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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
The San Francisco Standard reports on how Bay Area companies are hiring etiquette coaches for their Gen Z employees as return-to-office policies have brought in the demographic for the first time, and in many cases after years of working and attending school remotely. Local etiquette coach Rosalinda Randall has said enquiries have risen 50% over the last two months, and "are a variation on the same complaint: Gen Z employees are treating the office like an extension of their homes." Jim Rettew, interim CEO at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, observes of Gen Z: “They’re great at challenging authority and the status quo, but sometimes I just want someone to buckle down and follow orders.”
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The government has set a new timeline for the Employment Rights Bill, pushing back several reforms by a year. Day-one protection against unfair dismissal, which was due to come into force next year, has been delayed until 2027, as has guaranteed flexible working and a ban on "exploitative" zero-hours contracts. Ministers say the roadmap will give businesses the "clarity and certainty they need to plan, invest and grow." Other measures set out in the Bill include removing the current limits on statutory sick pay, day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave rights. These are expected to come into force in early 2026. New whistleblowing protections are also due early next year, while October 2026 will see a ban on fire and rehire practices alongside rules to ensure that tips are allocated more fairly. Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the timetable "sets out when waves of disruptive changes will now hit small employers," warning that "without listening to proposals from business to improve these reforms, the changes simply add complexity and risk to new hiring and existing employment." TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the changes were "long overdue," adding that the new rights needed to be put in place "as soon as possible."
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Microsoft has announced a second wave of layoffs, impacting approximately 9,000 employees, or 4% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting strategy while investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The cuts will affect various teams globally, including sales and the Xbox division. The company aims to streamline processes and reduce management levels to enhance efficiency. Despite pledging $80bn in capital spending for fiscal year 2025, rising AI infrastructure costs are affecting profit margins. Other tech giants including Meta and Google have also announced job cuts to improve efficiency. Meanwhile, Microsoft has asked managers to evaluate employees based on how much they use AI, Business Insider reports. In an email to managers, Julia Liuson, president of the Microsoft division responsible for developer tools including AI coding service GitHub Copilot, wrote: "Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional - it's core to every role and every level." She told managers that AI "should be part of your holistic reflections on an individual's performance and impact."
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Microsoft has announced a second wave of layoffs, impacting approximately 9,000 employees, or 4% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting strategy while investing in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The cuts will affect various teams globally, including sales and the Xbox division. The company aims to streamline processes and reduce management levels to enhance efficiency. Despite pledging $80bn in capital spending for fiscal year 2025, rising AI infrastructure costs are affecting profit margins. Other tech giants including Meta and Google have also announced job cuts to improve efficiency. Meanwhile, Microsoft has asked managers to evaluate employees based on how much they use AI, Business Insider reports. In an email to managers, Julia Liuson, president of the Microsoft division responsible for developer tools including AI coding service GitHub Copilot, wrote: "Just like collaboration, data-driven thinking and effective communication, using AI is no longer optional - it's core to every role and every level." She told managers that AI "should be part of your holistic reflections on an individual's performance and impact."
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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