Number of employees enjoying job perks falls to 12-year low July 22, 2019 Corporate cost cutting has pushed the number of people receiving major job perks to a 12-year low, according to research. The number of employees who receive taxable job perks such as company cars, private medical insurance and staff accommodation fell 3.6m last year. Read more: Google UK employees earned £226,000 on average last year The [...]
School’s out for summer: Time for working parents to grapple with the childcare conundrum July 19, 2019 For many parents, the summer holidays are a mix of joy and anxiety
David Attenborough and the Queen remain British public’s most admired figures July 18, 2019 The people have spoken, and they remain unmoved: David Attenborough and the Queen have emerged as Britain’s most admired public figures for the second year running. According to an annual Yougov poll, the documentary maker is far-and-away the most admired man in the UK, romping to victory with the backing of a quarter of voters. [...]
Public speaking – why are we so scared of talking to a crowd? July 18, 2019 Public speaking. It is the stuff of nightmares. Standing in front of your peers, colleagues and managers, words that you’ve prepped for weeks rendered to a mere whisper. It’s incredible the number of senior professionals, business owners, chief executives and managers – highly intelligent, articulate, funny and above all inspiring people – who hate the [...]
Elitist Britain: how can we make business more meritocratic? July 17, 2019 The UK may have been spared an all-Etonian Tory leadership contest, but Britain is still an undoubtedly elitist country. While just seven per cent of Brits were educated privately, 65 per cent of senior judges, 59 per cent of top civil servants, 39 per cent of cabinet ministers, and 44 per cent of newspaper columnists [...]
Now he’s the face of the £50 note, let’s look at the enduring genius of Alan Turing July 17, 2019 I cannot think of a man more deserving of commemoration by this nation than Alan Turing. It is enlivening that, in an era so dominated by differing ideals of what and who our society should champion, riven by irreconcilable divisions deep within our cultural psyche, such a man might have existed who could bridge at [...]
Why the big supermarkets can’t deliver food in a sustainable, plastic-free way July 16, 2019 The big four grocers have protected their dominance well over the last 40 years, using their control of the supply chain and access to customers to create untouchable economies of scale. However, the digital revolution is changing the rules for the food and drink market. While the initial changes created by digital seemed to be [...]
How CEO Christian Sewing can save Deutsche Bank July 16, 2019 Pity Christian Sewing. The chief executive of German banking giant Deutsche Bank is not having a good time. What started with a tough but brave call to close his equities business has turned into a low point in the company’s history. There is the potential investigation into its entanglement with the scandal concerning the insolvent [...]
How to apply the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen to your business July 15, 2019 In a business sense, the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen is already a well-known term that embodies Japanese desire for excellence. Directly translated, this term means “improvement” (Kai means change, and zen means for the better). But has it been understood properly in today’s business landscape? The term has tended to be interpreted as a top-down, [...]
Four better or four worse: Would saying farewell to the five-day working week really be a good idea? July 12, 2019 Areduced working week could populate our high streets, with 54 per cent of employees saying they would use their extra day off to shop