Over 50% of UK adults are single?

According to the latest research and statistics, 51% of people over 16 in the United Kingdom are single.

Data from the 2011 census reveals that over half of the adult population in Britain is 'available'. And of the top ten locations with the highest concentration of single people, unsurprisingly 7 are in the capital.

So London's reputation for being a big, lonely city would seemingly ring true.

However, as always, the statistics might not tell 100% of the story.

Unmarried couples who live together and would happily describe themselves as 'taken', actually count as single in these figures.

So maybe after all Valentine's Day wasn't such a damp squib for over half the British population as the numbers would suggest.


For more info follow this link: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-31461595

Sherlock Showcases Squandered Stash

Every year thousands of items are lost on buses, trains, tubes and in taxis, unsurprising in London, a metropolis with over 8 million inhabitants.

That new smartphone that you were proudly displaying to your companions; the umbrella left under a seat and promptly remembered once back outside under the rain clouds; the hat that was too hot to wear once inside and sheltered from the cold; the teddy that the crying child just realised went all the way to the end of the line.

All these sorts of items turn up to the Lost Property Office in their thousands, and most have a banal or explainable story behind them. For others, however, this certainly is not the case.

I'm always at a loss to understand how people can leave behind certain pieces of clothing. Do they remove their trousers on the tube and walk home in their underwear, or was it 'Bring a spare pair to work' Day and they just happened to slip out of a bag.

How about prosthetic limbs? A wedding dress? A lollipop man's sign? If you can come up with the reasoning for any of these then I'd love to hear it.

All of this is in light of the lost property office in Baker Street opening its doors for its 80th anniversary and showcasing some of the weird and wonderful belongings that have been forgotten on the network. The computer system used to deal with the treasure trove is very fittingly named Sherlock after this street's most famous occupant.

The good news is that a surprisingly large percentage of items are returned to their rightful owners, and the ones that don't find their way home are recycled or donated to charity whenever possible. So, be comforted by knowing that one chappy has been made happy by the tearful toddler's loss.

For more information and some interesting pictures follow this link.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-30213457

Overworking managers, underpaid workers?

It was announced this week that 90% of managers continue their duties outside office hours with up to 13% racking up a whole two days' worth of work per week, which of course is unpaid.

The rapid rise of technology not only means that emails and phone calls can be dealt with at home or on the move, but also a whole host of other tasks, such as research, planning or simply anything computer-based, can be performed whenever necessary. This includes at 10pm on a Tuesday evening, or on a supposedly lazy Sunday afternoon. Even worse whilst on holiday.

This isn't to say that it's only managers who are affected. Many workers will do overtime, pass up lunch breaks or see their weekends vanish before them in an attempt not just to meet deadlines and keep clients happy but also to go above and beyond what's expected in order to impress their seniors.

The question that has to be asked revolves around whether this is fair or not. Seemingly the traditional 9-5 job no longer exists - just ask a teacher how much marking, planning and preparation they are required to do once the school day ends. Should employees and managers alike be filling in timesheets to note every minute of work out of office, or would this just take up more time unnecessarily? Should smartphones be switched off and laptops be shut down at 5:30pm sharp, and remain so until 9am the next working day? Or, on the other hand, should workers continue how they currently are, but then they be entitled to extra days of holiday each year?

These are valid points that companies will need to address at some point in the future. Happy and healthy staff are invariably more motivated, positive and efficient; overworked people less so, and are more prone to stress problems and work-life balance issues.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28220312