Today
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
How much fun should you have at work?
Jokes at work need to be deployed with skill and care. Yet, the best are glorious and the working world would be a far better place if we had a great deal more of them.
- 30 mins ago
This Month
- Opinion
- Domestic violence
Domestic violence is also a workplace issue
Governments should take the lead on the problem, but other groups can do more, including employers. Companies can achieve much more than many imagine.
April
- Opinion
- AI
ChatGPT essay cheats are a menace to us all
Some universities are increasing face-to-face assessments to discourage AI cheating. Academics should be encouraged to expose the problem, not deterred from fixing it.
- Updated
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
Why it doesn’t pay to be a working-class professional
Social class is a bigger barrier to career progress than gender or ethnicity, a study by KPMG in Britain has shown.
March
- Opinion
- Coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic still warps our sense of time
It is almost a year since the WHO declared COVID-19 was no longer a global public health emergency, so shouldn’t we have reset by now? Not necessarily, say academics.
- Opinion
- Gender equality
Has the push for female equality gone too far?
Ireland’s failure to modernise constitutional language on the role of women suggests reluctance to go further with equality. What’s going on?
- Updated
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
The misery of motormouths in meetings
The ability to interrupt yammering windbags who steal time is a sorely underrated skill.
- Opinion
- Gender equality
Vanessa Hudson is not alone. Why women teeter on ‘glass cliff’
Female workers are deemed more likely to rise to the top when the job is dire, the risk of failure is high and men are less interested in the gig.
February
- Opinion
- Workplace
The rising menace of absurd job titles
From “global general counsel” to “chief growth officer”, terrible epithets confuse and infuriate, but they are also increasing.
- Opinion
- Flexible working
Work from home if you want but don’t expect a pay rise
Remote working is linked with lower wage growth, higher productivity and happier staff.
- Opinion
- Decision making
Why ignoring modern business thinking can be key to success
The inventor of the AeroPress disregarded conventional wisdom about marketing, pricing and almost everything else on how to run a profitable business.
- Opinion
- Workplace
Why your MBA might be a giant waste of money
The cover story CEOs with an MBA were noticeably worse at sustaining superior performance than the MBA-free ones.
January
- Opinion
- Air travel
I have tried jet lag fix calculators. Here is what I learnt.
Science now understands how to fend off debilitating jet leg. It’s just that airlines and employers have not caught up.
December 2023
- Opinion
- Workplace culture
The perils of mangling a colleague’s name
Mispronouncing a co-worker’s name at work can be hazardous – and not just if it’s the boss.
November 2023
- Opinion
- Working from home
Managers worry staff have a second job on the sly
I’ve never imagined I could take advantage of the freedom to work remotely to get another full-time job on the sly. But apparently it’s a thing.
- Opinion
- Workplace
The inescapable tyranny of working for a toxic boss
The prevalence of pernicious management and workplaces is difficult to measure - but numerous scandals show it is a problem in every sector.
- Updated
Collecting for a colleague’s gift is an office nightmare
Technology is upending the age-old act of chipping in for a farewell gift.
October 2023
- Opinion
- Investment banking
Why expenses are a fraught form of fraud
The Citi sandwich case shows why some rule-benders get a lot more sympathy than others. If a company wants to fire someone, the easiest way to do it is to go through their expenses.
- Opinion
- Workplace
The ghastly modern office needs a reboot
Hybrid working has exposed wasteful, outdated designs that one Silicon Valley boss wants to blow up.
September 2023
- Opinion
- Fashion retail
Public places should serve the public first
When the people who run the Tube allowed an entire station to be renamed after the Burberry fashion brand, they took branding too far.
