• Reasons to be cheerful ... are four How would you like a three-day weekend, every weekend? A trial of a four-day week for public sector workers in Utah was so successful that countries and companies worldwide have said that they are keen to adopt similar “four-ten schedules”, according to Time magazine. A four-ten schedule is one in which workers work ten hours a day, four days a week. The compressed working week was good for the planet: there was a 13 per cent cut in energy use, employees saved an estimated $6 million (£3.8 million) in petrol costs and greenhouse emissions were cut by more than 12,000 tonnes. Employees liked it: they took fewer sick days and 82 per cent want to continue with the new hours. And customers liked it: government offices were open longer and queues were shorter. What’s not to like? Let’s all take Friday off.

• Reasons to be miserable ... are five Members of TheLadders.co.uk, who are described as “Britain’s senior management”, have come up with five alternatives to the Christmas bonus. They suggest that bosses who cannot afford to give out seasonal bonuses consider: giving staff extra holidays; offering company shares; offering company products or services for free; allowing employees to work flexi-time; or deferring the bonus until the summer. No mention of a bottle of sherry.

• The feelgood factor Charity workers are very unlikely to get bonuses this Christmas. A survey of 300 charities by Croner, the pay specialists, confirms what many of us have long suspected: charity workers are expected to feel good about doing good. Eleven per cent of charities have instigated pay freezes in the past year, compared with 4 per cent in the private sector. On average, charity workers earn 21 per cent less than their private sector counterparts.

• You can count on them Many have joked about it, but now an article in the Harvard Business Review confirms it — executives can barely tell the difference between profits and losses. A group of American managers “from C-level executives to supervisors” were given a basic financial literacy exam and scored an average of only 38 per cent. The authors say that the majority were unable to distinguish profit from cash, 70 per cent could not define “free cash flow” and many did not know the difference between an income statement and balance sheet.

• Real jobs for real men Finally, if your bonus has been replaced by a cold turkey and you’re baffled by the numbers on your P45, perhaps you should consider retraining as a plumber, electrician or carpenter. The dating website mysinglefriend.com claims that last year the most desirable males were City workers with big bonuses and flash cars; this year the practical jobs win out. Edge, the Institute of Leadership and Management magazine, says that “women want men who can do”.

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