news from workSMART

With a heatwave warning in place this week for parts of the UK, and temperatures predicted to soar as high as 32^oC, the TUC is calling on employers to relax office dress codes and cool down their overheating offices and wilting employees.

By allowing staff to loosen their ties and leave their jackets at home, the TUC is hoping most employers will adopt a more relaxed approach to office attire, if only for the hottest days of the summer, and help make work a bit more bearable. Read more…

posted 30/06/2009

Associated Press in the US have been in the news this week after announcing a new social media policy to staff. The policy was designed to clarify what was expected of staff in their personal lives on social networks, such as Facebook, and wanted a number of fairly draconian restrictions on staff - measures such as prohibiting them from discussing anything about AP, or from holding a public political affiliation.

But the one which stuck most with staff was the requirement to monitor what their friends were writing on their profiles, and to delete anything that might ‘violate AP standards’ - in other words, you’re responsible for your friends as well as yourself. Kevin Keane, of the AP staff union, the News Media Guild, said “It is making some people cringe. It is not appropriate for a company that heralds free speech”. Read more…

posted 24/06/2009

Twitter.com is the latest social media craze to hit the UK. It’s a microblogging service - which basically means you can post short updates (tweets) about what you’re doing from your phone or computer, and keep up to date with the latest from people in your network.

Different people are using it in different ways, and many finding it opens up some great new ways to keep in touch or to make new contacts. Problem is, it’s just like any other social network in that it also opens up some very effective new ways to lose your job, if you’re not thinking about the implications of how you’re using it. Read more…

posted 25/03/2009

Work Your Proper Hours Day is next week (Friday 27 Feb), and to help us mark the event, work life balance expert Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University has helped us make a special interactive long hours clinic tool. Tell us a bit about your working situation, and we can match your profile with Professor Cooper’s tips to get a better balance.

You can also read more about the event (with other tools and games to fiddle with during your precious break times) at www.workyourproperhoursday.com

Try the Long Hours Clinic tool now

posted 19/02/2009

As staff struggle back into work following the heavy snows, there’s confusion in some places as to how employers should treat time lost through bad weather, with some people being told they’ll lose pay for time missed, or have to take annual leave to cover it. Whilst there’s actually no general legal right to be paid if you can’t come into work because of the weather, a lot of companies do have ‘bad weather’ policies so that employees who are genuinely kept away from work by dangerous weather and lack of transport still get paid. Read more…

posted 03/02/2009