EDITION 964
10 APRIL 2023

There is no escaping it: too much news is bad for you. It should come with a government health warning: “This intellectual diet is fine taken in small doses, and preferably in weekly instalments, via a well-balanced newsletter, such as 10 things from William Montgomery."

So, 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.

William Montgomery
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to transition from work to home life. The line between work and private life can be blurry these days, especially if your office doubles as a kitchen, bedroom or kids' play area. Even though transitioning from professional to leisure mode can be hard for professionals who work from home, there are ways to avoid the whiplash that occurs when you step between work and home modes. READ MORE >>

2. Where gender pay gaps are widest. The UK’s finance and construction sectors have reported the biggest gender pay gaps in 2022-23, with women on average earning 22% less than male colleagues. Meanwhile, the education sector was found to have the third biggest wage gap at 20.4%, with it widening by 0.9% on the previous year. A separate analysis by the Financial Times found that some 80% of UK firms paid men more than women, with an average wage difference of 9.4%, the same as in 2017/18. BBC

3. A shocking statistic. Some statistics still have the capacity to shock. One such was the latest reading for food inflation, which jumped by 18.2%, year-on-year, in February. That rise, over 12 months, is as much as the cumulative increase over the previous 11 years, showing how off the scale current rises are. Central bankers tend to look at core inflation, which excludes energy and food, and is currently running at 6.2%. But it is overall inflation that matters to people and businesses – and when it is driven by energy and food, it is painful. The Sunday Times

4. Major study uncovers racism. Britain is not close to being a racially just society, according to the most comprehensive survey of race inequality in the UK for more than a quarter of a century. The study by the Runnymede Trust uncovered strikingly high levels of exposure to abuse across a wide range of ethnic minority groups, as well as a high prevalence of racial discrimination and inequality of outcomes in schools, the workplace, housing and dealings with the police. More than a third of people from ethnic and religious minorities have experienced racially motivated physical or verbal abuse. The Guardian

5. UK firms lack credible climate plans. Only a fraction of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies have published “credible” climate transition plans, according to new research from EY. The professional services firm highlighted that around 80% of the UK’s largest public companies had shared some sort of commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. However, EY found that just 5% had plans that would comply with the Transition Plan Taskforce’s draft disclosure framework. The TPT was launched last year to develop the “gold standard” for transition plans. Last week, the UK government unveiled a number of green policies to target net zero, but the plans faced criticism from climate experts. Financial Times

6. People with mental illness age faster. Researchers have found that people with mental illness age faster than other people and die younger. The King’s College London team examined data on around 100,000 adults, looking at blood samples showing their levels of metabolites – products of metabolism that can predict a person’s age. When this data was compared with their NHS records, it revealed that people with histories of anxiety, depression and other mental disorders had markers indicating that their biological age was older than their actual age. In the case of bipolar, it was typically about two years. The Times

7.  Where house prices are heading. UK house prices have fallen at their fastest annual rate since 2009, with the price of an average property dipping by 3.1% to £257,122 over the year to March, according to Nationwide Building Society’s house price index. All regions saw a slowing in price growth in the first quarter. Scotland was the weakest performing region with prices down 3.1% compared with a year ago, while the West Midlands performed the best, with prices up 1.4% over the same period.  The Independent

8. How to beat proximity bias. A majority of leaders – including 71% of senior HR and 62% of senior business leaders – say "proximity bias" against remote or hybrid workers does exist, according to a new survey. So what can remote workers do to ensure they progress in their careers as much as their in-person colleagues? The researchers suggest: over-communicate to make yourself more visible; keep in regular contact with co-workers; frequently check in with your boss about your work; be proactive about helping colleagues; invest in your digital presence to showcase your expertise. Executive Networks

9. French and Germans avoid UK. Tourism bosses believe that French and German tourists are beginning to avoid the UK because of post-Brexit restrictions on travelling with identity cards. Previously EU citizens could use ID cards to enter the UK, but since October 2021 they have needed a passport. Less than half the population of France and Germany hold a valid passport. In 2016, Germans ranked the UK as the 7th best place to visit, and French people ranked it 9th. By 2022, the UK had fallen to 16th and 14th respectively. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. The pound rose to its highest level against the US dollar in ten months at $1.252 – boosted by signs of resilience in the UK economy that have fuelled expectations of further interest rate rises. Having raised rates to 4.25% in March, the BoE is expected to deliver two more quarter-point rises by September – just as expectations of tighter monetary policy have been dialled back in Europe and the US amid turmoil in the banking sector. The Times