Dealing with Recession Depression

With the press awash with ever more stories about redundancy, negative equity and disappearing returns on savings, it is no wonder that the recession is taking its toll on the emotional state of those most severely affected.

It is reported that one in four people suffer a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Undoubtedly the stress caused by financial problems can precipitate these problems. It is encouraging therefore to see the government in the UK providing much needed funding for therapy services (or at least talking about it), in anticipation of the increased call on services.

Click here to read the story from the BBC.

Remote working - a good way to save costs?

Several years ago, remote working was promoted as a way to maintain a healthy work-life balance. In these penny-pinching times it is increasingly being seen as a smart way in which a company can maximise the productivity of their human capital. In this piece from Management Today, Susan Yallop from Adecco offers five tips for successful flexible working.

Click here for the article in Management Today and contact us here to get information on our Stress Reduction solutions.

Stressed employees keep it from the boss

We often hear from company managers that operate an "open door policy". They may believe that employees are happy to come and talk them about their innermost secrets, but it appears that their employees do not feel the same way. A recent study by Aon suggests that fewer than 10% of employees would consult with a company manager or occupational health worker about work related stress, with most choosing the safe distance of their own GP.

Read the article in HR Review here and contact us here to get information on docleaf's Employee Wellbeing solutions.

The huge cost of dull presentations

A recent report has estimated the cost of dull presentations and pointless meetings to be £8bn a year to UK business. This is based on the average manager spending one hour a week in meetings or presentations at which they were not listening (am I alone in thinking one hour is an underestimate?)

In this enlightening article by Helen Sewell, we get a number of tips for making our presentations and meetings more relevant and memorable.

Read the article from Accountancy Age here:

docleaf Briefs

This month, two tales of men who had enough of their wives...

A French winemaker has been charged with attempting to poison his wife, whom he accused of working too hard in the vineyard and of not doing enough for him, a prosecutor said Tuesday (AFP)

Jacky Chatelain, a 51-year-old vineyard owner from the Chablis wine region of Burgundy, was arrested on Friday after a four-year investigation into how his wife Josiane had fallen ill with arsenic poisoning. Under questioning, he admitted that he had tried to poison her because "she worked too hard in the vineyard and did not do enough to look after me," according to state prosecutor Francois Perain.

Chatelain has been charged and released on bail. He is forbidden from returning to the Yonne administrative district or from contacting the victim, from whom he was divorced in 2006

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And finally... A British man fed up with his wife's complaints advertised her for sale -- and got a number of offers. (AFP)

"Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT. Very high maintenance -- some rust," wrote Gary Bates, 38, in a small ad in Trade-It, more usually used to buy and sell cars or household goods. Bates, a self-employed builder from Gloucestershire, southwest England, snapped after his wife Donna on got on his nerves while she was watching television and decided to place the ad as a joke.

"She was nagging me for doing something small, while she was watching some rubbish on TV. So I just thought I'd put an ad in to get rid of her.

"I didn't think anyone would ring up but I've had at least nine or 10 people calling about her. It's gone mad. There was no one I knew -- just people asking, 'Is she still available?'" The couple only married last year, and Bates said his 40-year-old wife -- whom he advertised in the magazine's Free to Collect section, along with some of his fishing tackle -- initially gave him "a bit of an ear-bashing."

But he said: "She's seen the funny side of it now though!" (just you wait Gary.. she will have the last laugh.. Ed)