As the mercury rises, there are a number of impacts on office staff. Whether it is disputes over climate controls or laxity of lunch hours, the summer sun can adversely affect staff’s working environment and mentality.  A survey conducted by One Poll on behalf of air conditioning and heating specialists, Andrews Sykes Hire, has revealed how hot conditions affect productivity in the workplace. The study, which questioned 2,000 office staff on their summer working habits, found that 30% of workers exceed their designated lunch breaks by nearl... Continue reading

Companies that are structured around dominating extroverted employees are at risk of ignoring valuable input from introverted characters which could be hugely detrimental to businesses, according to cognitive and business psychologist, Dr Lynda Shaw. In her latest blog, she explains more. There is a distorted perception that to be successful in business you have to have the loudest voice to get noticed. Many businesses are dominated by assertive, extroverted individuals and by all means we need charisma and confident people in business. Howeve... Continue reading

Earlier this week we came across an infographic charting the decline of the conventional office and detailing the meteoric ‘rise of the telecommuter’. Titled ‘death of the office?’, the infographic states that in 2011, one-tenth of the British workforce (2.8 million people) were telecommuting at least some of the time – an increase from 2001 when it says 2.1 million workers in Britain were working remotely. So if it is the end of the office as we know it, is that necessarily a bad thing for employers?  It is rarity for an article or... Continue reading

A recent study suggests that 25% of workers are risking noise induced hearing loss by using their headphones at work. With evidence supporting the fact that hearing problems within the workplace are becoming more frequent, do you have responsibility as an employer to regulate the use of headphones within your working environment? According to European regulations, workers must not experience noise levels above 85 decibels during an eight hour day. An MP3 player at full volume blasts on average 100 decibels into the user’s ear. Even taking th... Continue reading

Talk about a minefield of upset and litigious opportunity, the new one up for consideration is whether or not obesity should be covered under the disability protection. The debate which has sparked both medical and legal opinions is surrounding the European Court of Justice case, brought by Mr Kaltoft, a Danish child minder who was dismissed by his local authority. What the case surely has to be concerned with is whether obesity should be classed as a disability. Currently, the UK legislation afforded by the Equality Act has some clear guidan... Continue reading