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There is no escaping it: too much news is bad for you. It should come with a government health warning: “This intellectual diet is fine taken in small doses, and preferably in weekly instalments, via a well-balanced newsletter, such as 10 things from William Montgomery." So, as another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did. William Montgomery 1. How to say no to extra work. Learning to turn down tasks at work when you do not have the bandwidth is not easy. For many of us, saying 'no' to a request for help interferes with what we think of as being helpful, friendly, and cooperative. Rest assured, communicating what you can, and cannot, take on does not mean you are not a team player, or you will not be called on in the future. READ MORE 3. Anger as fair tipping bill is dropped, Trade unions have raised the alarm over government plans to shelve a bill that would ensure workers keep their tips. The proposed legislation, first promised in 2016 by then-business secretary Sajid Javid, would have prevented restaurants from taking a share of tips rather than passing them on to staff. Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said that dropping the bill would "betray some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers". The government's business department said it would still encourage "industry best practice" from the service industry. Financial Times 4. Two million miss meals. More than two million adults in the UK have gone without food for a whole day over the past month because they cannot afford to eat, a survey has found. A study by the Food Foundation think tank revealed a 57% rise in the proportion of households cutting back on food. The research found one in seven adults (7.3m) are estimated to be food-insecure, up from 4.7m in January. The ONS reported that about four in ten British households are struggling with their gas and electricity bills; nine in ten say their living costs have risen. 42% of adults think they won’t be able to save any money in the coming year, up from 34% in November. The Guardian/Financial Times 5. It’s official ‘zooming’ kills creativity. Videoconference calls may be stifling our creativity. As more employees work from home, the challenges associated with remote communication are becoming clearer, according to new research. A study of more than 600 people working in pairs showed that in-person meetings generated more and fresher ideas. Virtual calls, in which people tend to focus on one another’s faces and move around less, produced fewer ideas but didn’t interfere with choosing which ones to pursue. The study notes that while videoconferencing saves travel and other costs, bosses need to be “smarter” about which meetings to make virtual. Nature 6. Are mental health apps good for you? As stress and anxiety spiked amid the pandemic, so did downloads of mental health and wellness apps. Those apps proved useful for many, but experts are now raising concerns over efficacy and the safety of users' data, reports Axios. Advocates worry that people with serious mental health issues - including depression and anorexia - are turning to virtual services that offer chat bots and breathing exercises, rather than seeking out medical treatment. And researchers at Mozilla have warned that mental health apps have worse user privacy protections than most other types of apps. Experts say that mental health apps should be viewed as a supplement to traditional therapy and treatment, not as a standalone cure. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Editor 7. UK becoming ‘fattest nation’. Britain is on track to be the fattest nation in Europe in a decade, with takeaway companies and sedentary lifestyles being blamed. An expert from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that, by the early 2030s, 37% of British men and women are expected to be obese. Dr Kremlin Wickramasinghe, the WHO lead for non-communicable diseases in Europe, said the UK was adopting a lifestyle with “more and more digital screen time” and highlighted the prevalence of food delivery services such as Deliveroo and Just Eat. Daily Mirror 8. Al fresco culture here to stay. Britain is to go “permanently continental,” with al fresco dining to be made law in the Queens Speech. The government plans to announce legislation to allow councils to grant “pavement licences” for outdoor dining and drinking on a permanent basis and cement cafe culture across the nation. The licences were originally introduced as a temporary measure during the Covid crisis to enable restaurants, cafes and bars to stay open safely and boost the hospitality industry. Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “It is something that customers have really liked.” The Telegraph 9. Anti-speeding campaigner caught speeding. A Conservative police and crime commissioner who vowed to crack down on speeding motorists has been caught breaking a 30mph limit five times within 12 weeks. Caroline Henry, PCC for Nottinghamshire police, was said to be “embarrassed and ashamed” after admitting to the offences. During her election campaign, her police and crime plan pledged to crack down on speeding as a priority, and on her personal website Henry said she wanted to ensure an “effective and efficient” police response to the problem. The Times 10. The bottom line. Only 5.8% of all offences reported to the police in England and Wales last year resulted in a charge, down from 15.5% in 2014-15. The Guardian |