Channel 4’s Humans highlights the value of feeling valued at work

Felicity Evans • July 1, 2015

Image: from Äkta människor (Real humans), Sveriges Television AB

Channel 4’s smash-hit new drama, Humans, tells of a time in the not-too-distant future when various jobs are done by ‘synths’: robots who look so uncannily like people it’s hard to tell the difference. As well as offering an exciting plot, interesting characters and more than one moral conundrum to grapple with, Humans also explores what it means to work, and to be valued for the work we carry out

Almost everyone has had at least one ‘synth’ moment, those times when you feel that no-one cares about the things you’re achieving, or that what you’re doing won’t really make a difference – no matter how much effort you put in. And this goes for all kinds of work, from polishing widgets to running a department – if no-one ever feeds back, or says ‘thank you’, or even ‘that didn’t really work out, can you try it a different way next time, please?’ you can start to wonder if… well, if you’re even human – or just another piece of office furniture.

There are several ways to get over a ‘synth’ moment (or a ‘synth’ week, month or even year). You’re not a machine, but it’s odds-on the people treating you like one aren’t aware they’re even doing it, so making some constructive suggestions could improve things for everyone. In a well-run workplace, informal appraisals should be pretty regular, with more formal appraisals (in which the discussion is minuted, signed by employee and line manager, and put on file) occurring at least annually. If this doesn’t happen, approach HR (or equivalent) and suggest it. Appraisals are a two-way street: it’s not just an opportunity for your boss to remind you that she likes two sugars in her coffee; you can point out the times you’ve excelled, and areas where you need support.

Once you’ve engineered positive change in the workplace, you can start to uncover the human side of your colleagues outside of it, too. Arranging activities such as drinks and excursions – including management – can help colleagues to become friends, and in the process learn to value each other and recognize the contribution everyone is making. You might even learn what that person who sits right at the other end of the office looking at spreadsheets all day actually does…

And, if none of this is successful and you still look in the mirror and see the blank, unfulfilled face of a robot staring back at you, it’s time to come and see us at Recruit Mint. Our entire ethos is built on valuing everyone who walks through our door, understanding that their skills, talents and experiences are unique and that somewhere, out there, is an ideal job where they will fit right in and feel appreciated.

Or maybe, it simply is time for an oil change…

Recruitment Marketing Metrics That Matter - Measuring Campaign Effectiveness Beyond Applications

By Karl Montgomery • July 22, 2025
Here's a statement that will make every recruitment leader squirm: Your recruitment marketing is burning money, and you don't even know it. While you're celebrating that uptick in applications, your actual quality hires are plummeting. While you're patting yourself on the back for lower cost-per-application, your cost-per-quality-hire is spiralling out of control. And while you're obsessing over job board metrics, your competitors are leveraging recruitment marketing analytics to dominate the talent market. The harsh reality? 57% of marketers use leads to measure the success of their marketing initiatives. In recruitment terms, that's like judging a restaurant by how many people walk past the door instead of how many actually buy a meal and come back for more.

The Remote Work CV Gap - How to Address Employment Fluctuations During the Pandemic Era

By Karl Montgomery • July 22, 2025
Here's a controversial statement that'll ruffle some feathers: Your pandemic career gap is not the liability you think it is—it's actually your secret weapon. While you've been losing sleep over that employment gap between March 2020 and whenever you landed back on your feet, the recruitment landscape has fundamentally shifted. That gap you're trying to hide? It's become so commonplace that more than half (53%) of all candidates screened in the last 12 months have career gaps on their CVs, according to employment screening provider Accurate Background. The pandemic didn't just change how we work—it rewrote the rules of what employers expect from a CV. If you're still approaching your pandemic career gap resume with pre-2020 thinking, you're not just behind the curve; you're potentially sabotaging your chances with outdated anxiety.

Beyond the ATS: How Semantic Search and AI Are Changing Candidate Discovery

By Karl Montgomery • July 14, 2025
Here's an uncomfortable truth that most recruitment leaders won't admit: your current ATS is actively sabotaging your ability to find the best candidates . While you've been religiously adding keywords to job descriptions and hoping for algorithmic magic, the most talented professionals have been slipping through your digital fingers – not because they lack the skills, but because they don't speak your system's rigid language. The recruitment technology revolution isn't coming. It's here. And it's fundamentally rewriting the rules of candidate discovery in ways that make traditional keyword-based systems look as outdated as fax machines in a WhatsApp world. Welcome to the age of AI candidate search technology, where understanding context matters more than matching words, and where the smartest recruitment teams are already gaining an almost unfair advantage over those still stuck in Boolean search hell.

Salary Negotiation in the Age of Pay Transparency: How to Advocate for Your Worth Without Burning Bridges

By Karl Montgomery • July 14, 2025
Here's an uncomfortable truth: most of us are rubbish at negotiating our own worth . While 55% of job candidates don't even attempt to negotiate their salary, the very employers who'd benefit from their skills are sitting there wondering why talented people keep walking away from "generous" offers. But here's where it gets interesting – we're living through the biggest shift in workplace transparency since the gender pay gap reporting requirements landed in 2017. Pay transparency isn't just knocking at the UK's door; it's already reshaping how smart candidates approach salary conversations. The question isn't whether you should negotiate – it's whether you're equipped with the salary negotiation strategies that actually work in 2025.

The Food Manufacturing Skills Crisis: Bridging the Gap Between Industry 4.0 and Traditional Production Teams

By Karl Montgomery • May 14, 2025
The UK's food manufacturing sector stands at a critical crossroads. With advanced automation technologies revolutionising production processes, a significant disconnect has emerged between the sophisticated capabilities of Industry 4.0 systems and the skills of the existing workforce. This gap isn't just a minor operational challenge—it represents an existential threat to the sector's competitiveness, productivity, and long-term sustainability.

Last-Mile Innovation: How Logistics Leaders Are Redesigning Teams for the E-Commerce Era

By Karl Montgomery • May 14, 2025
The explosion of e-commerce has fundamentally transformed the logistics landscape, pushing traditional warehouse and distribution models beyond their limits. In the UK, where online penetration rates have increased from 9.3% to 26.6% between 2012 and 2022, logistics providers face mounting pressure to deliver faster, more flexible solutions while maintaining efficiency and controlling costs. This revolution isn't just changing what logistics teams do – it's transforming how they're structured, the skills they need, and the roles they're creating to meet the demands of the digital commerce age.

The Hidden Costs of Slow Hiring: Why Recruitment Efficiency Is Your Competitive Advantage

By Karl Montgomery • May 14, 2025
In today's fast-paced business environment, the ability to secure top talent quickly has become a critical competitive differentiator. Yet many organisations continue to struggle with prolonged hiring processes that not only frustrate candidates but also impact the bottom line in ways that often go unmeasured. While quality hiring decisions should never be rushed, there's a substantial difference between thorough assessment and unnecessary delays.

The Technical Interview Blueprint: How to Showcase Problem-Solving Skills Beyond Your CV

By Shazamme System User • May 12, 2025
In the competitive landscape of technical recruitment, your CV might secure you an interview, but it's your problem-solving prowess that will land you the job. Technical interviews have evolved far beyond simple knowledge checks, becoming sophisticated evaluations of how you approach challenges, communicate solutions, and adapt under pressure.

The Silent Dealbreaker: Why Candidates Reject Job Offers at the Last Minute

By Karl Montgomery • March 17, 2025
Picture this: after weeks of interviews, countless email exchanges, and meticulous CV screening, you've finally found the perfect candidate. The offer letter is sent, champagne is on ice—then silence. A few days later, the dreaded email arrives: "Thank you for the opportunity, but I've decided to pursue another option." Last-minute candidate rejections aren't just frustrating—they're expensive, time-consuming, and increasingly common in today's competitive job market. According to recent research by Robert Half UK, 42% of UK professionals have accepted a job offer but continued to interview for other roles. More alarmingly, 28% admitted to accepting an offer only to back out before starting. But why is this happening, and what can recruitment professionals and hiring managers do to prevent these eleventh-hour disappointments?

How Data-Driven Decision Making Can Transform Workforce Productivity

By Karl Montgomery • March 17, 2025
In today's competitive business landscape, intuition and experience remain valuable, but they're no longer sufficient on their own. UK businesses facing rising operational costs, increasing competition, and a challenging economic environment can no longer afford to make critical workforce decisions based on gut feeling alone. The difference between thriving and merely surviving increasingly depends on how effectively organisations leverage data to optimise their most valuable resource: their people. According to research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) , UK productivity growth has stagnated since the 2008 financial crisis, lagging behind other G7 nations. With the April 2025 minimum wage increases looming, businesses face growing pressure to extract maximum value from their workforce investments. The good news? The rise of workforce analytics provides unprecedented opportunities to identify inefficiencies, optimise performance, and cultivate environments where employees thrive. As Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Arts (RSA), noted in the UK Government's Good Work Review : "In a world of increasing workplace complexity, the organisations that thrive will be those that measure what matters and act on the insights." This blog explores how data-driven decision making can transform workforce productivity, examining practical approaches that UK businesses are implementing today with remarkable results.
Show More