Careers

[caption id="attachment_18444" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Are robots set to take YOUR job?"] [/caption] There’s been a lot in the press lately about how computerisation and robots are negatively impacting our careers, taking over jobs once mastered by humans. How big is the threat and what steps can you take to ensure you keep your job? While it’s difficult to predict with absolute certainty which jobs will be affected and to what extent, it’s safe to say that all of us will need to adapt in some way to technological advances in the workplace. Brian Johnson, a Futurist at Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination, points out that big business’s push for productivity demands efficiency, speed and accuracy which has led to robots taking over our jobs. However, Johnson reassures us that humans outperform robots in the areas of communication, creativity and adaptability, keeping many jobs safe from computerisation. In an effort to identify those jobs most at risk, Oxford...

05 July, 2018 /

[caption id="attachment_18485" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Should you be working part-time?"] [/caption] I was invited to speak on BBC Radio recently in response to a BBC article Three-day working week 'optimal for over-40s'. The article referred to a study undertaken by researchers at the Melbourne Institute at the University of Melbourne. Intrigued, I had to read the full working paper: Use It Too Much and Lose It? The Effect of Working Hours on Cognitive Ability. The findings of the study were that working up to 22-30 hours per week had a positive impact on the participants and that any hours worked in excess of this resulted in a negative impact on cognitive functioning. Why was this? It was discovered that stress and fatigue played a large part in impairing participants’ cognitive functioning. The study concluded that ‘too much work can have adverse effects on cognitive functioning’. This got me thinking about the many clients I...

15 May, 2018 /

[caption id="attachment_18550" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A cart selling strawberries"] [/caption] One can’t help but be fascinated by the occupations that existed in the Victorian era many of which bear little resemblance to the career options of today. In 1876, renowned British photographer John Thompson recorded hundreds of thousands of captivating images depicting everyday life amidst the dawning of the industrial age. The Daily Mail describes how Thompson, accompanied by writer Adolphe Smith, trawled the streets of London interviewing and photographing people for Street Life in London magazine. "The pictures, now stored at the Bishopsgate Institute, capture the lives of street beggars, chimney sweeps, street doctors and market sellers among many others." In geneology, it's common to discover obscure occupations and those from the Victorian era are especially interesting. I thought I’d share with you some favourites courtesy of The 1891 'London Census' Transcription Ashman - Dustman, or Refuse Collector. Also someone who cleans the ashes from a boiler. Beadsman...

15 November, 2017 /