In this column, we provoke fresh thinking and round up some of the weird, wonderful, quirky, surprising – and shocking – stories out there
Four-day week brings benefits
Introducing a four-day working week is saving UK business millions, along with improving productivity and environmental performance, according to research from Henley Business School.
Its ‘Four Better or Four Worse?’ white paper says half of UK businesses surveyed say they have enabled a four-day working week for some or all of their staff. They report improvements in employee satisfaction, reductions in employee absenteeism, and savings of almost £92 billion (around 2% of total turnover) each year. Of those businesses that have already adopted a four-day week, 64% report improvements in staff productivity.
The research also found that reducing to four days boosted quality of life, with 78% of businesses saying staff were happier, less stressed (70%) and took fewer sick days (62%). Some 63% of employers said that providing a four-day working week has helped them to attract and retain talent. The report also claims that with an additional day off, 40% of employees would use the time to upskill or develop professional skills. A quarter said they would use their fifth day to volunteer.
The four-day week also demonstrates a positive impact on the environment, as employees estimate they would drive 557.8 million fewer miles per week on average, leading to fewer transport emissions.
According to Henley, adoption of four-day working weeks shows no sign of slowing down. Karen Jansen, professor of Leadership and Change at Henley, said, “21st century work no longer occurs within ‘normal’ business hours and demands on employees’ time are idiosyncratic, individualised and are best managed by the individual. What is needed is a new mindset for how work gets done and programs that provide all employees the ability to customise and manage their work to effectively accomplish organisational goals.”
- Read more here: http://bit.ly/32Gw15H
Pre-holiday blues
The holiday season’s nearly over, and for some that’ll be a relief.
According to research from Wrike, the collaborative work management platform for high-performance teams, 91% of UK and 94% of German employees feel more stressed leading up to taking a holiday. Some 43% of UK employees said that they feel ‘very’ stressed. Just over three-quarters (78%) of French employees report being stressed, however the majority (42%) say they only feel ‘slightly’ stressed.
Patricia DuChene, GM of EMEA and VP of Sales at Wrike, said, “Holidays are supposed to be relaxing but taking time out of work can be disruptive. If you’re in the middle of a project, it can be difficult to walk away from it or finish enough of it before you head off. And sadly, that can mean you start your holiday worrying about the work you’ve left behind.”
When asked if they feel stressed when they return to work after their holiday, 30% of French and 29% of German respondents said they don’t at all. By comparison, the majority of UK (84%) respondents said they are stressed when they return to work.
- Read more here: http://bit.ly/2Gr67cJ
Male bosses’ discomfort rises
Male managers are increasingly feeling uncomfortable when mentoring, working one-to-one with and socialising with women at work, finds research in the US.
Some 60% of men respondents felt cautious with female colleagues in these situations, a 33 percentage point increase from last year, according to a survey
carried out by LeanIn.org, a non-profit organisation founded by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg.
Senior male employees were 12 times more likely to be hesitant about one-to-one meetings with a less senior woman than they were with a junior male colleague, nine times more likely to be reluctant to travel with a less senior female and six times more likely to be hesitant about attending a work dinner with a female than a male colleague.
Thirty-six per cent reported avoiding mentoring or socialising with a woman because they were nervous about how it looked.
The increased discomfort has negative implications for women achieving potential at work, while sexual harassment was twice as likely to occur in organisations where men dominated the pool of senior executives, said Rachel Thomas, president of LeanIn.org
She said: “My suspicion is that a lot of good guys don’t realise that by not actively mentoring, sponsoring or creating full access, that they’re inadvertently part of
the problem.”
- Read more here: http://bit.ly/2Y7u3gb
Contributions to this slot are welcome.
Email: liz@coaching-at-work.com