Bosses, learn the zen power of doing nothing May 29, 2019 Chief executives feel compelled to be constantly “doing”. There’s an underlying urgent mantra of “move quickly” and “make things happen”, high pressure played out against a backdrop of constant and accelerated change. But isn’t that just business as usual? PwC recently reported that chief executives now spend, on average, just 4.8 years in their role, [...]
Coping with our confusing and expensive childcare system May 29, 2019 Childcare is notoriously expensive in the UK. For UK parents with two children, around 46 per cent of household income goes towards childcare – the highest of all OECD countries – while prices have risen three per cent in the past year, according to the UK’s Childcare Survey 2019. “With the cost of full-time childcare [...]
DEBATE: A new review recommends cutting university fees to £7,500 a year – is this a good idea? May 29, 2019 A new review recommends cutting university fees to £7,500 a year – is this a good idea? Matteo Bergamini, founder and director of Shout Out UK, says YES. Lowering tuition fees makes training for your future a little more affordable and provides better value for money. The current £9,000 fees act as a deterrent for [...]
LGIM’s gender diversity fund outperforms FTSE 350 in first year May 28, 2019 A fund that invests in UK companies that are prioritising gender diversity has marked its one-year anniversary, having encouraged firms to boost the number of women in leadership positions. Legal & General Investment Management’s (LGIM) Gender in Leadership UK index fund (Girl fund) allocates a score to FTSE 350 firms based on the number of women [...]
Neuroscience could be key to unlocking your brain’s true potential May 28, 2019 Our brains have been humanity’s best adaption. Despite sharing 90 per cent of our DNA with our primate cousins, it’s the faster evolution of our grey matter which has helped us rise to dominance while others are still chewing grass. Our cerebral cortex (the part responsible for higher cognition) is disproportionately larger than those of [...]
With rail closures planned this weekend, here’s how we should revamp our chugging transport system May 24, 2019 This week, consumer watchdog Which revealed that rail passengers lost four million hours to train delays last year, with an average of 660 cancellations per day. It’s hardly surprising. Any regular commuter will have experienced a delay, cancellation or disruption recently – perhaps you’re experiencing one right now, in fact. Read more: Nearly 4m hours [...]
Memory tricks and tips to help you win at business May 23, 2019 Even in the age of Google, remembering certain things can give you a huge advantage in business. In fact, your ability to remember can become one of your most valuable assets. The bottom line is this: people want to do business with smart people, and we view people who have a razor-sharp memory as being [...]
Small businesses will be collateral damage in Corbyn’s war against the rich May 23, 2019 A new word was coined earlier this month. Joining the terms “Brexit” and “omnishambles” in the English lexicon, we now have “Corbygeddon” to describe the abject fear of a hard-left Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn, that’s set to drive the uber-wealthy (or at least a proportion of their assets) out of the country in [...]
Employers want to use wearable tech to track the health, sleep, fitness and productivity of the office May 22, 2019 If you've woken up and checked your watch for last night’s sleep data, you’re not alone. In the UK, more than five million wearables (such as Fitbits and step counters) are now part of individuals’ everyday lives – 1.96m were sold in 2017 alone. So it’s only natural for employers to be interested in the power of [...]
The future looks bright for university graduates May 21, 2019 This month, university students across the country are being tested on their chosen field of study. As if the exam season weren’t stressful enough, final-year students also have to deal with acute cases of so-called employability anxiety. This generation is already described as the “most anxious in history”, so adding extra stress makes for a [...]