As businesses across the recruitment sector and wider industries have shown an increasingly agile approach to home working, there has been a range of conversations around the impact of these new operations on the mental wellbeing of employees.

There was a time when you would celebrate a business anniversary with an old-fashioned knees-up and a toast to the next year, but, let’s face it, things have changed. During a year when survival was front of mind for many companies, an anniversary now means taking a step back and acknowledging just how on earth you managed it.

We talk a lot about values over here at Marmalade - and as we should! Your company values should not only sit at the heart of your business, but also be pushing your organisation further into the future (which informs your vision of course, but there’s a whole other blog about that!)

Around this time last year, the internet was abuzz with memes, gifs and all manner of social posts, heralding the arrival of the ‘Roaring 20’s’ - an ode to the economic growth and prosperity seen a century ago.

If someone said the word ‘Coronavirus’ to you a year ago, you may have been excused for thinking it was a phrase used to describe a bad hangover after one too many Mexican lagers. How we all wish that was the case!

Back with a banger! - the Marks & Spencers’ Love Sausage is back for Valentines Day 2020. Leaving some shoppers a little red-faced, the perfect dine-in package now comes complete with its’ smaller counterpart - the ‘Give a Little Love Sausage’, just in case the regular offering was a little too large.

Who says working 9-5 needs to be boring? We know that Dolly Parton has a coat of many colours, but the country superstar has now shown us the different looks you can don for the best social media practice.

At Marmalade, we definitely think there’s nothing worse than going into work in the morning when it’s dark and cold and leaving after the sun has set (*typically feels like a mere six hour window in the dead of winter*). This daily scenario is the most likely of all to leave us with a sense of gloom and without the usual spring to our step as we long for lighter nights and brighter mornings.

One report listed it as sixth best board game, another said it was fourth most popular, but, wherever you place it on your leaderboard on the pastimes scale, Scrabble is, and had long since, been a much-loved winner. Now, Merriam-Webster has released a sixth edition of The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary to match the age of the millenial and twenty first century.

Have you ever wondered how much time you spend on your smartphone in specific apps? Much like the pedometer calculates the number of steps you take, Our Leah decided to assess and try to cure the time she spent with her smartphone in her hand, or on apps like Facebook, just for a browse. Just by knowing how much (frankly shocking, like most of us) time she spent, she managed to set aside time to do it or limit it completely. It’s been a game changer for her personally and professionally.

With the majority of workers spending more time at work than at home, their minds are always working rather than relaxing or looking after their own health. One way to stay healthier is my being active and stretching your legs with a break from your desk and work. Breaks - not for cigarettes - can help to improve mindfulness and prevent aches and strain.

Earlier this year, the Financial Times wrote of the fact that gender-diverse companies are more productive and productivity growth boosted by having women on company boards. We are one of those - our founders are all Marmaladies and they make up the majority of our board.