Difficult conversations at work are inevitable. Most people prefer to avoid conflict. In the workplace, this type of avoidance can look like; failing to address someone’s inappropriate behaviour; refusing to discuss poor performance; or not drawing necessary boundaries with colleagues, for example. The longer a difficult conversation is avoided, the worse the matter often becomes.
Click here to read more
‘Flexible Working’ is the term that refers to working patterns, arrangements, or hours. Examples include part-time, flexi-time, compressed hours, adjusted start and finish times, and alternative work locations such as working from home. Flexible working has historically been of particular benefit to Employees with caring responsibilities outside of work, or health issues. The UK Government
Click here to read more
Levels of long-term sickness in the UK are at a record high. In May 2023, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that for every 13 people currently working,1 person is on long-term sickness absence from the workforce. The ONS commented that the underlying causes for the record levels of sickness was a rise in
Click here to read more
While social media is not especially new anymore (its first forms appearing in 1997), its sophistication, popularity and reach has grown at an astonishing rate over the years. We’ve moved from sharing our worlds through simple textual status updates, to showing it in all its glory via snappy, short videos. Many Employers still have a
Click here to read more
Menopause, including the years leading up to (peri-menopause) and the years after (post- menopause), has always been an issue for many women, with some suffering symptoms more than others, and potentially not fully understanding why or how to successfully manage them. Previous generations didn’t talk much about the menopause and the issues it often brought
Click here to read more
The festive season and a brand new year are fast approaching, and it’s a time when thoughts turn to joy, peace, goodwill to all, and careful considerations of how quickly we can be rid of certain individuals in our workforce who made the outgoing year so insufferable. Which brings us neatly to the discussion of
Click here to read more
As much as many of us may not relish the idea, we are living and working in a time when it is sometimes necessary to monitor the activities of our Employees. Several years ago, monitoring only extended as far as to keeping track of stock levels, stationery supplies in the office, and analysing the ‘accuracy’
Click here to read more
In a survey carried out by insurance provider, Aviva, it was found that one in five Brits have started a side hustle since March 2020. Popular side hustles included selling handcrafted products, freelancing, taxi driving, and one of the newest forms of income stream, becoming a social media influencer. Reasons cited for starting a side
Click here to read more
Retirement years have always been painted as a carefree time of sports cars, world travel, picnics and parks, and quality time with grandchildren running along sunny beaches, accompanied by a Golden Retriever or two. Furthermore, the ability to retire early has long been regarded as a true measure of a successful work life. In reality
Click here to read more
Information security carries one of the highest risks to organisations for fines and litigation in the event of a breach, so managing this area takes a lot of time, resources, and long-term strategy. Enter Pandemic-inspired lockdowns and the requirement to make overnight decisions. Balancing the need to move quickly with the necessity to act strategically
Click here to read more