HR lessons from the Great British Bake Off

The importance of de-stressing

“We’ve had a problem with finishing before, haven’t we?” – Mary Berry

The sighs and tears of relief on the bakers faces, once they’d finished creating 49 bakes in just five hours, showed how exhausting the competition has been. And the bakers admitted themselves that they’d been up until the early hours of the morning perfecting their bakes. I’m sure their departure from the tent means none of them will want to see a whisk for a little while.

Switching off from work is highly important, as failing to do so can lead to a culture of presenteeism and high stress. Research from Canada Life Group Insurance found that nine in ten UK employees still go into work when they are ill, with employees citing high workloads as a top reason (28%), followed by financial concerns (21%), and feeling guilty (17%).