After years of watching capable people remain in the same positions while less skilled colleagues move up, I’ve noticed a pattern that most people don’t talk about openly. The better you become at what you do, the harder it becomes…
I have spent years watching well-intentioned policies produce results that bear little resemblance to what their architects envisioned. A new grading system meant to reduce student anxiety instead creates confusion and gaming. A curriculum reform designed to improve critical thinking…
Putting a number on unpaid work is one of those problems that looks straightforward until you actually try to do it. I’ve watched researchers spend months wrestling with a single question: what is an hour of childcare worth? The answer…
After years of reviewing employment data and talking with people working part-time roles, a consistent pattern emerges that most labor statistics only partially capture. The numbers show part-time work has grown, but they obscure what that growth actually means for…
I’ve spent enough time watching economic data come across my desk to know that the moment someone says “the economy is strong” or “the economy is weak,” they’re already oversimplifying. The reality is messier. On any given quarter, you might…
I’ve watched this process unfold dozens of times across different education systems, and it rarely looks like the neat pipeline most people imagine. A researcher publishes findings. A policymaker reads them. Policy changes. Reality is messier. The distance between a…
After years of running training programmes and watching what happens afterwards, I’ve noticed something that rarely gets discussed directly: most training doesn’t change behaviour. People attend, they learn something, they might even feel energised in the moment, and then everything…
After a few months away from work, people often report a peculiar sensation: the skills they relied on feel somehow less solid, even when they haven’t actually forgotten how to do them. This isn’t quite the same as skill atrophy.…
After years of hiring, managing teams, and watching people navigate their careers, I’ve noticed something consistent: not all professional qualifications carry the same weight. Two people might hold credentials with nearly identical names, yet one credential opens doors while the…
After years of working with people across technical and non-technical roles, I’ve noticed something that doesn’t get discussed much: the speed at which someone becomes competent with a tool or system bears almost no relationship to how quickly they learn…