Dunstable Community Information Portal

1. How to avoid blunders when feeling overwhelmed. People who feel overwhelmed often “double down” on behaviours that can make their situations appear worse. There are a series of steps people should take instead of employing their default behaviours, isolating themselves, not seeking help and thinking they’re weak. READ MORE

2. Jobs crisis for older workers. The Covid pandemic has caused the biggest annual fall in employment for older workers since the 1980s, according to a leading think tank. The decline in the employment rate for the over-50s has been twice as big as for those aged between 25- and 49-years-old. The Resolution Foundation is calling on the government to tailor retraining opportunities for over-50s after it found that after losing work, older workers take the longest to return. BBC

3. Biggest house price surge since 2004. House prices rose at their fastest pace in more than 17 years last month, according to a report by Nationwide. Property prices increased by 2.1% in April, the biggest monthly rise since February 2004, with prices 7.1% higher than in April last year. The rises, which came after the government extended stamp duty relief on property purchases, suggest that the market is regaining momentum. The Daily Mail

4. Sleaze responsible for cut in Tory lead. Labour has halved the Conservatives’ lead, according to the latest Opinium poll for The Sunday Times. The survey shows the Tory lead has fallen from 11 points to five points after Boris Johnson faced allegations of sleaze and reports claiming he would rather see “bodies pile high” than order another lockdown. According to a separate poll for the i newspaper, 50% of UK adults agree with the statement: “There is a culture of sleaze in the UK Government.” 11% disagree, and 29% neither agree nor disagree. Tory voters are more likely to agree than disagree. Editor

5. Pandemic hits mental health. People who saw sudden and massive drops in household income during the pandemic recorded the sharpest increases in mental illness, according to a new study. The National Centre for Social Research found that previously comfortable people forced to become dependent on universal credit and self-employment grants experienced the most spectacular decline in emotional wellbeing. The report found that the pandemic “took people who had been for decades living on a comfortable income into a totally different world overnight”. Want to improve your wellbeing? We have it covered in 10/10, our acclaimed and government supported leadership development and mentoring programme. READ MORE

6. Give your brain some breaks. Since many companies introduced the work-from-home model during the pandemic, millions of workers have become grudgingly familiar with "Zoom fatigue" as the boundaries between work and life evaporated. One way to avoid feeling like you're always "on" is to take breaks. And the next time you feel guilty asking for one, don't be. Data actually show you'll be more productive afterward. In addition to downtime, having shorter, more intentional meetings helps maintain engagement, according to a new Microsoft study. Here are three main takeaways: [1] Breaks between meetings give the brain an opportunity to reset. [2] Continuous meetings decrease focus. [3] Transitions between meetings can result in periods of high stress. Editor

7. Mastermind crowns youngest winner. A 24-year-old student from Glasgow has become the youngest ever champion of the BBC’s Mastermind. Jonathan Gibson won the final by four points - scoring a perfect 11 out of 11 in his specialist subject, the comedy song-writing duo Flanders and Swann. Last night’s grand final was John Humphrys’ final episode after 18 years as host. Humphrys has presented 735 episodes of the quiz show and asked more than 80,000 questions. The Daily Express

8. Apple does not 'let bad guys use iPhones on screen’. Star Wars director Rian Johnson revealed that Apple doesn't allow bad guys in movies to use iPhones. “Apple… they let you use iPhones in movies but - and this is very pivotal if you're ever watching a mystery movie - bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera.”  Johnson, whose other credits include Looper and Knives Out, revealed in a video recorded for Vanity Fair. The Guardian

9. Idea of the week. There is a difference between spending time and investing time. Even though we understand how precious time is, we often frame it with language that devalues its use. Words like 'spend,' allude to the fact that we’re exhausting this valuable commodity without the expectation of a return. Editor

10. The bottom line. London will be the “biggest employment casualty of the pandemic”. The end of the furlough scheme coupled with “the impact of the Brexit deal” will cost the capital over 150,000 jobs by the end of the year, with employment dropping 3.9% to 3.7 million. The city has the highest unemployment rate of any UK region, at 7.2%. The Daily Telegraph