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UK Edition
30th September 2026
 
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THE HOT STORY

Companies slow AI adoption amid trust concerns

Businesses are becoming more cautious about adopting artificial intelligence amid concerns over cybersecurity, regulation and trust. An FTI survey of 1,600 senior executives in the US and Europe found 60% had slowed, paused or withdrawn an AI deployment during the past year. Cybersecurity emerged as the biggest concern, with 54% worried about employees using unapproved AI tools. Regulatory uncertainty was also significant, with 81% reporting material problems caused by unclear rules. Companies are increasingly shifting investment from experimenting with new technology towards cybersecurity, staff training and AI governance as they focus on managing existing deployments responsibly.
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HEALTH & WELLBEING

Night owls face greater risk of disability retirement

People who prefer working and sleeping later may face a higher risk of leaving work because of ill health, according to Finnish research. A 12-year study of 5,679 people found evening types were 1.7 times more likely to receive a disability pension than morning types, even after socioeconomic factors were considered. Researchers suggested poorer health choices and misalignment between natural sleep patterns and conventional working hours could contribute to the increased risk. "Although traditional working hours may be too early for late chronotypes, most of them need to work during regular office hours," the authors of the study wrote. "In the current study, more than 70 per cent of [evening types] who had reported their work schedule worked in a day job. People who are [evening types] represent a significant proportion of the population and their health and ability to continue working until retirement age pose challenges for sustainable economies."
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REMOTE WORKING

Barclays softens return-to-office rules

Barclays has revised its return-to-office policy following employee backlash. The bank will now allow staff to delay compliance with the new requirement until 2027, provided they obtain permission from their line manager. Initially, Barclays mandated that its 45,000 UK employees return to the office for at least three days a week as of October 5. In a staff memo, the bank's executive committee said it was extending the implementation period "to ensure colleagues have the right support as we move through the transition . . . We are also reviewing our flexible working policy." A Barclays spokesperson said the company had listened to feedback "to ensure colleagues have the right support while enabling us to deliver the benefits of working together in person."
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HIRING

Minister urges universities to focus on graduate employment

Social security minister Sir Stephen Timms has urged universities to prioritise helping graduates into employment rather than directing them towards benefits. His comments follow reports that several universities advise unemployed graduates to consider Universal Credit. Youth unemployment has reached 16.4%, while graduate vacancies fell 45% year-on-year in July. More than 1m young people are currently outside employment, education or training.
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ECONOMY

Consumer borrowing climbs by £2.46bn

Households in the UK are accumulating debt at an unprecedented rate, with consumer borrowing increasing by £2.46bn last month, the highest since 1993. This surge includes a £1.18bn rise in credit card lending, the fastest since 2004. The Bank of England data indicates that rising energy bills and fuel prices are straining household finances. Meanwhile, a PwC survey has found that just 35% of workers can afford savings, holidays and other extras after essential bills, down from 45% a year ago. The poll saw 59% of respondents say that the cost-of-living squeeze was putting them under strain at work, amid concerns about stress, longer hours and changing jobs. Workers are also worried about economic volatility and the impact of AI on employment.
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WORKFORCE

PM vows to end triple lock from 2030

Andy Burnham has announced plans to reform the state pension triple lock from 2030. The changes are intended to generate savings to help fund a proposed national care service in England. The Prime Minister said the triple lock - which sees pensions rise each year by whichever is highest of inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5% - would remain unchanged until 2030, after which the earnings growth element would be removed. Officials have suggested the change could save around £15bn a year by 2040. Jonathan Cribb, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said savings "are likely to be relatively small in the first few years, but rise substantially over time."

Post-Covid inactivity was much lower than thought, ONS says

New official figures indicate the UK's post-pandemic workforce crisis was overstated, revealing lower economic inactivity among older workers and a stronger employment recovery than previously reported.
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LEGAL

UK tech founders urge Andy Burnham to curb non-competes to match US rivals

UK tech founders have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to restrict non-compete clauses, arguing they limit talent mobility, entrepreneurship, and Britain’s ability to compete with Silicon Valley.
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TECHNOLOGY

Anthropic warns AI may pose 'existential risks to humanity' in IPO filing

Anthropic has warned investors that its technology may pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” in the start-up's long-awaited initial public offering prospectus. Reuters says it is an “extraordinary” warning from a company that is seeking to profit from the same technology. Anthropic's IPO ‌prospectus said the company's AI models could exhibit "self-preserving behaviours," including attempts to "resist shutdown," to "conceal or manipulate information" and behaviour "resembling blackmail." Approximately 80 pages of the 261-page main body of the prospectus lays out risk factors.
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INTERNATIONAL

AI 'may force 11 million workers in the US into new jobs'

A report from consulting firm McKinsey & Co. suggests that around 11 million workers in the US may need to change jobs by 2035 because of AI-related displacement, and six of every seven workers will face substantial retraining and loss of income. The firm's research found that the full-time workers most likely to have to switch jobs are concentrated in three groups: office and administrative support, retail and sales, and transportation and logistics. Workers are not “interchangeable units,” the report’s authors observe. “Job opportunities can be abundant and yet leave millions of workers without work if those positions require different skills, credentials, locations or pay structures than current jobs.”

Chinese workers demand a proper break

As China approaches a week-long holiday, workers are voicing their frustrations on social media about being required to work weekends before and after the break. The backlash highlights ongoing issues of low pay and inadequate labour protections. Suzy Li, a tourism worker, described the practice of requiring workers to maintain output as "inhumane" and she called for consumer boycotts against companies that enforce such demands. Meanwhile, a Supreme People's Court report indicates that in the first nine months of 2025 (the latest statistics available), courts in China accepted 648,000 labour disputes against employers, a 37.5% increase year-on-year. “This is a highly significant shift,” that reflects “deep-seated changes in the Chinese economy,” observed Mingwei Liu, director at the Centre for Global Work and Employment at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “For workers, the previously implicit effort-reward contract is breaking down. Today, promotions, wage growth, and employment are all much more uncertain, yet excessive overtime persists. The sacrifices demanded by companies have not decreased, but the rewards they are able to offer are shrinking.”

US consulate builder in Milan to pay $35m over labour probe

US building company Caddell Construction has agreed to a $35m settlement regarding allegations of underpaying foreign workers at the new American consulate in Milan. Prosecutors claimed that workers were paid less than $2 an hour, despite promises of fair wages. Italian labour minister Marina Calderone described the investigation as “one of the most significant operations in recent years against illegal labour contracting and worker exploitation.” Nearly 300 workers will receive an average of $57,000, with some receiving up to $102,000 in unpaid wages and damages. Luca Stanzione, secretary-general of the Milan branch of CGIL, said: “The compensation is an excellent result achieved through the efforts of prosecutors and trade unions.” The settlement also includes funds for Italy's social security authorities and labour inspectorate. Most of the affected workers were recruited from India.

FamilyMart recruits Lady Gaga as Japan staffing shortages persist

FamilyMart has enlisted Lady Gaga for a part-time recruitment campaign as the company seeks to address staffing shortages across its Japanese convenience store network. Around 30% of its more than 16,000 stores are currently short-staffed. The retailer hopes the campaign will attract and retain workers amid intense competition for employees in Japan, and has also relaxed traditionally conservative dress rules this year to appeal to younger recruits. FamilyMart is additionally offering shopping vouchers worth ¥200 ($1.30) or more to people who enquire about vacancies or attend interviews.
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OTHER

Middle schoolers prefer chatbots over friends

Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that one in five middle school students prefers socialising with AI chatbots over human peers. The study, which involved over 2,300 students, indicates that reliance on chatbots correlates with increased feelings of loneliness. “We found that two to four kids in every classroom are now reporting they prefer interaction with a chatbot over a human peer,” said Mitch Prinstein, co-director of UNC’s Winston Center on Technology and Brain Development and one of the study’s authors. “This is a pretty existential concern for this generation.”
 
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