A late July batch of links
Since the most recent batch of links went out, paying subscribers received a meditation on online gambling, then an essay about being a clown, pegged to “Top Chef.” This coming weekend, they will enjoy a recommendation on how to manage homework assignments given during a job application process.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links related to the themes of this newsletter, which are career development, community building, and self care.
Say Goodbye to the Office Birthday Party (Thank Goodness). I got myself cited substantially in this story. I hope you’ll enjoy it and agree with the points I made - and also have a glance at the insane picture I got into print (!) this coming wonderful weekend.
A quarter of bosses admit their return-to-office mandates were meant to make staff quit.
Is ‘Rizz’ the Secret to Getting Ahead at Work? I’m selling on this as a trend. I don’t think it’s fruitful to pursue this path, especially if it requires an outside consultant. We should have more managers who sense that rizz is not natural for some of their direct reports deprioritize it in favor of other areas and pursuits.
Why don’t straight men read novels? “In our increasingly time-poor, grind-obsessed hellscape — 7-9 gym, 9-5 work, and 5-9 side hustle — coming up for air from being a cog and curling up with a novel just because you want to is a borderline sensual pleasure.” I used to subscribe to this belief, and I have since course-corrected. I am on pace this year to read the most books I have since my college years, when they were assigned.
5 leaders share best practices for bringing employees together.
Can Religion Make You Happier? I like a lot the distinction here that it’s not a distrust of God that leads people not to connect rather it’s a distrust of the institutions that exist in their immediate area, available to them. That’s consistent with what I have heard from people over the past decade, thoughtful about where they go and who they turn to, beyond more simple belief.
The AI boyfriend business is booming.
Workplace jargon reflects changing power dynamics. The language around work is changing for a very specific reason, which is that the business jargon covers up bad workers, and people see through it for what it is more so now than before. In a tougher climate, nobody has time for that nonsense anymore. I do object, however, to the notion that workers and employers are jostling for position against one another.
This Summer’s Shopping Trend Is a Minimalist’s Nightmare.
Is the Great Resignation 2.0 coming? Nearly 3 in 10 workers plan to quit this year: Survey. I disagree with everything in this story, including the survey being dispatched and done. What I’ll say is that it doesn’t represent what’s happening out there in practicality, which is people cherishing their jobs at the moment, even if they don’t see themselves remaining on staff there for long. Those are different things than what’s being reported and presented in this story.
Healthcare costs are projected to rise to highest levels in 13 years next year.
Workers would take a demotion or pay cut to avoid being laid off. I have thought about this issue a lot over the years, whether if a company executive told the team that they were going through hard times if people would volunteer to take pay cuts, with the hope that the business would dig itself out. I did this gladly to keep my job in April 2020, only to leave the company 9 months later when I didn’t have faith it would return to its better years. I suspect in non-pandemic times this offer isn’t made because that’s not really what the company wants, rather to move in a different direction without.
Why Gen Z are turning to finance jobs – and it’s not (only) for the money.
How Young People Feel About Biden Dropping Out and Harris As the Likely Nominee.
Biden stepping out is, I believe, a decent example of unity. At least he’s listening to his party and not trying to streamline propaganda into everyone’s minds to fake that he’s still fit for [the] presidency. But more than ever, I am scared for what the future holds.”