Global Public Articles

Whether you’re a telecommuter, work on contract, or own your own business, more and more of us are working from a place traditionally seen as a retreat from work and reserved for family; our home!

Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve been working out of my house for almost two years and I have to say that I’d have trouble adjusting to a regular ‘be in the office at 8, half hour lunch, leave at 5′ routine, all the while being chained to my desk.

That’s not to say that working from home is without challenges of its own, far from it. But those challenges are definitely outweighed by the benefits.

Challenge #1 - buy THE most comfortable chair you can afford.

Before you buy anything else, buy a chair. You may have your eye on a gorgeous cherry wood desk and an antique lamp that’s to die for, but stop yourself from buying it. If you don’t have enough left in the budget to ensure that you’ll be comfortably seated you will regret it, and so will your back, your butt, and your shoulders.

In fact, an uncomfortable chair will not only leave you with physical aches and pains, it’ll distract you from the very thing you’re trying to accomplish, your work.

Challenge #2 - Dedicate one room for an office.

If you have the luxury of space where you’re living such as a spare bedroom, do set up your home office in a separate room, particularly if you have small children.

If all the bedrooms are occupied, consider transforming a corner of the basement into an office. You may need to spend a bit of money, or call in some friends to give you a hand, but the end result will be well worth it.

Hand in hand with the room is a door. Sounds rather basic, but we all need time ‘away’ from the office. When that office is in your home, the only way you’re going to really be away is if you can close the door. This way you won’t see the piles of paperwork on your desk every time you walk by.

Setup your workspace so that everything you need on a daily basis is easily accessible, just as you would in a traditional office setting. Keep the location of electrical outlets in mind when setting up your space. You don’t want to be tripping over computer cables or extension cords.

Challenge #3 - Work time vs. play time

This one is a bit trickier. Working from home affords flexibility, which is why it’s so popular with many people. However, it is easy to let your working hours creep over into your private time.

Make sure you discuss your expectations with your partner so that working from home doesn’t become a source of stress in your relationship.

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Stress Management is a relatively new phenomenon that was brought in for the purpose of preventing, managing and treating anxiety ridden illnesses among workers in a commercial establishment. Stress or anxiety has come into the limelight in the fast moving world of business where intense competition and the drive to achieve targets nearly wreaks havoc on a persons emotional and physical balance. In fact, a stressful and anxiety filled life and all its attendant evils take place when an employee is depressed in his work place or his job and is unable to get a grip on everyday life.

The causes of stress are numerous and in workplaces it can result from fear of meeting targets, strain, sleeplessness, fatigue, bullying mentality on part of seniors, job dislocation, family problems, fear, overwork and poor diet. Stress, if gone unchecked can have serious implications on a workers life, output and creativity. It is mainly in high growth business societies that stress, off late, has emerged as one of the prominent health issues affecting the life of an employee. The UK undoubtedly, has a significant challenge in containing this menace as its industries, service sectors and IT sectors have grown phenomenally over the past few years.

Stress management involves prevention, control and taking remedial measures in places of occurrence and can either be treated with medication or counseling. Stress can either be physical or emotional or both. Again one can lead to the other and vice versa. Among the different options of managing stress the most prevalent ones in the UK are social or professional counseling, medication or hypnosis by systematic oral suggestions. Professional counseling has grown in importance and used to stress upon time management, effective communication, relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, meditation, problem solving, modifying ones behaviour, getting rid of anger, thinking positively and learning to say no.

However, this is good when the initial symptoms are mild. When the illness assumes serious to chronic proportions medication is advised. The use of depressants or drugs must be taken under the supervision of a medical doctor as many of these drugs have side effects besides being drawn to addiction. At times, stress can pave way to other form of illness like headache, migraine, insomnia, partial coma and a host of other illness. Therefore it is all the more necessary to consult a physician. The relatively lesser therapy is hypnosis or suggestive art therapy. According to CBI studies in the UK 6.7 million work days are lost every year due to stress disorders and it is believed that 54% of self reported illnesses are due to stress alone.

Although a great deal has been done to introduce stress management as a way of work life, it would be worthwhile for the British industries and services as a whole to get to the grass roots of this problem. Notwithstanding the fact that there are a host of remedial centres and clinical efforts in existence, it may be worthwhile to look at life as a whole in connection with employment and business.

Richard Reid of
Pinnacle Proactive, Specialists in the
Employee
Assistance Program,

Stress Management,

Staff Retention & Absenteeism. Take a Proactive Approach in Growing Your
Organisation

The United Kingdom has embraced the return of the ‘long hours culture’. Over 3 million people have begun working over a 48 hour week. The number of people working long hours increased at a faster rate over the last year than the decline in excessive working between 1998 and 2006. The recent increase in working hours could be the result of the challenging economic climate, which has made employers more reluctant to recruit new staff, leading to existing employees having to work harder.

After slow but steady progress over the last decade, long working hours are making their way back into Britain’s workplaces. Employees across the UK already work the longest hours in Western Europe with the least amount of public holidays. The recent increase will mean lower productivity, more stress and less time to have a life outside the office with friends and family.

This is supported by a recent survey commissioned by Beefeater Restaurants, which reveals that 70.6% of Britons don’t feel they have a positive work/life balance. Work-life balance is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. The survey, carried out by NEMS Market Research, shows that, as a nation, Britons don’t feel they spend enough time with their families and friends. The results reveal that, even in a culture which claims to prioritise a healthy work/life balance, British companies are falling short in their efforts.

A third (33.1%) of full-time workers surveyed didn’t feel they spent enough time with their family and friends and cited a busy job and work pressure (83.8%) as the main obstacle. When questioned on the impact this had on their lives, more than a third of full-time workers (34.6%) felt that life was passing them by without enjoyment.

Working long hours also comes with a health warning. There is sufficient evidence for us to be concerned about the potentially negative effects of working long hours on physical health. The strongest evidence probably concerns the links with cardiovascular disorder.

Stress is often the outcome of a work/life imbalance. According to a survey conducted by the National Life Insurance Co., four out of ten employees state that their jobs are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ stressful. It is clear that problems caused by stress have become a major concern to both employers and employees.

Symptoms of stress are manifested both physiologically and psychologically. Persistent stress can result in cardiovascular disease, sexual health problems, a weaker immune system and frequent headaches, stiff muscles, or backache. It can also result in poor coping skills, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating. Stress may also perpetuate or lead to binge eating, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

A survey conducted by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank found that 44 per cent of workers in the United Kingdom take off fewer days of holiday than they are entitled to. Furthermore, 77 per cent admitted to keeping in touch with work, via email for example, while they are on holiday trying to relax.

One way of improving employees work/life balance is to ensure that they are able to use all of their holiday allocation effectively throughout the year. If employees were to take holidays throughout the year then it is suggested that employers would reap the benefits of increased productivity, improved recruitment and retention, lower rates of absenteeism, plus a more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Cardiff Airport Parking, Cardiff Airparks.