Business Spotlight – Nr.6 2026

Summary

Two brothers remeasured a mountain to track climate change, Blake Mycookie built a cookie empire he cannot handle, and American investors are buying English football clubs — Business Spotlight Issue 6/2026 asks a question every professional needs to answer: are you wasting time at work? The cover feature "Top time-wasters at work — and how to stop them" (p.36) identifies the biggest productivity killers, from notification loops to meeting sprawl. The geography feature follows two siblings who climbed and remeasured Mount Everest to collect glacier data.

The issue's trends section covers new colours for food (natural vs artificial), virtual-reality empathy training for workplace discrimination, and the economics of unpaid care work. Each article is graded EASY (E), MEDIUM (M), or ADVANCED (A). The head-to-head debate tackles whether social media posts should influence hiring decisions.

Regular sections include The Big Picture, Names and News, Profile, Innovation, Head-to-Head, Economy, Sport, Technology, Business Skills, Communication, English for…, Skill Up!, and Test. The quiz tests knowledge of brand names and origins.

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Content Guide

▸ Business Skills / Productivity

p.36 · Top Time-Wasters at Work — and How to Stop Them
The article names 4 specific time-wasters: notification switching (costing 23 minutes per interruption), unnecessary meetings, perfectionism in low-impact tasks, and context-switching between apps. Each time-waster includes a measurable fix. Try the "2-minute rule" tomorrow — if a task takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately rather than adding it to a list.

▸ Geography / Climate

p.20 · How Do You Measure a Mountain?
Two brothers, both scientists, remeasured Mount Everest and discovered that the glacier on its south face has lost 30 meters of ice since 2019. Their method combines GPS surveying and ground-penetrating radar. The article (MEDIUM level) uses comparative structures: "the glacier is 30 meters thinner than it was."

▸ Technology / Workplace

p.32 · Virtual Empathy — How VR Helps Build Understanding at Work
Companies including Accenture and Coca-Cola now use VR simulations to help employees experience workplace bias. The article (ADVANCED level) reports that 78 percent of participants changed their behaviour after a VR session. HR professionals can use this statistic when advocating for empathy-training budgets.

▸ Profile / Business

p.12 · Blake Mycookie — Struggling With Success
Blake Mycookie founded a cookie brand that grew 300 percent year-on-year but says he is "struggling with success." The profile (MEDIUM) covers his journey from home baker to employing 120 staff. The language focus is on cause-and-effect connectors: "due to," "as a result of," "leading to."

▸ Sport / Finance

p.30 · Why American Investors Love English Football
American private equity firms now own stakes in 8 of the 20 English Premier League clubs. The article (MEDIUM level) explains the financial logic: global broadcast rights worth 10 billion dollars over 3 years and rising US viewership. Use the article to practise numbers and statistics vocabulary.

▸ Head-to-Head / Ethics

p.24 · Should Social Media Posts Influence Hiring Decisions?
Two HR experts debate. The affirmative side argues that public posts reveal character; the negative side cites research showing that 43 percent of employers who screened social media admitted to discarding candidates based on protected characteristics. The article (ADVANCED) practises hedging language: "could be argued that," "it is questionable whether."

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Editor's Take

Issue 6/2026 is one of the strongest Business Spotlight editions this year, with a genuinely useful cover topic, a fascinating geography feature, and a timely VR empathy article. The time-wasters piece is the standout — specific, measurable, and immediately applicable. The Blake Mycookie profile adds a lighter touch without losing the business learning focus. The weakest entry is The Big Picture on food colours, which feels thin compared to the rest of the issue. The quiz on brand names is a welcome interactive break.

Strengths
• Time-wasters cover feature with measurable productivity fixes
• Everest glacier data combines geography with climate vocabulary
• VR empathy training article with hard participation data

Weaknesses
• Food colours Big Picture lacks depth
• No dedicated finance or money vocabulary feature

Verdict: Recommended — Buy for the time-wasters productivity guide; the Everest story makes this a memorable issue for self-study learners.