John Lewis tells some head office staff to work in office at least three days a week

John Lewis is asking some head office staff to spend at least three days a week in the office or out on the road in the latest shift away from working from home.The department store group said members of its commercial teams – which include those working in buying and merchandising – should work no more than two days a week from home from July. Previously they were allowed to work up to three days a week at home.The change at the employee-owned group, which is renowned for its good treatment of workers, including access to holiday homes and a generous pension scheme, comes amid a broader shift among businesses ranging from the retailer Boots to Amazon and JP Morgan, which have told staff they must return five days a week.Last month, HSBC told staff in its UK high street banks that it may cut their bonuses if they did not work in the office at least 60% of the time

What could Albanese do to improve productivity? Here is a short, non-exhaustive list | Greg Jericho

In his address last week at the National Press Club, the prime minister announced a “productivity roundtable” in concert with the Productivity Commission’s latest inquiry into the issue. I won’t be at the round table, but I do have a few ideas.First off, remember that productivity is the amount you produce with the hours and equipment you have. Work better with what you have or (usually) get better equipment to do your work faster, and productivity increases.It is not about reducing the cost of producing things

OpenAI boss accuses Meta of trying to poach staff with $100m sign-on bonuses

The boss of OpenAI has claimed that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has tried to poach his top artificial intelligence experts with “crazy” signing bonuses of $100m (£74m), as the scramble for talent in the booming sector intensifies.Sam Altman spoke about the offers in a podcast on Tuesday. They have not been confirmed by Meta. OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT, said it had nothing to add beyond its chief executive’s comments.“They started making these giant offers to a lot of people on our team – $100m signing bonuses, more than that comp [compensation] per year,” Altman told the Uncapped podcast, which is presented by his brother, Jack

‘It’s terrifying’: WhatsApp AI helper mistakenly shares user’s number

The Meta chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, called it “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use”. But Barry Smethurst, 41, a record shop worker trying to travel by rail from Saddleworth to Manchester Piccadilly, did not agree.Waiting on the platform for a morning train that was nowhere to be seen, he asked Meta’s WhatsApp AI assistant for a contact number for TransPennine Express. The chatbot confidently sent him a mobile phone number for customer services, but it turned out to be the private number of a completely unconnected WhatsApp user 170 miles away in Oxfordshire.It was the beginning of a bizarre exchange of the kind more and more people are having with AI systems, in which chatbots try to negotiate their way out of trouble, deflect attention from their mistakes and contradict themselves, all in an attempt to continue to appear useful

Munster’s monster hits shows why Queensland captain’s time has come

Moderation is often cited as the secret to a long and fulfilling life. Semi-regular exercise. The odd glass of red wine. Precious time with family and friends. And no more than a sprinkling of Cameron Munster

Royal Ascot 2025 updates and news as Ombudsman rules on day two – live

5pm ROYAL HUNT CUP HANDICAP bettingMy Cloud 4/1Fox Legacy 7/1Qirat 8/1Arabian Light 11/1Bullet Point 12/1The Liffey 12/1Greek Order 18/1Tokenomics 20/1Ancient Rome 20/1Blue Brother 20/122/1 BAR - 30 RunnersFull Oddschecker betting: horse-racing/royal-ascot/17:00/winnerMarket Mover: Arabian Light 18/1 into 10/15pm ROYAL HUNT CUP HANDICAP previewThis is always one of the most competitive and eagerly-awaited handicaps of the season and most of the runners will have been prepared solely with this race in mind. That said, however, the minimum mark to be reasonably sure of getting a run these days is in the low 90s – and this year it is 94, which is bordering on Group-class ability – so the good old days when a handicapping maestro like the late Reg Akehurst could slide something in at the bottom of the weights off a mark in the late 70s are surely gone for good. That said, Roger Varian’s My Cloud, the 4-1 favourite, has just five runs in the book, but has been either first or second in all five and was sent off at odds-on to land his latest start in a Class Two handicap on the straight course at Newbury. He is 5lb higher in the weights today and has an obvious chance, but has several more “could be anything” opponents to worry about before you come to track specialists like Ralph Beckett’s Qirat, who was touched off in the Victoria Cup here in May.The Liffey, in fact, has only four races to his name and makes his handicap debut here off a mark of 98 – and in first-time headgear – after finishing a promising fourth in a Listed contest at Naas last time