EDITION 894
8 NOVEMBER 2021

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 avoid forced positivity. Let's be real, there's a unique toxicity to forced positivity at work. Yes, for most people, the instinct to stay positive no matter how tough things get in the workplace lacks any real sense of malice. Yet it can actually be harmful to our well-being and our relationships. READ MORE

2. What’s emerged from COP26 so far. The UK government said it will force financial institutions and large firms to publish how they intend to transition to net zero from 2023; however, plans will not be made mandatory. The chancellor said the UK will be the world's first "net zero financial centre" and said firms controlling around 40% of global assets will align themselves to 1.5C warming limit. World leaders have agreed to a deal that aims to halt and reverse global deforestation over the next decade. David Attenborough warned leaders they would be judged harshly if they failed to act, but also said that they should be ​​“motivated by hope rather than fear”. Greta Thunberg told protestors outside of the conference that politicians were “pretending” to take the climate crisis seriously. BBC

3. Bank defends rates decision. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said he is not an “unreliable boyfriend” after wrongfooting financial markets by leaving interest rates unchanged. After weeks in which market expectations of a rise were stoked by comments and speeches from policymakers, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep rates at an all-time low of 0.1%. The Bank “has failed a test of political independence on interest rates”. The Telegraph

4. Sleaze and public perceptions. Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Matt Hancock are associated with sleaze in the minds of the public, according to a survey for the body that advises Downing Street on ethical standards. The politicians were branded as “immediately associated with the word ‘sleaze’” and not in possession of “the core values expected from political leaders” in the view of the public. Those were the findings of a report on the survey conducted for the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL). In other news, MPs are demanding details of any lobbying by Owen Paterson of government ministers on behalf of a company that won almost £500m of Covid-19 related contracts last year. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party has been accused of abusing the honours system by systematically offering seats in the House of Lords to multimillionaire donors who pay more than £3m to the party. The Times

5. UK first to approve COVID pill. The UK is the first country to approve an oral antiviral pill for Covid-19. The drug, known as molnupiravir and developed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), was originally intended to fight the flu and has been shown to be most effective in fighting the coronavirus when taken in the early stages of the infection. Health secretary Sajid Javid called the drug a "game changer"; the government has purchased 480,000 doses, with the first delivery expected no earlier than mid-November. The US, Singapore, Australia and other countries are expected to approve molnupiravir soon, and MSD rivals including Swiss pharmaceutical Roche are working on similar medications. The Guardian

6. How to survive an annoying colleague. At one point in your career - and perhaps several - you'll need to work alongside someone you don't like. It could be their habits, work style or even the tone of their voice. One thing is certain: It's your responsibility to find a way to make things work. Consider what is triggering you. Is there a way to view it from a different, more empathetic lens? It also helps to remind yourself how working with this person helps advance your larger goals. Focusing on the bigger picture may put small annoyances into perspective. Editor

7. How bad is the GP shortage? According to the Nuffield Trust, the UK had 0.6 GPs per 1,000 patients in 2018 – slightly fewer than the European average – though Scotland had a healthy 0.76, and England only 0.58. Since then, the BMA says the situation has become far worse: it estimates there are now just 0.45 fully qualified GPs per 1,000 patients in England – well below that of comparable wealthy nations – while the population is growing and ageing. And, despite a government promise in 2015 to hire 5,000 more GPs within five years, the number of full-time equivalent GPs actually fell by 4.5% between 2015 and March this year. The Week

8. OED chooses ‘vax’ as word of 2021. Vax has been chosen as the word of the year by the team at the Oxford English Dictionary. The senior editor said vax was an obvious choice as it has made “the most striking impact” and although it “goes back at least to the 1980s” it was “rarely used until this year”. Words related to immunisation have spiked in frequency in 2021 due to Covid, with double-vaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer all seeing a surge in use. BBC

9. Study finds climate indifference. Few people are willing to change their lifestyle to save the planet, a new study has found. The survey in ten countries including the US, UK, France and Germany, found that citizens are alarmed by the climate crisis, but most believe they are already doing more to preserve the planet than anyone else, including their governments. The polling company which carried out the study said governments have to let people know “what the solutions are, and how we can fairly share responsibility for them”. The Guardian

10. The bottom line. The value of the outstanding “buy now pay later” debt offered by the lenders such as Swedish company Klara to British shoppers now stands at £4bn, according to credit reference service Credit Karma. Campaigners have called for greater regulation of the fast-growing sector. Reuters