Happiness at Work
Ask most managers what their top priorities are for their direct reports and I would be hugely surprised if the word ‘happiness’ appeared anywhere on a list littered with words like ‘productivity’, ‘creativity’ ‘target-orientated’, ‘efficient’ etc. But we are now interested in the idea of happiness at work (and in society) and there is a whole happiness industry emerging rooted in positive psychology, driven by individualism and personalisation and expressing itself in the health and wellbeing agenda. It is important...
Should your office switch to casual dress code?
An office full of employees in jeans – for some people, this sounds like a dream. For others, the thought alone is enough to cause them to break out in a cold sweat. How do you figure out which dress code policy is right for your workplace? The tech start-ups may have spearheaded the dressed-down office trend, but nowadays more and more companies are adopting it. If you’re one of those business owners wondering whether or not you should also...
Blair’s state-funded mediocrity caused referendum result, not Cameron
By Sarah Townsend So it turns out I don't know the country I live in. On the 23rd of June I thought that I lived in a moderate democracy where people benefitted from their ability to read and hear fact-based and impartial information afforded to us by to our right to free speech and relatively educated population. On the 24th June it became clear that what I thought I knew was a lie. David Cameron has resigned and he is...
Has the Second EU referendum petition been hacked?
By Tom Lowenstein @stoopnik As it emerges that the parliament petition was actually set up by a pro-leave right wing activist, huge numbers of votes from ineligible countries could undermine Remainers’ hopes of a second referendum The petition demanding a second EU referendum has now passed three million signatures, but Parliament’s data suggests the vote may have been compromised. It has also emerged that the poll was actually set up a month before the referendum by a right-wing activist and...
Chancellor Osborne next to go?
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor After David Cameron stepped down after a resounding defeat in the EU referendum many assume that the Chancellor will now have to leave his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Osborne had threatened to impose an emergency budget on the nation with another round of austerity cuts, in the case of a Brexit, but he has not been seen since the voting results came through, sparking rumours that he would be next. The Chancellor insisted...
Secret Teacher – Tales From An Exhausted Ruin A Teacher In The Summer Term
Thursday. How on Earth is it not Saturday yet? Having been up marking some of my 250-plus books till the wee small hours, I wake up taking a few seconds to recall what day it is. I’m off on a course, which adds 90 minutes to my travelling time and I have to sort out cover lessons too. This, for the uninitiated, is the Twilight Zone. That time of year when, somehow, teachers drag their bedraggled, wrecked bodies and minds...
Half of Labour cabinet to resign in coup against Corbyn
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The fall-out from the referendum result has spread through the Labour Party. Hilary Benn was sacked overnight, supposedly via a phone call, after he told the Labour leader he didn’t think he was up to the job. In reaction to this action half of the shadow cabinet are going to resign. Shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander has said "with a heavy heart" that she is resigning. Corbyn was already facing a vote of no confidence,...
Video – Policeman breaks rank to propose at Pride
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A policeman broke ranks from his colleagues and proposed to his partner in from of thousands of people at London's Gay Pride. A heartwarming moment and the officer, who seems to be on duty, made the romantic gesture at the world famous festival. Fellow officers stand in unison, which ended with a yes and an huge cheer from the crowd of revellers. In a country increasingly divided this is a lovely moment, which shows there is...
Senior MP pleads for Brexit to be cancelled
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, has pleaded for Brexit to not take place. His concerns have been raised as 1.8 million people have signed a petition demanding a new EU referendum. The website crashed as so many people tried to submit their petitions. On Saturday morning, it was being signed by more than 100,000 people an hour. Only 100,000 signatures are required to trigger a debate on the subject in Parliament. Lammy hopes this...