Interesting Facts

According to the TUC (Trades Union Congress) 5.3 million people in the UK work an average of 7.7 hours of overtime a week. (Chief executives topped a list of those doing the most unpaid overtime, at an average of 13.2 hours a week, followed by teaching staff (12.1 hours), finance managers (11.3 hours) and managers in production and health care workers (10 hours). The TUC has called on people to take their full lunch break and go home on time, asking managers to set an example by leaving on time too. Oh dear, I never leave a session on time, but then I don't get paid either. The TUC would hate me.) Source

According to a survey by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) 1 in 10 Brits are walking from home - in bed! (19% work from the sofa on their laptop, but now chiropractors are warning against the impact this could be having on the health of their back. Now, as some of you know, I work from home, but I get up and go into the office when I'm running sessions.  PS - I am writing this on the sofa.) The BCA have put together a video on computer posture: http://www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk/For-You-89-Computer-Posture-119-ms.aspx

In the UK a power of entry is a statutory right for a person (usually a state official such as a police officer, local authority trading standards officer or a member of enforcement staff of a regulatory body) to legally enter defined premises. What kind of things grant anyone such a right? (Public officials in the UK have the power to demand entry to your home without a warrant to make sure illegal hypnotism isn't taking place. They can also demand to inspect your pot plants, under a plant health order. They can demand to see your refrigerator, to make sure it's at the correct setting. And they can go into your garden, to check the height of your hedge. Bin snooping is quite popular too, just to make sure you are putting the right rubbish in the right bin.)

According to a study carried out by researchers from University College London and the University of Cambridge, central heating in the home may be making us fat. (The article suggests that the increase in indoor temperature due to heating the house has reduced the calories we use to stay warm; leading us to store the excess energy as body fat.  It goes on to says that the “thermal comfort zone” provided by modern living may be a factor in the Western world’s increasing rates of obesity. I'm sorry, but I've been without working central heating for a couple of weeks now, and I haven't lost an ounce, in fact I've been comfort eating and stuffing my face with chocolate, so I want my central heating back. (BTW - The engineer is here! Yippee! Fingers crossed.) ) 

In the 1970s 70% of mothers in the UK stayed at home full time. (In 2013 that figure is just 10%, but according to a survey by uSwitch, 75% of mums would like to be able to afford to stay at home and look after their children. Six out of ten mothers who return to work after having a baby do so only to pay the mortgage, or to ease financial pressures such as debt. Just one in seven said they wanted to develop their career.)