Accessibility helpSkip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer

Cookies on FT Sites

We use cookies and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our Sites are used.

Accept cookies
Manage cookies
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
Open side navigation menuOpen search bar
Financial Times
SubscribeSign InmyFT
  • Home
  • World
    Sections
    • World Home
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • Australia & NZ
    Most Read
    • China rebukes west over military moves after close call in Taiwan Strait
    • Indonesia floats Ukraine peace plan, triggering sharp western criticism
    • Train crash in India kills more than 260 people
    • Saudi Arabia’s ‘prickly prince’ of oil bristles as crude price slides
    • Three Israeli soldiers shot dead on Egyptian border
  • US
    Sections
    • US Home
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
    Most Read
    • Companies
      Sections
      • Companies Home
      • Energy
      • Financials
      • Health
      • Industrials
      • Media
      • Professional Services
      • Retail & Consumer
      • Tech Sector
      • Telecoms
      • Transport
      Most Read
      • Boiler makers up in arms over UK heat pump targets
      • AI ripe to shake up private banking, says Israeli entrepreneur
      • AstraZeneca defies geopolitics to bet on China
      • UBS considers delaying results after Credit Suisse rescue deal
      • Six Glazer siblings could retain Manchester United stakes under Ratcliffe offer
    • Tech
    • Markets
      Sections
      • Markets Home
      • Alphaville
      • Markets Data
      • Cryptofinance
      • Capital Markets
      • Commodities
      • Currencies
      • Equities
      • Fund Management
      • Trading
      • Moral Money
      • ETF Hub
      Most Read
      • Saudi Arabia’s ‘prickly prince’ of oil bristles as crude price slides
      • Handful of tech stocks drive diverging measures of S&P 500 performance
      • Wall Street prepares to take on established crypto companies
      • Active management is a sham — no wonder my returns are suspect
      • Japan inflation will drive savers back to the stock market, says exchange chief
    • Climate
    • Opinion
      Sections
      • Opinion Home
      • Columnists
      • The FT View
      • Lex
      • Obituaries
      • Letters
      Most Read
      • Management 101: don’t drain a reservoir to find your phone
      • The frictionless life goes on
      • AI has given Palantir its mystique back
      • The dismal truth about email
      • Jamie Dimon’s Shanghai show points to broader chill in China
    • Work & Careers
      Sections
      • Work & Careers Home
      • Business School Rankings
      • Business Education
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Recruitment
      • Business Books
      • Business Travel
      Most Read
      • The dismal truth about email
      • Can a virtual PA turbocharge your career?
      • ‘Everyone has the right to completely log off’: what bosses think about the right to disconnect
    • Life & Arts
      Sections
      • Life & Arts Home
      • Arts
      • Books
      • Food & Drink
      • FT Magazine
      • House & Home
      • Style
      • Travel
      • FT Globetrotter
      Most Read
      • Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: who was the greatest footballer?
      • Why motorcycle gangs will end with a whimper, not a rev
      • Trump or not, US meltdown could be inevitable
      • Sci-fi writer Ted Chiang: ‘The machines we have now are not conscious’
      • The American luxury lifestyle brand storming the Cotswolds
    • HTSI
    MenuSearch
    • Home
    • World
    • US
    • Companies
    • Tech
    • Markets
    • Climate
    • Opinion
    • Work & Careers
    • Life & Arts
    • HTSI
    Financial Times
    SubscribeSign In

    Sarah O'Connor

    Employment columnist

    Sarah O'Connor is a columnist, reporter and associate editor at the Financial Times. She writes a weekly column focused on the world of work, as well as longer reported articles.

    She joined the FT in 2007 and has covered the US economy from Washington DC, the UK economy from London and the financial crisis from Iceland.

    Email Sarah O'Connor @sarahoconnor_  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

    Add to myFT Digest

    Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox

    • Thursday, 1 June, 2023
      Economists Exchange
      Andrew Scott: ‘We have to invest much more in our future selves’

      We’ve never expected people to be living into their 10th decade, so we’ve never planned for it. Now that must change

    • Tuesday, 30 May, 2023
      Work & Careers
      Don’t bet against the ‘suitcase principle’ of white-collar work

      Humans have a remarkable ability to create jobs for themselves — whatever the progress of technology

    • Wednesday, 24 May, 2023
      Artificial intelligence
      Let’s not write people off as ‘AI losers’

      The idea that the outcome of technological change is inevitable is both dangerous and untrue

    • Tuesday, 9 May, 2023
      Working from home
      The ability to work from home does not just benefit the elite

      More flexibility has improved work-life balance for many since the pandemic began

    • Tuesday, 2 May, 2023
      UK society
      People are numb to big numbers

      Millions, billions, trillions — the human brain isn’t wired to comprehend information on a large scale

    • Tuesday, 25 April, 2023
      UK employment
      Let’s enforce existing labour market laws before we write new ones

      The UK lags behind the rest of the developed world in ensuring compliance with regulations

    • Tuesday, 18 April, 2023
      EU immigration
      Why countries are jostling to attract migrant workers

      Labour shortages and demographic pressures fuel competition for skilled people

    • Tuesday, 4 April, 2023
      EU employment
      How Spain has taken on the problem of precarious work

      A country famous for temporary jobs is experimenting with new types of contract to boost permanent employment

    • Tuesday, 28 March, 2023
      Future of work
      We are all secretaries now

      Cost-cutting has left workers drowning in ‘self-service’ admin tasks — but AI might come to the rescue

    • Saturday, 25 March, 2023
      Special ReportWorld of Work
      My first job: what I wish I had known

      Tips to make a good impression from the start, from those who have been there before

    • Tuesday, 21 March, 2023
      UK employment
      Now is not the moment to push people into just any job

      Forcing the unemployed into low-paid work isn’t a good solution to today’s labour market problems

    • Wednesday, 8 March, 2023
      Economists Exchange
      Alan Manning: ‘Achieving growth by just having more people is not what we should aim for’

      The UK government’s former immigration adviser considers whether Britain’s post-Brexit migrant strategy has worked

    • Tuesday, 7 March, 2023
      Coronavirus economic impact
      The plight of ship crews stranded at sea

      Maritime workers are a vital link in supply chains but have little visibility and little protection

    • Tuesday, 28 February, 2023
      UK business & economy
      Here’s how to stop an ever sicker workforce dropping out

      Occupational therapists may provide one practical solution to those struggling with their physical or mental health

    • Tuesday, 14 February, 2023
      UK employment
      It is possible to hate your job but love your work

      People find meaning in all kinds of employment — but that can be eroded by low pay, bureaucracy and squeezed resources

    • Tuesday, 7 February, 2023
      Education
      We should all be asking more questions

      Fear of looking ‘stupid’ holds us back from understanding the world better

    • Tuesday, 31 January, 2023
      Employment
      The kids are alright after all

      It was feared the pandemic would harm young people’s job prospects but so far that doesn’t appear to be true

    • Tuesday, 24 January, 2023
      Economic statistics
      How (not) to explain economics to the public

      The UK chancellor’s attempt to do so risked exacerbating an already significant deficit of trust and understanding

    • Tuesday, 17 January, 2023
      Working It podcast19 min listen
      Is maternity leave still a career killer?

      There is enduring stigma around motherhood in the workplace

    • Tuesday, 17 January, 2023
      Employment
      In labour markets, the devil is often in the detail

      Non-compete clauses buried in contracts stack the deck against workers

    • Tuesday, 10 January, 2023
      Employment
      Solving strikes is not about winning the argument

      Creative solutions are needed if we are to unlock the current disputes

    • Tuesday, 3 January, 2023
      Social affairs
      It is getting harder for charities to maintain the social safety net

      The cash-strapped voluntary sector does things the state used to, including providing basic necessities

    • Tuesday, 20 December, 2022
      UK employment
      Has the pendulum really swung from capital to labour?

      Worker power hasn’t strengthened as much as expected in 2022

    • Thursday, 15 December, 2022
      UK employment
      What if work is making us sick?

      While employment has become less physically dangerous, it seems to have become more psychologically harmful

    • Tuesday, 6 December, 2022
      Ageing Populations
      Do you really want to live to be 100?

      ‘Healthy life expectancy’ is an important measure of what people want — and in the UK, it’s not looking good

    Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

    Useful links

    Support

    View Site TipsHelp CentreContact UsAbout UsAccessibilitymyFT TourCareers

    Legal & Privacy

    Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyCookiesCopyrightSlavery Statement & Policies

    Services

    Share News Tips SecurelyIndividual SubscriptionsGroup SubscriptionsRepublishingExecutive Job SearchAdvertise with the FTFollow the FT on TwitterFT ChannelsFT Schools

    Tools

    PortfolioToday's Newspaper (ePaper)Alerts HubBusiness School RankingsEnterprise ToolsNews feedNewslettersCurrency Converter

    Community & Events

    FT CommunityFT Live EventsFT ForumsFT Board DirectorBoard Director Programme

    More from the FT Group

    Markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2023. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
    The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice.
    Financial Times

    International Edition

    Subscribe for full access
    • Switch to UK Edition

    Top sections

    • Home
    • World
      • Global Economy
      • UK
      • US
      • China
      • Africa
      • Asia Pacific
      • Emerging Markets
      • Europe
      • War in Ukraine
      • Americas
      • Middle East & North Africa
      • Australia & NZ
    • US
      • US Economy
      • US Companies
      • US Politics & Policy
    • Companies
      • Energy
      • Financials
      • Health
      • Industrials
      • Media
      • Professional Services
      • Retail & Consumer
      • Tech Sector
      • Telecoms
      • Transport
    • Tech
    • Markets
      • Alphaville
      • Markets Data
      • Cryptofinance
      • Capital Markets
      • Commodities
      • Currencies
      • Equities
      • Fund Management
      • Trading
      • Moral Money
      • ETF Hub
    • Climate
    • Opinion
      • Columnists
      • The FT View
      • Lex
      • Obituaries
      • Letters
    • Work & Careers
      • Business School Rankings
      • Business Education
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Recruitment
      • Business Books
      • Business Travel
    • Life & Arts
      • Arts
      • Books
      • Food & Drink
      • FT Magazine
      • House & Home
      • Style
      • Travel
      • FT Globetrotter
    • Personal Finance
      • Property & Mortgages
      • Investments
      • Pensions
      • Tax
      • Banking & Savings
      • Advice & Comment
      • Next Act
    • HTSI
    • Special Reports

    FT recommends

    • Lex
    • Alphaville
    • Lunch with the FT
    • FT Globetrotter
    • #techAsia
    • Moral Money
    • Newsletters
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • News feed
    • FT Live Events
    • FT Forums
    • Board Director Programme
    • myFT
    • Portfolio
    • Today's Newspaper (ePaper)
    • Crossword
    • Our Apps
    • Help Centre
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In