Construction figured prominently in September news with continuous debates over the numbers of new-builds Ireland needs to meet demand while BAM is being accused of "holding the State to ransom" over the continuing delays and spiralling costs of the new National Children’s Hospital. Topping the charts though was the now infamous ‘bike shelter’. We’ll let our old pals at Waterford Whispers tie a couple of these stories together whilst explaining the enormous cost involved.
Say what you want about winners and losers but Trump conspicuously failed to bully Harris during their Presidential Debate this month, indeed Harris managed to knock him off his stride a number of times. It still seems too close to call. Save the date Tuesday 5th November!
It’s difficult to know what to make of Michael McGrath’s appointment as EU Justice Commissioner. Would your company make your CFO the CIO, or the CMO? However, it is very important for Ireland to have a seasoned politician at the top table. Whatever his remit, we know he will work hard to protect the EU’s citizens (especially in this AI and big-tech world).
If you are keen to participate in breast cancer awareness month - here are some upcoming events.
First up, the Chartered Accountants Ireland (Leinster Branch) Salary Survey 2024 arrived this month. It’s always good to understand the market and if you need to start planning your exit for 2025!
‘Tis a strange world we live in when a company is obliged to pay the State some €14bn in taxes and nobody quite knows how to react or what to do with it (we bet our wonderful readers have a few ideas of their own!).
Good to see that Joe Public remains very savvy when it comes to managing their income with energy provider switching on the increase. Have you switched recently? You could save yourself a fortune!
The courts are once again to be taken up with a variety of lawsuits and counter-suits involving Manders Terrace Ltd. “Who?” we hear you cry, well, dear readers, it is better known as the company behind the Web Summit. A read of this short piece in the Indo reveals a web (pardon the pun) of legal threats worthy of a Netflix docudrama, actually… does anyone know a good screenwriter?
Amazon celebrates 20 years in Ireland (and investments totalling €22bn) but most of the online chatter has been around the bombshell announcement that corporate workers are expected to return to their local office 5 days a week from next January. This isn’t a first from a global enterprise but it has certainly ramped up the WFH debate (which we continue as our ‘hot topic’ below). For us however, the real question is, how, after 20 years there is still no amazon.ie?
This month we have eschewed any theme in favour of a real pot-pourri of websites and fun stuff;
- How popular are some of Ireland’s most famous movie locations
- Are you one of the surprisingly high number of people who love collecting stamps
- Top chefs, great ideas, amazing recipes; check out the BBC's food pages
- Ever wondered how many (thousands of) shipwrecks there are off the Irish coast
- For a sobering thought, look at the world’s 45 poorest countries and then at the 50 richest billionaires
- Halloween customer ideas – a Band-Aid over your ear should be the easiest one this year -
Infographic – ICYMI mentioned earlier in this newsletter…
Working from home - employers’ dream, or a slacker’s paradise? This issue just won’t go away. Recent announcements from some major employers have started to undermine what was considered by some to be a permanent fixture on the employment ‘menu’. The Amazon ‘bombshell’ referred to above has some people shouting “about time” and many others now fearful that their slightly more flexible and commute reduced life is coming to an end.
An interesting aspect on the recent ‘back to the office’ edicts is, there is a growing opinion this is a cynical attempt to thin out workforces without having to pay redundancies or even admit to a job-cutting strategy. At the heart of the debate remains the key word, trust. Some will never be convinced that people WFH are actually not having duvet days or out hoovering the car while many workers are convinced they are happier, healthier and, importantly, more productive at home.
What ever your thoughts, employers should very carefully weigh up the pros and cons before making any decisions. Culture, training and collaboration appear to be the main casualties of a WFH workforce while using flexible options to attract and retain workers are the obvious benefits.
Great quote in a review of Sally Rooney’s latest book. “She may be the only writer in the world right now who can get bookstores to open their doors at midnight.” Intermezzo is the 4th opus from Rooney who is, of course, best known for her second book, Normal People. You can read the review of Intermezzo here.
Friends has turned 30 years old this month. Ah the memories, the hangovers, the binge watching and of course ‘The Rachel’ haircut. There has been loads written about how its messages still resonate today. Some things were meant to last! Although we know one team member here who would rather stick needles in his eyes!
Fan of the Great British Bake off? It must be autumn, it’s back!
If the names, Shogun, The Bear and Baby Reindeer are familiar to you, then you’ll know all about many of the Emmy winners for 2024. If live theatre is more your thing and you weren’t one of the many thousands who travelled to London to see it, then chances are you’ll be at The Bord Gais Energy Theatre for the run of Hamilton. We were going to add a piece that RTE are starting the search for next year's Eurovision entry, then we were going to sigh deeply and wonder does anyone care anymore, until we read that Bambie Thug’s entry was watched 9.4m times on YouTube and streamed 24m times; so get your entries in – we’ve sent a turkey in the past so the bar is low!
So, that was the Paralympics, it was great to see so much TV coverage and great welcomes home for all our athletes, medallists or no. Any thoughts on the new Ireland manager now that we have played, and lost, to England and Greece? It seemed to us around the PeopleSource kettle, that we just don’t have the crop of world-class players ‘Our Jack’ had back in the 90’s, maybe we should give it more time…
After coming so close to Olympic glory, and then being pipped for the Irish Open in his beloved ‘N’orn Iron’ it seems Rory is having a run at being golf’s bridesmaid. His quote that the game is “testing me” will ring true with anyone who has ever swung a club!
Footie in the UK is off to its usual start of histrionics, whinging, VAR-related moaning and the occasional flash of football. Our own Premiership is more interesting right now with Shels continuing to defy the doubters and cling onto top spot while (whisper it), Bohs are in real danger of going down. Support your local team, it might help the national team in the long run.
The best sport on show right now is the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship where Argentina in particular, have lit up the competition including this narrow in over World Champions South Africa last weekend. One interesting upshot of that win is that it put Ireland back on top of the world rankings!!
Kids back in school, summer madness has died down, garden furniture put away and the lawn mowed for the last time this year. Time to reflect on your career perhaps? We have a range of exciting roles open right now. Maybe you are quite settled in your current position but what you need is a new colleague. Contact us here at PeopleSource if you are looking for a great candidate to fill that vacancy in your organisation.
Each month we ask our readers to answer a question for a chance to win €100 One4all voucher. Our question for the August newsletter was: Do you feel you suffer from being 'always on' at work with smartphone & 24/7 emails?
Yes - 61%
No – 39%
TBH we thought it would have been a much higher percentage for those always feeling 'on'. It's good to know so many organisations seem to have the system cracked. Now let's start working on the other 60%! We may ask this question next year to see which way things are trending!
And the winner of our €100 voucher is – Pat Steele – we’ll be in touch!
Our question for the September newsletter is: Is there increasing pressure in your organisation to be in the office more frequently?
Yes
No
The winner will be chosen at random and will receive a €100 One4All voucher. Enter here to be in with a chance to win.
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