EDITION 883
23 AUGUST 2021

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 a better listener. If you spend a lot of time trying to get colleagues to pay more attention to what you say, it could be a sign you need to spend your energy learning how to listen more effectively instead. At work we often have strategies for how we can be heard more clearly by colleagues and managers — but listening is often more powerful than talking. So how can you do it better? READ MORE >>

2. Who do you trust? Asked which of the two politicians they’d trust to fix their wobbly shelves, 7% of British adults opted for the PM Boris Johnson, and 44% for the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. 12% said Johnson was the more likely to pay back a £20 loan; 56% opted for Sunak. The PM scored slightly better on a different question, posed to men. Asked which of the two politicians they’d prefer to take their wife or partner out to dinner, 21% chose Johnson, and 41% Sunak. Overall, 42% said Sunak would be a better PM; 24% thought the nation should stick with Johnson. The Daily Mail

3. Getting noticed by an employer. Job seekers can find a lot of advice online about getting noticed by recruiters and hiring managers. Some of that advice may seem too good to be true, because it is. I have how to get the attention of potential employers with countless job seekers during the pandemic. As well has having a one-page resume [mine is available on request]; job seekers should: [1] Make sure they’re qualified for the job. [2] Craft clear and concise resumes. [3] Network through traditional and non-traditional methods. [4] Show that they’re eager to work for the employer. Editor

4. Older workers in peril. Economists have warned that older workers are being left out of Britain’s economic recovery after data showed they are more likely to be stuck on the furlough scheme than under 25s. Data from ING revealed that 7.4% of workers older than 55 are on the taxpayer-funded wage scheme as it nears its end next month, sparking fears they will never return to work. Researchers say government support packages going forward are “heavily geared towards the young”. The Daily Telegraph

5. Should CEO salaries be capped? Should there be a limit on salaries and bonuses for top executives? The question is being asked after it was revealed that FTSE 100 CEOs are paid more in a single year than the average worker can expect to make in their entire lifetime. FTSE 100 CEOs are reportedly paid more in a single year than the average worker will make in their lifetime, according to the High Pay Centre. The average pay for top executives fell by 17% from 2019, but the figure is still reportedly 86 times the average British worker’s salary of £31,000. The High Pay Centre says it shows how the pandemic has accelerated and deepened the divide between the rich and the poor. Do you think CEO salaries should be capped? Vote in our poll and share your comments. VOTE HERE >>

6. Stimulating jobs lower dementia risk. Doctors and chief executives could be 23% less likely than farm labourers to develop dementia, according to a new study. Researchers measured how “cognitively stimulating” participants’ jobs were at an average age of 45 and followed them for about 17 years, by which time 1,143 had developed dementia. They found that having a mentally stimulating job in the second half of a career may help to stave off dementia. The Guardian

7. Meditation improves concentration. A new study has found that meditating for ten to 15 minutes a day can boost the brain’s ability to concentrate on everyday tasks. Brain scans of students at Binghamton University in New York revealed marked changes in the ability to switch between states of consciousness after subjects took up mediation five times a week for eight weeks. The students reportedly had more connections among and within brain networks. The Times

8. Vaccinated can harbour high virus levels. A new study has found that fully jabbed adults can shelter virus levels as high as unvaccinated people if infected with the Delta variant, supporting the theory that hitting the threshold for herd immunity is unlikely. “The fact that they can have high levels of virus suggests that people who aren’t yet vaccinated may not be as protected from the Delta variant as we hoped,” said a professor. Positive tests, hospitalisations and deaths linked to Covid are rising in the UK. The Guardian

9. Meet the new “robot lawyers”. An uptick in artificial intelligence software systems within the legal profession has sparked a conversation about whether ‘robots’ could take over certain roles. Researchers cite app DoNotPay, which offers users advice on the best legal language to use when writing letters about insurance claims, complaints to a business or holiday refunds as making inroads into automation in the field. Trial lawyers are using document-tracking software to analyse case files four weeks faster than humans could do it, while accountancy giant Deloitte uses TAX-I software system to analyse historical court data for similar tax appeal cases. BBC

10. The bottom line. Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, more than 240,000 Afghans, 70,000 of them civilians have been killed; to say nothing of the 2,312 US soldiers and 456 British troops who lost their lives there too, and the millions of others who have had their lives shattered beyond repair. Editor