EDITION 762
22 APRIL 2019

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. 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 things done. A to-do list can help you stay organised and focused, but it can also become overwhelming when it gets too long and you’re not sure what to tackle next. Try keeping three lists - and a calendar. [MORE]
    
2. Clean living is not good for everyone. The wages of sin are falling – at least for the taxman. New figures suggest that the trend for healthier lifestyles has led to a slowdown in the amount that HMRC has collected in “sin taxes” over the past decade. Although the overall tax take, in the ten years till February this year, increased by a hefty 51% to £622bn, receipts from alcohol, tobacco and gambling climbed at less than half that rate to only £24bn. The Financial Times
    
3. Britain’s employment rate has never been higher. According to new data from the Office for National Statistics it now stands at 76.1%. Figures also showed the jobless rate remained at its lowest since 1974 at 3.9% and pay growth rose at the fastest rate in more than a decade. The latest numbers come thanks to a sharp decrease in the number of workers who are not actively looking for a job. More working mothers and students entering the workforce also contributed to the record figures, analysts said. BBC
    
4. Traffic fumes and asthma. Across the UK, one in five new cases of child asthma are attributable to nitrogen dioxide pollution (one of the main pollutants from exhausts), rising to 29% in London. Out of the 194 countries studied, Britain had the 24th highest proportion of new, traffic-related cases; South Korea topped the list. The vast majority of cases - 92% - were in areas where average nitrogen dioxide concentrations are below WHO guidelines – suggesting that these need to be revisited. The Independent
    
5. When it comes to salaries, always ask for more. Just 39% of employees engage in salary negotiations when they receive a job offer, according to new research.Even though it may feel awkward to ask for more, do it anyway. Why? A yes will lead to more money and hearing yes repeatedly may even suggest you may not be asking for enough. Even getting a no is helpful, as it can lead to useful conversations about how to grow at your current job. Learn how to negotiate better with 10/10. [MORE]
    
6. One-fifth of teachers “want out within two years”. A poll by the Education Union suggests that 18% of teachers expect to leave the profession within the next two years, with the high workload and “excessive” accountability cited as reasons, along with Ofsted inspections and school league tables. The survey also found that two-fifths plan to leave within five years. The Guardian
    
7. Prolong your life with five simple steps. A 30-year study has revealed the five simple habits that may prolong your life by 10 years or more – and they really are pretty simple. The 2018 study from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed 34 years’ worth of data from 78,000 women and 27 years’ worth from more than 44,000 men. You ready? Don’t smoke, limit your alcohol intake, maintain a healthy diet, exercise daily and maintain a healthy weight range. Editor
    
8. UK puts in more hours than the EU. UK employees are working more hours than any other member of the European Union, but often less productively, according to a new study from the TUC. Last year, British workers averaged 42 hours per week, compared to roughly 40 for the typical EU employee. Overwork, stress and exhaustion have become the new normal. The UK is the only major advanced economy that is forecast to show a decline in productivity growth this year, research suggests. LinkedIn
    
9. Almost every adult in Britain could receive £300. Almost every adult in the UK could receive a payout of up to £300 from Mastercard, even if they’ve never owned the credit card. A surprise court ruling has revived a £14bn lawsuit against Mastercard which claims more than 46 million British consumers paid higher prices than they should have as a result of illegal credit card fees. The maximum payout would be £300 for anyone who can prove they were in the UK between 1992 and 2008. Huffington Post
    
10. The bottom line. 55% of Britons do not believe that Brexit will have occurred by the newly set deadline of 31 October. 14% think it will have, and 31% don’t know. YouGov