The UK is getting poorer and sicker, and this trend is not equal across the country. Poorer and sicker areas are getting poorer and sicker the most quickly. To help develop a path forward, IPPR held a series of multi-day deliberative workshops across the country – each exploring people’s understanding of health, its relationship with prosperity, and priorities for change. Based on these priorities, we have developed a new framework: ‘Seven for Seven’ – or seven foundations for seven healthy life years.
The workplace is changing. Technological innovations in fields like artificial intelligence are transforming organizations at a breakneck pace. Ongoing economic uncertainty is leading to layoffs and higher workloads. It’s difficult for many workers to keep up. Given increased pressures, it’s not surprising that workplace stress and burnout is on the rise. According to The Economist, 68% of managers and 60% of non-managers reported being burned out in the past 12 months. One-third of U.S. workers say their mental health is getting worse due to long hours, excessive workloads, and other factors, according to a survey from the Conference Board.
BAYO means ‘Joy has found us’ in Yoruba and it is a space to find collectives, organisations and services from across the UK — for the Black community — to support your mental health and wellbeing, and it is run by The Ubele Initiative. We are continuously adding new organisations to the directory and have a link that you can use to tell us about organisations that have been useful to you that others may like to know about.
The Avenue Subscription Service gives access to 60 online courses for up to 300 people, but from February 5th it will be available to individual subscribers at just £118.80 per annum, less than £2 per course. Visit www.NeilThompson.info/subscription-service/ to find out more
In working with people, emotions are never very far away. Being able to tune in to other people’s emotions, to be aware of our own and get the balance of head and heart right is often referred to as ‘emotional intelligence’. A key part of this is being able to tolerate silences. When someone is distressed or otherwise in the grip of strong emotions, they may fall silent, and that silence can feel very uncomfortable for us. We can be very tempted to jump in and ask a question or just fill the gap in some way. Understandable though this may be, it can be quite problematic because we are, in effect, giving the person concerned the message that dealing with our own discomfort is more important than giving them the emotional space they need. If we are able to resist the temptation of filling the silence, we give the much more positive and supportive message that we are there for them, that they are not facing their difficulties unsupported. And what an important message that can be.
Spain has elected its first parliamentarian with Down’s syndrome. Mar Galcerán was voted into Valencia’s regional assembly, in the east of the country. She is thought to be the first person with the genetic disorder to join a European regional or national parliament. Her appointment has been called “a huge step forward” and “an example of real inclusion.”
In March 2021 Acas commissioned Essex Business School to undertake an Acas partnership research project on the role of staff race networks. This reflected increasing recognition of the importance of employee network groups, particularly race networks, in helping employers act on equality issues in the workplace, especially those around recruitment and progression. The growth in racism consciousness spawned by the Black Lives Matter political and social movement has renewed interest in the role of race networks in tackling ethnic inequities.
The Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace toolkit is a free resource. It will help employers create workplaces where women are safe to report incidents of sexual harassment and support employers to respond appropriately – creating environments where sexual harassment does not happen in the first place.