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Top CEOs make workers’ yearly salaries in just FOUR days

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leaders of some of the UK’s biggest companies will have made more money by 9am local time (10pm NZDT) on January 7 than the average UK worker earns in a year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://highpaycentre.org/high-pay-day-2022/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">analysis</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from the High Pay Centre, a UK think-tank that campaigns for fair pay for workers, suggests that a FTSE 100 chief executive (working at any of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange) will have earned more than an average full-time UK worker’s annual salary.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The High Pay Centre’s calculations are based on government statistics relating to pay levels across the economy, as well as previous analyses of CEO pay disclosures in annual reports.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Today the median FTSE100 CEO's earnings for 2022 will surpass the median annual wage for a full-time worker in the UK<br /><br />Such extreme inequality is immoral, unacceptable &amp; unsustainable. Wealth in this country has to be shared more fairly &amp; more evenly<a href="https://twitter.com/HighPayCentre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HighPayCentre</a></p> — Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarolineLucas/status/1479354617167110145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year marks the first in the last ten years of reporting by the High Pay Centre where CEOs have made the same amount as average UK workers within the first four working days of the year. In previous reports, CEOs have typically surpassed the average yearly wage by January 6.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to data from 2020 - the latest full-year figures - FTSE100 CEOs were paid £2.7 million ($NZD 5.43 million) on average that year, which is nearly 86 times the average salary of £31, 285 ($NZD 62,948), as reported by </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/07/ftse-bosses-pay-average-9am" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Guardian</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 2020 financial year saw the average wage for CEOs fall, with many bosses taking wage cuts and cancelling their bonuses during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Today is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HighPayDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HighPayDay</a>. <br /><br />Just prior to 9am today, CEOs' earnings for 2022 will surpass the median UK full time salary. <br /><br />As key workers face a cost of living crisis, we need urgent action to ensure wealth is shared more fairly in our society. <a href="https://t.co/RC5ah2daxs">https://t.co/RC5ah2daxs</a></p> — High Pay Centre (@HighPayCentre) <a href="https://twitter.com/HighPayCentre/status/1479347068330123269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though most companies are yet to release figures for the financial year ending in 2021, the High Pay Centre’s report found that 57 percent of those who have done so have recorded increased wages for CEOs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The country’s biggest unions have said the disparity between bosses and ordinary workers was “disgraceful”, demanding that companies be forced to appoint a frontline worker to executive pay committees.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The pandemic has shown us all who keeps the country going during a crisis,” Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are millions of hardworking people in Britain - from carers, to delivery drivers, to shop floor staff - who give more than they get back, but greedy executives are taking home millions while ordinary workers face yet another year of pay squeezes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As we emerge from the pandemic we need to redesign the economy to make it fair, and that means big reforms to bring CEO pay back down to earth.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms O’Grady said committees that set CEO pay must be “required to include workforce representatives who can speak up for a fairer balance of pay with ordinary workers”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Incentive schemes for company directors should be replaced by profit-share schemes that include the whole workforce,” she added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Too much wealth is being hoarded at the top.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Top earners in the UK included Pascal Soriot, the CEO of vaccine-maker AstraZeneca, who received £15.5 million ($NZD 31.2 million), Berkeley’s Rob Perrins, who collected £8 million ($NZD 16 million), and Experian’s Brian Cassin, who earned £10.3 million ($NZD 20.7 million).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile in Australia, the </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/leaders/revealed-australia-s-50-highest-paid-ceos-20211117-p599rf" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Australian Financial Review</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> found that the paychecks of the country’s top bosses increased on average by 24 percent in the 2020-21 financial year, with Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake topping the list of high-earners with a reported pay of $15.97 million ($NZD 16.93 million).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for New Zealand, a survey conducted by </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/126432044/bosses-of-our-biggest-companies-can-earn-nearly-40-times-more-than-their-workers" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stuff</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> found that Kiwi CEOs received between 16 and 36 times worker pay, and that only half of the country’s 20 biggest companies were willing to disclose their median pay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the publication, Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor was the country’s highest earner, receiving $7 million. Though the company refused to disclose its workers’ median pay, Mr Taylor made nearly 90 times that of his workers if they received the survey’s mean pay of $80,000.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite the Union, took to twitter to criticise the continued heft of CEO salaries despite the pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Is it the nurse in an intensive care unit saving the lives of those struck by Covid, or an elite investment banker making millions, who contributes most to society?” she wrote on Twitter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Which of them stood up for all of us during the pandemic?”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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CEO fires 900 employees over Zoom right before holidays

<p dir="ltr">Better.com CEO Vishal Garg informed more than 900 employees that they were being let go from the company, which provides digital mortgage services for prospective homeowners, just weeks before the holidays in an online video call last week.</p> <p dir="ltr">On Wednesday, Garg informed the employees on the three-minute-long Zoom call that, "If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off. Your employment here is terminated effective immediately."</p> <p dir="ltr">He added that employees could expect an email from HR detailing benefits and severance. According to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/vishal-garg-better-ceo-fired-b1970887.html" target="_blank"><em>The Independent</em></a><em>,<span> </span></em>terminated employees will receive a month of severance pay, a month of full benefits, and two months of cover-up during which Better.com will pay the premium.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement to<span> </span><em>CNN Business,<span> </span></em>CFO Kevin Ryan said, "Having to conduct layoffs is gut wrenching, especially this time of year. However a fortress balance sheet and a reduced and focused workforce together set us up to play offence going into a radically evolving homeownership market."</p> <p dir="ltr">The mass layoffs came just one day after it was revealed that the company, which announced its intention to go public in May, would be receiving a $750 million cash infusion from its SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) backers.</p> <p dir="ltr">Garg cited market efficiency, performance and productivity as the reason behind the firings.<span> </span><em>Fortune<span> </span></em>later reported that he accused the employees of “stealing” from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive and only working two hours a day.</p> <p dir="ltr">On the call, Garg said, “This is the second time in my career I'm doing this and I do not want to do this. The last time I did it, I cried,” while remaining emotionless throughout. Among those fired were the diversity, equity and inclusion recruiting team.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: YouTube</em></p>

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5 things CEOs always do before bed

<p><strong>Start tomorrow right – tonight!</strong></p> <p>Anyone who has ever had to help a child with a school project at midnight or found themselves binge-watching Netflix until the wee hours of the morning knows that what you do at bedtime can have a huge impact on how the next day goes. Getting enough sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health, yet for too many of us, sleep is the first thing that’s sacrificed when life gets crazy. The second thing to go? Good bedtime habits. Even CEOs have to fight this temptation, but some of them have figured out how to do it successfully and consistently. We asked them to share the surprisingly simple night time tricks that help them have a happy, productive day.</p> <p><strong>Set an alarm for bedtime instead of wake time</strong></p> <p>Half the battle of getting a good night’s sleep is getting yourself to bed on time. Douglas Smith, CEO of True Nutrition, has discovered a great hack for making sure he’s consistent with his bedtime. “Most people set an alarm for waking up, but I’ve discovered it should be the other way around,” he says. “I set my alarm for 30 minutes before I should be in bed, and I stick to it. This helps me get to sleep at the same time every night. Once my body adjusted to it, I’ve found that I sleep better and I don’t even need an alarm to wake up. I wake up on my own, feeling well-rested.”</p> <p><strong>Use a light-filtering app</strong></p> <p>Blue light from screens interferes with your natural circadian rhythms, tricking your brain into thinking it’s morning instead of bedtime. Jason McCarthy, CEO of DigiNo, combats this by using apps that moderate the light from device screens. “I use the F.lux app. It gradually decreases the brightness and white light from the screen as bedtime draws closer,” he says. “This leads to much healthier and easier sleep. Plus, it reminds me not to keep working too late!”</p> <p><strong>Sip some vinegar and honey</strong></p> <p>Have trouble falling asleep? McCarthy swears by this bedtime tip courtesy of Tim Ferriss’ <em>The 4-Hour Workweek</em>. “He recommends drinking hot water with a spoonful of organic apple cider vinegar and natural honey as a sleep aid,” McCarthy explains. “No matter how busy my mind is from a stressful day at work, this drink manages to knock me out for a soothing sleep within 20 minutes. And it tastes better than you think it will!”</p> <p><strong>Utilise a “mail butler”</strong></p> <p>Managing email can feel like a full-time job for anyone, CEO or otherwise. And going to bed with a full inbox can make it hard to sleep, thanks to constant notifications or worries about missed items. This is why Billy Goldberg, CEO of the Buckeye Group, swears by Mailbutler, an extension for your email that automates certain tasks. “After dinner but before bedtime, I tidy up my inbox and get it down to zero. I use Mailbutler to ‘snooze’ emails and remind me of them at a set time in the future when I’ll need the information or need to follow up with someone,” he explains. “I use the extra time to hang out with my teenage daughters if they are into me at that moment.”</p> <p><strong>Have a nutritious bedtime snack</strong></p> <p>It’s hard to sleep if your stomach is grumbling, but a full tummy can also cause insomnia. In fact, overeating is one of the common mistakes insomniacs make. For Goldberg, the perfect compromise is a small snack high in fibre and healthy fats. “This may sound strange, but eating a spoonful of almond butter right before bed is the key to getting a good night’s sleep,” Goldberg says. “I wake up energised, and my blood sugar is maintained. Honestly, it’s been a game-changer for me!”</p> <p><strong>Pack a gym bag</strong></p> <p>Exercise can help improve your mood, increase your energy and even make you more creative, helping to set you up for a productive day. The only downside is that it can be hard to remember all of that when you’re dragging yourself out of a warm bed before the sun’s even up. For Joyce Shulman, CEO of Macaroni Kid, the trick is to prep the night before. “I set out my clothes for my morning workout in the bathroom, so when I get up at 5 am., I have no decisions to make – I just do it,” she says. “I also set up my coffee the night before because, well, coffee.”</p> <p><em>Written by Charlotte Hilton Anderson. This article first appeared in<a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/sleep/16-things-ceos-always-do-before-bed?slide=all"> Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, </em><a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRN93V"><em>here’s our best subscription offer.</em></a></p>

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