Could Capita’s move to put workers to boards fix capitalism’s crisis? May 14, 2019 Capitalism is being questioned in Britain more intensely than for decades. Some want to destroy it. Others believe that it is the only economic system which works, but want to reform it. I am in the latter camp. Part of the debate around Brexit has centred on preserving workers’ rights, enshrined in EU law. But rights [...]
SALT to taste May 13, 2019 It was quite a week, even for a seasoned traveller like me. London to New York; New York to Los Angeles; LA to Las Vegas; Vegas to Los Angeles; then, eventually, home, happy but exhausted. I’ve crossed the Atlantic countless times, and it always makes me excited and full of anticipation; the US really can [...]
Mental health and wellbeing should be top of the business agenda May 13, 2019 More than 26m working days were lost in 2017-18 due to work-related ill health. Stress, depression and anxiety accounted for the majority of those days. Figures like these highlight just how many people are dealing with poor mental health, and so while it may feel like this issue is receiving a lot of attention in [...]
Barbies and princesses: The game-changer in gender-stereotyped toys May 13, 2019 "Can I be an astronaut if I’m a girl?” That was the question asked by Katy Alexander’s four-year-old daughter, Zabel. To the New Jersey-born mother, this question came as a surprise. “Until then, I’d never really noticed that the characters in the space books she had been reading and the games she had been playing were [...]
The Fragrance Shop: something stinks May 10, 2019 You may have read about or watched the story of Sanjay Vadera, CEO of The Fragrance Shop, recently. He appeared on Sky News last week to talk about McArthurGlen, his landlords, who want to take away his six outlet stores and hand them to his rival, so he’s taking them to court. The case will [...]
DEBATE: In light of the latest study, have we overreacted about the effect of social media on teenagers? May 10, 2019 In light of the latest study, have we overreacted about the effect of social media on teenagers? Kevin Craig, chief executive and founder of communications agency PLMR, says YES. While the discussion about the impact of social media on young people has been a hot topic at the school gates over recent years, we parents have [...]
When women ruled the coding world: Female programmers have been written out of history – it’s time to turn back the clock May 9, 2019 Coding was once a field dominated by women. From the 1940s to the 1960s, about 90 per cent of computer programmers and systems analysts in the US were female. Hardware was largely run by men, but software was treated as clerical work and offered to women who were good at maths and logical thinking. In [...]
DEBATE: With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? May 9, 2019 With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? Dalia Gebrial, researcher on the gig economy and workers’ rights at the London School of Economics, says YES. The gig economy is currently rigged against workers. Platforms like Uber hide behind their status as tech firms, rather than employers, to [...]
Expensive business: Five ways to prepare your finances for your first child May 9, 2019 It has arrived. And I’m not just talking about the royal baby, but the mania – the 23-page newspaper spreads, the bets on baby names (Archie was definitely not the bookies’ favourite), the frenzy over the first glimpse of the little sprog. I don’t want to put a downer on all the celebrations, but babies aren’t [...]
Nearly half of co-founders forced to buy business partners out May 8, 2019 Nearly half of company co-founders have been forced to buy their business partner out, with most leaders citing disagreements and power struggles as the reason for the split. New research shows that 43 per cent of business owners were required to buy their co-founders share, with a “difference in opinions for the company’s direction” the most common [...]