saving enough for retirement. In a poll of 2,903 such workers by Intuit QuickBooks, 38% blamed a lack of spare funds; 15% said they preferred to invest any spare cash in their business; and 9% said they viewed their business as their retirement nest egg. Prioritisation of business growth means many entrepreneurs are also missing out on holidays, with 64% taking five or fewer days holiday in the last year. https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/ Company pension schemes trump other benefits A good company pension scheme is the Number One workplace benefit, according to a poll of 500 UK professionals by job board Jobsite. It topped the list of benefits, cited by 82% of those surveyed, ahead of performance-related bonuses (65%), mental health and stress support (55%) and private medical care (51%). Jobsite CEO Nick Gold said: “Many employers believe that offering higher salaries is the way to improve the quantity and quality of applicants they receive through the door. But nowadays professionals aren’t just looking for more money in their pockets. Some are thinking more long-term, about how employers can help them reach their retirement goals sooner.” www.jobsite.co.uk Millennials reject ‘uninspiring’ offices One in five millennials (21%) has rejected a potential employer because of the state of their office, claims coworking provider Mindspace. Its research shows that 31% of Brits find their office environment uninspiring and boring, with 20% claiming that it makes them feel stressed. Nearly one in five (19%) complain that their current office doesn’t encourage them to collaborate with others; 25% are desperate for break-out areas; 23% for more spaces for private work; and 19% for more creative brainstorming spaces. www.mindspace.me businessinfomag.uk magazine 06 Learning to play the game What Would You Do? (WWYD) is a new management training resource based on a traditional board game. Created by behavioural change specialist Thinking Focus, WWYD encourages leaders to think about and discuss eight essentials of management competence and capability. Thinking Focus director Ricky Muddimer said: “Using a board game might seem like an old-school approach but it has been growing in popularity in recent years, and that’s because it can be extremely effective. It brings peers together within a trustful environment to discuss issues, debate opinions and challenge perceptions face-to-face. Game-based learning is engaging, and can be repeated again and again, with different teams and dynamics, and at times that suit a business’s operational needs.” http://thinkingfocus.com/ Android addresses wellbeing Tapping into the zeitgeist, Google has added a number of wellbeing features to the beta version of Android P. These include: n an enterprise work profile that collects work apps under a single tab – tap it to see all your work apps in one place and turn them off with a simple toggle when you leave work; n a Do Not Disturb mode that helps you focus on the here and now by silencing phone calls and texts. To activate it just turn your phone over on the table; n aWind Down feature that will automatically switch to Night Light mode and fade to grayscale to eliminate distractions after a certain, user- specified time of day/night.