Pro Installer February 2017 - Issue 47 | Page 24

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PRO NEWS

FEBRUARY 2017 PRO INSTALLER
www. proinstaller. co. uk

WHAT IS A GOOD DAY AT WORK?

Ten per cent of UK workers don’ t have one good day at work each week, according to research by business psychology company Robertson Cooper and the Bank Workers Charity( BWC).
Following their‘ What is a Good Day At Work?’ report, the two organisations are hosting the Good Day At Work Conversation 2017. This annual event brings together thought leaders and senior practitioners from global organisations to debate modern health, wellbeing and work. The event is on March 28 at The Royal College of Physicians, London. The‘ What is a Good Day At Work?’ report set the scene for change surrounding wellbeing in the workplace. Among other facts it revealed that only one per cent of workers thought fresh air and a lunch hour was important. UK workers are struggling with wellbeing at work, with one in four UK employees revealing that work makes them unhappy. A
worrying ten per cent reported not having even one good day at work each week and only five per cent rated work-life balance as an important factor for a good day at work. The What is a Good Day At Work? report outlines recommendations for organisations wanting to create change and act to promote more good days at
work. The report explores how employers can foster working environments that contribute to wellbeing and why they should take the time to understand their people. Importantly the research connects wellbeing back to business priorities, including increased productivity, lower sickness rates and better colleague and customer relationships.
Whilst the research— which surveyed 1,500 UK adults in the private and public sector— highlighted room for improvement, there are positive indications that changes are in progress. Twothirds of employees reported feeling empowered to talk about wellbeing, and importantly more than half( 57 per cent) of people said that work makes them happy. Robertson Cooper and BWC found workers are also out of touch with what makes a good day at work. People did not see‘ non-task’ factors, such as worklife balance, as an influence on their day. Only one per cent said that getting fresh air during the day, and making time for lunch, was important. Psychologist and head of client experience at Robertson Cooper, Paula Brockwell, explains:“ The survey data enabled us to identify
correlations between influencers, such as technology, management style, workplace relationships and conversations, and their impact on people’ s physical and emotional energy levels. Our research showed that your energy levels— both physical and emotional— were the biggest contributors to whether or not you were having a good day at work.” Physical and emotional energy levels were influenced by a number of factors— including technology. Management styles impacted heavily on happiness levels. Those who weren’ t happy at work stated they had a results-focused manager( 84 per cent) and 42 per cent reported not having an accessible manager.
www. robertsoncooper. com www. bwcharity. org. uk www. thewellbeingpulse. com

BUILDERS SAY QUALITY COUNTS

The Federation of Master Builders( FMB) says the long-awaited‘ Each Home Counts’ review by Dr Peter Bonfield is right to focus on improving quality. The Bonfield Review looks into standards and consumer protection in the energy efficiency and renewable energy installation sector. Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said:“ Bonfield is right to focus on improving quality – both the technical quality of energy efficiency improvement work and the quality of customer service experienced by the consumer.“ The energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, like the wider domestic building industry, remain largely under-regulated, with too few checks to protect consumers from poor quality builders. In the absence of a licensing system for domestic building work, as occurs in Canada and Australia, we must look at other ways of raising standards and boosting quality.” Meanwhile, the FMB has welcomed the appointment of the new construction minister, Lord Prior, who has taken over responsibility for the construction portfolio at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
www. fmb. org. uk

Cost-effective alternative to triple glazing

Northamptonshire-based installation company T & K Home Improvements is singing the praises of TruFit- after introducing the expanding foam edge tape from Edgetech UK to its installations.
T & K Home Improvements is the sister company of PVCu fabricator Emplas and offers energy efficient windows, doors and conservatories to homeowners across the region. Chief operations officer Paul Woods said:“ We needed an installation system that offered clean lines and dependable reliability that would outlast the guarantee on our Ecoplus range which has been developed using our own profile.“ Traditional‘ wet’ sealants like expanding foam and silicone can fail after a period, but TruFit offers a completely dependable, energy efficient seal that maintains the high energy ratings of our windows.
“ It also offers customers a more cost-effective alternative to triple glazing. Our Ecoplus range, installed with TruFit, offers a premium installation to homeowners, with the levels of thermal performance they are looking for, without the added cost of triple glazed units.”
‘ offers a premium installation to homeowners’
As part of Edgetech’ s service, installation training using TruFit was provided to the fitting teams at T & K Home Improvements.
www. trufit-it. com