November 16, 2021
Majority of people want to continue working from home in Northern Ireland; Delhi is considering a full weekend lockdown due to soaring pollution
Today’s news summary brings news from Northern Ireland, India, and the UK and discusses issues as diverse as working from home, air pollution, and pensions.
- Northern Ireland: Majority of people want to continue working from home
- India: Delhi is considering a full weekend lockdown due to soaring pollution
- UK: UK government backs getting rid of the "triple lock" on pensions
The majority of people in Northern Ireland would like to continue working from home
Behavioral and personnel economics
As reported by BBC News, a majority of workers in Northern Ireland would like to continue working from home even when the pandemic restrictions are fully lifted. The survey conducted by YouGov collected information from 1,000 workers and it found that out of the people working from home, only 3% wanted to go back to their office full time. “Almost a third of employees (32%) said their job could not be done from home,” BBC News reports. In addition, 40% of people said that they would like to work part-time from home, 16% answered that they would like to work fully from home, and 8% said that they would not want to work from home.
IZA World of Labor author Michael Beckmann says that “working from home is often similar to self-managed working time with a focus on enabling workers to accomplish their work tasks outside the workplace.” Read his full article.
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Delhi is considering a weekend lockdown due to soaring pollution
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Delhi, India’s capital, as well as several surrounding states, have been forced to shut schools and implement work-from-home practices. In addition, there is a weekend lockdown put in place “in an attempt to tackle the deadly levels of pollution that have yet again enveloped the region,” The Guardian reports. The capital is reported to have suffered pollution levels that are 20 times higher than the levels which the World Health Organization deems to be healthy. Car exhaust fumes, farmers burning stubble in nearby states, industrial pollution, waste burning, and construction work have been some of the reasons for the severe pollution in the capital. According to a study published in a science journal, one-third of deaths in India, which equates to more than 2.5 million people, were due to air pollution.
According to IZA World of Labor author Matthew Neidell: “A growing body of evidence indicates that pollution also has more subtle effects on workers by reducing how much is produced “on the job.” Read his full article.
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UK government backs getting rid of the "triple lock" on pensions
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“More than 12 million pensioners will be hundreds of pounds worse off next year, as pensions will fail to keep pace with surging inflation,” reports The Telegraph. This is due to the fact that MPs have backed the UK government in scrapping the "triple lock," which is a commitment to increase the value of state pensions by at least 2.5% every year. Based on September’s inflation data, the new state pension is set to rise from £179.60 a week to £185.15.
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