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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
U.S. job openings increased in January while layoffs fell, suggesting labor demand improved at the start of the year even as broader signs point to a weakening job market. According to the Labor Department's latest JOLTS report, available positions rose to 6.95m from 6.55m in December, exceeding economists’ expectations, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Layoffs declined to 1.63m, while the hiring rate remained unchanged. Gains in job openings were seen across several industries, including finance, health care, retail, and hospitality, with manufacturing openings reaching their highest level since mid-2024. Despite the rise in vacancies, hiring remained subdued and the number of unemployed people continued to exceed available jobs, indicating a relatively fragile labor market and supporting the Federal Reserve’s view that employment conditions are not currently fueling inflation.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey for 2024/25 has found that violent crime in the work place had “steadily increased” over the period. According to the survey, 46% of violent crimes took place in the victim's place of work – double the 23% recorded in 2008-09 and up from 32% in 2019-20. Justice Secretary Angela Constance also raised concerns about the proportion of violent crimes – including assaults, attempted assaults and robberies – committed by children. She said: “I am particularly concerned about the higher proportion of violent crimes committed in the workplace and the increase in the proportion of violent incidents involving a child perpetrator . . . Reported levels of fraud and computer misuse also show the need for continued focus in this area.”
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
The war in the Middle East and surging energy costs are set to exacerbate soaring levels of financial distress among European companies, according to Alvarez & Marsal. “The escalating conflict in the Middle East is likely acting as a multiplier for the distress we are already tracking across the European landscape,” said Chris Johnston, a managing director in the consultancy firm’s European restructuring team. Referencing the surge in oil and gas prices, Johnston said: “This directly erodes the purchasing power of the European consumer, further destabilising retail and other consumer focused sectors that are already struggling with market share erosion and high debt-servicing costs.”
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends report finds that while business leaders are increasingly looking to technology - particularly AI - to solve workforce and operational challenges, most organisations lack the cultural and structural foundations to deliver on those ambitions. The report identifies three key issues: employees struggling to keep pace with constant change, widespread AI adoption without sufficient accountability or trust frameworks, and outdated organisational structures that hinder agility. While 60% of executives are already using AI in decision-making, only 5% believe they manage it effectively, with many failing to consider its impact on employees. Leaders are seeking AI-driven solutions that embed real-time learning, improve decision-making transparency, and enable more flexible, skills-based ways of working. However, progress remains limited, with only a small minority of organisations successfully adapting their workforce, governance models, and operating structures to support these changes.
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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