Rachael McKelvey

• Apparently we’re all really angry at work
• Our lousy summer is 5th hottest in recent years
• Waitrose launches £5 meal deal
• How not to resign (if she even has)
• Hot week for Science

Apparently we’re all really angry at work
Gallups State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report has reported that 1 in 5 British employees say they “feel angry at work” which is a big increase from last year, and unsurprisingly significantly higher than our European colleagues.

The report has some quite interesting, but probably not surprising, findings off the back of more of certainly uncertain year for the global workforce. Also has no great surprise it turns out the UK employees are also some of the most disengaged and dissatisfied workers in Europe, ranking 33/38 technically tied with Luxembourg and Spain and just head of France and Italy. It would appear the mood bleak amongst the UK workforce which is fuelling suspicions that the job market is preparing to the UK to enter recession with employees choosing to put up and shut up (or not) than make a risky move to pastures new.

Our lousy summer is 5^th hottest in recent years
With every week that passes it feels like we’ve been cheated out of a summer. I need my lights on to drive back from swimming now at 8:30pm and every time I’ve committed to summer clothes and bare legs it has RAINED, the inverse has also been true and if I’ve committed to a jumper the sun has gone HARD.

But all this being said there was a beautiful moment on twitter this week where Duncan Robinson of The Economist tweeted and article from The Times about how this week’s hot spell was probably the last of the year with the comment about how “the shittest summer I can remember is now over”, to which Lewis Goodall replied that “2021 was worse” and then John Burn-Murdoch entered the chat – with a graph, now hear me out, he is the FT’s chief data reporter so knows how to chart and he replied with “Sorry to bring data to a vibes fight” (love) but in turns out Lewis was right, 2023 ranks as the 5^th hottest summer in recent history, with June and August being the hottest ever recorded (based on cumulative days at or above 24 degrees in London) so all this lovely weather we’re having? Record breaking.

Waitrose launches £5 meal deal
Every employee loves a meal deal, some people make it their entire personality, who doesn’t love the classic sandwich, crisps, and a drink combo? Over the years it’s gone a little mad with salads and wraps and extra snacks and drinks and now the world has gone bonkers because Waitrose has launched its first ever meal deal.

Great you may say, but err why has the poshest supermarket had to appeal to blue collar workers? Waitrose lunch was always a Friday treat, because it was just down the alley from the little Italian deli where I could get just enough for 1 of all my most favourite Italian things and well if you’ve spent a fortune what’s a lunch from Waitrose on top of that?

I’ve no doubt it will be incredibly successful, but it does make me slightly suspicious if the cost-of-living crisis is now impacting the rich (yes, I consider Waitrose the choice of the top end of soft middle and the anywhere outside London end of rich), why do those at Waitrose even think this is a market for its customers and why now?

How not to resign (if she even has)
Nadine, are you okay hun? Have you even sent it in, or just published it instead of writing your column this week? Some points to note, it’s about two thirds longer than it needs to be and basically reads like you started writing it with a bottle of wine and didn’t finish it before you’d finished the first bottle. Am I correct? Nadine Dorries has been missing in action for the good people of Mid Bedfordshire for well over a year and despite claiming she was going to resign in July in anticipation of receiving a peerage in Boris Johnsons exit honours list, she did not as it was blocked by the current Prime Minister.

The letter, which is well worth a read is now freely available without having to accidentally click on the rag that shall not be names. A bold move to tell Sunak that “history will not judge you kindly” which is quite a line from a women for whom the same could be said. That resignation is quite some unself aware, state conspiracy, self-flatulating fluff. Credit where credit was due, Dorries is not cut from the same Tory cloth as the rest of them and there was a time where regardless of her politics you could say she acted to meet her own integrity, but honestly right now…I am not sure you could say the same.

So when is the nonfiction book you’re clearly now lining up to eventually plug coming out Nadine? Me, cynical? No that’s you.

Hot week for Science
There has been a lot of amazing things this week that really deserve a call out and a read if you have time from Scientist Figures Out How We Might Finally Find Missing Flight MH370: Barnacles which is just insane. This week has also seen The human Y chromosome has been fully sequenced for the first time which is also just wild and not only did India become the 4^th country to land on the moon, they did it for less than it cost to make Intersteller, which is also absolutely bonkers. In amongst all the rubbish news, it’s so nice to see some genuine human endeavours.

Current watch: London Zoo annual weigh-in 2023 – In amongst ALL The Hundred this week, I have devoured the whole live coverage from BBC News on the annual weigh-in at London Zoo. I do not condone fat shaming of any kind and but want to know how you weigh a penguin? Covered it. Meerkats, on it. Sumatran tigers? Done. Gorillas? Let me get the big ruler out. Did the squirrel monkeys even want to be weighed? You can find out for yourself. With over 2 hours of footage available for the next 26 days, please do have this on in the background when it’s raining outside, and you have a high executive function task on a low dopamine day. Instant serotonin. I promise.

Current read: Investing with Keynes; How the World’s Greatest Economist Overturned Conventional Wisdom and Made a Fortune on the Stock Market by Justyn Walsh – This is probably quite a niche recommendation, you’ve probably either heard of John Maynard Keynes or you’re a normal person and you haven’t. Keynes is one of the 20^th centuries greatest economic minds and there wasn’t much he didn’t do architect of international monetary system, writer, Baron in the House of Lords and prominent member of the Bloomsbury group. He made a lot of money on the stock market and died an incredibly rich man.

This book is a journey through Keynes life, picking out his observations of stock market behaviour that are still relevant today, it’s well written and interesting and really shows how much of todays thinking is still leveraged from his investment style.

Most Impactful Listen: BFFs: A Life built on Friendship – One of those random BBC sounds recommendations that did not disappoint. Host of the podcast Emily lives with 5 housemates, 1 is her partner the other are a beautiful blend of friends and would be friends. In this podcast Emily explores a life built on Friendship and whether in the modern world those traditional things we do with a romantic partner we can actually do with our friendships instead, from buying houses, to raising children and avoiding loneliness. Emily meets others basing their lives around friendships, young and old. This was such a lovely listen and really got me thinking about whether the world is ready to start thinking differently about milestones in life.