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Human Times helps you stay ahead of the latest news and trends that impact the HR industry. Every weekday, our unique blend of AI and team of expert HR and employment editors and researchers monitor 100,000s of articles, and social posts to create summaries of the most relevant and useful content to help you lead, innovate and grow. The award winning Human Times newsletter has four geographical editions with news tailored to your region.
From HR leadership to diversity and inclusion, hybrid working, organisational data, performance management, and retention strategies, Human Times is the only trusted free online news source dedicated to covering the most up to date headlines, articles, reports and interviews to make sure you’re abreast of changes in the HR industry.
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Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Fintech company Block has announced it will lay off over 4,000 workers, or nearly half of its workforce, as artificial intelligence transforms operational dynamics. Jack Dorsey, co-founder and head of Block, emphasized that the layoffs are not due to financial issues but rather a shift in how companies operate. “We're already seeing that the intelligence tools we're creating and using . . . are enabling a new way of working,” he said. Dorsey said he opted for immediate cuts to avoid prolonged uncertainty, explaining: “Repeated rounds of cuts are destructive to morale.” Block aims to complete the workforce reduction by the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. Dorsey plans to address employees directly in a live session, keeping communication channels open for farewells.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Rising female unemployment, particularly among young women, is hindering the UK jobs market and costing the economy £11bn, according to the PwC Women in Work Index. The report highlights a surge in young women classified as Neet (not in employment, education or training), with rates rising to 11.8% in 2024 from 9.5% the year before. Carol Stubbings, UK and EMEA managing partner at PwC, said: “Rising female unemployment, especially among young women, points to underlying weaknesses in our labour market at a time when AI is reshaping the economy and the skills needed . . . Reducing the number of young women who are Neet is not only a social imperative – it is an economic one, with billions in potential gross domestic product at stake.”
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
BMW plans to introduce two AI-powered humanoid robots at its Leipzig factory this summer. Developed by Swedish company Hexagon, the 1.65-metre tall robots can autonomously move components in a fully digitised environment. Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW's incoming chairman, said: "The robot is intelligent enough to generate its own decisions." Despite concerns about job losses due to automation, BMW's head of digitisation, Michael Stroebel, said: "It is not planned currently to reduce the workforce by replacing workers with new robots." The robot's battery life is about three hours, but Hexagon said the robots can replace their own battery in about 30 seconds using a charging station.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Many UAE companies have implemented hybrid and remote work policies to assist their employees amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. “Companies across the UAE are responding with a high degree of flexibility. Many organisations have already embedded hybrid or remote working frameworks into their operating models, which allows them to activate work-from-home arrangements quickly when needed. Where roles permit, employees are being encouraged to work remotely to ensure continuity without disruption,” said Sanjeev Giri, head of operations, Adecco UAE.
Full Issue
Read the latest HR highlights
How HR is Tackling Long Covid?
Fingers remain tightly crossed around the world that the rampant hospitalization and fatality stage of the Covid-19 pandemic has generally peaked. Vaccination programmes are accelerating, and restrictions are gradually being lifted...
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ESG Is Not Just Another Name For CSR
Back in the distant 1980s if you wanted to demonstrate your environmental and ethical credentials it was sufficient to shop at or purchase shares in retailer The Body Shop. The charismatic Anita Roddick, founder of the “hippy” tinged retail chain, heralded a new age of environmental concern, caring capitalism and corporate awareness that evolved into what became known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR was much talked about and lauded, but in reality often ended up being a lot of a hot air (excuse the pun) and often never progressed much beyond a footnote in the annual report.
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Have Older Workers Paid The Highest COVID-19 Price?
Across the world the pandemic is slowly but surely moving into its next phase. Recovery beckons. As furlough schemes across the U.S. and U.K. are being wound down, restrictions eased or lifted, and workforces moving back up the gears, early signs indicate that older employees are more likely to be casualties of the pandemic aftermath than their younger colleagues. Here at the we have witnessed an increasing number of stories supporting the growing belief that older workers are disproportionately paying the highest Covid-19 price.
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Bosses. What's not to like? Plenty, say employees
“You’ll never have another boss like me, someone who’s basically a chilled-out entertainer”
So said, David Brent, the fictional manager of Slough-based paper merchant Wernham Hogg in the seminal TV comedy The Office. Ricky Gervais’s portrayal of Brent as a flawed, narcissistic, incompetent, and deluded manager was so well observed that many (including me) believed it was a genuine fly-on-the-wall documentary when they alighted accidentally on the first ever episode.
Rolling with the Payroll
To mark National Payroll Week the team at the Human Times has provided some insight into the industry that we hope you’ll find useful.
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