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    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)

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    • 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

    • Tuesday, 29 November, 2022
      UK energy
      Britain is two countries when it comes to energy

      The combination of prepayment meters, vulnerable customers and a cost of living crisis is a bad one

    • Tuesday, 22 November, 2022
      Mental health
      There is a deepening mental health recession

      Many countries are struggling with a rise in the numbers of people reporting problems with anxiety and depression

    • Tuesday, 15 November, 2022
      Technology
      Tech lay-offs teach us a lesson about the ‘war for talent’

      Benevolent workplace dictatorships can seem fine until they’re not so benevolent any more

    • Tuesday, 15 November, 2022
      News in-depthNews in-depth3 min
      Can rapid delivery apps get back on track? | FT Transact

      The FT’s Sarah O’Connor looks at what’s behind the downloads dive, and options available for companies affected

    • Tuesday, 1 November, 2022
      UK interest rates
      How will we remember the age of cheap money?

      The end of low interest rates is stripping off a veneer of affluence

    • Wednesday, 26 October, 2022
      UK immigration
      Immigration policy will not cure Britain’s labour market ills

      The tired debate over migrants being either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ has never served the country well

    • Tuesday, 18 October, 2022
      UK public services
      Hunt still has a fiscal hole to fill, but Britain’s fabric is fraying

      After a decade of austerity, public services are not an easy target to cut

    • Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
      UK financial crisis
      Most people don’t know what GDP growth is

      And that is a problem for Liz Truss, who has made it her governing mantra

    • Tuesday, 4 October, 2022
      Health
      Making the poor poorer is a false economy

      Better than cutting benefits would be to get tough on the causes of welfare spending

    • Tuesday, 27 September, 2022
      UK employment
      Kwarteng’s policies won’t get inactive Britain working again

      The labour force needs investment in health, social care and childcare

    • Thursday, 22 September, 2022
      ExplainerRobotics14 min
      Will Tesla's Optimus robot become a reality? | FT Tech

      Elon Musk wants to put humanoid robots in his factories - and in your home

    • Tuesday, 20 September, 2022
      UK labour productivity
      Are the British really the worst idlers in the world?

      Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s early characterisation of the UK workforce does not entirely stand up to scrutiny

    • Tuesday, 13 September, 2022
      Corporate culture
      The term ‘quiet quitting’ is worse than nonsense

      If your staff turn up every day, do exactly what you ask of them, but don’t go above and beyond, they are still working

    • Tuesday, 6 September, 2022
      Trade unions
      Forget the 1970s — strikes signal a dysfunctional labour market

      Liz Truss is wrong to think deep economic problems can be magicked away with new anti-union rules

    • Tuesday, 30 August, 2022
      Artificial intelligence
      Actors worry that AI is taking centre stage

      Synthetic voices may not be as good but they can still threaten human talent’s work and rights

    • Tuesday, 23 August, 2022
      Property sector
      Why I couldn’t have been more wrong about big city rents

      The pandemic has led to lasting changes in the way we work, but that hasn’t made cities more affordable

    • Monday, 22 August, 2022
      FT Swamp Notes
      What Brexit teaches the world about migrant work Premium content

      Britain has ended up with a worst-case scenario

    Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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