QUICK FIRE NEWS 🧨

LET'S GET INTO IT 🤓

Can we even call this a ‘living standard’?
It’s hard to believe that in 2023 so many are going without meals, adequate clothing, regular washing or basic shelter. But what’s even more shocking is the government’s total lack of urgency in dealing with it. Food banks, ‘warm banks’ and even ‘baby banks’ have become so normalised that we have become desensitised to the direness of the situation.

What about benefit payments? Aren’t they supposed to help?
Ideally, yes. But the reality is that almost three-quarters of destitute households actually do receive support from the benefits system. But it's not adequate in supporting them out of poverty, instead keeping people in a cycle of insecurity, sickness and fear. 
 Poverty is a political choice. Just as keeping benefits as low as possible is deliberate, lifting people out of poverty can be too. 
Current support does not address the real cost of living, nor does it take into account the many different situations people may find themselves unable to work in. I believe we’re finally starting to see the ‘benefit scrounger’ rhetoric lifting within our communities, but until the government take action to provide adequate support to lift people out of hardship, this social emergency isn’t going anywhere.

What's happening?
A survey of 15,000 professionals has found that most of us are now travelling into the office five days a week. A big switch up from the remote and hybrid working norms we were promised were here to stay. 

Why the change?
It seems that most employers still offer hybrid working options, but we're seeing less uptake from employees than last year. This isn't all that surprising when you think about it: we're all finding what works best for us, and it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. Employers that try to force unwilling employees back into the office however will not help their staff retention. 

CEO of Dropbox stresses "trust over surveillance" - a concept we're totally on board with, we're all adults here and we can get our work done without eyes on our screens at all time. Dropbox is a virtual-first company, meaning employees only need to travel for the occasional social meeting. They're bucking the trend set by big tech such as Zoom and Apple mandating a return to offices this year.