Less work, more play

04 / 02 / 2013

The Beatles sang about eight days a week and for many of us we feel that’s a good description of working life today, especially at this time of year when it’s still dark when we get up and go home, making is feel like moles on a treadmill. The Working Time Directive introduced a limit to weekly working hours, though...

What has the Tesco horseburger scandal taught us about investigations?

31 / 01 / 2013

Although the French (and probably many other nationalities) have cheerfully eaten horsemeat for years, we in the UK don’t. It would be akin to a human Narnian eating a talking animal – it’s an article of faith that one simply doesn’t do things like that. So when earlier this month some Tesco burgers were found to contain up to 29%...

Hot gossip

30 / 01 / 2013

Yesterday there was a news article which reported on the damage that people (especially young people) are doing to their career prospects by saying rather too much on social media platforms. It’s common knowledge (confirmed by both The Recruitment Society and The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) that most employers now research job candidates online. Jamie Oliver might have...

Bringing up baby

29 / 01 / 2013

The cost of childcare in the UK is amongst the highest in the world. Many parents with two or more children say that financially it does not make sense to work. Government statistics suggest that on average a family with young children is spending just over a quarter of their income on childcare. The current state of affairs is undesirable...

“Thank you” – the two most under- appreciated words in corporate life

28 / 01 / 2013

Most employees work hard most of the time. Most of them are not robots, so the wish and need for recognition and appreciation for their efforts is at the heart of what they do. But a recent industry report suggests that only a third of managers thank their staff. Has management become more about catching staff doing things wrong when...