Your Local Information Microportal

1. How to communicate like a great leader. The modern workplace increasingly requires greater creativity hence why being able to communicate your ideas effectively is vital. You can have a brilliant idea but if you're unable to convince others to believe in your vision, your influence and impact will suffer. READ MORE >>

2. Firms may make four-day week permanent. More than a hundred UK companies, employing over 2,600 workers, have now moved permanently to a four-day week working model since the start of the pandemic, with no loss of pay for employees. That’s according to the 4 Day Week Campaign group, which have accredited the companies as having shown they are genuinely reducing working hours with a shorter week. The 4 Day Week Campaign is also coordinating the world’s biggest trial of a shorter week, with around 70 UK companies having signed up. Nearly nine of the 10 companies involved said mid-way through the trial in September that they intended to continue working on a shorter working week after the pilot. The Guardian

3. Retailers facing surplus stock problem. Improvements in supplier delivery times have come at an inopportune moment for retailers, leaving many with too much stock. Recovering from a pandemic-induced lag, lead times for fashion goods from east Asia are reported to have shortened from 11 weeks over summer to around seven now, leaving many with hard-to-shift products at a time when shoppers are reining in spending. As a result, retailers are delaying 2023 orders, asking suppliers to postpone deliveries and returning stock to third-party brands to free up warehouse space. Black Friday provided many with a chance to move inventory at discounted prices, something experts predict we will see much more of in the coming months. The Times

4. Trust in women leaders falling. According to The Reykjavik Index for Leadership, an annual report that looks at how men and women are perceived in terms of suitability for leadership positions, trust in women leaders has significantly declined during the past year. Across the G7 nations, only 47% of participants said they were “‘very comfortable” having a woman as CEO of a major business in their country, down from 54% the previous year. Experts on leadership and gender warn that fixing the trust gap is vital to eliminating bias in business. BBC

5. Is enforced fun ever fun? While after-work drinks can provide some bonding time between colleagues, enforced "fun" with your team can feel a little... well, forced. Especially if excessive drinking is considered a large part of that "fun". That's what one Frenchman argued in court, after allegedly being fired for refusing to take part in his company's “fun activities". And he's not alone. Around 43% of UK working adults who drink say there is too much pressure to drink when socialising with colleagues, according to DrinkAware. Have you ever felt pressured to have "fun" in the workplace? Please share your thoughts in our latest poll. VOTE HERE >>

6. The power of the meeting walk. The relationship between Tim Cook and Elon Musk appeared to be on the rocks at the start of the week as the Twitter CEO accused Apple of "censorship" and criticised the tech giant's policies. However, tensions were seemingly diffused after the tech billionaires went for a walk around Apple Park, the iPhone maker's corporate headquarters. Heads of state are also partial to a walk. In 2013, former US president Barack Obama walked and talked with China's president Xi Jinping around the Annenberg Retreat's grounds in California. Over 80% of people come up with more creative ideas and solutions when they walk. Journal of Experimental Psychology

7. Census raises church questions. There are calls for an end to the church’s role in parliament and schools after census results revealed that England is no longer a majority-Christian country. For the first time, less than half of the population of England and Wales - 27.5m people - described themselves as “Christian”. The number who said they had no religion increased to 37.2% of the population, up from a quarter. The news has triggered calls for urgent reform of legislation requiring Christian teaching and worship in schools and Church of England bishops to sit in the House of Lords. The Guardian.

8. ‘Gaslighting’ is word of the year. As therapy speak increasingly infiltrates our vernacular, Merriam-Webster is taking official note of the trend. The dictionary publisher has chosen ‘gaslighting’ as its word of the year for 2022. A term that once referred to extended and severe psychological manipulation, it now means something simpler and broader: the act or practice of grossly misleading someone, Merriam-Webster writes. Unlike word-of-the-year picks in years past, which surged in popularity following a specific event, lookups for ‘gaslighting’ were high throughout the year, up 1,740% compared to 2021. Forbes

9. Britain's first city is the unhappiest. A new survey by the Office of National Statistics revealed the UK's unhappiest places, uncovering the locations where Brits are statistically the most fed up as Colchester, Redditch, Norwich, Tunbridge Wells and Lambeth. Often known as Britain's first city, Colchester was given the status of a Roman Colonia long before the foundations of London were built. But fast-forwarding to 2021 and 2022, people gave the city an average happiness score of 6.8 out of ten. The Daily Mail

10. The bottom line. There are four people applying for every part-time job available, according to new research from Timewise. There are four people applying for every part-time job available. Analysis from the flexible work consultancy estimates that around 600,000 people would like a part-time role, but only 12% of jobs available offer it. Editor