New analysis from The Human Times, the curated HR newsletter read by over 60,000 senior HR leaders and executives, reveals the topics that mattered most in Q3 and where attention is shifting in 2025.
Workforce stories dominated
The most-read stories focused on retention, culture and productivity. Despite post-pandemic normalisation, “quiet quitting” and disengagement continue to shape organisational strategy. HR leaders clicked most on articles showing how major companies are redesigning performance models, tackling burnout, and rebuilding connection with employees.
Regulatory change also remained a high-engagement topic, especially stories covering AI in hiring, hybrid working rules, and disputes within large corporates. C-SUITE and Executive readers made up more than half of all clicks on the top story of the quarter.
A newsletter that has become habit
Across all regions:
- 21,000+ readers opened The Human Times weekly
- 9,300+ opened it four times a week
- Employees from 2,400+ organisations are regular readers
- Professional Services, Financial Services and Banking accounted for the highest concentration of frequent readers
- New subscriptions were also senior: 32% of new joiners held executive-level roles.
Employee Benefits stood out in sponsored content
One clear trend emerged: Employee Benefits drove strong engagement from senior HR leaders.
Campaigns covering flexible benefits, total rewards, financial wellbeing and parental leave saw high click-through rates. But more importantly, 54% of all clicks on benefits campaigns came from Executive and C-SUITE readers. For vendors in benefits, wellbeing or reward, this is a rare level of direct access to decision-makers.
Sponsors reported increases in form fills, webinar registrations and lead quality, driven by practical assets such as guides, benchmarking and policy examples from real companies.
The takeaway
HR leaders want concise, credible intelligence that helps them move fast. Employee benefits is rising as a strategic priority for retention, EVP and wellbeing.
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