EDITION 879
26 JULY 2021

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday at 10am. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did.

1. How to say sorry and mean it. Navigating workplace relationships can be tricky but repairing them after a blow-up is awkward at best. You’ve had a disagreement with a colleague (perhaps in front of others), but you now realise you were wrong and you need to say sorry. But how? READ MORE >>

2. New Covid cases fall in UK. The UK recorded 29,173 new cases of Covid on Sunday - down from 48,161 a week earlier. This marks the first time since February that the number of new positives has fallen for five days in a row. However, the number of people taking Covid tests has also fallen, though by a smaller margin, and the figures will not yet reflect the impact of last Monday’s lifting of restrictions. BBC

3. Taxpayers to shoulder Covid costs for decades. A committee of MPs says taxpayers will bear the costs of Covid “for decades”. The Public Accounts Committee said Downing Street’s response to the crisis has exposed UK taxpayers to “significant financial risks”. The MPs also attacked government spending on unusable protective kit. It added that the taxpayer would be exposed to “significant financial risks for decades to come” with the estimated cost of the government’s measures having already hit £372bn in May. BBC

4. Rewards app to battle obesity. The government announced the launch a rewards programme for families switching to healthier food and exercising. Under the latest plans to tackle Britain’s obesity crisis, (see bottom line) an app will monitor family supermarket spending, rewarding those who reduce their calorie intake and buy more fruit and vegetables. It will also log people’s exercise. The “loyalty points” accumulated would be exchanged for discounts, free tickets or other incentives. In my opinion, this is a bad idea. We should, instead, be encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their lifestyles. Editor

5. Growth forecast raised to 7.6%. The economy is growing at the fastest pace in 80 years and is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, according to the latest EY Item Club forecast. The influential survey says that the economy is now expected to grow by 7.6% this year - the fastest rate since 1941 - and higher than the 6.8% predicted in April. The UK economy is highly dependent on recreation and leisure activities, which are benefitting from the unlocking. The Times

6. The best cities for remote work. If you could work from anywhere, where would you choose? Online housing portal Nestpick has released a list of cities that are best suited to #digitalnomads. The top 10 - Melbourne, Dubai, Sydney, Tallinn, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Glasgow, Montreal and Berlin - stand out for offering visas specifically for visitors who want to stay for long periods to work independently. Other factors that helped to rank the 75 cities include infrastructure, rents, pollution, vaccination rates and more. CNBC

7. Britain could face 40c within 10 years. Britain could swelter under its first 40C day within 10 years as massive heatwaves become more frequent, scientists have warned. Modelling suggests that if carbon emissions continue to rise and global warming is not curbed, the UK will cross the 40C threshold more and more often. “We would see increased pressure on water resources, productivity would be reduced, and it could affect our livestock and our crops,” said an expert. The Guardian

8. House prices offset crash losses. House prices have nearly tripled in the past 20 years, according to research from Zoopla. The average home in Britain is now worth £163,700 more than it was in 2001. Although buyers who bought their home before the financial crash saw a dip in its value between 2008 and 2012, these losses have been offset by strong price growth since 2013. The Times

9. How many careers should you have? Should switching careers become the norm as people increasingly live past the usual pensionable age? Is it time we start to think of our working lives as a series of careers? Starting over from scratch at a later stage of life can be less stressful and intimidating, perhaps as there is less pressure to pursue progression. With so many industries upturned by the pandemic, many workers have switched careers either opportunistically or without choice. How has your worklife changed over the past 18 months? Has your career path changed because of the pandemic? Have your say in our latest poll. VOTE HERE >>

10. The bottom line. Obesity now affects 28% of British adults, costing the NHS at least £6.6bn a year. Of all manufactured foods sold in Britain, 85% are deemed too unhealthy to be advertised to children. British adults consume an average of 500 more daily calories than they should. Snacking has subsumed meals: the average dinner lasts just 21 minutes and one in five households do not have a dining table. The Daily Telegraph