Get fit for work
Felicity Evans • August 26, 2015
Picture: picjumbo.com
We all know that sitting is the new smoking (sitting for extended periods can threaten your health just as much as more obviously poor lifestyle choices) but when you’re office-bound, how do you avoid turning into a desk potato?
There are plenty of ways you can be more fit and healthy at work, whether it’s by moving about more or changing your diet. These choices may take a little adjusting to, but in the long run they will be worth it – and you can enjoy feeling a little bit smug, too.
One of the most obvious ways to make a change is to consider whether or not you could walk or cycle to work, or use public transport as that will involve more walking than taking the car. If your mornings involve split-second timings, giving lifts to family members and taking children to school then this probably isn’t practical, but if you could manage it even once in while, it would be beneficial.
If you have no choice but to take the car, you could consider parking a five- or ten-minute walk from work, rather than directly outside, or even get to the office ten minutes early and have a gentle stroll or two round the car park. Not only will it boost the number of steps you take, it will get your blood pumping and help you feel more energised for the day ahead.
Once you’re through the office doors, any commitment to moving around more becomes a bit harder – but not impossible. If you have to make or receive a phone call, do it standing up, likewise if someone comes over to your desk for a discussion. You can rotate wrists and ankles, stretch out arms and legs whilst still sitting down – and when it comes to lunchtime, there’s no reason why you can’t go for a walk, or even join a nearby gym and pop out for a 20-minute workout or swim. Getting away from the office won’t just do wonders for your body, but for your mind as well.
Finally, a small detail but none-the-less important: your desk. Make sure that it’s set up correctly so that when you look at your screen your head and neck are correctly aligned (if they aren’t you’ll slowly develop a stoop and shoulder problems) and your arms and wrists are at the right height for your mouse and keyboard. Get in touch with HR and ask them to come and do an assessment on your workstation if you’re not sure how you should be sitting.
More tips on healthy changes can be found at www.nhs.uk/change4life
Picture this: after weeks of interviews, countless email exchanges, and meticulous CV screening, you've finally found the perfect candidate. The offer letter is sent, champagne is on ice—then silence. A few days later, the dreaded email arrives: "Thank you for the opportunity, but I've decided to pursue another option." Last-minute candidate rejections aren't just frustrating—they're expensive, time-consuming, and increasingly common in today's competitive job market. According to recent research by Robert Half UK, 42% of UK professionals have accepted a job offer but continued to interview for other roles. More alarmingly, 28% admitted to accepting an offer only to back out before starting. But why is this happening, and what can recruitment professionals and hiring managers do to prevent these eleventh-hour disappointments?
In today's competitive business landscape, intuition and experience remain valuable, but they're no longer sufficient on their own. UK businesses facing rising operational costs, increasing competition, and a challenging economic environment can no longer afford to make critical workforce decisions based on gut feeling alone. The difference between thriving and merely surviving increasingly depends on how effectively organisations leverage data to optimise their most valuable resource: their people. According to research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) , UK productivity growth has stagnated since the 2008 financial crisis, lagging behind other G7 nations. With the April 2025 minimum wage increases looming, businesses face growing pressure to extract maximum value from their workforce investments. The good news? The rise of workforce analytics provides unprecedented opportunities to identify inefficiencies, optimise performance, and cultivate environments where employees thrive. As Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Arts (RSA), noted in the UK Government's Good Work Review : "In a world of increasing workplace complexity, the organisations that thrive will be those that measure what matters and act on the insights." This blog explores how data-driven decision making can transform workforce productivity, examining practical approaches that UK businesses are implementing today with remarkable results.
Manufacturing in the UK faces a talent crisis of unprecedented proportions. While the sector contributes over £191 billion to the British economy according to Make UK, it's increasingly losing its most valuable resource—skilled workers—to competing industries. This talent exodus comes at a critical moment when technological advancement demands more specialised skills than ever before. The Manufacturing Skills Gap Survey reveals a stark reality: 83% of UK manufacturers struggle to recruit appropriate talent, while 64% report losing skilled employees to other sectors—particularly technology, logistics, and renewable energy. This isn't merely a staffing challenge but an existential threat to the industry's future competitiveness and innovation capacity. "Manufacturing has an image problem that masks its reality," notes Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK. "While other sectors have successfully repositioned themselves as modern, dynamic career destinations, manufacturing continues to battle outdated perceptions that undermine its appeal to today's workforce." The good news? Forward-thinking manufacturers are finding ways to reverse this trend, implementing innovative strategies that not only stem the tide of departing talent but successfully attract skilled workers from other industries. This blog explores how manufacturing can transform its approach to talent acquisition and retention, repositioning itself as an employer of choice in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
The scenario is all too familiar: a key team member hands in their notice, triggering an immediate scramble to fill the position. Job descriptions are hastily updated, recruitment agencies engaged, and hiring managers pulled into urgent meetings—all while business continuity hangs in the balance and costs mount. This reactive approach to recruitment isn't merely stressful; it's strategically flawed. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), UK organisations take an average of 28 days to fill a vacancy, with specialist roles often exceeding 12 weeks. During this time, productivity suffers, remaining team members face increased pressure, and opportunities are missed. The alternative? Building a proactive talent pipeline—a continuously nurtured pool of engaged, pre-qualified candidates ready to step into roles as they become available. This approach doesn't just reduce time-to-hire; it fundamentally transforms recruitment from an emergency response to a strategic advantage.
The race to deliver ever faster is transforming the logistics landscape. What began as Amazon's competitive edge has evolved into an industry-wide expectation, with same-day delivery rapidly becoming the new standard rather than a premium service. For warehouse and logistics leaders, this shift creates unprecedented operational challenges—none more pressing than how to recruit, train, and retain the workforce necessary to meet these accelerated timelines. According to the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) , the demand for warehouse space has increased by 32% since 2020, driven largely by e-commerce growth and the same-day delivery paradigm. Yet while physical capacity expands, the human capital challenge grows even more acute. A recent LogisticsUK survey found that 82% of warehouse operators cite staffing as their most significant constraint in meeting same-day delivery demands. This isn't merely a challenge of hiring more people—it's about recruiting differently for roles that have fundamentally changed. As Peter Ward, former CEO of UKWA, notes: "Same-day delivery hasn't just accelerated timelines; it's transformed the very nature of warehouse work, creating new roles requiring different skills and aptitudes than traditional warehouse positions."
In today's competitive labour market, attracting quality candidates for shift-based roles presents a unique challenge for HR professionals. The CIPD Working Lives Report found that 68% of UK shift workers report negative impacts on their personal lives, yet many businesses rely entirely on shift patterns to maintain operations. The critical question becomes: how can organisations recruit effectively for these positions while preserving the well-being and work-life balance that today's workforce demands? Far from being an impossible task, creating attractive shift-based roles requires strategic thinking and innovative approaches to work design. Companies that get this right gain a significant competitive advantage in recruitment, retention, and productivity – all while supporting employee wellbeing.
You've spent hours perfecting your CV, searching for the right opportunities, and submitting applications – yet your inbox remains frustratingly empty. If you're wondering why you're not landing interviews despite your qualifications and experience, you're not alone. Recent research from Totaljobs shows that the average job opening in the UK attracts 49 applications, with only 15% of applicants typically securing an interview. The good news? With a few strategic adjustments to your approach, you can dramatically improve your chances of making it to the interview stage. Let's examine the most common reasons applications fall flat – and the practical steps you can take to stand out from the crowd.
In an era of unprecedented technological change, shifting workforce dynamics, and evolving industry pressures, engineering leadership stands at a critical crossroads. The traditional command-and-control approach that once dominated the sector is increasingly being replaced by more adaptive, inclusive, and technology-enabled leadership models. This transformation isn't merely a trend—it's an essential evolution for companies seeking to remain competitive in an increasingly complex global marketplace.
In the relentless pursuit of efficiency, UK businesses often overlook the subtle yet powerful forces quietly eroding their productivity. While organisations invest millions in cutting-edge technologies and process improvements, the most damaging productivity killers often operate in plain sight—unrecognised, unmeasured, and unaddressed. According to research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) , the UK continues to lag behind other G7 nations in productivity growth, with output per hour worked remaining stubbornly below pre-2008 financial crisis trends. What's particularly concerning is that this productivity gap persists despite significant investments in technology and equipment. So, what's truly holding UK businesses back? Our analysis of current research reveals three pervasive yet frequently overlooked productivity drains: ineffective shift planning, excessive meeting cultures, and persistent workplace distractions. Together, these hidden productivity killers could be costing your business up to £8,500 per employee annually, according to calculations based on CIPD Workplace Productivity Survey data. Let's examine each of these productivity vampires and, more importantly, how to drive a stake through their hearts.
In UK manufacturing and production facilities, the constant hum of machinery doesn't always match the natural rhythms of the people operating them. As production demands continue to evolve in 2025, the way we structure work hours has profound implications not just for output metrics, but for the humans behind those metrics. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, approximately 3.5 million workers in the UK regularly work shifts, with manufacturing and production industries representing a significant proportion of this figure. Yet despite this prevalence, many operations managers and production directors still rely on outdated scheduling approaches that prioritise machine uptime over human performance. The consequences? Higher turnover rates (manufacturing experiences 15% higher turnover than the UK average according to Make UK's 2023 Labour Turnover Report), increased workplace accidents (37% higher in night shifts according to HSE data), and productivity plateaus that frustrate even the most experienced production managers. Let's explore what the evidence actually tells us about shift patterns, their impact on your workforce, and how to design schedules that serve both business objectives and employee wellbeing.
