October 21, 2014
Religious leaders have their say on ongoing work-life balance debate
The UK’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has appealed to people to free themselves from digital slavery for at least one day a week. Speaking in The Times, the Chief Rabbi (pictured above) calls on all people to give up their smartphones, tablets and other devices for at least a day a week as part of a campaign to revive adherence to the Jewish custom of the Shabbat in which people do not work between sunset on Friday and Saturday. He has been joined in his call by the Archbishop of Canterbury and The Pope, both of whom have urged people earlier this year to focus less time gazing into the unblinking eye of their devices and instead focussing on the real world, its issues and the people around them as a way of achieving a better work-life balance. The Chief Rabbi claims in the interview that the ceaseless need to respond to electronic messages distracts people from family life, communal living and spiritual reflection.
October 16, 2014
Americans would still prefer a male boss to a female boss
by Sara Bean • Comment, News, Workplace
The news that Facebook and Apple are to offer US-based female employees the option of freezing their eggs for future use, in an effort to attract more women on to their staff, has raised quite a debate on both sides of the Atlantic on whether women are being actively discouraged to put off having children. Now a new poll suggests that far from entering a brave new world, attitudes towards women in charge haven’t moved on a great deal. There is still a disappointingly high level of negativity towards female bosses, with US Americans more likely to say they would prefer a male boss (33%) to a female boss (20%) in a new job, according to a Gallup poll. And in an age when women are told to “lean in” to get positions of power at work, even women are more likely to prefer a male boss to a female boss. Although 46 per cent say it doesn’t make a difference to them, the percentage of women who would prefer a female boss has never surpassed 30 per cent since Gallup’s annual work and education poll, was launched back in 1953. More →