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The fortnightly read for people building employee experience.
For the senior people in HR and EX, and those on their way there.
The AI wage premium hit 62%, and pay growth in AI-exposed jobs is falling behind
Two numbers arrived within a week of each other, and they point in opposite directions. PwC's 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer puts the AI wage premium at 62%, which is what employers pay extra for roles that ask for AI skills by name. Then Apollo Global Management ran the numbers on 321 US occupations and…
5–8 minutesThe Four-Day Work Week: Who Has Stuck With It and Who Reverted
It’s incredible really that around 2.7 million people in the UK now work a four-day week, roughly one in nine of the workforce. And that’s just the UK too. This is a look under the bonnet of the companies around the world really making it work. The 4 day work week has moved from fringe…
5–7 minutesFive Companies with the ROI to Prove that Employee Experience and employee retention Investment Pays Off
For years, HR leaders have faced a familiar hurdle. Boards ask for proof before funding employee experience programs. It’s often not until employee retention becomes a big crisis that such EX initiatives are taken seriously. It can also be notoriously difficult to measure and prove ROI. But the good news is that skepticism is fading…
4–5 minutesReturn to Office Is Finally Working. Just Not the Way You Think.
Every boardroom conversation eventually lands on return-to-office mandates. Leaders debate badge swipes, monitor compliance reports, and wonder why top performers push back against rigid desk quotas. Across industries, executives treat attendance policies as enforcement challenges. Building trust in workplace settings requires a completely different operational playbook. A select group of organisations approaches the problem from…
4–6 minutesReal Wages Are Nearly Back to Growth. What the Latest Data Means for Business and Employees.
After two years of pay packets losing ground to rising prices, the gap on wages is starting to close. The latest official data from both sides of the Atlantic, covering the period to mid-2026, suggests that real wages are approaching a turning point. For HR leaders and business owners, this is welcome news and the…
3–4 minutesThe Internal Mobility Success Playbook: How Leading Companies Keep and Grow Their Best Talent
The Reality of Internal Mobility A newly hired external manager lands in the role one of your strongest internal people wanted. Within days, that new leader needs help with systems, stakeholders, and basic ways of working. The employee who lost out ends up doing the translation. That is the part many executive teams miss. External…
4–6 minutesNew Data On Jobs in AI: AI Skills Pay 62% More.
Jobs in AI are searched by hundreds every month. But the real insight isn’t necessarily newly created jobs in AI. It’s understanding how to take the job you already have, and augment it with AI. And if you know how to work with artificial intelligence, the market is paying for it. The latest PwC Global…
4–6 minutesCareer Maxxing: How to Tell Ambition From Fear
The employee taking every course, volunteering for every project and networking at every opportunity looks like your most committed person. Cristen Dalessandro, Principal Researcher at the O.C. Tanner Institute, explains why there might be anxiety under the surface. In a Nutshell What the term actually means Career maxxing has moved from social media into HR…
6–9 minutesThe Right Graduates for the AI Era: A New KPMG Study on Human AI Collaboration Has the Answer
Today’s graduates arrive with top degrees, impressive internships, and high scores in AI literacy. But six months into your graduate programme, half of them are significantly outperforming the rest. The difference isn’t who codes faster or who knows more prompt engineering tricks. A new study of 523 early-career professionals at KPMG shows that performance in…
5–7 minutesEmployee Financial Well-Being Hits a 4-Year High. But 75% of Employees Still Struggle With Cost of Living. New BofA Data.
Employee financial well-being in 2026 presents a striking paradox. On one hand, more workers feel secure than they have in nearly half a decade. On the other, the vast majority remain pinned down by the relentless pressure of everyday expenses. The latest Bank of America Workplace Benefits Report reveals that while individual balance sheets are…
5–8 minutesThe 12.5x Multiplier: Why Meaningful Work is the Ultimate Engagement Lever
Meaningful work drives employee commitment and performance in the modern workplace. While many organizations focus on perks and physical office amenities, the underlying sense of purpose drives actual business outcomes. Data from the 2026 ADP Research Institute study reveals a stark reality for global leadership. Only 19% of workers are fully engaged on the job,…
4–6 minutesShadow AI: New research shows 42% of Employees Are Using AI in Secret
Shadow AI is the hidden risk in your organisation. Employees are using AI tools covertly, hiding their activities from management, and feeling guilty about it. New data from the Employment Hero AI Paradox Report 2026 reveals that 42% of employees feel like they are cheating when they use AI at work. This “guilt gap” creates…
5–7 minutes
What’s coming up in EX
12 — 13 Jun
Unleash World
Lisbon · ExCeL
14 Jun PM
CIPD Festival of Work
ExCeL London
9 Jul
Future of Work Summit
London, UK
17–18 Jul
EX Tech Europe
Amsterdam, NL
From Our Partners
Three places HR is overpaying on health insurance: how tech-driven benefit platforms improve compliance and cost savings
Healthcare premiums are projected to climb 9 to 10 per cent in 2026. Compliance complexity is up. Headcount is under scrutiny. The Hartford’s 2026 Future of Benefits Study found that 73 per cent of HR professionals have seen their day-to-day responsibilities increase, 60 per cent actively worry about maintaining compliance, and 64 per cent struggle…
In partnership with EXM Sponsor
The UK’s ‘Green Credibility Gap’: Employee Trust Trails HR’s Sustainability Ambitions
UK companies are leading Europe in integrating sustainability into their HR strategies (68% vs. 55% European average), even outpacing countries facing strict EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) rules. However, new research from SD Worx reveals an urgent problem for British organizations: a significant 18% credibility gap exists between what employers claim about their sustainability efforts and what…
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