EDITION 1010
11 MARCH 2024

Good morning

The universal postal service risks becoming unsustainable as people send fewer letters and receive more parcels, meaning reform is necessary to secure its long-term future. According to our latest poll [see below], 36% of respondents would be happy to receive post Monday thru Friday. As more workers are returning to the office for the first time since the pandemic, in a sign that hybrid working may be on the way out. So this week's poll asks the question: How often do you go into the office? 

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

Before you dive in, remember our POTENTIAL workbook [see below] is on offer for only £99. This unique workbook will help guide your organisation to its highest potential. Contact us today to start your transformation.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to improve communication with your remote team. It’s not easy to master remote team communication. Team members scramble to figure out how to collaborate without the convenience of being physically present in the same place at the same time. When interacting with colleagues who work remotely, even the simplest gesture can be misinterpreted in the absence of the usual visual cues. READ MORE

2. The budget in brief. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a reduction in national insurance from 10% to 8% in his spring budget on Wednesday. He claimed the move would benefit 27 million people, with the average employee getting a £450 boost per year, or £350 in the case of the self-employed. This was the government's final budget before the election. Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has upgraded its economic forecast for the UK in 2024 and 2025. Other notable policies included the abolition of the "non-dom" tax regime which allows UK residents with permanent "domicile" abroad to not pay taxes on overseas income and gains. BBC

3. Women's legal rights lag behind. A new World Bank report sheds light on the stark gender inequalities that continue to exist worldwide when it comes to law and economic participation. The Women, Business, and the Law Report found that women enjoy just two-thirds of the legal protections afforded to men, particularly in areas of violence and childcare. This report, which assessed for the first time how 190 countries are implementing existing laws to protect women, found a "shocking" gap between policy and practice. No country, even among the wealthiest, provides true equal opportunity, it highlighted. While 98 countries have enacted equal pay laws, only 35 have enforced them. Women also continue to face barriers in entrepreneurship and earn just 77% of male wages. Closing this wide gender gap could boost global GDP by over 20%, the World Bank estimates. The World Bank

4. Inflation proves sticky. Even as inflation falls across Europe, it is proving "sticky". Eurozone inflation dipped slightly to 2.6% in February but remains above the ECB's 2% target. The higher-than-expected figure supports European Central Bank officials reluctant to cut interest rates despite economic weakness. They continued to be worried about elevated wages and cost issues, keeping prices up in the longer term. It is a predicament echoed in the UK, where bond traders are preparing for a further rise in inflation. But why hasn't inflation gone down? According to McKinsey & Company, both the eurozone and UK inflation in January came mainly from services rather than energy or goods, with the UK's services inflation outpacing that of the eurozone. The Independent

5. How often do you got into the office? Fridays are increasingly becoming just another day at the office, as businesses move on from the Covid-era habit of remote working. Data from UK property developer Landsec shows that office footfall on Fridays has reached its highest level since 2022. A similar trend is evident in the US, according to Fortune. Water cooler companies have analysed consumption habits and found that office attendance is on the rise overall, with Fridays now at 50% pre-Covid levels. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank recently issued a ban on staff working at home Friday and the following Monday in a bid to maintain a more consistent staffing presence across the week. How often do you go into the office for work? If you have a hybrid arrangement, do you go in on set days or can you choose? Haver your say in our latest poll.  VOTE HERE

6. Super Tuesday wasn’t so super after all. Donald Trump and Joe Biden both swept to commanding victories in their parties’ primaries on Super Tuesday. Trump won 14 of the 15 Republican primaries, suffering only a single surprise defeat in Vermont. Nikki Haley won that primary, but hours later she announced that she was withdrawing from the Republican race, leaving Trump as the sole contender. Biden, who is running almost unopposed, won everywhere but in the small territory of American Samoa. Both he and Trump are likely to win enough delegates to secure their nominations within the next fortnight, following a campaign season notable for its lack of suspense. New York Times

7. An old-fashioned sweep. "Oppenheimer" won most of the major awards at the Oscars in Los Angeles, including best picture, best director, best actor and best supporting actor. Accepting the award for best actor for his portrayal of Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy said: "I'm a very proud Irishman standing here tonight," before noting that "for better or worse, we are living in Oppenheimer's world." The seven wins for "Oppenheimer" represent something uncommon in recent Oscar history that may not soon be repeated. It as "an old-fashioned sweep". Wall Street Journal

8. Donations to Tories double those to Labour. Donations to the Conservative Party last year more than doubled those received by the Labour Party ahead of the general election expected this year. Political parties accepted £93 million in donations last year, including £47.4 million to the Tories and £21.7 million to Labour. The total figure was nearly double the amount in the previous year. The next general election is likely to see parties spending more than ever before. Last year the government raised the cap for election spending by 80%, from £19.5 million to £35 million to “reflect the impact of inflation”. Financial Times

9. Why owning a garden is good for your health. Whether you're digging, pruning or simply sitting there reading a book, spending time in your garden could help protect you from heart attacks and other causes of premature death. That's the conclusion of a study by Imperial College London, which tracked 233,000 Britons over a decade to see who died early and what caused it. Researchers found people who spent time in their own gardens were much less likely to die early from several non-injury causes - such as heart and respiratory diseases - than those who did not. Daily Mail

10. The bottom line. Just 20% of voters say they’ll back the Tories at the next election, down seven points since January and the party’s lowest rating in an Ipsos poll since 1978. Labour is on 47%. Ipsos/Evening Standard