businessinfomag.uk magazine 04 BULLETIN Thrive incentivising staff to improve physical and mental wellbeing UK-based learning tech firm Thrive is building on its no meetings policy and four-day week trial, with the launch of an internal initiative that uses Whoop wearable technology and real-time data to improve physical and mental wellbeing, performance and retention. The ‘Wellness Era’ programme incentivises staff to improve sleep, manage stress and stay active through personalised challenges and the chance to win a range of cash rewards, spa vouchers and other wellness perks. Employees who opt-in to wearable tracking can participate in 12 monthly challenges, such as Snooze for Success, which rewards employees for getting a good night’s sleep; Move More Monday, which encourages staff to start the week with 45 minutes of physical activity; Wellness Walks, featuring step count challenges; and Pedal Power, with mileage targets via road, spin or Peleton. The programme alerts Thrive when individuals encounter issues, such as sleep difficulties, decision‑making and cost savings of more than 11%. Three quarters (72%) of employees who use AI say it saves time, with one in ten saving more than five hours per week. One in three says it contributes to a better work-life balance and reduced stress (38% and 33% respectively). Despite these benefits, over one quarter of business leaders still don’t have a formal AI strategy in place. For them, Neil Sawyer, HP Managing Director for Northwest Europe, has a simple message: “AI is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s a business imperative,” he said. “Companies that fail to act now risk falling behind their competitors, losing productivity and missing out on the efficiency gains AI is already delivering. By embedding AI directly into secure, familiar devices, organisations can overcome trust and usability challenges and scale adoption with confidence.” www.hp.com Built-in AI key to adoption, says HP Could AI PCs accelerate the adoption of AI and enable more workers to enjoy the productivity benefits already experienced by early adopters? New research by YouGov and HP suggests they might, with 54% of business leaders surveyed saying they would adopt AI more readily if it was built into employee devices and 29% of employees saying they’d use AI more if it was embedded in tools that they already use or that don’t require an internet connection (10%). With built-in, devicelevel intelligence, AI PCs enhance security, simplify deployment and support automation of routine tasks and data-based insights. Almost half of organisations that are already using AI say it helps reduce time spent on admin, with one third reporting better B U L L E T I N Office workers enjoy more frequent and longer breaks Today’s in-office and hybrid workers have taken their foot off the gas since the fully remote-work era of 2021 and are enjoying a better work-life balance as a result, according to new figures from the productivity monitoring and time tracking tool DeskTime. Work-life balance and employee productivity data collected from 60,000 DeskTime users between January and December 2024 shows that the most productive 10% of employees now do 75 minutes of work followed by a pause of 33 minutes (a work:rest ratio of around 2:1). In 2021, the most productive remote workers worked for longer stretches (112 minutes) and took shorter breaks (26 minutes), creating a work:rest ratio of circa 4:1. This new work pattern means that today’s in-office and hybrid employees are able to take four breaks over an 8-hour workday compared to the fully remote workers in 2021 who could take only three (shorter) breaks. The proportion of the working day people now spend actually working has fallen to 69%, from 81% in 2021. Artis Rozentals, CEO of DeskTime, argues that these figures suggest in-office or hybrid work encourages a healthier work-life balance than fully remote work and that spending at least a few days per week in the office could be beneficial for employees. He said: “When DeskTime conducted the work/break ratio study back in 2021, we saw that working from home had immensely impacted workers’ ability to draw a line between work and life. Now, our latest productivity research shows we’re returning to more balanced working habits, which may be linked to working in-office again. “Working from the office, we’re naturally prone to taking more breaks – getting coffee, talking to co-workers etc. While these interruptions may seem unproductive at first, they’re vital for mental rejuvenation and contribute to employee wellbeing. Plus, it provides us with the necessary social dynamic of a workplace. Ultimately, my experience as a CEO has shown that the hybrid model is the goldilocks choice, as it best leverages both this in‑office social dynamic and the deep focus afforded by remote work.” In 2014, when DeskTime conducted its first study into people’s working habits, it found that the most productive 10% of people worked for shorter periods, an average of 52 minutes, and took more frequent, shorter breaks of 17 minutes. With a work:rest ratio of 3:1, this 52/17 rule gained widespread popularity and is still in use today. www.desktime.com Artis Rozentals
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