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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
Canadian lender Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank has told some staff in its financial crimes and risk management team that it would run software to track the time they spend on browsers and internal chat and meeting applications. TD said the deployment of such software is "standard practice across the industry . . . the tool allows managers to more accurately manage workflows, team capacity and performance. Where deployed, colleagues are informed about where they are used and for what purpose." Deanna Pacitti, TD's associate vice president of high-risk investigations, told her team on a call reviewed by Reuters: "The idea is it's going to show pain points, where do we spend too much time . . . We know we have a lot of pain points across our systems."
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
UK businesses and the government have pushed back on calls to introduce a maximum working temperature, after trade unions launched a “heat strike” ahead of record-breaking weather, the FT reports. The Met Office has issued a red alert for today, while warning that temperatures will build significantly as the week continues, and said there is the possibility of failures of heat-sensitive systems and equipment that could lead to losses of power, water, and transport disruption.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Mercedes-Benz is to commence talks on additional cost cuts with union leaders as the German carmaker expands its use of AI to drive savings amid growing pressure from US tariffs and dwindling sales in China. The company wants AI to lift productivity and reduce expenses across functions; around 60% of employees use AI daily, and Mercedes is targeting 70% by the end of the year. “We need to evaluate, have we done everything within Mercedes, within Germany, to be more competitive against our rivals,” human resources chief Britta Seeger said. “We need to make sure Germany does everything to be a competitive country.” Bloomberg notes that the company's workers are protected from forced redundancies via agreements internally known as the ZuSi (short for Zukunftssicherung, or future security). Natural attrition and voluntary redundancies have so far been the firm's preferred method to reduce staff numbers.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Dubai is embracing AI to enhance public sector operations, the Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR) Multaqa 2026 forum has heard. The event focused on how Agentic AI can transform decision-making and workforce planning while ensuring human oversight remains central. The forum also introduced DGHR's White Paper on Agentic AI Governance, outlining the opportunities and risks of AI in human resources. Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed Al Falasi, director general of DGHR, said: “Artificial intelligence can support work, analyse information and provide recommendations, but it cannot replace human judgement or assume responsibility for decisions. Technology can enhance the way we work, but people must remain the custodians of judgement, accountability and public value.”
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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