For today, here’s a positive psychology exercise that will increase your level of well-being in the short, medium, and long term. It’s about identifying your character strengths and using one per day in a specific activity. Here’s an example: one strength of mine is my love of study and learning. So from now on, I’m devoting every Monday afternoon to writing a chapter of my book, reading a scientific

According to a statement published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in June 2020, the unemployment rate increased by an unprecedented 2.9 percentage points in April 2020 to 8.4%, compared to 5.5% in March, reflecting the impact of Covid-19 containment measures. The number of unemployed people in the OECD area increased by 18.4 million to 55 million in April. The United States accounted for the main

If physical health is to remain a top priority during this pandemic, then mental health is our best ally along the way. The psychological impacts of pandemics and confinement—stress, anxiety, PTSD, anger and for some, emotional exhaustion—are now well documented (see meta-analysis: https://lnkd.in/einFiqi). Once you’ve taken care of the basic precautionary measures, I invite you to: Up the attention you give your spouse and children by putting your smartphone

For some people, the days feel a little long, and boredom is a great friend of anxiety. So for the duration of lockdown, I would like to offer a daily “shrink’s tip” that I find useful and that will help you to cultivate “salutogenesis.” Have you ever heard of that concept? It’s basically about promoting things that improve health rather than mitigating things that damage it. For today, here’s

Although it has now been some time since COVID-19 swept the planet, most countries are still reporting a significant number of new cases each day. Despite the gradual easing of restrictions, businesses must still manage the effects of the virus on the wellbeing of their people and find new ways of functioning throughout this difficult period. To do our part in this collective effort, over the coming weeks we’ll

Save-the-Date Gallagher in June 2020 announced that the 2021 edition of the IBIS Academy would be held from May 24 to 28, 2021 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. For more information, a contact form is provided at https://www.ajg.com/us/events/ibis-academy/contact-us  

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in May 2020 announced that AXA COLPATRIA had joined the London-based global employee benefits network. AXA COLPATRIA provides medical coverage in Colombia as prepaid and health insurance. It is headed by Bernardo Rafael Serrano López, General Director and CEO. The company claims to be the sixth largest carrier in the Colombian PHI sector (pre-hospital and insurance) with a 6% market share and 220,000

In early 2020, it seemed like people with diabetes were disproportionately dying with COVID-19, but the data provided more questions than answers. What type of diabetes did people have? Were people dying because the condition itself put them at greater risk, or because those with it tend to be older and have other illnesses? And what should people with diabetes do to protect themselves?

Many countries are moving to exit a lockdown triggered by COVID-19, but the virus has not gone away and there are real concerns that a second wave of infection could happen. We urgently need to understand more about how the body deals with this infection and what we can do to tackle it. Immunology has taken centre stage here in revealing what happens when our body fights this virus, and brings us the possibility of treatments and vaccines.

Some people question why the current coronavirus has brought the world to standstill while a previous deadly coronavirus, SARS, did not. Others have questioned why a vaccine is so urgently needed now to stop the spread of the current coronavirus when a vaccine was never developed for SARS.

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce University of Oxford Departmental Lecturer and Deputy Director of Evidence-Based Healthcare DPhil programme I work in the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, where I am involved in research and teaching, and serve as the deputy director of the part-time Evidence-Based Healthcare DPhil programme. My particular interests lie in evidence synthesis (both quantitative and qualitative) and the communication of complex information and data to inform policy and public action. I am

Sheena Cruickshank University of Manchester Professor in Biomedical Sciences Immunology is the science of the immune system, the body’s defence against infection. From birth to death, we are bombarded with potential infectious threats that are immune system must recognise and respond to by killing or containing the threat. Yet, the immune system can be harmful too to us too when it isn’t properly controlled as is seen in allergies

Daniel M Davis University of Manchester Professor of Immunology Daniel M Davis is a Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester, UK. He helped pioneer the use of microscopy to show how immune cells communicate with each other and detect disease in other cells. He co-discovered the Natural Killer cell immune synapse and membrane nanotubes. He is also the author of ‘The Compatibility Gene’ and ‘The Beautiful Cure’,

Scientists are constantly revealing newly discovered benefits of exercise. In experiments over the past 10 years, my research has found that exercise can help with a respiratory problem known as ARDS.

Zhen Yan University of Virginia Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, cause > 60% of the death in the USA and account for > 75% of health care costs. Regular exercise has profound health benefits and is the most powerful intervention in disease prevention and treatment. We employ the state-of-the-art molecular genetics and imaging technologies in a variety of animal

Wladislaw Rivkin Aston University Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology Dr Wladislaw Rivkin is a Senior Lecturer in the Work and Organisational Psychology Department at Aston Business School. His research focuses on the interplay of stressors, leadership and other resources in predicting employees’ health well-being and performance in organisations, which has been published in high impact academic journals. Wladislaw works as a practitioner with businesses and organisations in

Marilyn J. Roossinck Pennsylvania State University Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology Our focus in the Roossinck lab is on virus-plant and virus-fungus-plant interactions in virus evolution and ecology. We use Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) as a model virus for experimental evolution studies, including generation and maintenance of quasispecies, rates of recombination, and polymerase fidelity. We are interested in how plants use viruses in adaptation to extreme environments. Fungal viruses

As an academic who regularly worked from home in the days before coronavirus, my friends often joked about what they imagined my daily routine might be (such as enjoying a morning gin and not changing out of my pyjamas). But as many people now realise, the reality is quite different. Working from home can be quite a challenge.

Taking a holistic view in managing their global employee benefit programs is the chosen way forward for an increasing number of multinationals that want a better overview and cost control of these programs. Many companies find that outsourcing the day-to-day handling and reporting of the insured benefits to local experts coordinated by a central team with one of the global consulting / brokerage firms is the preferred approach.

Jimmy Johansen jimmy.johansen@mercer.com Mercer Partner Jimmy Johansen is a Partner in Mercer’s Career and Global Benefit Management (GBM) business. He combines the role of Norway Lead for Career and GBM Account Director being the strategic benefit advisor for some of Mercer’s largest European clients. He has worked with Mercer since 2003 including 2 years in the Singapore office. During the last 10 years Jimmy has worked with Mercer Marsh Benefits’ GBM

The 50th edition of the IBIS Conference will be held online on Wednesday 13 May 2020 at 10am ET (1400 GMT/UTC, 1500 London time, 1600 CEST). It is the second one-hour roundtable of the 2020 IBIS event that covers the evolution of key global employee benefits and global mobility topics. The IBIS Conference will deal with the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis: Lessons learned; Unexpected consequences; and Innovative industry

The USA-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in May 2020 announced the cancellation of the 2020 Annual Conference & Exposition, citing “new directives from the San Diego Convention Center, the City of San Diego and the state of California”. The event previously was scheduled for late June in San Diego, CA. The cancellation is not really a surprise, as many U.S. states and foreign countries have prohibited large

The 50th edition of the IBIS Academy starts on Tuesday 12 May 2020 with the first of two one-hour roundtables that cover the evolution of key global employee benefits and global mobility topics. The IBIS Mobility Congress is devoted to refining global mobility strategies. On May 13, the IBIS Conference will deal with the evolution of the COVID-19 crisis: Lessons learned; Unexpected consequences; and Innovative industry response and solutions.

The tax division of global consultancy Deloitte in May 2020 published an analysis of permanent establishment and corporate residency issues in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. In a nutshell, employees stranded in a foreign country and performing remote work from there could unwittingly create a “permanent establishment” and/or a de-facto “corporate presence” in that country, which in turn would trigger tax consequences, potentially making their employer liable for

The 50th edition of the IBIS conference starts on Tuesday 12 May 2020. The longest-running international HR conference is available in a virtual format due (or is it thanks?) to the COVID-19 crisis. Two one-hour roundtables cover the evolution of key global employee benefits and global mobility topics: The IBIS Mobility Congress on May 12th at 10am ET is devoted to refining global mobility strategies. The IBIS Conference on

Multinational employee benefits network MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN) in May 2020 announced the appointment of Mattieu Rouot as its new CEO. Based in London, UK, Rouot succeeds Mauro Dugulin who oversaw the move from France to London five years ago and the implementation of a strategy focusing on large corporates. Rouot is far from being a newcomer to MAXIS, having played a key role in shaping the

The 50th edition of the IBIS conference will be held on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 May 2020. The longest-running international HR conference was moved online due to the COVID-19 crisis. Two one-hour roundtables cover the evolution of key global employee benefits and global mobility topics: The IBIS Mobility Congress on May 12th is devoted to refining global mobility strategies. The IBIS Conference on May 13th, titled “Crossfire –