HR intelligence to lead, innovate & grow.
Want to get your daily slice of HR knowledge to your inbox? Sign up now
Human Times helps you stay ahead of the latest news and trends that impact the HR industry. Every weekday, our unique blend of AI and team of expert HR and employment editors and researchers monitor 100,000s of articles, and social posts to create summaries of the most relevant and useful content to help you lead, innovate and grow. The award winning Human Times newsletter has four geographical editions with news tailored to your region.
From HR leadership to diversity and inclusion, hybrid working, organisational data, performance management, and retention strategies, Human Times is the only trusted free online news source dedicated to covering the most up to date headlines, articles, reports and interviews to make sure you’re abreast of changes in the HR industry.
You’re all signed up for the Human Times
Thank you for your interest in our service.
Watch out for a confirmation email from our subscriptions team. Once you have confirmed you will join the worldwide community of over 30,000 subscribers who are receiving daily HR intelligence to lead, innovate and grow.
Note: Due to the nature of this message you may find this in your "promotions" or "spam" folders, please check there. If nothing arrives within a few minutes let us know. If you do not receive this email we will be happy to help get you set up.
Adding the email address humantimes@human-times.com, will help to ensure all newsletters arrive directly to your inbox.
Of all the newsletters I receive a month, Human Times has been easily the most valuable and a real pleasure to read.
I share it with my department, I excerpt it for other members of the C-Suite. And – we shook our heads trying to understand what the source organization is and what ultimately funds it.
“Although I’m a recent subscriber I really enjoy taking a few minutes to read through the selection of articles.
In terms of how I use it – I use it to stay informed on the range of human centred topics that the newsletter covers. I wouldn’t change anything – it’s extremely useful as-is.
Thoroughly enjoy this daily summary of news and tidbits.
We’ve used to start new conversations or dialogue on matters we are in process but getting differing viewpoints. The strategy and the technology sections are always very useful.
I find it very helpful for the busy executive who doesn't always have the time to read the newspaper or go online.
Being delivered to my In-Box gives me the opportunity to review when/where I can throughout the day.
Recent Editions
Human Times
North America
Employers are introducing tougher recruitment checks as AI-assisted cheating, deepfakes and fraudulent remote candidates complicate hiring. Companies are asking applicants to remove virtual backgrounds, show their surroundings, share screens and complete live assessments to verify identities and abilities. Some are checking IP addresses or using software to detect browser switching and suspicious behavior. A survey found 59% of managers suspected candidates had used AI to misrepresent themselves. HR teams are also reconsidering take-home assignments, which can be easily completed using AI, in favor of supervised exercises and in-person interviews. Employers still value candidates’ AI skills but increasingly want evidence they can independently explain previous experience, solve problems and think critically. The shift is adding new responsibilities for recruiters, who must balance fraud prevention with fair candidate assessment while determining when AI use is appropriate.
Full Issue
Human Times
UK
Consulting executives want junior staff in the office more frequently to develop key interpersonal skills, arguing human competencies are increasingly valuable as AI takes over their technical work. EY is encouraging junior employees to return to the office but has made no formal changes to remote work policies. Sayeh Ghanbari, EY's UK head of consulting, told the FT: "This change we've seen in the last few years where people have set up their lives to be at home a lot is just not the route to success in the world of AI." KPMG UK's head of advisory Callum Licence agreed, saying learning softer skills directly from others is now "more important than ever." Licence added: "While the benefits of AI will enable more efficient working and a different kind of role over the long term, the human benefits of connectivity and interaction will always remain."
Full Issue
Human Times
Europe
Germany's IG Metall union has warned that its members will resist attempts by Volkswagen to undo a previously agreed restructuring package, although it stopped short of threatening strikes ahead of a critical board meeting scheduled for the end of this week that will see a vote on what currently are three rival restructuring proposals. The automaker's biggest overhaul to date could include plant closures, the carve-out of some units and 50,000 further layoffs. "I can only warn you: If the board tries to call this agreement into question again, then the factory floors will be up in arms at all our sites," Thorsten Groeger told workers in Hanover, one of the sites that faces closure. "We will oppose it with all our might," said the representative for Germany's largest union.
Full Issue
Human Times
Middle East
Jordan's unemployment rate decreased to 16.1% in the second quarter, down 0.4% from the previous year, according to the Department of Statistics. Unemployment among Jordanians fell to 21%, with a notable decline among women, whose rate dropped to 19.9%. In May, Jordan and the International Labour Organization launched a Decent Work Country Program for 2026-27 focused on creating more and better jobs, improving productivity and expanding employment opportunities for young people and women.
Full Issue
Read the latest HR highlights
How HR is Tackling Long Covid?
Fingers remain tightly crossed around the world that the rampant hospitalization and fatality stage of the Covid-19 pandemic has generally peaked. Vaccination programmes are accelerating, and restrictions are gradually being lifted...
Discover
ESG Is Not Just Another Name For CSR
Back in the distant 1980s if you wanted to demonstrate your environmental and ethical credentials it was sufficient to shop at or purchase shares in retailer The Body Shop. The charismatic Anita Roddick, founder of the “hippy” tinged retail chain, heralded a new age of environmental concern, caring capitalism and corporate awareness that evolved into what became known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR was much talked about and lauded, but in reality often ended up being a lot of a hot air (excuse the pun) and often never progressed much beyond a footnote in the annual report.
Discover
Have Older Workers Paid The Highest COVID-19 Price?
Across the world the pandemic is slowly but surely moving into its next phase. Recovery beckons. As furlough schemes across the U.S. and U.K. are being wound down, restrictions eased or lifted, and workforces moving back up the gears, early signs indicate that older employees are more likely to be casualties of the pandemic aftermath than their younger colleagues. Here at the we have witnessed an increasing number of stories supporting the growing belief that older workers are disproportionately paying the highest Covid-19 price.
Discover
Bosses. What's not to like? Plenty, say employees
“You’ll never have another boss like me, someone who’s basically a chilled-out entertainer”
So said, David Brent, the fictional manager of Slough-based paper merchant Wernham Hogg in the seminal TV comedy The Office. Ricky Gervais’s portrayal of Brent as a flawed, narcissistic, incompetent, and deluded manager was so well observed that many (including me) believed it was a genuine fly-on-the-wall documentary when they alighted accidentally on the first ever episode.
Rolling with the Payroll
To mark National Payroll Week the team at the Human Times has provided some insight into the industry that we hope you’ll find useful.
Discover
