Author: Sharon De Mascia

  Like many modern-day organisations, Santander UK were experiencing difficulties. Sickness absence was on the increase and productivity was lower, suggesting that Presenteeism levels may also be higher. Turnover had increased along with the number of reported stress and mental health cases.  I was brought in by the head of Health and Safety to help him improve mental health  “Financial Services Has Worst Mental Health” HRMagazine   Working in financial services was always ...
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  Have a look at this interesting article from the Hogan team that tells us which occupations might be most compatible with particular dark side traits. A new compilation shows not only how dark side personality characteristics can be recognised, but also how can one benefit from their dark side by finding a suitable occupation.  Several studies indicate that bad management costs billions of pounds of lost revenue to any organisation each year - while 65-75% of leaders turn ou...
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Improving productivity does not have to be about buying in new and complicated technology. It does not have to involve extensive process redesign and systems thinking approaches. There are small changes that you can make within your organisation that will improve productivity by reducing some of the factors that have a negative impact on your productivity levels.  You are probably already aware of some of the technical factors that impact on your productivity but how much do you know about the ‘...
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Contact Centres or call centres as most of us think of them, have had a bad press over the years. They have been described as modern day sweatshops, where staff are treated like cattle and paid low wages. Some Contact Centres may well have deserved this reputation but there are many organisations who recognise that Contact Centre working can be improved. Contact centres  are not hazardous in the same way as some working environments e.g. deep-sea fishing.  There are, however, unique factors a...
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Reduced wellbeing in organisations has serious consequences for both the individuals within the organisation and the organisation itself.  When individuals experience reduced wellbeing, they experience a variety of mental and physical symptoms e.g.: Feeling fatigued and overwhelmed Experiencing aches and pains Feeling irritated Low in mood Having less patience Lower confidence levels. Impaired memory Experiencing difficulties in making decisions. The research als...
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Pressure and performance Life in the 21st century is pretty full-on and we all experience stress from a range of sources e.g. from our work lives, from our home lives and from our own expectations and aspirations.  Pressure can be a good thing, in that, we all need a certain amount of pressure to motivate and challenge us and when we experience a level of pressure that we can cope with, we are engaged, happy and perform at our best. When the level of pressure exceeds our ability to cope, howeve...
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