Mental Health: Let’s Look After Our Workforce

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Callum George, policy advisor, latest column in The Journal.

August marks exam season, with results coming through for A-Levels, GCSEs, BTECs and VTQs (Vocational Technical Qualifications). Whilst many A-Level students will be nervous, yet excited, to enter higher education, we have also seen the great success of new vocational courses. The first cohort of T-Level students is something to celebrate, in which pupils can be proud of the 92.2% overall pass rate they achieved. This is great news for businesses which are willing to use the next generation for experience-led, innovative ideas.

A big part of celebrating these achievements is recognising the extraordinary pressures put on young people’s education during the pandemic. And rightly so! As I write this column, I can still remember working from home as I am now, but with my sister in the other room trying to prepare for A-Level exams she might- or might not- sit. Pupils who toughed out some of the challenges of online learning and have gained results that allow them to achieve their dreams, deserve huge credit.

However, challenges in the workplace remain. The labour market in the North East is buoyant, with lots of job opportunities for people who are actively looking for work. But as businesses in the North East know far too well, skills and staff shortages in key sectors are hampering their productivity. Here at the Chamber, we have found that 65% of businesses in the North East are worried about staff shortages. This is affecting existing employees who are taking on the burden of extra work. Mental health problems, including stress, are one of the biggest reasons for employee absence.

With that in mind, do businesses have a part to play in caring for their employee’s mental health? Absolutely.

The tightness of the labour market means that employee retention is crucial. So, tackling employee well-being head-on is vital. Fair pay, supporting a good work-life balance, and open and supportive conversations about mental health and resilience to stress are all areas where employers can have a big impact. At the Chamber, we have highlighted this as part of our Good Work Toolkit, which is available on our website https://www.neechamber.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Good-Work-Toolkit.pdf.

Recognising the importance of mental health in the workplace can lead to retaining great talent in North East businesses. It can also help other people, who have been out of work due to mental health issues, to move from economic inactivity to having all the benefits that come from good work with great employers. I hope that the North East can become a shining example for employee wellbeing, with our many fantastic businesses leading the way.  

Have we got employee wellbeing and resilience the wrong way round?

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Can Michelle Minnikin of Work Pirates shift your perspective on employee resilience? This blog initially appeared on their website.

 

As an organisational psychologist, the number one question guaranteed to set me off ranting… “How can we hire more resilient people?”

So, after taking a couple of deep breaths to stop me actually exploding, I explain that they’re asking the wrong question. The question they should be asking themselves – What is it about my organisation that is breaking people? Because you can hire the most resilient person on the planet, but if you put them into an environment that you need to be superhuman to survive in, they will leave.

Or they will break.

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”

This quote from Alexander Den Heijer can help shift your perspective. It clearly identifies where you should direct your focus when a colleague is struggling to thrive in your company. So, if you’re thinking that you need to bring in someone to help with resilience training or some kind of wellbeing support, ask yourself why your people are struggling to cope.

I love the Health & Safety Executive resources on stress and stress risk assessments which ask some really powerful questions.

  • Is the work environment helpful or harmful? Is the workload achievable? Do the work patterns suit your employees?
  • How much control do your employees have over the way they do their work? Can they do it their way, or do they have to follow strict procedures?
  • How supported do they feel? Do they have the resources to do their job? Are there barriers in the way to achieving their goals? Are they coached by their managers?
  • What emphasis is placed on having positive relationships? How is conflict managed and unacceptable behaviour dealt with?
  • Does everyone understand what their responsibilities are? Do they know how their efforts contribute to the success of the company? Are they confident about who they need to speak to to get their job done?
  • How are changes in the company managed? Do they feel that they have a say? Do they understand the change and how they will be impacted by these changes?

To be happy, employees need to feel that they are supported, protected and that they belong. So before you put the onus on your employees to partake in resilience training, or wellbeing activities, it really might be worthwhile to ensure the environment isn’t causing the problem.

Oh…and no amount of beanbags, yoga or free fruit fridays are going to make up for a toxic work environment.

 

The way we’ve always done things is no longer working. We created Work Pirates, to re-write the rules of work. Find out more here.

 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

How to Onboard and Retain Neurodivergent Talent

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Neurodiversity consultant and coach Mark Charlesworth writes the third post in our series on neurodiversity in which he explains how to attract and recruit neurodivergent talent. Read his first post, Closing the Neurodiversity Employment Gap and his second, How to Attract and Recruit Neurodivergent Talent here.

 

Onboarding a Successful Neurodivergent Candidate

The onboarding process is where the relationship begins. You’ve met a couple of times, but this is where you capitalise on the trust and confidence you have started so far. It’s easy to lose, and very difficult to get back.

Those with ADHD and those on the autistic spectrum need routine, so set out goals for the onboarding process and details of how this could be achieved.

The neurodiverse colleague will need to be shown around. They may forget who they’ve met and where they sit, so why not put up signage and print an easy-to-read orientation map so that the new colleague can be independent sooner rather than later? To help build up knowledge of new team members, you could use the game Guess Who to help identify each other.

People with ADHD, for example, may need items printed in front of them rather than on screen and will need regular breaks after 20 minutes. This break could be just standing up, walking around the table, and then starting again.

Repeat facts for emphasis and so that brain thinks the item is important and is more likely to be remembered. A refresher of the induction is recommended to help with this too, not forgetting too that there are numerous learning styles too.

 

It is essential that a workplace assessment is carried out to find out what adjustments are needed, but don’t leave this to guess work and ‘that’ll do’, because that could cause more harm than good. Ideally, a person who has the condition or conditions is ideally placed to carry out the assessment. They can help with disclosing the condition to the team and help them understand it, therefore avoiding potential friction.

Sadly, too many organisations leave this to chance or leave it too late and lose an employment tribunal. You wouldn’t let a plumber lead HR and you wouldn’t ask a recruitment specialist to look at the electrics, so why not get a specialist on the particular condition in question?

 

Retention of Neurodiverse Talent

Neurodivergent talent have a high level of intelligence and are very capable, but just need ongoing training and support. This may include a Line Manager checking in to keep up their interest on a project. If a person with ADHD thinks their Line Manager has lost interest, it is highly likely that they will too. Just a quick coffee together a couple of times per week will be enough, in most cases, to engage with each other and be open and honest, as long as you have built trust too.

 

Ensure that the neurodiverse person has a ‘project book’ (clear pocket display book) for each of their tasks or projects. This will give them a quick reference to each project should they need it and will mean they will have to rely much less on their working memory, which they may have difficulty with. Especially when having to trail through emails, and other documents, they will lose track when prepping for meetings.

The colleague must have a project book which has themselves as the priority. This will include training and promotion opportunities which they might put to the back of their mind and forget about whilst ploughing diligently through the tasks at hand.

 

Everybody has their own 100%, so when formulating the appraisal scores this should be factored in. For example, a person with dyspraxia walks slowly through the office so they don’t stumble, which means they lose e.g. 10% of their working hours over a year, they could only ever achieve 90% if you don’t adjust for their condition. Once you adjust, you realise that their 90% is in fact 100%, so should be entitled to the full reward that a great appraisal brings.

Reasonable adjustments should be discussed with everybody from the offset and with conversations you will learn from each other, and these will evolve as time progresses.

When asked on a form “do you need any reasonable adjustments”, this is in-fact the wrong question. Until they are in the role and able to experience where the interactions and difficulties are, they can’t fully know.

Not all adjustments are obvious but ensuring a workplace assessment is carried out, as well as training of colleagues to reduce friction and embarrassment, is key. This way, everybody can be part of the team, not just a productive way, but in a happy and inclusive way.

 

A while a neurotypical colleague who is overwhelmed with tasks will likely say they are so, a neurodiverse colleague is more likely to be a people pleaser. They may take on many different tasks and agree to unrealistic deadlines, which adds to their anxiety and leads to becoming overwhelmed. A colleague on the autistic spectrum will not realise they have become overwhelmed until they are, meaning they cannot make alterations in the build-up.

 

Be transparent and open and conversations will happen, trust will exist and retention improved, everybody achieving their own 100%.

 

To find out more about Mark’s services you can visit him on his website, call him on 07502 464481, or email him at [email protected]

 

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

Three Days of Desk Yoga with Mindful Impact

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Over the past two years, more of us have been working at home. We’ve got ourselves set up in our kitchens and spare rooms, sat at dining tables or small desks, often on chairs or in spaces which haven’t been set up as well as they would be in a traditional office setting.

So, it’s important to look after our bodies, keep active and keep moving – even when sat at our desks. One way of doing that is desk yoga.

Mark Sidney from Chamber members Mindful Impact, an expert in mindfulness for business, has produced three short videos – just two or three minutes each – introducing some techniques you can use a couple of times a day to release tension in the body and energise you for the day.

The first of these videos is below, in which Mark explains how to release tension which may have built up in the shoulders and the neck.

Mark Sidney from Mindful Impact – video one: shoulder release

The second of our videos from Mark introduces the ‘Magic Neck Trick’, a technique he recommends doing a couple of times a day to release tension in the sides of the neck.

Mark Sidney from Mindful Impact – video two: the Magic Neck Trick

The third and final video in this desk-based yoga session covers gentle massage of the face and the body, which is particularly good for bringing energy on cold mornings.

Mark Sidney from Mindful Impact – video three: self massage

If you enjoyed these videos, on the 2nd March, 10.30-11.30, Mark is hosting a virtual session for Chamber members on mindfulness for productivity, decision making and focus. For full details and to register, visit our Eventbrite page.

Photo by Windows on Unsplash

“Please Do Not Disturb”: How to Help Staff Disconnect After Work Hours

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Westfield Health explore some ways in which businesses can help their home-working staff wind down after office hours.

 

With all that has happened in the last couple of years, it is fair to say that our lives have been completely overturned. If commuting to the office every morning used to be the norm, more and more employees are now working from their bedroom, kitchen table or home office on a regular basis. This may seem like a tremendous advantage at first, and, in many ways, it can be – no early wake-ups, no rushed breakfasts, and no morning traffic.

However, working from home can conceal a few challenges. One of them is that employees find it difficult to switch off and relax after office hours. It has been found that 76% of people struggle to disconnect from their jobs at the end of the working day, with it taking them an average of one hour and 39 minutes to unwind after leaving their desks. In addition, a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that working from home makes it even harder for people to detach. With many more internal emails circulating inside their inbox, workdays from home are becoming longer.

As a business, it is crucial to always ensure high standards of health and wellbeing in the workplace. Employees are a company’s most valuable asset and their wellbeing deserves special attention. This article explores some ways in which businesses can help their home-working staff wind down after office hours.

 

Encourage breaks and hobbies

When working from home, it is very easy to stay glued to the work laptop for an extra hour or two. Whether it is checking emails or polishing presentation slides for the following day, employees may end up losing precious ‘me time’. With no sight of colleagues leaving the office when the shift is over, it may be tricky to realise that it is time to stop for the evening.

One way to make sure your staff are not overworking is to encourage them to take up a hobby. The promise of going to dance classes or for a kick-about with friends may spur them to switch off when they should. For instance, playing an instrument is an excellent solution too. Strumming a guitar or improvising tunes on a piano can reset their mind. In this respect, you may also want to encourage your employees to take short breaks during the day and have a go at their favourite hobby – whether it is singing, gardening, or cooking, it will actively refuel their energy levels and get their creative juices flowing, ready for work again.

 

Promote socialising with co-workers

Working remotely means that employees’ workplaces no longer include co-workers. Colleagues may still see each other during meetings from time to time, but that is only through a screen. What’s more, conversations will always be about work and the current tasks at hand.

Why not promote virtual, social meetings at the end of the working day? This will allow staff to have casual conversations with co-workers that, in an office setting, would generally happen in hallways or at the coffee machine. By encouraging informal interactions, you will help employees detach from their duties for the day.

 

Lead by example

One of the most effective ways to ensure your workers switch off after office hours is to lead by example. Why would homeworkers turn their laptop off if their manager is still online?

Outside of typical office hours, HR and managers should not reply to emails (unless truly urgent, of course). If a task can wait until the morning, it will alleviate the pressure on your people to continue working. That way, you and your employees can quickly indulge in some well-deserved after-work rest.

 

Turn technology to their advantage

As mentioned, workers may feel hesitant to close their laptops after office hours. If a task or meeting request appears on their screen at the end of the day, they may feel pressured to crack on with it regardless of what time it is. Ultimately, they may end up being overburdened with work.

In this respect, you may want to encourage your staff to turn technology to their advantage. There are apps, including Google Calendar, that allow employees to set specific timeframes and work hours. This means that if anyone sends meeting requests outside their office hours, they will be informed that the colleague is currently unavailable and the invitation will be declined. Similarly, apps such as Microsoft Teams can also be set to alert users during core work hours only.

These are simple but effective ways to eliminate people’s temptation to check their work inboxes and messages outside their working hours.

 

Write a to-do list

Why not motivate your employees to write their own to-do lists for the day? Jotting down the tasks for the day has a number of advantages. Firstly, ticking off items is satisfying and spurs staff to keep going, improving productivity and efficiency. More importantly, seeing a completed agenda at the end of the day will help workers settle down for the evening, as it’s evidence that there is nothing else that needs doing.

Writing a to-do list will also allow employees to prioritise their tasks. They will be able to plan out their day to focus on the more pressing duties at times that suit them. If their minor tasks are not finished that day, they could be picked up the next morning.

 

It is true that working from home has its benefits. But there is also no denying that it comes with some challenges, with employees finding it difficult to turn off their work devices and enjoy some all-important ‘me time’. You can also read more tips on how employees can switch off on our blog.

 

Sources

How to switch off from work

How to encourage your employees to switch off

Right to disconnect: 11 ways to support employees

Tips to help work-from-home employees disconnect

Collaborating during coronavirus: the impact of covid-19 on the nature of work

Eight benefits of encouraging employees to disconnect on time

How to switch off completely from work

 

Chamber members can access benefits from Westfield Health as part of their membership, to find out more visit the Member Area of our website: https://members.neechamber.co.uk/

 

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Workplace Wellbeing – the best way to look after yourself and your colleagues

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The session will cover physical and mental wellbeing. Plus, staying positive with a mindful moment and positive desk-based posture. Informative, fun and interactive. This is a must-attend session for those who recognise that people are a company’s most important asset.

Delivered by Patrick Masheder, Corporate Personal Fitness.

The Future of the Workplace – health and wellbeing

Written by

Dr Paul Smith is Chief Strategy Officer of ART Health Solutions, who are based at the PROTO Emerging Technology Centre in Gateshead. ART take a data-driven approach to support their clients in making decisions about employee wellbeing and performance. Over the course of the pandemic, they’ve been helping businesses understand how the shift to remote working has impacted employee health and wellbeing. In this article from our Future of the Workplace report, Paul looks to the future and examines what businesses will need to do to get the best out of their teams.

Download our full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.


The world has faced huge challenges over the past year, with the pandemic creating a landscape that few could have anticipated or have ever seen before. Despite this, the resilience of humankind has shone through at frequent regularity as we try to create opportunities for growth and long term happiness. One such opportunity can be seen within the workplace wellbeing sector, which traditionally, despite huge investment, has largely failed to create and maintain healthy, happy workforces.

Pre-Covid, companies often invested low levels of funding to meet basic recommendations or guidelines around employee wellbeing. Short term initiatives were the norm, with success measured through engagement, rather than the long term health benefits delivered to employees. Could the last 12 months be the catalyst for change to bring workforce wellbeing to the top of the agenda for all businesses? Here are five areas that organisations should be considering as they develop effective workplace wellbeing strategies in the future:

1 Joint responsibility

It is often the case that the responsibility to enhance workplace wellbeing falls only on the shoulders of the organisation themselves. Meeting various employee health & safety guidelines, following specific office design standards and delivering ongoing wellbeing initiatives are all driven and led by the employer as they provide a duty of care to their workforce. This makes sense in theory, as employers must take responsibility for supporting the health of their employees no matter the type of business they are operating.

However, research would suggest that the most effective models allow for both the employer and employee taking joint responsibility for futureproofing their long-term health. Employees are likely to be more engaged, develop longer term habits and make positive lifestyle changes, if they have ownership of the process and control over their own actions. This can only be achieved by gaining an understanding of what they need and employers then providing them with the tools and material they need to take ownership and effective action.

“The most effective models allow for both the employer and employee taking joint responsibility for futureproofing their long-term health.”

2 Holistic Approach

Historically, workplace programmes focus on one or two pillars of wellbeing. Mental health is obviously a very important area as many individuals continue to struggle to maintain good levels of mental wellbeing. However, this focus on mental health could lead to other equally important pillars of wellbeing being under resourced, which will ultimately negatively impact an individual’s mental health. For example, an individual who has poor quality sleep, is very likely to make poor food choices the next day, is less likely to engage in physical activity and hence increase their feeling of unhappiness, worry and stress, causing another bad night’s sleep and so on.

Employers need to adopt a holistic approach by understanding that each pillar of wellbeing hugely effects the others. The world of elite sport provides a template for the corporate world in this respect. Athletes have every aspect of their life carefully managed to support their physiology, psychology, nutrition, recovery etc. to help them perform at their best as often as possible. Why would organisations approach things differently in the corporate world?

Whilst employers may not have the ability to provide around the clock support in all areas for all employees, they can place a greater emphasis on the importance of each pillar and provide tools to help employees feel & perform at their best.

3 Prevention

We’ve all heard the phrase, prevention is better than cure. This is particularly relevant in the world of workplace wellbeing, where the cost of reacting to employee wellbeing issues are typically high. Solutions such as online mental wellbeing material and mental health first aiders are all welcome additions to an employer’s wellbeing programme to provide support for those that need it at the right time.

However, are these same businesses investing time and money to understand how they can prevent their workforce from reaching the point where they need such help in the first place? Do they understand how their workplaces impact employee mental wellbeing? Are they supporting employees in leading an active life, including getting sufficient recovery, through their workplace policies to help support positive mental health?

Enhancing employee wellbeing involves more than providing reactive resources that are only putting a plaster over a larger issue. Building an eco-system that focusses on helping the workforce develop a healthy approach to their daily working & home life, will naturally create a culture of prevention, helping to reduce employee absenteeism & presenteeism, whilst reducing risk of serious health issues and disease.

“Each employee will have differing needs depending on their working environment, lifestyle and type of work, meaning a one size fits all approach simply cannot work.”

4 Personalised

With the future of work likely to include a hybrid model where employees spend a portion of their time working away from the office, it will become increasingly difficult for organisations to deliver effective wellbeing support.

Each employee will have differing needs depending on their working environment, lifestyle and type of work, meaning a one size fits all approach simply cannot work. Employers need to adopt a more bespoke, individualised approach that considers each employee’s needs and provides the right type & level of support to help them prosper. This personalised approach has traditionally been very difficult to achieve due to workforces sharing open plan offices and wellbeing programmes being centred around largescale initiatives such as in-house gyms, walk to work schemes etc.

With the move towards a hybrid approach involving office, flex and home working environments, an opportunity has arisen to personalise ways of working for employees and create bespoke wellbeing strategies to support this new normal.

5 Data Driven

Workplace wellbeing strategies should be underpinned by a foundation of data to inform decision making and develop evidence based solutions. For years, wellbeing has been high on the agenda of many organisations, yet companies still struggle to provide a clear ROI in this area. Often organisations use engagement rates to measure wellbeing initiatives, assuming that if a percentage of the workforce take part, then the programme was a success.

Unfortunately, often those who take part are those who are actually in a good place from a wellbeing perspective and taking part doesn’t equate to a long term improvement in wellbeing. Employers need to understand the current situation for each of their employees in order to deliver an effective strategy, the success of which needs to be tracked and measured on an ongoing basis. This should include both subjective & objective data to provide insights that aren’t just based on employee sentiment and include ongoing measurement in a holistic manner. The future of work should see organisations employing data rich tools to keep abreast of changes that occur across different employee types and to understand how variables such as the working environment, ways of working and job type effect wellbeing over time.

In conclusion, workplace wellbeing is top of many employer’s agenda as they finalise their future work strategy. This presents a unique opportunity to reinvent the wheel by taking proactive steps to enhance employee health and develop a strong, resilient and happy workforce that are better able to cope with the demands of everyday life.

Those organisations that embrace the change through the investment of appropriate resources & funding to help develop data led strategies to meet the needs of all employees will reap the rewards in the long-term.

Evidence shows that happier, healthier workforces are more productive, think more clearly and have a greater loyalty to their employer, helping to reduce costs and increase profits in the long-term. Why would any business owner or senior stakeholder resist the opportunity to create such a positive outcome within their own business?

Paul Smith
@psmithsportssci
arthealthsolutions.com

Download the Chamber’s full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

The Future of the Workplace – commercial property

Written by

Keith Taylor is the Managing Director of UK Land Estates, the largest owner of industrial estates, commercial property and commercial development land in the North East. As the pandemic has unfolded, they’ve seen a shift in needs from their clients on sites including the Team Valley Trading Estate, Teesside Estate and Tyne Tunnel Industrial Estate. In this article from our Future of the Workplace report, Keith explains how they think the commercial property market is changing.

Download our full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

More than a year has passed since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. In that time, we have seen the North East commercial property landscape change dramatically.

From big name distributors and manufacturers, to SMEs and office occupiers, all have had to adapt, flex and change the way they work – and consequently, the space they need. The property landscape has been transformed over the last year, and there are significant opportunities for businesses in our region to ensure they have the workplaces they need to thrive.

E-commerce, logistics and distribution

With 87% of households making online purchases last year and online spending on the rise, it’s no surprise that big warehouses, logistics centres and distribution hubs are in hot demand.

With three major facilities in the region and employing more than 2,000 employees locally, internet giant Amazon’s business has boomed throughout the pandemic. And its expansion is showing no signs of slowing down – with the e-commerce company recently purchasing its first fleet of planes to increase its growing air freight network.

Similarly, online retailers and e-commerce businesses are doing better than ever and parcel distributors, such as DPD and Hermes, have reported volumes up between 40-50 per cent on pre-COVID levels.

With this sustained online demand, there’s an incredible opportunity here in the North East to attract investment, jobs and create supply opportunities.

The retail, e-commerce and logistics industries are looking for several key ingredients when it comes to new property: price-competitive land, excellent connectivity, a workforce and close proximity to centres of population. And on all fronts, the North East delivers.

Our region boasts a number of large brownfield sites and existing industrial parks with the space and utilities to make developments happen quickly. We have great connectivity with links to Yorkshire, the North West and Scotland, as well as a skilled local workforce.

The North East also has strengths in a complementary industry – electric vehicles. Retailers will be looking to make their delivery process as sustainable as possible, and electric vans and trucks will feature in fleets much more.

With all the above in mind, warehouse and distribution space is outperforming across the country and will continue to do well in the months and years to come – so we must continue to cater for this demand in our region.

“The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a surge in the number of business start-ups”

SMEs and start-ups

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a surge in the number of business start-ups, as entrepreneurs are responding to the changing needs of individuals and companies, and laid-off or furloughed workers launch their own ventures.

In the UK business incorporations were up 30 per cent in the four weeks to mid-December compared with the same period last year, and the annual growth rate has been in double digits since June 2020.

Consequently, we have seen a sharp increase in the demand of smaller property spaces, with requirements for small scale production or warehouse storage.

Over the next few months, we will be looking at how we can make smaller serviceable units more readily available for this burgeoning sector.

Manufacturing and Engineering

Industrial property demand has never been so strong.

We have seen many of our tenants in the engineering and manufacturing industries go from strength to strength, including XL Precision Technologies – a Teesside based business specialising in the manufacture of components for the medical industry – who have doubled new business development activity in the past year and are making significant investments into their sites.

“Our business growth has justified major expansion of facility space for several years and we were almost ready to sign new leases when March 2020 happened,” explains Tom Graham, managing director at XL Precision Technologies. “Although those plans were put on hold, we actually had a very positive year. Many of our customers in the medical device sector maintained demand and our business development team had an extremely busy year.

“This means that, despite the continued economic uncertainty, we have committed to investment in manufacturing space and new systems for 2021, in both the UK and USA.

“Our processes are high technology, specialist systems and we needed a quick, flexible and practical expansion option. UK Land offered an adjacent building, with additional external space, within a short timeframe. The new building will be completely refurbished within 6 months of project start and this will be followed by similar enhancement of our existing facility.

We anticipate occupation of the new building in May 2021 and this will provide the platform for our ambitious growth over the next 3 years.”

“Companies are looking for space that is high quality, and available as soon as possible.”

Another company that we have seen thrive in the sector is Express Engineering who has recently invested in a state-of-the-art centre based in Gateshead and is now reaping the benefits of its smooth operation.

Like Express Engineering and XL Precision Technologies, other engineering companies will need to invest post-Brexit and post-COVID to remain competitive and finding the right space will be crucial for this.

Companies are looking for space that is high quality, and available as soon as possible.Not only that, but companies are looking for locations that provide excellent facilities for staff with good transport infrastructure. This gives the North East a huge opportunity to ensure we are attracting more STEM firms – which offer skilled, high-value jobs – through the provision of work space that meets their needs.

“Breakout spaces and modern facilities will be more desirable, while open plan offices will likely be re-worked so that there are areas for hosting private video meetings.”

Office occupiers

Slack’s Future Forum research of 4,700 knowledge workers found that only 12% of workers want to return to full-time office work and 72% want a hybrid remote-office model moving forward.

Consequently, office occupiers will be looking to use space more effectively. Breakout spaces and modern facilities will be more desirable, while open plan offices will likely be re-worked so that there are areas for hosting private video meetings.

With more flexibility to work remotely, office occupiers will likely be looking for higher quality, smaller spaces. This coupled with Newcastle city centre congestion charges on the horizon, commuting into the city centre will be considerably less attractive to employees and we expect out-of-town locations to be increasingly more attractive – especially if they offer benefits like free parking.

Final thoughts

Well connected, with a skilled workforce and with a number of development sites across the region, the North East is in a privileged position when it comes to property.

If we seize on the opportunity that the pandemic has created, embrace change and showcase what our area can offer, I firmly believe that we will bring new investment, jobs and growth to our region – and we will be stronger than ever before.

Keith Taylor
@uklandestates
uklandestates.co.uk

Download the Chamber’s full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

The Future of the Workplace – green shoots of recovery and recruitment

Written by

Jo Hand is the Managing Director of Human Group, has 30 years’ experience in the recruitment sector and is a winner of Susan Dobson North East Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In this article from our Future of the Workplace report, Jo looks at how the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions will impact short term recruitment, and what businesses will need to do longer term to stand out to candidates.

Download our full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

After millions of vaccines have been administered (and this figure is growing hugely by the day), we are seeing a lot more confidence in candidates starting to look for a permanent move in the jobs market. Up until now, a lot of candidates have been staying put, in our view due to worries about not qualifying for the Job Retention Scheme if they became a new employee elsewhere.

In line with this we are seeing a ramping up of permanent roles from companies due to, again, increasing confidence following the vaccines roll out.

Brexit has also had a huge impact with many of our clients avoiding permanent recruitment until they had confirmation as to how things were going to turn out, and whether a trade deal would include tariffs on exports.

One client placed seven permanent roles the day after the Brexit deal was agreed!

They had been wanting to recruit for a year but held back due to their concerns about rising export costs on their products. We have seen similar patterns with other employers regarding permanent recruitment.

“A lot of candidates have been staying put, in our view due to worries about not qualifying for the Job Retention Scheme if they became a new employee elsewhere.”

Temporary contracts are a different story.

In our experience temporary work is usually highly buoyant in tough economic climates such as downturns and recessions.

Granted, the pandemic has been an unprecedented situation, however, we still saw an increase in temporary requirements from the key working sectors such as the NHS, schools, manufacturing, logistics and warehousing. This continues now.

As confidence levels rise, and we see light at the end of this dark tunnel we have been in, temporary vacancies are on the rise also within the sectors that have been quieter during the pandemic. Hiring Managers seem to be springing into action and actively recruiting temporary workers alongside permanent ones as well.

With the rise of remote working changing the wider geographic net for many businesses, employers may need to present themselves differently by emphasising the features and benefits of the two variances; working from home and working from the office. Working from home can mean greater flexibility, better work life balance, savings on fuel and parking and so on. Whereas working from the office, it could be argued, can be better for mental health due to more real life social interaction and feeling the “buzz” of a team working environment.

“Employers may need to present themselves differently by emphasising the features and benefits of the two variances; working from home and working from the office.”

We are told by financial experts that our economy will re-boot and rally to an overall 5% growth by the end of the year, which is encouraging, and by the end of 2022 we are told our economy will grow by 7% and be stronger than it was pre-pandemic.

We have no doubt this year and next that we will see a huge rise (starting post-Easter) of vacancies, both temporary and permanent.

The fastest growing sector will continue to be the Silver Sector as it is called, this is retired professionals going back into the workplace as Interim Consultants.

In summary, as the green shoots appear for Spring, we will see the green shoots of the long path to recovery in our economy.

Jo Hand
facebook.com/thehumangroup.org.uk
thehumangroup.org.uk

Download the Chamber’s full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

The Future of the Workplace – understanding employee perceptions

Written by

Andrea Malcolm is the Executive Director of People, Homes and Communities at Bernicia, one of the region’s largest property management and development organisations, providing quality affordable homes across the North East. Recognising the need for change across their regional offices post-pandemic, they’ve worked with another Chamber member, MMC Research & Marketing, to understand what their teams needed. Here, in this article from our Future of the Workplace report, Andrea explains how they’re listening to colleagues and reshaping their space.

Download our full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.

When the government announced the lockdown in March 2020, we responded by moving our workforce to remote working almost immediately.

Migrating our systems over to Teams in a matter of days was something that may have taken us months previously, but it showed just how agile and responsive we could be, and very quickly, all staff and the senior leadership team were working and communicating alongside pets and children but with giant uncertainty around our eventual return to the workplace.

Very early on, we were acutely aware that in order for remote working to be effective, we had to get it right and to get it right we needed to understand how staff felt about their new arrangements and help them look forward to what a “new normal” might be.

“We were acutely aware that in order for remote working to be effective, we had to get it right.”

We talked to our market research partner, MMC Research & Marketing, who stepped in to design a research protocol consisting of three elements – a survey with all staff, in depth interviews with various members of staff at all levels and desk based research exploring emerging trends within the market.

They got to work very quickly and asked questions we hadn’t even thought of ourselves, all of which led to a report that triangulated the three parts of the research and provided suggestions on how to take forward Bernicia’s vision for ‘agile working’.

The report gave us some really valuable insights. Firstly, we wanted to explore what agile working meant to our staff.The concept was alien to some, but others understood it straight away.One person summed it up as an environment where they’d be in the office for part of their week to collaborate with the rest of their team, but being empowered to choose when it was right to work from home on concentrated projects on other days.

It seemed that it was the feeling of being trusted and empowered that was important to people.

The survey told us that, in the future, 67% of staff wanted a combination of both home and office working.

While people had quickly become used to working from home, some seemed to miss the social interaction with their team. In fact, 35% stated that this was a huge negative to them.

One person mentioned that while they were enjoying the social interaction with their team members online, they missed the social interaction with others that they often bumped into for a chat, but didn’t necessarily work with.

Others struggled with adjusting to the new way of working and interacting on video meetings – one said “I’ve been in a couple of meetings and think no, I would have liked to have been in a meeting environment to talk about that. I would have probably liked to just sketch something down on a bit of paper, like a diagram or something, say “look, is this what you mean”.

These types of comments indicated that there was definitely a desire for collaboration to take place physically when safe and possible to do so.

Those that were adapting well to working from home mostly put it down to having more energy and balance to get tasks at home completed, alongside their day job. It seemed to me that those who carved out a routine early on were benefiting the most.The people that were working around the clock, and not setting boundaries or balance for themselves, struggled more.

One person stated “I can’t remember the last time I felt tired. I think of working in the office and I think of winter, red tail lights ahead of you on the drive home. Getting home in the dark. Now, I log off, I potter in the garden. My energy levels are much higher.”

Another said “I feel like I’ve got more freedom to manage my time more effectively … so I feel like, from a business perspective and mine, personally it’s benefitting them more, I’m more in control, I’m at my desk more, but I feel more empowered, and I’ve got more freedom to do more things I want to at the same time, so it’s a win for them and it’s a win for me.”

We’ve continuously taken the ‘wellbeing’ element seriously and we’ve ensured systems and activities are in place to support staff. We even had someone’s husband (who was a personal trainer) running some PT sessions online and managers have made it a priority to have regular wellbeing “check in” sessions to ensure balance is at the heart of their new way of working.

“We expect that agile working will be with us in some form from now on, but we also now know how important it will be to keep our employees involved and keep adapting to their needs.”

We expect that agile working will be with us in some form from now on, but we also now know how important it will be to keep our employees involved and keep adapting to their needs especially as we move through various lockdowns. Going forward we want to capture all the benefits of our newfound skills and flexibilities, and blend these with the aspects of our culture that remain important to our staff, collaboration, innovation and ingenuity, and face to face interactions. To achieve this, we have established a framework of ‘Core Principles’ to guide our approach and ensure that colleagues across our diverse operational areas recognise the valuable contribution they make to our overall success, that they continue to thrive, and that they have access to a range of personal development and career progression opportunities that continues to support Bernicia’s pipeline of exceptionally talented people.

Andrea Malcolm
@berniciagroup
bernicia.com

Download the Chamber’s full Future of the Workplace report here, and read our launch blog here.