April 23, 2020

Creating a healthy workforce

Trying to run a business with an unhealthy workforce can be incredibly difficult. High levels of absenteeism, low productivity and a safety risk to the wellbeing of your employees will all have a knock-on effect on the sustainability of your company both in the short and long term. There are

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How to Add Kerb Appeal to Your Home

If you’re looking to ensure your home looks its best from first glance, you need to work on its kerb appeal. The term ‘kerb appeal’ applies to the way your home looks from the front, as the first thing people will see from the street and you want it to

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Improve efficiencies within your pack room operation

Employee-owned packaging company Kite Packaging have recently launched on their leading B2B website, packing benches and paper roll holders, both great additions to any pick, pack and despatch operation. Kite’s strong and sturdy packing benches are a great addition to their workstations and benches offering. Packing benches are the ideal

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

April 23, 2020

Creating a healthy workforce

Trying to run a business with an unhealthy workforce can be incredibly difficult. High levels of absenteeism, low productivity and a safety risk to the wellbeing of your employees will all have a knock-on effect on the sustainability of your company both in the short and long term. There are many different reasons that affect whether a person is fit to work, and these should always be looked at delicately and discreetly. However, making small changes to a working environment can have a significant impact on both your employees and your profits. Being mindful at work Whether someone is driving a forklift truck or dealing in stocks and shares, a person’s mental health greatly affects their ability to do their job. According to a report by the charity Mind, 60% of employees said that if their employer took positive action to “support their mental wellbeing” they’d feel more motivated. Depression can have deep and long-lasting effects on anyone and can hugely impact the way in which someone works. More and more companies are introducing mindfulness to the workplace with employees being able to attend sessions with qualified practitioners to talk about their work and their feelings. By removing the stigma of mental health issues, promoting dialogue and encouraging engagement, you can build higher levels of trust and respect between colleagues, thereby improving the overall morale. Substance abuse at work People can become reliant on drugs or alcohol for a number of wide-ranging reasons. Unfortunately, being under the influence of either at work can greatly affect the productivity of your company and can lead to issues such as theft, serious accidents and absenteeism. With a network that covers the UK, Matrix Diagnostics drug testing can help you to carry out pre-employment checks to make sure that you’re not hiring someone who already has a problem. Including clauses in employment contracts for consent to random testing can also help you to regularly check on your workforce and know if someone needs help before it’s too late. Fit as a fiddle Regardless of whether it’s a job that involves a lot of physical exertion or one that is desk-bound, injuries can happen. Creating a workplace that encourages good posture, correct safety measures and responsible working patterns can go a long way to ensuring the actual fitness of your team. With a lot of firms nowadays going one step further by offering in-house yoga sessions or gym memberships to help with overall fitness levels, if a serious or repetitive injury does occur, then an occupational therapist can assess individuals and provide practical help and advice on recovery. Access To Medical Support It’s highly important that staff have access to the right medical treatment and are encouraged to address any mental or physical health issues quickly. All too often, you’ll get a situation where people try to carry on and ignore a health issue. This means that minor, easily treatable problems can spiral into larger matters that require more complex and ongoing treatment. Plus, you have the added complication of secondary health issues development. Counter this by creating a company culture where employees are encouraged to book medical appointments as needed and use online services to access prescription medicines. If you have access to wellbeing services or things like telephone counselling, promote them widely and encourage staff to use them. Sometimes this kind of support in the early stages can make all the difference in catching and diagnosing any issues before they spiral.  A brighter future Showing that you care about the health and wellbeing of your employees can also make your company a more desirable place to work, which, of course, has the added bonus of helping you to attract the highest calibre of candidates in the future.

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How to Add Kerb Appeal to Your Home

If you’re looking to ensure your home looks its best from first glance, you need to work on its kerb appeal. The term ‘kerb appeal’ applies to the way your home looks from the front, as the first thing people will see from the street and you want it to stand out and look the part. From general tidying up tips to changes that can have a big impact, the following post will help you perfect your homes kerb appeal and create a warm and welcoming feel from the moment you reach the front door. The Front Garden First things first, having a neat and tidy front garden is essential. Whether it’s a long strip of grass that runs along the length of a wall or fence, or it’s the trees and bushes that are positioned around the front of your home, if these are untidy and overgrown your home will instantly look messy and uninviting. Start by ensuring your lawn has been cut, hedges and bushes are trimmed back and in shape and any weeds or overgrown plants are pulled or trimmed back to a neater length. If you struggle to get your garden looking its best, hire a gardener, which you can do online here, to make a start on the work for you, then you can simply keep up with the maintenance every few weeks to keep your home looking its best. Balance of Lighting Having the right lighting at the front of your home can have a huge impact on the overall kerb appeal. Not having enough lighting will leave your home looking dark and dingy through the evenings and into the night, whereas a touch of light in the right areas can really help to enhance your home and illuminate certain parts to create a really homely feel. Positioning lighting outside your front door is a great way to open up the front of your home and create a welcoming feel, with lighting dotted around the garden to help show off your beautiful outdoor area whilst also adding some security measures too. Lighting can help to deter thief’s too, as you’ll find they don’t want to be seen snooping around when the areas are lit and easily visible. You can find stylish and traditional outdoor lighting online at MY KNX, or alternatively you could pop to your local garden centre to see which styles they have available for your home’s exterior. Front Door Design From the moment someone steps foot outside your home the front door is the focal point that the eye is drawn to. With this in mind, you want your front door to stand out and welcome people to your home, in your own personal way. From a simple lick of paint to a bold brass knocker, which you can find at House of Brass, and beautiful house number plate, you can transform your front door in a few small steps and have a stunning entrance to your home. You can get away with almost anything when it comes to the front door, with so many vibrant colours to choose from that will enhance your home and take the overall aesthetic to the next level. The Perfect Pathway Paths are ideal for creating a clear entrance to the home, which can help enhance the overall warm, welcoming atmosphere that you want to create. From individual stone slabs, to subtle stones like these from Stone Warehouse that pave the way, you can create a lovely aesthetic with a path that will make the perfect finishing touch to your homes kerb appeal. Take your path to an even higher level by lining neatly with flowers and plants to bring some life and colour to the space.

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Improve efficiencies within your pack room operation

Employee-owned packaging company Kite Packaging have recently launched on their leading B2B website, packing benches and paper roll holders, both great additions to any pick, pack and despatch operation. Kite’s strong and sturdy packing benches are a great addition to their workstations and benches offering. Packing benches are the ideal space-saving solution when packing items within an operation, they ensure efficiency and can be kitted out with all the required items for the process. Produced from strong steel with a Melamine Faced Chipboard worktop and supplied flat packed for ease of movement and transport, these strong sturdy benches have an excellent load-bearing capacity and are available in two configurations, with and without a shelf and extra roll holder. Kite’s recently launched paper roll holders with an integrated cutting blade, are another great essential product when packing items. Designed to be on the top of a counter or under a packing bench, they will ensure easy accessibility to materials as and when needed. They are commonly used by, ecommerce companies looking for an internal paper solution to wrap a wide range of goods, florists and, gift wrapping. For more information on Kite Packaging and their range of goods and services, please visit kitepackaging.co.uk

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