UK Health Employment Pilot a Success
RecruitmentBuzz reported on a scheme designed to combine employment with health and wellbeing in order to get people back into work. The scheme worked with a group of unemployed people presenting with disabilities or health conditions. They were put in touch with organisations designed to help with their wellbeing and meetings with these organisations were combined with looking for a job.
Instead of simply referring people to external health providers such as psychological, physiotherapy, mental health and alcohol addition centres, these services were instead integrated into the organisation’s employability model. As part of this, group and individual sessions were delivered weekly to enhance confidence, build assertiveness and shape perceptions, combining seamlessly with specific job hunting activities.
Preliminary results were incredibly supportive of the view that a strong work/life balance is conducive in getting people out of work back into employment. Compared with a control group, results of this pilot have been almost twice as effective, with 79 job entries compared to 44 in the control group since it launched.
BlueCrew Supports the Gig Economy
It’s hugely successful and has been one of the primary game changers in self employment over the last decade. There is now a new player to add to the mix too – BlueCrew.
Forbes reported on this new mobile-first employment portal in May 2017. With freelancers now making up 35% of the US working population due to companies like Instacard (grocery delivery) and Uber (taxi service) BlueCrew is in esteemed gig-economy-company!
Its roots lie in a tech venture class at Stanford where the founders of BlueCrew identified a need for an on-demand staffing platform for temporary workers. An automated, mobile-first experience was created whereby after an interview with the company workers gained access to opportunities such as warehouse work, driving jobs, catering, cleaning, events and other temporary contracts. Employees enjoy the on-demand, flexible nature of the work and companies get great talent – in fact the tag line that has been shared around is a “try before you buy job hunt”.
Workers may seek positions full time after working on a temporary basis for a BlueCrew company, or simply keep the contracts as sidelines for some additional income. Employees are rated by the temporary employers too (as with Uber) and a number go on to get permanent jobs after a positive working experience. From the employer end, workers are delivered according to suitability and rating meaning they gain access to top talent for their position too – both sides receive great benefits.
From combining health initiatives with job searches to “try before you buy” positions on a flexible basis, the flexible working and work/life balance models are gathering pace, as is the evidence to support them. With workplace stress at an all-time high changes to the working environment around the world are looking to make workers well and give them more control over their working life, it’s positive news for the world of employment.
Castle Hill House