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Sarah O'Connor

Employment columnist

Sarah O'Connor is a columnist, reporter and associate editor at the Financial Times. She writes a weekly column focused on the world of work, as well as longer reported articles.

She joined the FT in 2007 and has covered the US economy from Washington DC, the UK economy from London and the financial crisis from Iceland.

Email Sarah O'Connor @sarahoconnor_  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)

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  • Tuesday, 31 January, 2023
    Employment
    The kids are alright after all

    It was feared the pandemic would harm young people’s job prospects but so far that doesn’t appear to be true

  • Tuesday, 24 January, 2023
    Economic statistics
    How (not) to explain economics to the public

    The UK chancellor’s attempt to do so risked exacerbating an already significant deficit of trust and understanding

  • Tuesday, 17 January, 2023
    Working It podcast19 min listen
    Is maternity leave still a career killer?

    There is enduring stigma around motherhood in the workplace

  • Tuesday, 17 January, 2023
    Employment
    In labour markets, the devil is often in the detail

    Non-compete clauses buried in contracts stack the deck against workers

  • Tuesday, 10 January, 2023
    Employment
    Solving strikes is not about winning the argument

    Creative solutions are needed if we are to unlock the current disputes

  • Tuesday, 3 January, 2023
    Social affairs
    It is getting harder for charities to maintain the social safety net

    The cash-strapped voluntary sector does things the state used to, including providing basic necessities

  • Tuesday, 20 December, 2022
    UK employment
    Has the pendulum really swung from capital to labour?

    Worker power hasn’t strengthened as much as expected in 2022

  • Thursday, 15 December, 2022
    UK employment
    What if work is making us sick?

    While employment has become less physically dangerous, it seems to have become more psychologically harmful

  • Tuesday, 6 December, 2022
    Ageing Populations
    Do you really want to live to be 100?

    ‘Healthy life expectancy’ is an important measure of what people want — and in the UK, it’s not looking good

  • Tuesday, 29 November, 2022
    UK energy
    Britain is two countries when it comes to energy

    The combination of prepayment meters, vulnerable customers and a cost of living crisis is a bad one

  • Tuesday, 22 November, 2022
    Mental health
    There is a deepening mental health recession

    Many countries are struggling with a rise in the numbers of people reporting problems with anxiety and depression

  • Tuesday, 15 November, 2022
    Technology
    Tech lay-offs teach us a lesson about the ‘war for talent’

    Benevolent workplace dictatorships can seem fine until they’re not so benevolent any more

  • Tuesday, 15 November, 2022
    News in-depthNews in-depth3 min
    Can rapid delivery apps get back on track? | FT Transact

    The FT’s Sarah O’Connor looks at what’s behind the downloads dive, and options available for companies affected

  • Tuesday, 1 November, 2022
    UK interest rates
    How will we remember the age of cheap money?

    The end of low interest rates is stripping off a veneer of affluence

  • Wednesday, 26 October, 2022
    UK immigration
    Immigration policy will not cure Britain’s labour market ills

    The tired debate over migrants being either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ has never served the country well

  • Tuesday, 18 October, 2022
    UK public services
    Hunt still has a fiscal hole to fill, but Britain’s fabric is fraying

    After a decade of austerity, public services are not an easy target to cut

  • Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
    UK financial crisis
    Most people don’t know what GDP growth is

    And that is a problem for Liz Truss, who has made it her governing mantra

  • Tuesday, 4 October, 2022
    Health
    Making the poor poorer is a false economy

    Better than cutting benefits would be to get tough on the causes of welfare spending

  • Tuesday, 27 September, 2022
    UK employment
    Kwarteng’s policies won’t get inactive Britain working again

    The labour force needs investment in health, social care and childcare

  • Thursday, 22 September, 2022
    ExplainerRobotics14 min
    Will Tesla's Optimus robot become a reality? | FT Tech

    Elon Musk wants to put humanoid robots in his factories - and in your home

  • Tuesday, 20 September, 2022
    UK labour productivity
    Are the British really the worst idlers in the world?

    Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s early characterisation of the UK workforce does not entirely stand up to scrutiny

  • Tuesday, 13 September, 2022
    Corporate culture
    The term ‘quiet quitting’ is worse than nonsense

    If your staff turn up every day, do exactly what you ask of them, but don’t go above and beyond, they are still working

  • Tuesday, 6 September, 2022
    Trade unions
    Forget the 1970s — strikes signal a dysfunctional labour market

    Liz Truss is wrong to think deep economic problems can be magicked away with new anti-union rules

  • Tuesday, 30 August, 2022
    Artificial intelligence
    Actors worry that AI is taking centre stage

    Synthetic voices may not be as good but they can still threaten human talent’s work and rights

  • Tuesday, 23 August, 2022
    Property sector
    Why I couldn’t have been more wrong about big city rents

    The pandemic has led to lasting changes in the way we work, but that hasn’t made cities more affordable

Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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