EDITION 963
3 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 reinvent yourself. The idea of reinvention may seem overwhelming, and for some, it can be - especially when the path to the next phase isn't linear. Though we might feel uncertain about how we want to change our lives or careers, there are four stages that lead us to transformation: READ MORE >>

2. Economically inactive worry. Andrew Bailey said a trend for early retirement has forced up interest rates and inflation. The Bank of England governor said that a decline in the number of people in the workforce was “part of the reason why we have had to raise Bank Rate by as much as we have”. His comments, during a speech at the London School of Economics, are the “clearest sign yet” that the Bank is concerned about the number of people retiring early “amid a race by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to get more people back into work”. The Telegraph

3. UK to join CPTPP trade deal. The UK is expected to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in what the government says is its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The free trade agreement bloc includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. However, the government’s own estimates show being in the bloc will only add 0.08% to the size of the UK’s economy. BBC

4. Could staff sue bosses over offence? Draconian” laws will allow shop assistants, bar staff and doctors to sue their employers if a member of the public offends them at work. Rishi Sunak is facing a Tory revolt over plans for new harassment rules that would enable “medics to sue the NHS if a patient insults them, allow bar staff to take legal action against landlords if they are offended by drunk punters, and let baristas take coffee shop owners to a tribunal if they overhear offensive remarks made by customers”. Senior Tories warned it would lead to a “police state”. The Telegraph

5. A four-day week, but only the office. Just over a third of employers would be more open to a four-day week if staff spent the whole time in the office. That’s according to a survey of nearly 12,000 professionals and employers by recruitment firm Hays. The research also found that 62% of professionals would rather work a four-day week in the office than do five days on a typical hybrid pattern. When it comes to continuing on the current model of a standard five-day week, research by The Financial Times indicates the option of hybrid working can help with staff retention. Would you prefer to work four days in the office or five days in a hybrid pattern? Share your thoughts in our latest poll. VOTE HERE  >

6. Unsafe driver detected every six minutes. In the UK-first trial of the new safety technology, motorists were found holding mobile phones or driving without seatbelts every six minutes. The 'sensor test vehicle' was trialled over a number of weeks last October on England's motorways and major A-roads. At the time, a total of 122,241 vehicles were checked over a period of 64 hours. This led to 152 mobile phone detections and 512 vehicle occupants without a seat belt. Of the 664 offences detected, it is estimated that 530 (79.81%) were committed by people between the ages of 30 and 49, while 627 (94.42%) of those caught out were male. The Daily Mail

7. How to combat career regret. Do you find yourself daydreaming about a career path you didn't take? People who ruminated on past career hopes found it harder to become invested in their current job and to engage with colleagues, a survey found. They searched more often for other jobs and took more time off. So what should you do if this sounds familiar? Shaping your role around aspects you find interesting can help to increase fulfilment and engagement. Focusing on what is in your control can also be beneficial. Remembering why you didn't take a past path, what you like about where you are now and what you could do in future can all contribute to cultivating a greater sense of agency. Harvard Business Review

8. Why the sound of chewing annoys. If the sound of people chewing drives you to distraction, you are not alone. Researchers have estimated that almost one in five people in Britain suffer from misophonia, a condition characterised by an extreme emotional reaction to certain noises, often related to eating and breathing. People with the condition do not merely find the sound of people sniffing or slurping annoying: it makes them angry or panicked, and they can struggle in social and work settings as a result. The Guardian

9. Ministers shelve pension move. The government announced that it will not bring forward the date that the state pension age is due to rise to 68.  The Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride told MPs that now is not the time to make the change, and any decision will be pushed back till after the next general election. The state pension age is 66 and is due to rise to 68 from 2046. Campaigners had warned that speeding up the increase would have plunged tens of thousands of older workers into poverty. The Daily Express

10. The bottom line. According to the Department of Work and Pensions, 4.2 million children, or 29% of under-18s, were classed as living in relative poverty in the year to April 2022, up from 3.6 million in 2010-11. The Times