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European Edition
22nd January 2025
 
THE HOT STORY
Working from home is 'not proper work', former UK retail boss says
Working from home is creating a generation who are "not doing proper work," says Lord Rose, the former boss of UK retailers Marks and Spencer and Asda. Lord Rose told BBC Panorama that home working was part of the UK economy's "general decline" and employees' productivity was suffering. His comments come as some companies call time on remote working. Amazon, Boots and JP Morgan are just some of the businesses which now require their head office staff to be in every day. Lord Rose said: "We have regressed in this country in terms of working practices, productivity and in terms of the country's wellbeing, I think, by 20 years in the last four." In a December 2024 survey by the Office for National Statistics, 26% of people said they had been hybrid-working in the prior seven days, while 13% had been fully remote and 41% had been fully office-based (the remainder were not working at the time). Work-from-home expert Prof Nicholas Bloom says that while fully remote work can be "quite damaging" to some workers' productivity, spending three days out of five in the office was as productive as fully office-based work overall. 
WORKFORCE
Greek lawyers strike over new bill
Greek lawyers' associations have announced a two-day nationwide strike on January 23-24 to protest a controversial bill aimed at combating gender-based violence. The legal community claims the proposed legislation undermines constitutional principles, particularly the presumption of innocence. The coordinating committee expressed disappointment over its exclusion from the drafting process, saying: "The core provisions of the draft law violate the presumption of innocence, the separation of powers, and the principle of proportionality." While the bill seeks to address issues like revenge porn and cyberstalking, the associations argue that its flaws could have significant legal implications. This legislation is part of Greece's efforts to align with a 2024 European Union directive on violence against women, which mandates member states to criminalise specific acts and ensure victim protection.
LEGAL
Teen workers in UK take legal action against McDonald's
Over 700 UK teenagers are suing McDonald's, alleging harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Thomas Beale, Head of the Bullying & Harassment team at Bolt Burdon Kemp, condemned the fast-food giant for its "abhorrent abuse of power," and highlighted the lack of action taken despite previous claims of sexual harassment. Young employees reported being bullied, subjected to homophobic comments, and even solicited for sexual favours by managers. The law firm Leigh Day is representing the claimants, and urges all current staff under 20 to join the legal action as they could be entitled to bring claims just for having been exposed to a culture of inappropriate conduct. McDonald's has said it is committed to ensuring a safe workplace but faces increasing scrutiny following the enactment of the Worker Protection Act.
HEALTH & WELLBEING
AI study could help identify depression in CEOs
A study published earlier month in the Journal of Accounting Research which used artificial intelligence to analyse speech recordings of CEOs has helped to identify factors that could contribute to diagnosing mental health challenges among executives. Nargess Golshan, assistant professor of accounting at Indiana University and co-author of the study, said: “We want to really highlight mental health in leadership roles and how prevalent it is,” continuing: "Of course, it is important for the personal health of these executives, but also has far-reaching implications for the organisation, the employees, the investors, and the broader economy.” Fortune notes that "Earnings calls are an optimal way to collect data because they feature long, uninterrupted periods of talking and usually aren’t confounded by visual communication cues like hand gestures." Among over 14,500 CEOs studied, more than 9,500 were classified as having depression using analysis from the machine learning model.
Workplace pressures boost cocaine demand in France
The French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT) has reported that the number of cocaine users in France has nearly doubled to reach 1.1m. OFDT deputy director Ivana Obradovic cited "The evolution of working conditions" for the increase, amid reports that restaurant workers and fishermen now take the drug to cope with stressful working conditions.
STRATEGY
AkzoNobel invests $22m in French ecological paint manufacture
AkzoNobel plans to invest €22m in Montataire to establish a decorative paint production site as a flagship. The plan aims to streamline operations, enhance competitiveness, and drive sustainable growth. The company will also reorganise its commercial and support functions, reducing 211 positions and creating 29. The plan will be implemented from May 2025 to the end of 2026. In 2024, the company announced the closure of manufacturing sites in Groot-Ammers, Cork, and Lusaka.
RISK
Philips hit by €700k heist
Philips has reported the theft of medical equipment valued at nearly €700,000 during transport from Best to a hospital in Spain. The stolen items, part of the Azurion system designed for minimally invasive surgeries, have not yet been recovered. The incident, which occurred in 2024, involved a logistics provider and a fraudulent transport company named "BB Transport." Philips said: “The stolen equipment has not been connected to the internet, which means it has not been activated,” making resale difficult. A police report was filed, and legal disputes have arisen between the logistics provider and Farvertrans, with the former seeking €682,000 in compensation. Despite the theft, Philips has assured that the hospital received replacement equipment and that the stolen items were insured. The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) has noted a rise in the average value of cargo thefts, indicating a trend towards targeting high-value medical devices.
CYBERSECURITY
HR leaders grapple with ‘revenge quitting’ phenomenon
The Work Trend Security Report from data backup and recovery company CrashPlan highlights an increase in so-called 'revenge quitting', a trend which sees a sudden resignation accompanied by destructive actions that jeopardize company data. Todd Thorsen, CISO at CrashPlan observed: “The signs of employee disengagement and dissatisfaction show up in the way they use technology. IT teams are often positioned to know about a potential rage-quitter long before HR does. How people treat the data they produce on the job generally predicts their job satisfaction.” Leena Rinne, global head of coaching at employee training platform Skillsoft, noted that “Employees are still saying the same things about why they’re considering a move: they want more opportunities to grow, better training and stronger development programs,” while Iffi Wahla, CEO of recruitment platform Edge, says firms must develop a culture and environment that prioritizes retention and puts employees first.
INTERNATIONAL
Trump to end all US diversity programs
President Donald Trump has issued executive orders to change the US government's policies on gender and diversity, following through on promises he made on the campaign trail. He rolled back orders from the Biden administration that the Trump White House called "unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government." Two of the orders he revoked included a Biden directive aimed at preventing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Trump also signed an order designating two genders only - male and female – and declaring that they cannot be changed. "As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," Trump said during his inaugural address.
Australians are increasingly searching for new roles despite lacking qualifications
New research by LinkedIn has found that some 59% of Australian workers will be looking for a new job this year, even as HR professionals highlight a lack of necessary qualifications among applicants. Adam Gregory, senior director, ANZ, LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions, observed: “Hirers are increasingly challenged by people applying for jobs that don’t match their skills and finding the right person for a role often feels like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s also natural that companies have been finding it harder to find the talent they need when many of the fastest-growing job roles we see today didn’t even exist 20 years ago.”
Japanese employees pay third parties to announce resignations
Firms such as Exit and Albatross are among those offering services to Japanese workers who find it difficult to leave their jobs. They charge fees of as much as 20,000 yen to announce a resignation to a client’s employer and handle associated formalities. These companies' success has highlighted the challenges that many Japanese workers face in quitting their jobs, amid reports of significant pressure from employers. Exit co-founder Toshiyuki Niino explained: "Japanese are not educated to debate and express opinions." Shinji Tanimoto, CEO of Albatross, said that most bosses were open to accepting a third party announcing the resignation of an employee.

 
MSN
AstraZeneca overhauls management of its scandal-hit China division
AstraZeneca has overhauled its local management in China in a bid to move on from recent scandals and revive sales, replacing Michael Lai with Alex Lin as the country's general manager. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has promoted Mary Guan to lead oncology in China.
 


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