Mid-Test Benefice - The Parishes Broughton with Bossington, Houghton, Leckford, Longstock, Mottisfont and Stockbridge

1. How to share your passion. A simple way to show your passion for your topic is to show your enthusiasm. Enthusiasm can help you communicate your energy, interest, and motivation for your topic. It can also help you influence your audience's emotions, attitudes, and actions. When presenting, enthusiasm is contagious. If people in the audience sense you care about something, they are more likely to care too. READ MORE

2. London workers in the office the least. Workers in London go to the office the least in comparison to counterparts in five other global cities, according to research. The Centre of Cities thinktank found that London workers spend an average of 2.7 days a week in the office, while those in Paris led the ranking at 3.5 days a week. London saw the second-greatest drop of days in the office since the pandemic, with workers going 1.2 days less a week on average. The ranking looked at Paris, Singapore, New York, Sydney, London and Toronto. More than 25% of workers in London go into the office just one or two days a week and 62% go in at least three days. However, in Paris, 80% of workers go into the office three days a week. A major cause in London is the cost of commuting, according to the Centre for Cities. The Guardian

3. The rise of compressed weeks. Under a government proposal, workers in the UK will be able to request a switch to a compressed four-day week from their employer. But what would such a setup look like, and how does it impact workers? A compressed week is where an employee who usually works 40 hours, give or take, over five days, does the same amount, timewise, but over four days instead. Some workers who are already doing this have said it allows them to save money on childcare or enables a better work-life balance, while others have said it is too tiring. Pilots of four-day weeks, with both reduced and compressed hours, are ongoing across Europe. Would you want to work a four-day week if you had to continue working full-time hours? Please share your thoughts in our latest poll. VOTE HERE

4. Why are people worried about data centres? The modern world could not function without data centres. Yet they are causing increasing consternation, for several reasons. Chief among those is their insatiable demand for power and water. They are estimated to use between 1% and 2% of the world's power; according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2022 they consumed an estimated 460 terawatt-hours (TWh), but their consumption is likely to reach more than 1,000 TWh by 2026, roughly equal to that of Japan – a country of 125 million people. Big tech firms such as Google, Meta and Microsoft use power on a scale similar to that of smaller countries. This raises two main concerns: first, the contribution to rising carbon emissions; second, the question of how to maintain national grid infrastructure when demand is shooting up at an unsustainable pace. Sky News

5. The rise of sabbaticals. More people are opting to work for companies which offer sabbaticals to fight burnout, according to research, and the number of organisations offering them is on the rise. The Chartered Management Institute found that 53% of companies offer sabbatical leave, versus 29% which did not. The public or charity sectors were more likely to offer it than the private sector, at 62% of organisations to 44%. Eight in 10 managers under 55 said sabbaticals were an important company offering than older managers, versus seven in 10 over-55s. Sabbaticals can mean lower turnover and happier employees for employers. The Guardian

6. Summer 2024 was world's hottest on record. Summer 2024 was the Earth's warmest on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was also the warmest across Europe at 1.54C above the 1991-2020 long term average, exceeding the previous record from 2022. August was also the 13th month in a 14-month period where the global average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Despite the UK having its coolest summer since 2015, much of Europe experienced a hotter than average summer. So far this year the global average temperature has been 0.7C above the 1991-2020 average, which is the highest on record. BBC

7. Fall in National Pride. Around two-thirds of Brits (64%) are proud of their nation's history, down from 86% in 2013. According to the team behind the annual British Social Attitudes survey, the overall impression is of “a country that is quite proud of itself but maybe no more than that”. The poll of around 1,600 people also revealed a steep decline in the proportion who think it is important someone was born in the UK in order to describe themselves as "truly British", from 74% in 2013 to 55% in 2023. Evening Standard

8. How to not always think about work. The easier it has gotten to check your work email from anywhere at any moment, the harder it has become to switch off from work. But it's important to take proper breaks and not just because it's healthy to not think about work all the time. It's also good for productivity and job satisfaction, both of which went up when Slack asked some workers to take time off during the day. For those of us who don't have the luxury of taking long breaks at work: going outside has been found to be the best way to recharge. If you feel compelled to do some work on the weekend or on your holiday, limit yourself to set periods that will allow you to unwind later the magazine suggests. The Economist

9. Britain's top teabag revealed. How loyal are you to your teabag brand? Consumer group Which? conducted a blind taste test with dedicated tea drinkers to determine the UK's top brews. Surprisingly, supermarket own-label teabags outperformed many well-known brands. Asda’s Everyday teabags were named “Best Cuppa of 2024”, while Twinings Everyday teabags landed at the bottom despite their fourfold price. PG Tips Original, Tetley Original and Sainsbury’s Red Label tied for second place, receiving high marks for their colour, aroma and mouthfeel. Which?

10. The bottom line. The average millennial spends £728 per annum on takeaway coffees, according to new research. People aged between 28 and 43 splash more cash on coffee to go than any other generation, while Baby boomers – born between 1946 and 1964 – spend the least, at £260 per year. The study, commissioned by McDonalds, estimated that the average takeaway coffee drinker will consume 515 gallons in their life, at a total cost of more than £29,000. Daily Mail