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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 1. How to eye goals sans-burnout. While time and dedication might be the keywords to reaching your career goals, taking much-needed breaks in between can be just the antidote to avoid a possible burnout. READ MORE >> 2. Are British workers idlers? Our likely next prime minister wants a bit more graft from us all, according to The Sunday Times. In a recording from a few years ago, dug up last week, Liz Truss complained that “British workers produce less per hour” than their foreign rivals; took issue with their “mindset and attitude”; and observed that things were “quite different” in China. “British working culture” must change for us to become a “more prosperous country”, she declared. Truss has form on bashing British workers: she co-authored a 2012 book, Britannia Unchained, which said they were among “the worst idlers in the world”. Are they? Let us know in our latest poll. VOTE HERE >> 3. PM warns of ‘eyewatering’ bills. Boris Johnson said the next prime minister will tackle “eyewatering” energy bills. The outgoing PM said the months ahead “are going to be tough, perhaps very tough” but his successor would deliver a “huge package” of support. He also predicted a “golden” future for the UK. Meanwhile, the prime-minister-in waiting, Liz Truss has claimed £4,817 in taxpayer expenses on gas and electric in the last five years for her second home in Thetford, Norfolk where almost 30 per cent of children live in poverty. Daily Mail 4. A promising solution to the energy crisis. Scottish Power boss Keith Anderson. suggests fixing the energy price cap at its current level of £1,971 for two years and allowing suppliers to cover the gap between this and the wholesale energy price by borrowing from a “deficit fund” run by commercial banks and underwritten by the Treasury. The cost would be passed on to consumers over a ten- to 15-year period, thereby preventing a sudden leap in the level of bills. Sunak turned this idea down in April in favour of targeted help, but the Government is now actively considering how it might be implemented. Daily Telegraph 5. Experts warn of coming housing crash. House prices rose astronomically during the pandemic, but inflation and rising interest rates are challenging the market. The property market has cooled "faster than in the height of the financial crisis", with price growth slowing from 12.8% to 7.8% between May and June. Recently, a new lender was awarded a licence for 50-year mortgages which, Oxford University says, indicates the housing market has reached “a point of desperation”. No-fault evictions have risen by 41% over pre-pandemic levels, signalling that buy-to-let landlords have decided the "market has peaked". Daily Express 6. ‘Quiet quitting’ backlash begins. People still have plenty to say about “quiet quitting,” or the notion of setting boundaries at work to better enjoy the rest of life — or wait, does it mean getting away with the bare minimum and collecting a paycheck? The meaning of this phrase du jour seems to depend on your point of view. What is clear, is that the concept has struck at the heart of our work culture, typically associated with “hustle.” Is quiet quitting an attack on that foundation, or simply a plea to stop the insanity at work in a time of pandemic? Editor 7. Electrical stimulation boots memory. Stimulating the brain with electricity can improve people’s memory for at least a month, a US study has found. A controlled electrical current was used to target specific areas of the brain to alter brainwaves on 150 volunteers, aged over 65, wearing caps filled with electrodes. Participants received 20 minutes of stimulation a day over four days and had to memorise lists of words. They were asked to recite the words a month later, with the study finding a 40% improvement overall in short-term memory. The researchers are looking into whether electric stimulation could be used in treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other conditions. BBC 8. Mental health openness still a stigma? If the pandemic taught managers anything, it's to start prioritizing workers' mental health. Whether it be to curb anxieties tied to the world reopening or the complexity of return-to-office policies, some employers have rolled out employee assistance programs (EPAs), which often grant free access to wellbeing services. Despite increased efforts, there is still a stigma around discussing mental health. Roughly 91% of workers in the U.K. and 92% in the U.S. say they believe those with mental health issues aren't treated the same, according to a recent survey. This ultimately leaves employees less likely to seek proper help from their company. BBC 9. Law firm sues Ghislaine Maxwell. A US law firm that helped defend Ghislaine Maxwell is suing her, her brother and her husband, saying it was never paid for more than $878,000 for its work. Haddon, Morgan and Foreman alleged in a lawsuit that Maxwell, the socialite convicted of helping the financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, put her brother Kevin Maxwell in charge of paying her legal fees, but that he only paid a fraction of what they had charged. Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts and two conspiracy charges, is serving 20 years in prison. The Guardian 10. The bottom line. A new poll has found that people no longer believe the NHS will treat them quickly if they fall ill. The YouGov poll found that 58% are not confident they would receive timely treatment from the NHS if they fell ill tomorrow, with 36% not confident at all and 22% not confident. Meanwhile, 45% believe the service they receive has worsened in the past 12 months. The Sunday Times |