Your Local Information Microportal

1. How to do small talk. Anyone missing their water cooler chats with colleagues? In today's work landscape where so many of us are working from home, small talk has all but vanished from our daily routines. Even though most of our face-to-face time with colleagues is over video conferencing, we can still incorporate banter in these virtual meetings, and doing so has tangible benefits. READ MORE

2. Death rates back to ‘normal’. Covid infections have fallen by one third in a week and death rates are back to normal. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that there were 248,000 infections in the week ending 27 February, compared to 373,700 the previous week. The latest report from Public Health England shows that there is now no statistically significant excess mortality in Britain. Daily Telegraph

3. What the Chancellor said. Rishi Sunak unveiled his budget, extending many aspects of the government's coronavirus support schemes, including furlough and self-employment grants. The UK’s tax burden will rise to its highest level since the 1960s, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Sunak also announced further grants for retail and hospitality, as well as increasing payments to businesses for taking on apprentices. While he didn’t increase VAT, National Insurance or income tax, he did freeze the personal tax allowance and said corporation tax would rise to 25% from April 2023. The consensus was that the chancellor’s plans were a “promising start” for the repairing of the nation’s finances. The Times

4. 4-day weeks may not be that far off. It's been debated before, and with the pandemic forcing many in the business world to rethink how we do business, rumblings of a four-day work week are once again picking up steam. Sounds dreamy, right? Well, maybe it's not that far off. Companies from Germany to New Zealand, Spain to Japan, have given it a whirl, with positive results. Job postings advertising 4-day work weeks have tripled over the past three years, while data from the University of Reading reveal roughly two-thirds of businesses with a four-day week report improved productivity. Bloomberg

5. Learning how to work in a new world. The prolonged periods of remote work that many employees have endured amid the pandemic upended daily work life and inexorably altered the way workers approach training and development. Staff once sought out training on specific software suites or skillsets to improve their performance. But globally today, 'resilience' and 'digital fluency' are consistently rated as the two most important skills needed in the pandemic era, and our government supported 10/10 leadership development and mentoring programme, can help you and your team master these skills. LEARN MORE

6. Obesity blamed for Covid deaths. Britain’s high Covid-19 death rate is partly the result of obesity, according to a report described by the World Health Organization as a “wake-up call”. The World Obesity Federation’s report found that thousands of deaths in Britain could have been avoided if “negligent” governments had acted on the nations weight. In Britain 64% of adults are overweight - including 28% who are obese - the fourth-highest in the world. As explained in a new book called Burn by Herman Pontzer, it’s not sloth that is making us fat, but food. “Exercise will make you happier, healthier and live longer, he advocates, Just don’t expect any meaningful weight change in the long term from exercise alone.” The Telegraph

7. Many can claim to be good Samaritans now. A total of 12.4 million adults in the UK have volunteered at some point during the pandemic, with more than a third doing so for the first time. According to research commissioned by the Together coalition, the members of the new volunteer army are all over the UK, and have a wide range of different social, ethnic and faith backgrounds. More than 750,000 are first-time volunteers aged 18 to 24, and a similar number are resident in the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Metro

8. Britain second best on emissions. Britain has the second best record in the world for cutting carbon emissions, but reductions globally must decrease tenfold to meet the Paris treaty’s targets, a new study has found. Carbon dioxide emissions in the UK declined by an average of 3.6% a year between 2016 and 2019. Only Ukraine had a faster rate of decline, down 4% a year, according to the research led by the University of East Anglia and Stanford University. The Times

9. You too should find a new hobby. Many people’s lives were upended over the past year. In some cases, people lost jobs or structure to their days. In those difficult times, hobbies and passion projects can help distract the mind and bring people joy. I’ve found a new passions for illustrating, watercolour painting and black and white photography. To help you find a new passion, I’d suggest: [1] Picking an activity each month to try. [2] Trying a variety of online classes. [3] Listening to your inner child. [4] Being open to new experiences. Editor

10. The bottom line. Anger over the 1% pay rise for nurses has intensified after it was revealed that staff at HMRC have been given a 13% pay rise. Documents from unions representing HMRC staff show that workers will be paid 3% this month as a backdated payment for last year; 5% in June 2021 and another 5% in June 2022 to make up an increase of 13%. LBC