EDITION 966
24 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 make mentoring work remotely. Workers in the office spend 25% more time on career-development activities than their remote counterparts, according to a recent study. It also found that employees who came into work devoted about 40 more minutes a week to mentoring others. But with hybrid and remote models here to stay, can a better balance be struck for those workers who don't come into the office? 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. “Not since the Covid vaccine rollout has there been such a swing in confidence”. BBC.

3. Why UK's inflation isn't falling. UK inflation remained in double digits in March, with an annual price rise of 10.1%, despite expectations it would drop to 9.8%. While petrol and diesel prices fell, inflation was fuelled by food, recreation and culture costs. Economy experts suggest that the data could result in an interest rate hike by the Bank of England, which was hoping inflationary pressures would ease by now. The latest inflation figures suggest that a potential rise in interest rates to 4.5% in May may not be the last of this cycle. Daily Mail

4. Real wages fall as inflation bites. The real value of UK worker pay has been dropping at its fastest rate for more than a decade, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. While the annual growth in average pay, excluding bonuses, stands at 6.6%, inflation remained above 10% in the year to March. The fall in real wages has hit households across the UK as living costs have soared. The cost of food staples like porridge and skimmed milk increasing by up to 80% in a year has contributed to the impact on households. The Guardian

5. Why employers should hire bookworms. Research shows that reading can be beneficial for professionals’ careers, mental health and use of time, as well as a strong link between reading and curiosity in general. The co-author of the study by RMIT University and the University of Melbourne said that employers can assess a job seeker's inquisitive nature by asking about what they read outside of their work, the books they think are inspiring and how a book has changed their way of thinking about a topic. The Australian Financial Review

6. London housing pushes out under-40s. London's undersupply of housing is causing an exodus of young people from the city, with first-time buyers struggling to save for deposits and ten prospective tenants for every available property, The number of 25 to 39-year-olds in London has fallen almost 4%, or 82,000, over the past few years. Meanwhile, 20 state-funded nurseries or primary schools in the capital have closed or merged between 2017 and 2022. Rents in the capital rose 4.8% year-on-year in March, the fastest pace in over a decade, according to the Office of National Statistics. The Times and Financial Times

7. How popular is the monarchy? To gauge the public mood ahead of the coronation, Panorama commissioned a new YouGov opinion poll. The results suggest broad support for keeping the monarchy, with 58% preferring it to an elected head of state - which was supported by 26%. But, below this headline figures the poll points to attitude shifts under way - with some clear popularity challenges for the new king at the start of his reign. In particular, the monarchy seems to have a problem appealing to young people. While 78% of the over-65s are supportive of the monarchy, only 32% of the 18-24 year olds polled feel the same. More of this younger group, 38%, would prefer to have an elected head of state than a monarchy. BBC

8. Emergency alert issues. The national emergency alert system test “descended into a farce” after it failed to work on up to 10m phones. Although the government insisted the test had been a “success”, customers on Three, one of Britain’s biggest mobile networks, failed to receive the 10-second alert. Some phones received the alarm up to 20 minutes after the scheduled 3pm test and Welsh speakers noted that the computerised system made up the word “Vogel”, which is a ski resort in Slovenia. The Cabinet Office insisted that the “vast majority of compatible phones’ received the alert”. The Telegraph

9. How many languages do you speak? The world has 7,168 languages, but they aren’t  spread evenly. Papua New Guinea speak twice as many languages as the whole of Europe, though has a population of just 10 million. Speaking a second – or third – language can help you stand out in the labour market. Research also shows multilingual people are better at problem solving and can be more empathetic and creative. The speakers of just 23 languages account for half of the global population. As a result, half of all languages are endangered and 1,5000 could  die out by 2100. World Economic Forum.

10. The bottom line. The cost-of-living crisis has seen consumers cut back on everything from branded food products to central heating. Now, new research highlights how people are abandoning paid-for streaming services. Some 167,000 accounts were cancelled in the first three months of the year, which equates to 7% of British households cancelling at least one service. Financial Times