Are Salary Listings a False Promise?

After seeing posted pay ranges on job adverts, some workers are frustrated by what seem like low-ball salary offers. Recruiters say candidates are reading the numbers wrong. Plus, what's the future of coworking?

In the age of public salary-range listings, some jobseekers feel duped

In October, US-based Mary submitted an online application for a communications job at a large multinational firm. She satisfied or exceeded all the requirements for the role, so she requested a figure in the top quartile of the salary range listed in the job description. Within 24 hours, Mary had been notified of her rejection with an automated email.

A few days later, she got a private tip from an acquaintance in the company's recruiting department: the desired salary she wrote was too high, and the company had no intention of honouring the full range it listed in the job posting. The algorithm used to screen applications had simply eliminated her.

Many jobseekers like Mary are shocked to learn the salaries they see listed in job adverts may not actually be available to them. Candidates are angry. Recruiters say they're merely following standard practice. Who is right?

→Read more from Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza

After WeWork's bankruptcy, what is the future of coworking?

WeWork as we know it is gone. Once valued at $47bn (￡38bn), on 6 Nov, the global coworking company filed for Chapter 11 in New Jersey, US. With the news, its share price quickly tumbled , leaving the business valued at less than $50m (￡41m). Although some locations will remain open, WeWork has begun closing offices around the world.

The company's collapse has been spectacular, in part due to the riveting story of its rise and fall , documented on screen in a 2022 miniseries with Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto. Its name looms large in the public imagination, where "WeWork" has become practically synonymous with "coworking", like "Kleenex" to "tissue" or "Google" to "search".

The coworking world stands to feel ripples in the wake of WeWork's high profile bankruptcy. Yet, the company's recent challenges come at a time of quiet but historic growth in office-share world. Experts say that as WeWork fades, the need and desire for coworking will remain – and other players stand poised to seize the opportunity.

→Read more from Jared Lindzon

How EcoVadis is holding global corporations accountable

Valérie Busser-Touchon, chief impact officer of EcoVadis, joins the BBC for its new Executive Lounge series to talk about how corporate social responsibility and business goals don't have to be at odds.

→Read more from Omose Ighodaro

PLUS: Ina Garten talks on how she works for the BBC's new unscripted interview show, Influential with Katty Kay

• Watch the interview

Thanks for reading.

— Meredith Turits, Editor, BBC Business Features