A new study from the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, published in the Journal for Environmental and Public Health, reveals that shared activities in our workplaces can boost wellbeing and performance by improving the ‘social atmosphere’.
After a review of nearly 1,400 scientific papers and reports from across the globe, researchers from the Universities of East Anglia, Essex, Reading and Sheffield found evidence that team activities are effective at making us happier at work. All the successful examples they found:

Involved everyone – including people who might be reluctant to interact in shared activities.
Had …

By Jonathan Amponsah, The Tax Guys
If you’re running a small business as a sole trader, a partnership or through a limited company you might well be missing out by failing to realise the extent of expenses that can be claimed against income.
 Of course HMRC expects you to claim the expenses that are incurred “wholly and exclusively” for the purpose of your business. Rent and rates, insurance, salaries etc.
But, what are the opportunities for “other expenses” with a personal element specifically education, training and holidays?
Education
School fees
The directors of a company may …

Striking out on your own and not working for somebody is an exciting thought for many. The sense of adventure and the prospect of making more money drive many entrepreneurs. But before you take the high road to success as a self-employed businessperson, you need to ensure that you have done the small and mundane things right. You need to fulfil legal and tax responsibilities so that your fledgling business can function smoothly.

Choose an appropriate business type – It could be an LLC or a limited company. Once you have …

Twenty-six of the most progressive employers and their representatives have been shortlisted for this year’s Workingmums.co.uk Top Employer Awards.
The employers have been shortlisted across eight categories ranging from SMEs to Family Support and Best for Dads. The Awards will be announced at a ceremony in London on 7th November, which will involve a keynote address by Ann Francke, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, as well as networking sessions and a Q & A with a panel of experts.
The ceremony is the eighth annual Top Employer Awards and celebrates companies who …

Working women in the UK feel they face a number of challenges to make their voice heard in business environments, according to new research.
A study conducted by RADA in Business, the commercial subsidiary of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art which provides communication skills training for corporate individuals, found that just 8% of women find it easy to make their voice heard at work. In comparison, 15% of men reported being able to express themselves with ease within a work environment.
The research also revealed that women are 68% more likely …

Over 177,000 young parents across England, aged 25 and under are struggling to cope financially, putting more children at risk of poverty, according to ‘The Next Chapter’ report released by UK charity, Action for Children today.
The report found that young parents earn significantly less than their non-parent peers, despite having the additional costs of raising children which is on average, £8,400 per year. It further shows that young parents have an average income of £14,820 compared to a UK national average of £26,300.[iii] Single parents who are 25 and under …

Hard-working parents don’t get to finally put their feet up until 8:53pm, a study has found. The incredible extent to which running a home leaves mums and dads with very little ‘down time’ was revealed by a study of 2,000 parents.
Parents get just 48 minutes of time to themselves a day. And eight in ten wish they had more spare time. One in ten said it was gone 10pm by the time they finally managed to relax after the stresses and strains of managing everything family life throws at them.
Two …

 
You have got a brilliant idea for a start up, you believe in it and feel that it can work. So far, so good. But, did you know that 90% of start-ups fail?
This is a huge number but you shouldn’t let it discourage you, if anything this should encourage you to work harder because you know that to grow your company and become part of the other 10% you need to learn from these mistakes.
To help you, here are six lessons on how to grow your business so that you …

Nearly half of working mums think working flexibly has affected their ability to progress their career, although almost three quarters identify flexible work as crucial to getting more women into senior roles, according to Workingmums.co.uk annual survey.
Lauren Powell works in recruitment in Berkshire. She has a two-year-old daughter.  She came back from maternity leave after seven months and worked four days condensed into three. However, her workload remained the same and her salary was reduced by more than a pro rata sum. She says she was made to feel that …

The Office for National Statistics today released new zero hours contracts data. The data shows that women and young people are most affected by the contracts that do not guarantee any hours in a given week:

Women make up 58 per cent of those on zero hours contracts
34 per cent of workers with no guaranteed hours are aged 16 to 24 – the largest age group

Commenting, Young Women’s Trust chief executive Dr Carole Easton OBE said: “Zero-hours contracts, many of which exploit young women, are used far too often.
“Young Women’s Trust …