EDITION 914
11 APRIL 2022

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 be more productive. Our productivity at work often ebbs and flows based on several factors, such as stress and fatigue. That's why becoming more in tune with what makes us more (or less) productive can help boost our performance. Where do we begin? READ MORE >>

2. A failing refugee crisis. More than four million people have fled Ukraine since Russia began its barbaric invasion, in what the UN has called “the fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War”. Since the UK launched its “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, for which 200,000 of us have registered, just 4,700 visas have been issued. It’s hardly surprising when the application form is 51 pages long and its questions include “are you a war criminal?” Even when completed, applications are taking weeks to process when they should take hours. No wonder, then, that just 500 of the people so far granted visas have actually made it to the UK. The fault lies squarely with the Home Office, a woefully under-performing department which has somehow turned a story of British generosity into one of administrative chaos. Editor

3. A health scare to worry us all. People with type-2 diabetes have an increased risk of developing 57 other conditions, a study has found. Rates of type-2 diabetes – which is linked to obesity, among other factors – have risen sharply in the past 20 years or so. The study by Cambridge University revealed that people with diabetes had a 9% increased risk of cancer, a 2.6 times higher risk of neurological issues, a 2.3 times higher risk of eye problems, and a 1.8 times higher risk of mental ill health. “This study is a stark reminder of the extensive and serious long-term effects of diabetes on the body,” said Diabetes UK. More than four million people in the UK have type-2 diabetes, and a further 13.6 million are believed to be at risk of it. The Independent

4. Things are getting tighter. In its quest to douse down rampant inflation, the BoE’s monetary policy committee has lifted interest rates at three meetings in a row for the first time since 1997. But according to JPMorgan forecasts, the fun is only just beginning. Threadneedle Street is expected to lift borrowing costs four more times this year, in “a 1980s-style rate hike cycle that will eventually see rates settle at 1.75% by the end of the year. Whether or not that will be enough to tame the beast is open to question. Inflation, currently running at a 30-year high of 6.2%, is likely to peak at near 9% in October, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. City AM

5. How to make the leap into leadership. It can feel daunting to move from a role as an individual contributor to managing a team. Many of the key traits of star individual employees do not translate easily to success as a manager. How can you make a smooth transition? [1] As a new leader, you may need to shift your mindset - you can’t always operate as quickly as you used to. Facilitating effective communication with your teams may mean slowing down the pace, but it’ll also help you go further in the future. [2] Ask questions with genuine intent, rather than to assert your dominance or knowledge. It will help your team grow more confident and become better at decision-making. Demonstrating flexibility, vulnerability and loyalty are far more important than outworking others. Learn more of the new skills you need to help you grow your career in minutes, with advice and fresh perspectives by joining 10+. FIND OUT MORE >>

6. Has WFH become WATT? After two years of working from home, many people are finding that their workday keeps getting longer and that they are now working all the time. Knowledge workers traditionally had two productivity peaks per day: before and after lunch. But since 2020, a third peak has appeared from 21:00 to 23:00, according to a recent study by Microsoft. That spike is partly a result of the flexibility of at-home work, with parents of young kids finishing off tasks interrupted earlier by child-care duties. But the growing amount of time consumed by online meetings during the day also means many people have to complete their main work tasks at night. In separate news, it was reported that the length of the average workday has increased 13% - about an hour - since 2020; average after-hours work is up by 28%. The Atlantic

7. The big test for the shorter work week. Is the four-day work week the future? What's thought to be the biggest trial of a shorter working week is set to run from June with companies around the world focusing on output rather than hours, tracked by academics at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and Boston College in the US. In the UK, more than 60 companies and 3,000 workers are taking part – and not only those in office jobs. Firms include a brewery and a fish and chip shop, as well as marketing firms and a car parts supplier. The Guardian

8. Remote work meets la dolce vita. Living the Italian dream is suddenly within reach for remote workers from around the world, now that Italy has approved a new visa specifically designed for highly qualified non-EU digital nomads. The new permit has been signed into law, but still needs to be worked out in detail by the government. Non-EU nationals, including those from the UK, can currently only spend a maximum of 90 days in Italy without a visa. Once the new policy is officially launched, Italy will join other EU countries including Malta and Germany which already offer a special permit for digital nomads. Euronews

9. Apple issues RTO ultimatum. While Apple may advertise the way in which its products facilitate remote work, it has handed its own employees an ultimatum on returning to the office. Workers will be phased into a hybrid schedule, with most days to be spent in the office, by June. While the iPhone maker has been primarily remote during the pandemic - and has seen profit soar compared with pre-COVID - its design focus demands a level of secrecy that's best maintained in-house. Here’s where some of its Big Tech peers stand on remote work: Meta allows it for those not engineering hardware. Amazon is letting units set their own policies on remote work. Alphabet’s Google is approving it on an individual basis and says it has approved 85% of remote-work requests. Microsoft is letting most employees work remotely 50% of the time. Bloomberg

10. The bottom line. A health watchdog is urging millions of people to ensure their waist size is less than half their height to help avoid serious health problems. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence proposed the measure in an overhaul of obesity management guidelines. The UK has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with two in three adults officially overweight or obese in a worsening crisis that costs the NHS £6bn a year and wider society £27bn. The Guardian