As I’m sure you know, the term ‘decimate’ has its origins in the Roman army where, to snuff out the risk of mutiny or punish disobedience, one in 10 soldiers in a cohort would be killed. In a nice...
The ‘people’ or human capital contribution to the fragile economic recovery will rely on three key assets. They are: the skills base of the workforce and employers’ capacity to make good use of it;...
Not for the first time, I’ve just discovered something I’ve been doing for years has a fancy new name.
A young relative of mine was recently delighted to be offered a job in sales. His family were relieved. At last he could start out in the world of work and begin building an independent life.
Technology, I’m told, is cool. Pictures of people queuing ?impatiently at midnight to get their hands on the next version of a sleek tablet or smartphone clearly show technology has ?powerful and...
In March 2009, in Pontonx-sur-l’Adour, south-west France, Serge Foucher, CEO of Sony France, was taken hostage by workers in one of the company’s factories, which was due to close with the loss of...
For too many people, getting home after a hard day at work is not the comfort that it should be.
Len is a long-service civil servant five years off retirement. He works in IT. His department, like all of Whitehall, has been making job cuts in response to the Government’s drive to reduce headcount...
I have been researching workforce health and wellbeing for almost 20 years. I have looked at the causes, costs and consequences of sickness absence, presenteeism, patterns and at the trends in...
Compared with 20 years ago, employers are now much more likely to be open to the view employee well-being is a mainstream business issue. Some are even becoming more comfortable with the notion that...
In my first year at university, we were set an essay to discuss that ‘the business of business is business’. Former GM CEO Alfred P Sloan was the originator of this quotation, embellished in 1970 –...
There seems to be no end in sight to the gloomy economic outlook: growth stagnant, unemployment still growing, fear of job losses high and pressure on workers and families building. Business...
