So why has ageism become so acute, particularly in recruitment? In my view, the answer lies partly in AI‑driven hiring systems — whether embedded in Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) or deployed through external platforms.

Every few months, a familiar storyline resurfaces in parts of the conservative press: HR is to blame for “wokeness”, for hypersensitive employees, for the supposed decline of robust leadership. The latest example — an article in today’s Telegraph (28 May 2026) by Martin Vander Weyen claiming “The Age of HR has turned everyone into a snowflake” — follows the same pattern. HR is cast as the villain.

We talk a lot about safeguarding mental health at work — and rightly so. Employers have a responsibility to create environments where people feel safe, respected, and supported. But somewhere along the way, we’ve stopped talking about something equally true, and far less fashionable: work itself can be good for our mental health.

I am really pleased to be collaborating with Deva again. One of the things I value most about running Cold Spring is the ability to bring in the right people at the right moment — specialists whose craft, values, and way of working align with the clarity‑in‑complexity approach that sits at the heart of what I do. So I’m genuinely pleased to welcome Deva into the wider Cold Spring network of collaborators.

I’ve been noticing a pattern of polarisation in parts of the HR world lately — especially among newer practitioners and some of the louder voices online. There seems to be a growing instinct to frame HR as either an advocate for employees or an agent of the employer. As if we’re supposed to pick a side. As if supporting one inherently means betraying the other.

We talk a lot about the importance of employee voice, and rightly so. People want to feel heard, valued, and involved in shaping the work they do. At the same time, leaders are encouraged to be inclusive, collaborative, and consultative. On paper, it sounds like a complimentary situation. But in practice? It’s more complicated.

I’m getting really cheesed-off with much of the UK press framing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) through an unmistakably American lens. The language is imported wholesale — “affirmative action”, “quotas”, “positive discrimination”, “lowering the bar”. However; the UK doesn’t operate under anything resembling the US affirmative action model that the Trump Administration is railing against.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive introduces a significant shift toward greater openness in how organisations define, communicate, and justify pay. Even UK-based companies without EU operations will feel the ripple effects.

As the UK government moves ahead with its new Employee Rights Bill, I’ve been seeing a raft of articles and comms aimed at employers and HR departments, effectively telling them they need to get their collective act together.