Work has positive impact on mental health of young people, report reveals

Joblessness leads to 'spiral' of depression, charity warns The positive contribution that work makes to the mental health of young people is outlined in a report published today. A survey of more than 2,000 16-to-25 year olds reveals that young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) are significantly more vulnerable to mental ill-health than their peers who are in work. While an estimated 27% of young people in employment say they 'always' or 'often' feel depressed or down, that figure rises to 48% across the NEET population. The survey, carried out for the Prince's Trust charity, shows a "worrying" discrepancy, according to Richard Parish, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health. Parish said: "These unemployed young people need support to regain their self-worth and, ultimately, get them back in the workplace." The Insurance Service

Two in five older unemployed blame illness for being out of work

More than two in five older workers who are out of work cite disability or illness for their inability to find a job, research from MetLife shows. Its nationwide study of 1,000 people found that of those aged between 50 and 60 who are out of work, 43% say illness or disability stops them finding a job. That compares to 26% who say they are unemployed because they are unable to find work. The research, carried out by Harris Interactive, also found that 20% of 50 to 60 year olds surveyed said they have a condition or disability which limits their daily activities. Women are more likely than men to say they have a condition that limit their lives, with 25% saying so compared with 16% of men. But men who are out of work are more likely to cite illness as the reason for their lack of employment, at 52% compared to 40% of women. Stephanie Baillie, employee benefits director at MetLife UK, said that with such a high proportion of older people reporting conditions which impact on their daily lives, it is “clear that people need to consider protection products to help replace income if they are no longer able to work”. The research is being published as part of MetLife’s campaign to raise awareness of the need for protection for those in what in terms the ‘critical decade’ before retirement. For free advice on Income Protection please click

UK workers facing 'burn-out' as long hours take their toll

Towers Watson urges UK businesses to avoid 'work till you drop' culture

British workers are heading for a “burn-out” as excessive pressures and long hours take their toll, a leading employee benefits consultancy is warning.
A report by Towers Watson, the Global Workforce Study, reveals that a third of UK employees say they are often affected by excessive pressure in their job.
The report, which surveyed some 32,000 employees worldwide, also found that 58% of UK workers say they have been working more hours than normal over the last three years. Half of these expect this to continue for another three years.
Just 53% of employees feel their stress levels at work are manageable, while only a third believe their senior management support health and wellbeing policies.
A quarter of those surveyed said they had not used as much holiday or personal time off over the last three years, while a third say their organisation is under-resourced and 22% feel the amount of work they are asked to do is unreasonable.
Results for the UK were broadly in line with those seen across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with similar numbers of workers feeling that there was excessive pressure, longer working hours and fewer resources available in the workplace.
Charles Fair, senior engagement and wellbeing consultant at Towers Watson, said the research raises “huge concerns” over the health and wellbeing of the UK’s workers.
He said: “Several years of economic uncertainty have led to increased anxiety around job security with workers putting in longer hours than ever, raising concerns of ‘burn-out’ amongst British workers.
“Businesses should act now to avoid a ‘work until you drop’ culture turning into the norm with workers becoming increasingly unproductive, something our economy can ill-afford at the moment.”
Towers Watson has also identified a clear link between the levels of wellbeing and engagement of a company’s workforce and its organisational performance.
Its Global Employee Research Database – which measures engagement levels in thousands of companies globally - shows that organisations with low engagement produced an average operating margin of around 10% while organisations with high sustainable engagement performed nearly three times better with operating margins of over 27%.
Fair added: “If employees are overworked and stressed then their levels of engagement, morale and wellbeing are correspondingly low and this can have a real impact on the bottom line for many organisations.
“Understanding employees’ needs and putting in place a thorough health and wellbeing strategy can pay dividends for organisations of all sizes.”
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28 is ‘optimum age’ to start financial planning

Survey reveals when consumers begin to plan long term

The average age at which consumers begin to plan financially for the long term is 28, according to research published today by life office Bright Grey.

The provider’s Financial Safety Net report – which polled almost 1,500 British adults aged 35 and over – shows that 28 was the average age at which respondents began to think about long-term financial provisions such as taking out a pension or saving in order to purchase property.

However, 5% of those surveyed said they did not believe they needed to plan financially for the long term at all.

Roger Edwards, managing director at Bright Grey, said that 28 is around the age that many people take key lifestyle choices such as buying a first property, getting married or having a child.

He said: "With these changes can come responsibility, and this means waking up to the very real need to have finances in order.”

The research follows July’s Protection Review conference, where one of the issues under discussion was how protection advisers could place more emphasis on family as a reason for consumers to proactively buy protection products rather than being 'sold' them.

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Women 'drastically' under-insured

Big gulf compared to men in spite of increasing financial responsibilities

Women "drastically" under-insure themselves when it comes to taking out protection cover, according to statistics released today.

And the problem is set to get worse as new EU rules on gender-based pricing for insurance come into force later this year.

Figures compiled by Scottish Provident, the insurer, suggest that men typically protect themselves with around 50% more life cover than women. Although the gap is “relatively small” to begin with – 23% among those in their 30s – it gets progressively wider and becomes a “significant gulf” for those in their 60s, when men have almost twice as much cover in place, Scot Prov said.

A new EU gender directive which comes into force in December means that the cost of protection for women is set to rise substantially, with some commentators projecting a rise of around 20%. As a result, Jennifer Gilchrist, senior product development manager, at Scottish Provident, said 2012 should be the year in which women act to protect their families’ financial security.

Research shows that women are increasingly becoming the primary household earners in the UK and elsewhere in the Western world.

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20 million Brits without financial safety net

Tens of millions would be unable to maintain lifestyle should they fall ill

Over 20 million people in the UK would be unable to maintain their current lifestyle after September 2012 if they had to live off any "emergency" funds, it was claimed today.

A study for Bright Grey, the protection provider, shows that 41% of adults - five times more than in 2010 - say they would only be able to rely on savings, borrow from friends and family or rely on credit, for up to six months in a financial emergency.

Half (49%) of those surveyed for Bright Grey's Financial Safety Net report believe they could rely on these types of support to survive financially for over a year.

However, in spite of this, three in five (60%) people have no cover whatsoever compared to 58% a year ago – whether that’s life insurance, critical illness or income protection.

The study also showed that nearly half (43%) of respondents say they have £1,000 or less in savings that they could access immediately. Nearly a quarter (23%) have no money saved at all.

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Cash-strapped parents warned not to cut vital protection cover as household budgets feel the pinch

Parents look to make whatever savings they can as cost of raising child rises 3.3%
Cash-strapped parents are being warned that cutting back on the amount they spend on vital protection cover may help household budgets in the short-term but could have “catastrophic” implications overall.
Research published this week shows that the rising cost of childcare, education and food means that the overall cost of raising a child has increased 3.3% in a year. As a result, over three-quarters of parents are making cutbacks to the family budget, while two in five parents have reduced the amount they regularly save.
The rising costs are thought to be behind the fact that only a third (32%) of parents have life cover in place.
The annual Cost a Child Report from protection and retirement specialist LV= shows the cost of raising a child from birth to their 21 birthday now totals a record £218,024. This equates to £10,382 a year, £865 a month or £28.44 a day.
The survey of more than 2,000 parents suggests that while costs of childcare and education have gone up, some expenditure has decreased since last year as three-quarters of parents (76%) look at ways to cut back, with spending on hobbies and toys down 5%.
Mark Jones, head of protection at LV=, said that while many parents are seeking out “savvy” ways to ensure they can still afford their children’s higher education prospects, with tuition fees increasing this year he expects to see more parents making “significant” cut backs across the family budget to accommodate this.
But he said that with mounting financial pressures, many families are reducing the amount of savings and protection they have in place. Two in five (43%) parents trying to decrease their spending have cut back on saving and reduced the amount they are putting away. A further 22% have cancelled or reviewed their insurance policies to try and save money.
Jones said that when considering ways to ease the family budget it is important that parents keep in mind the long-term picture.
“Cancelling life cover or income protection, for instance, as a short-term measure to save money can have catastrophic implications if either parent were unable to work or weren’t around in the future,” he said.

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Absence 'increases workplace stress'

Bupa survey highlights impact on employees left 'holding the fort'
HR managers have told Bupa that staff absenteeism is putting extra stress on employees who are left to "hold the fort".
More than half (51%) of 100 HR managers surveyed by the insurer said that employee absenteeism increases workplace stress, with colleagues having to pick up the extra workload and take on extra overtime.
Just under half (44%) of all respondents said that (excluding private health insurance) their company does not have a workplace health programme such as absence case management in place for all employees.
A third (31%) reported a lack of awareness about what schemes are available while 22% said they were uncertain about where to focus resources to improve health within the organisation.
A quarter of respondents were unaware of the independent sickness absence review published yesterday, when surveyed earlier this month.
Commenting on the findings, Alex Perry, director of healthcare provisioning, Bupa said: "While while many companies know that there are potential benefits to investing in workplace health, one of the biggest barriers for employers is understanding how and where to invest in order to receive the most benefit."
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's annual absence management survey shows that fewer than a third (30%) of employers evaluate the impact of their well-being spend, although this is an increase on 17% in the 2010 survey. Organisations that evaluate their well-being spend are twice as likely to have increased their spend this year.

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Cancer patients 'anxious about money'

Patients using savings and borrowing to cope with financial impact of cancer
Cancer patients are struggling to make ends meet, suggests a new survey from Macmillan Cancer Support.
The charity's poll of 1,495 cancer patients found that more than two thirds (70%) had been affected financially by their diagnosis, through lost income and rising costs such as those incurred by travelling to hospital.
One in six (17%) of those financially affected said they had had to reduce spending on everyday items such as food, while 7% are scared of losing their home. Nearly a third (29%) of those financially affected have spent all or some of their savings, and nearly one in ten (9%) have borrowed money to cover the additional costs of cancer.
In total, more than two fifths (43%) are anxious as a result of their financial situation.
Macmillan is warning that the financial prospects of cancer patients may be worse under Government reforms. The Welfare Reform Bill, currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords, includes a proposal to limit the payment of employment support allowance (ESA) to one year, for those claimants allocated to the work-related activity group under work capability assessments. After 12 months these claimants will be means-tested and a claimant whose partner works more than 24 hours or earns £149 a week will lose all of their benefit. The charity argues that many people living with cancer will need longer than 12 months in order to return to work.
Under another proposal, cancer patients needing immediate financial help to cover extra costs following their diagnosis will have to wait six months instead of three to get the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which replaces Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
Ciarán Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Cancer is an expensive disease to live with, but this research shows just how close to the breadline many cancer patients really are. While we understand the benefits system is in need of reform, certain changes in the Welfare Reform Bill could have catastrophic effects on many families who are already struggling. We know many Lords oppose these proposals and hope they support cancer patients as the Bill makes its way through Parliament."
Last year income protection provider Unum reported that claims from employees with cancer were up 44% over the course of the decade, resulting in a growing demand for tailored rehabilitation services. Cancer accounted for 19% of claims in 2009 and two-thirds of these claimants referred after more than six months of absence eventually returned to work.
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