EDITION 965
17 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 land a high-earning job. It's no secret that job hopping often leads to higher pay. If you aren't making the salary you want, consider shifting to another industry. The experience you gained in your field may help you earn a high-paying job in another. New research from Open Study College revealed that these are the top 10 transferable skills employers with the highest-paying jobs are looking for. READ MORE >>

2. Business confidence bounces back. Business confidence in the UK has seen its sharpest rise since 2020, according to Deloitte. The group’s chief financial officers showed sentiment rebounded among finance chiefs at the UK's biggest companies as their concerns about energy prices and Brexit problems eased. There are now 25% more chief financial officers feeling better about the future than worse, compared to 17% more feeling the opposite three months ago. BBC

3. The economic gain of good teamwork. Effective teamwork saves time and money. Gallup research estimates that leaders who silo themselves ultimately create disengaged teams - and can cost the global economy up to $7 trillion (€6.5tn) a year in economic value. Experts told Harvard Business Review that leaders can overcome this and foster a more collaborative work environment by committing to mindset changes around decision-making. That includes letting team members and peers weigh in, focusing on long-term outcomes over short-term consequences, presenting opinions as just one potential option and more. Need support developing your team? askten.com

4. A first for GCHQ. The UK’s intelligence service GCHQ has appointed a female director for the first time in its 104-year history. Anne Keast-Butler, who studied maths at Oxford and has previously worked for GCHQ as the head of counterterrorism and serious organised crime, is currently MI5’s deputy director general. James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, described her as the “ideal candidate to lead GCHQ”, and praised her “impressive” track record. The Telegraph

5, Is a tea break part of your working day? The tea and biscuit break tradition goes back 200 years but now a new survey has found that 42% of UK workers are too busy to take breaks. McVitie's polled 4,000 working Brits and found that 70% of those surveyed take under 15 minutes of breaks (outside their lunch break) a day. Taking more breaks during our workday is vital as it helps us disconnect while increasing our productivity. Also, what better way to get to know your co-workers than catching up over a hot brew? Should we bring back tea breaks? Share your thoughts in our latest poll. VOTE HERE​​​​​​​ >>

6, Can millennials ever retire? Are you worried about your retirement? Well, you're not alone. According to industry research, over three-quarters of savers don't know how much money they'll need when they retire, and only a fifth are confident they are saving enough. And with the UK government recently delaying bringing forward the state pension age to 68 for older workers, millennials born on or after April 5, 1977, are likely to be the first cohort to work until they are 68 before they're eligible for the state pension. The Times

7. Brexit ‘kills romance of Orient Express’. The Orient Express is to scrap its UK section after 41 years due to Brexit. When the iconic train service began operating in the 19th century, passports were “optional” but “Brexit and 21st-century biometric checks” are “killing off the romance” for modern passengers “looking for the nostalgia of the luxury train journey that inspired Agatha Christie and Hollywood”. The operator has decided to drop the London-to-Folkestone leg of the route. The Observer

8. Royal family ‘abolishing itself’. The Royal family as we know it is in danger of “abolishing itself by stealth”, according to a new report. King Charles and the monarchy are becoming “too distant” from the nation after a 40% drop in public engagements over the past decade, said the influential think tank, Civitas. The total of UK-based engagements has fallen from 3,338 in 2014 to just 2,079 last year. Sunday Express

9. London phone theft ‘epidemic’. London is suffering from a “phone theft epidemic” that has seen 91,000 reports of stolen phones made last year - equivalent to 248 a day, or one every 360 seconds. Only 2% of the cases ended with the recovery of the device, added the paper. Data released by the Metropolitan Police to Green Smartphones showed that Westminster is the area in London where a person is most likely to have their phone stolen. The places with the least reported phones stolen in the capital were Sutton and Bexley. Metro

10. The thin blue line. Fewer than half (49%) of adults in the UK say that they trust the police in general. 47% say they distrust the police. 51% believe that if they were a victim of a crime, they’d trust the police to take their case seriously.42% say they wouldn’t. The Independent