After writing yesterday’s post about worker insecurity being at a 20 year high, I then found this article, via Jo Plumstead’s rather good The Grumpy Daily, in which she linked to Will Hutton’s article in last Sunday’s Observer about how technology is making most human jobs redundant: Driverless cars, pilotless planes … will there be jobs left for human beings?
Hutton is writing about The Great Reset,
Sponsored Post
This infographic by Stephens Scown Exeter has highlighted the fact that employment in the UK continues to be driven by small and medium enterprises [SMEs]
![Employment The Jobs The Money The Issues1 e1367528483158 Employment The Jobs, The Money, The Issues [Infographic] miscellaneous stuff](http://michaelscutt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Employment-The-Jobs-The-Money-The-Issues1.jpg "Employment The Jobs, The Money, The Issues [Infographic] photo")
Guest Post
Good internal communication is essential to the effective working of a team and the success of an organisation overall. Poor communication, conversely, leads to demotivated teams, errors and missed opportunities and even serious operational problems and PR mistakes. The topic is so timely that most large corporates will have large communciations teams in place. Often, there will be more than one to handle the external communications and PR activity for external audiences and a separate internal communications and engagement team to focus on internal messaging.
Guest Post
Recently qualified solicitor, Mike Dawson, discusses the time he spent learning the ropes as a trainee lawyer.
Application Process
I graduated from the University of Manchester in 2008 knowing that my prospects for employment would be relatively high, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just how competitive the industry had become when I submitted applications for a training contract.
Given all the rain we’re having at the moment it may seem inappropriate to write about the Sun, but come the 1st September I hope he’ll have his hat on and if not playing, at least putting in an appearance. For on that day I will be cycling, walking and canoeing for charity in an event called “Race the Sun” in the Lake District.
Thirlmere from the top of Helvellyn
If you came to this post expecting a defence of bankers and their bonuses or an erudite explanation of why the City isn’t to blame for the country’s economic woes, I’m sorry to disappoint you. I thought it time to have a break from employment law and go off piste, as they say. If I wasn’t a lawyer I’d like to be an historian and that is what this post is, sort of, about. Many commuters gripe about the trouble getting into the City; late and crowded trains, the cost of a season ticket and not seeing enough of the family during the week, to name but a few. And there’s no doubt that it can be a drag. But, lots of things make up for it. More pubs, bars and restaurants and gyms than you could shake a stick at, not to mention recitals in churches, proximity to the West End and all its theatres and shops. However, there is something beyond even that lot.
For some light relief, take a look at the the 25 Top Oddball Interview Questions of 2011, as compiled by Glassdoor.com, a website that allows people to say what they really think about the company they work for. These questions were ones that were really asked in interviews, apparently. My favourite (and I say that sitting here in the comfort of my own home and not sweating in an interview) is “Just entertain me for five minutes. I’m not going to talk”. How would I answer? Nervous laugh? A song and dance routine. Tell the guy he’s a complete ar*e and walk out? I don’t know and I hope I never have to provide that answer.
I always enjoy the week between Christmas and New Year; it gives me the chance to do all those jobs that I’ve wanted to do around the house and to wade into the pile of books and novels I collect throughout the year and never quite get chance to read. This year has been no different and in amongst all the festivities I’ve managed to make some inroads into the reading list. A case in point is the first novel by Selma Dabbagh, a British Palestinian writer, called Out of It. It makes for a very uncomfortable, although very readable experience (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms).
In the dog days of 2011, when all there is to do is eat cold turkey and chocolate (but not necessarily at the same time), I thought it time to give the old blog a make over. I was a bit jaded with the old blue and grey colour scheme and wanted something minimalist that would fit in with the other two blogs I write – Troubleahead and UK BlawgRoundUp. I like the cleanness of the white background, contrasting with black writing. I’d also got fed up with seeing my mugshot in the sidebar. I might get a new photo done in due course, but for the time being I’m going with the stripped down bare basics look. The old theme – Persephone – didn’t provide much design flexibility and altering the borders round photographs proved beyond my coding skills. The problem was the text font was very hard to distinguish from the background colour: not so anymore.
Continuing the theme from my last post, I stumbled upon a picture of another employee forced to dress up for work. I don’t think this is quite as bad as forcing Father Christmas to promote Pizzas at road junctions, but it’s not far off. Love it!
