Gallup research states that having a “best friend at work” is closely associated with positive factors such as greater employee engagement, higher retention and better safety records, now call me cynical but surely that’s straight from the University of No Sh&t, Sherlock aka common sensicles. Friends are good for you. They are why Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe and Chandler remained in...
There are very few things in life that cake can’t help with. You may think this is quite a broad statement, but I stand by it. It’s not just the eating of it, though. There are various enjoyable stages: planning which cake you’d like to bake or eat, exploring new ingredients, the baking process and then… the best bit. Nope, not...
Working and learning patterns have changed since the pandemic, but you don’t need us to tell you that. Working patterns were turned on their heads, and those changes are now permanent. Since then, organisations have had to evolve and adapt their L&D functions accordingly. We spoke to senior learning and development (L&D) leaders in various organisations and asked for their opinions...
I was speaking to a Canadian relative recently who has the pleasure of working from anywhere in the world, so she normally chooses countries in the Caribbean, South America or Africa. She’d rather be in the sunshine despite her deep love of poutine. This is one of Canada’s national dishes and is made up of chips drenched in gravy and cheese...
Have you ever done one of those personality profile tests where you’re given a colour? And no, I don’t mean one of those quizzes to find out which house you’d be in at Hogwarts. What I’m talking about is where some magic monkeys, also not at Hogwarts, perfectly sum up my personality and communication style based on the 25 questions I...
Are you ready for the crash, which this year seems doubly cruel because Mother Nature and her chum, El Nino, have decided to lay on a heatwave for us just as we’re all trudging back to work? According to many websites and magazines with space to fill, the September blues are a thing. It's common to get feelings of anxiety '...
Me too. And I’ve been going mental for months now, just starting to come out the other side. Why did I get ill? We. Don’t. Know. And I’ve been sending myself around the bend trying to work it out. Could it be a cumulative response to the perfect storm? Hormones – hello perimenopause - a main contender, having experienced the previous...
Who’s watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the moment? Who’s watching it from behind the sofa? Me too. Thankfully for England fans everywhere, the Lionesses are a lot cooler than I am - even in the most highly pressurised of all sporting situations: the dreaded penalty shootout… And the good news is that we can replicate their cool-headedness when we...
We all know someone who sucks the life out of a room when they walk into it, right? The kind of person who people draw straws not to sit next to at the Christmas Party because they’ve always got a worse problem than the person with the problem. If you’re ill, they’re sicker. If you’ve got tendonitis, they’ve got elevendonitis. If...
