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Engineers are among the most likely socio-demographic groups to take their own lives. Engineering workers are 3.7 times more likely to die by suicide than the national average. This sobering statistic SHOULD act as a wake-up call to sector leaders while the engineering industry sits on the fence regarding employee welfare, continuing to invest heavily in emergent technology while ignoring the needs of its human workforce. Not all industrial companies are being complacent - so

Kathy speaks out on employee engagement at MACH2026 There are two kinds of workplace - commercial and industrial, often characterised as white-collar and blue-collar. That differentiation implies a colonial bias that sticks around even in today’s age of diversity, inclusion and equality. While recent years have seen white-collar communities shift towards remote working and flexibility, skilled engineers tied to production lines are pushed harder to compete with foreign powers

With the world as it is now, in these years of holding the baton to be passed to the next generation - well, I hope you cherish the thought of making changes while you can. Perish the thought that you might not! Some Leaders are Leaning Back Sorry to be blunt; I'm hoping that temptation to lean on the mantlepiece for a couple of years while the young bloods sort it out is fighting against some inkling that this is your watch, yours to own, and shift handover has never been m

Yes, they are connected. At this point in time, it's becoming more apparent that industrial leaders are thinking about how to address the gap between attitude and performance, with challenging factors creating apparent blocks, such as these; 1) The majority of shop-floor workers are on minimum wage, or close to it. How do you motivate people in this situation? 2) Skilled workers are hard to come by, the sector has a shortage of people coming in with knowledge behind them, so

Surprisingly high numbers of CEOs won't entertain the idea of a people-centric strategy that could help their business grow and sustainably develop. They fear looking hard at their own method of management, and often just don't know where to start moving away from the blocks. (This has led to 90% of the British workforce quiet-quitting or looking for roles elsewhere.) Attractive Distractions Perhaps the most popular ready-meal for industrial decision makers is new machinery.

Despite proof of its importance from Harvard, Gallup and Deloitte, employee engagement has been slow to gain favour in the industrial community, while a £4-to-£1 is known to be the standard return on investment and the UK loses around £300billion a year to disengaged workforces. Last year a major manufacturing exhibition nevertheless refused outright to cover the subject on its speaker platforms. On April 22nd I talked about the effects of engagement on skills retention, pro

Why Young Interns are Hard to Keep The shop floor can be a harsh place, fraught with fire-fights and repetitive issues. For someone working there, it can be pretty stressful, but hey, a job is a job - they say you're lucky to have one. Young interns come in with no idea what they will be facing, having a vague notion that engineers pop up to fix things like in the adverts - often the aspiring talent leaves the industry for good. They know that jobs are there to be found. Is t

This is your watch, yours to own, and shift handover has never been more on the line than it is now. The upcoming generation have to inherit something, and it's up to us to make sure there's a workable future worth investing in! The illusion that piles of money will make for better things has to die sometime - whether on Snowpiercer or on the train home is a matter for personal consideration. I don't know what will come of my life's work, or if it will make a difference. All

Last week I met an Operations Manager who seemed on the phone to be heartily in favour of workplace engagement. During the discussion, an idea surfaced that major players in the sector such as JLR and JCB could be encouraged to sponsor SME projects as improvements in the culture of small firms has an automatic knock-on effect of better productivity, reliability and customer focus. I was interested to see where our dialogue would go. Outcome After a long one-way conversation a

I'd like you please to read this from Deloitte: "Hampson concluded: “Employers are increasingly putting mental health and wellbeing at the heart of their business and providing effective mental health support for their people. The benefits of providing targeted support for employees are clear and compelling. Employers need concrete evidence to make informed decisions about how to invest in workplace mental health programmes and maximise benefits, including financial returns.

Did we ever think we'd see the day when environmental welfare would reach such a critical tipping point while powers-that-be ignore the need for radical change? My 63rd year on this planet fast approaches and for as long as I can remember, I've been an advocate of the natural world. I tried to rescue baby blackbirds that had fallen from the nest when I was two. When I was four, apparently on my insistence, my parents took me to Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve (a bird observa

A sleigh-bell away from the end of the year, you may be looking ahead to new strategies. I'd like you to have the strongest possible platform on which to build a template for success. Let's first dig the foundations. Part of this Present is a new toolkit...! To make magic happen, you have first to believe that you can - and have others believe that you will . Here's one for starters. Conditioning . We all have it - whether it's from our parenting, or our workplace experience

Today was a strange day. The Guardian Climate Conference was on in London and I had tickets not far from the stage, plus a train fare. I...

The more we move into the millennial generation, the more value is placed on workplace engagement. The more new employees expect of their workplace, the more important it becomes to deliver what they want. Gone are the days when "there's the door if you don't like it" would encourage a person to stay. The era of voting with feet is here - if you don't like it, you leave. Employees with talent and capability who would be prepared to work beyond expectation will abandon a cultu

If we really want to start a groundswell movement towards real-time sustainability, first we have to face some facts. Regardless of the...

With the world as it is now, these years being the baton passed to the next generation - well, I hope you cherish the thought of making...

Leaders with foresight are always looking for ways to raise the profile of their companies and improve performance. On matters of...

Hays is rather a reputable research company and they recently published the results of an 11-year project that proved just that - an...

Living with pain impacts mental health and reduces energy levels. In some instances, sufferers have to endure pain all their lives. Emotional pain and physical pain both cause stress and debilitation, compromising activity and inducing inertia. So if you find yourself facing a negative working environment every day, it stands to reason that your company is harbouring pain on a continuous basis. Disengagement manifests from lack of mental and social stimulation, autonomy and s

WorldLine presents a new Seminar to get people talking about operational excellence with real-time values that help you achieve it....