1. How to avoid burnout. Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion that can zap the joy out of your career, friendships, and family interactions. Anyone can become exhausted. What is so poignant about burnout is that it mainly strikes people who are highly committed to their work. Burnout, however, isn’t always easy to spot. READ MORE >>
2. UK four-day week trial begins. The world's biggest trial of the four-day work week began in the UK on Monday morning. Organised by 4 Day Week Global, the six-month-long trial will see 70 companies – totalling more than 3,300 workers – test out a 100:80:100 working pattern: 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% productivity. A wide range of industries is represented in the participating companies, including education, housing, recruitment, finance and hospitality. Lead researcher Juliet Schor said: "The four-day week is generally considered to be a triple-dividend policy – helping employees, companies, and the climate." Similar trials are being set up in Scotland and Spain. The Guardian
3. UK growth to be worst in G20 apart from Russia. Economic growth in the UK will be the worst in the G20 apart from Russia, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has forecast. The Paris-based organisation said the effects of high inflation and a further round of tax increases will be the main factors in the UK’s expected weak economic activity. OECD said the UK was unique because it was simultaneously facing high inflation, rising interest rates and increasing taxes. Financial Times
4. EU approves binding gender quotas. Gender equality will no longer be optional across corporate Europe, as the EU passed mandatory quotas to create more evenly balanced boardrooms. It means 40% of non-executive board seats will have to be filled by the "underrepresented sex" – meaning women in practice – in every listed company across the EU from mid-2026. At the moment only France, which already had a 40% quota for women in place, does better than the new minimal requirement. The target will be legally binding, with countries given the power to hand out fines and block boardroom picks if they ignore the law. Bloomberg
5. ‘Summer of discontent’ looming. A union leader warned of a “summer of discontent” after train drivers voted to join the biggest rail strikes in a generation. After a strike by 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, set for June 21, 23 and 25, was announced, two other unions have joined the fray: Aslef, representing drivers, and the Transport and Salaried Staffs’ Association, of non-driving staff. Strikes elsewhere across British infrastructure are being considered, including by members of the GMB and Unite unions working for British Airways at Heathrow. The Times