EDITION 823
22 JUNE 2020

As another week of working from home 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'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to listen with an open mindset. Leaders need to listen. If we can learn to receive feedback with grace, we may uncover a whole host of people who care about us and are waiting to give us information. [MORE]

2. Concern as Germany’s R number soars again. Germany’s coronavirus R number has risen again - from 1.79 on Saturday to 2.88 on Sunday. Health officials say outbreaks had been reported in a variety of locations including hospitals and nursing homes. The R number refers to the reproductive rate of the virus. Amid spikes in several countries, the World Health Organization has recorded the biggest one-day increase in coronavirus cases. The New York Times

3. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson to announce further lockdown loosening. Boris Johnson is to announce an expansion of household “bubbles” that could mean millions more grandparents are reunited with their grandchildren. The prime minister is also expected to announce tomorrow if the hospitality sector can reopen on 4 July and if the 2m distancing rule in England can be relaxed. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says England is “clearly on track” to ease more lockdown restrictions. BBC

4. England open for business. Crowds returned to England’s high street this week with the reopening of shops (see Talking points), but there were ominous signs for the UK economy. Figures showed GDP plunged by a record 20.4% in April, and the number of workers on payrolls fell by 600,000 between March and May, despite the Government’s furlough scheme. Daily Express

5. What to do with career envy. At one point or another, we're bound to compare ourselves to, and feel envious of, our colleagues, our friends and even those we haven't even met. But we don't need to let our envy get the best of us. Instead of feeling shame over what we haven't accomplished, we should approach these feelings with curiosity. What's our envy telling us about our interests and values? We can take things a step further by resisting the urge to avoid those we envy and turning them into allies and teachers instead. To receive a comprehensive report about your own motivators, please contact us. [MORE]

6. 600K lose jobs as lockdown bites. New data from the Office for National Statistics shows the impact the coronavirus lockdown has had on the labour market, with more than 600,000 people losing their jobs since March. From March to May, the number of people claiming work-related benefits rose 126% to 2.8 million and job vacancies dropped by more than 40%. Average pay also dropped by record levels due to wage cuts, falling bonuses and workers being furloughed. Though the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.9%, analysts warned the full impact will only be seen once the furlough scheme starts winding down. The Sunday Times

7. Study finds UK is lonely and desperate due to lockdown. Two in five adults in the UK feel lonelier under lockdown, new research has revealed. The study by the British Red Cross found that 28% worried that no one would notice if something happened to them while 33% said they feared that their feelings of loneliness would get worse in the years ahead. Some 31% felt they have no one to turn to when they are confronting a problem. The Guardian

8. Daily Mail eclipses The Sun to become UK's top newspaper. The Daily Mail has eclipsed The Sun to become UK's top-selling paper. The Sun had been the nation’s most popular newspaper since 1978 but the Daily Mail has been steadily closing the sales gap. It sold 980,000 copies a day on average last month, and the Mail on Sunday sold 878,000 a week, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Friday. The Observer

9. Romancing in bubbles. Sales of lingerie, chocolates, sparkling wine and flowers surged last week as new lockdown guidance on “support bubbles” meant that some couples who live apart could reunite for the first time. Lacy underwear and satin nightdresses shot up Amazon’s sales rankings, while on Waitrose’s site, searches for chocolate boxes rose by 58%, champagne by 15%, and champagne glasses by 60%. The Daily Mail

10. The bottom line. 28% of Britons say they trust most of the country’s news media most of the time, down from 40% last year, and 50% before the EU referendum. In Ireland, the figure is 48%; in Germany, 45%; and in the US, 29%. The Times