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As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday at 10am. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did. 1. How to get the most out of your relationships. Human beings are naturally social creatures - we crave friendship and positive interactions, just as we do food and water. So, it makes sense that the better our relationships are at work, the happier and more productive we're going to be. The following are the three major components to getting the most out of your relationships: [READ MORE] 2. PM’s return to work plea ignored. The government’s pleas for Britons to return to work have fallen on deaf ears as figures released show just one in six workers have gone back to work in cities this summer. Worker footfall in the country’s cities was just 17% of pre-lockdown levels in the first two weeks of August, according to figures compiled by Sky News. London mayor Sadiq Khan said that businesses in the city centre face "an existential threat". It comes as data shows that 12% of UK workers were under furlough as the government’s wage subsidy scheme began to be phased out. Sky 3. Six million furloughed workers broke the rules. A study by academics at Oxford, Cambridge and Zurich universities reveals widespread abuse of the furlough system. Almost two-thirds of the 9.4 million people whose salaries were paid by the Government worked during April and May, despite businesses being banned from claiming for employees who did so. A fifth of furloughed employees were ordered to carry on working by their employer, even though it was illegal. Furloughed staff worked an average of 15 hours a week, with men on higher incomes the most likely to defy the ban. Seven in ten workers received a discretionary top-up from their employer. Daily Mail 4. Which roles are most in demand. Demand for workers is on the rise in the UK, with figures showing the biggest increase in weekly job ads since the pandemic hit. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said there are rising numbers of construction and gardening jobs, as well as vacancies for goods vehicle drivers. The latter aligns with other data showing the number of delivery driver roles rose more than tenfold between June and July, with customer service and pharmacy manager roles also seeing similar growth. Globally, soft skills are in demand, with communication, problem-solving and business management appearing most frequently in job ads. Financial Times 5. Taking a holiday is the wise choice. With everything that’s going on right now, you might be thinking about skipping a holiday. Don’t. Working for an extended period of time without a break results in a decrease in performance, while the benefits of a holiday - such as improved productivity, lower levels of stress, better mental health and greater job satisfaction - are well-documented. One study found that those who take more than 10 days of vacation each year are 30% more likely to receive a raise. Holiday plans look different in 2020, but here are some ideas: [1] Get a change of scenery - even if that means a trip to the other side of town. [2] Have something planned - it gives you something to look forward to. [3] Actually unplug - commit to not working while on holidays. [4] Spend some time outdoors - and reap the mental and physical benefits. Editor 6. Michel Barnier says Brexit deal with UK looks unlikely. Michel Barnier says Boris Johnson’s government is “wasting valuable time” and warned that a post-Brexit deal between the EU and the UK looks “unlikely”. Two months ahead of the Brussels-imposed deadline of October, the chief negotiator said he was “a little surprised” because Johnson had told EU leaders earlier this summer he wanted an outline deal by July. The Guardian 7. Biden maintains lead after Democrats’ online convention. Joe Biden remains well ahead of Donald Trump in the presidential race after last week’s Democratic convention, which was held online. A new CBS News/YouGov poll puts Biden ahead by a 52% to 42% margin among likely voters - identical to the lead he had before the convention. In a new ABC News/Ipsos poll, his net favourability rating climbed 8 points from -3 points last week to +5 points among all adults. BBC 8. Calls for action as depression doubles during UK lockdown. The number of adults in Britain with depression has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, official data has revealed. Almost one in five (19.2%) people experienced depression in June, nearly double the 9.7% with symptoms in the nine months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics. The news has prompted calls for a national plan to avert a “looming mental health crisis”. Daily Mail 9. House prices rise, but more slowly. Average house prices in the UK increased by 2.6 per cent in the year to April, down from 3.5 percent in the year to March 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics. The average prices is £251,000 in England, £169,000 in Wales, £153 in Scotland and £141,000 in Northern Ireland. The Sunday Times 10. The bottom line. As a nation, we’re drinking less alcohol - consumption has fallen by 16% since 2004 – and lockdown may have accelerated the trend. Although some people have reported drinking more to combat stress, 6% told pollsters they’d given it up, and sales of low- and no-alcohol beers have soared – by 65% at Waitrose alone. MoneyWeek |