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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
Bloomberg reports that Amazon is offering $1,000 prizes to delivery drivers who share what they love about their jobs. The "My Why" contest from the world’s largest e-commerce company is for drivers employed by delivery service partners, a network of small businesses that Amazon contracts with to manage workers who bring its packages to customers. Amazon said the competition is meant to "spotlight the drivers employed by our partners and celebrate the diverse motivations for doing this work and supporting their communities." Jerome Sloss, a New York City delivery driver and a Teamsters union activist who supports a New York bill that would require companies such as Amazon to directly employ last-mile delivery workers, said: “They’re not even acknowledging us as actual employees, but they’re offering us $1,000 to talk about why we like ‘delivering smiles.’”
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin has criticised senior executives who disconnect from work while on holiday. Speaking at a business event in central London, Machin said he prefers leaders to remain engaged, and rejects traditional notions of work-life balance in favour of broader personal responsibility. Since becoming CEO of M&S in 2022, he says he has replaced his entire executive team as part of a wider turnaround strategy. Machin highlighted a strong focus on curiosity and accountability in leadership hires, including requiring new executives to present candid assessments to the board early in their tenure. Machin also said that rising costs and Labour's new regulations are squeezing entry-level job opportunities for young people. He stressed the importance of retail and hospitality in providing first job experiences, and urged a re-evaluation of policies that he said disincentivise hiring young workers.
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Lufthansa Group has reached a collective bargaining agreement for more than 20,000 ground staff in Germany. The carrier said the 26-month pay deal with the Verdi union - which represents around a fifth of its entire workforce - would see workers in Germany receive a 4.65% rise in two stages from 1 January 2026. Executive board member Michael Niggemann, who is responsible for human resources and legal affairs, said the agreement with Verdi was a “good compromise” without any strikes. “This agreement sends a clear message in times of geopolitical crises and their resulting impact on the global economy: We are a responsible employer for our employees. Furthermore, the long-term nature of the agreement guarantees reliability,” added Niggemann. “After challenging negotiations, we succeeded in reaching a good compromise together at the negotiating table – without industrial action and without burdens – to our customers or additional economic disruptions.”
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Saudi Arabia's human resources sector is experiencing significant growth, driven by Saudization and the regional headquarters programme. Companies like Al Mawarid Manpower Co. and International Human Resources Co. reported substantial profit increases in 2025, with Al Mawarid's net profit rising to SR138.46m, a 45.1% increase. The human resource management market is projected to reach $1.82bn by 2030, growing at 15.5% annually. Maurice Salem, senior principal at Arthur D. Little Middle East, noted that this growth reflects structural shifts, with demand driven by economic expansion and a focus on upskilling under Saudi Vision 2030. “The growth of Saudi Arabia's recruitment and placement sector is structural - not cyclical. Critically, Vision 2030 is not just creating jobs - it is raising skill thresholds, embedding a national upskilling agenda that continuously fuels demand for HR solutions,” said Salem.
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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