A mid-May batch of links
Since the most recent batch of links went out, paying subscribers received a meditation on earnestness, followed by a description of how you must balance quantity with quality at once. This coming weekend they’ll enjoy an essay about where to find your people.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links that represent the themes of this newsletter, which are career development, community building, and self care.
A Professor’s Final Gift to Her Students: Her Life Savings. I love this story so much. People stuck with her, stood by her, dealt with her. And she knew what she was like, and she wanted to repay her. They got what they were deserving of for prizing the person.
‘All mothers sacrifice’: Despite hardship, my mom made sure I had the things that really matter.
My Friends and I Are Rethinking Our Spending Because of Economic Anxiety. This was organized very well, covering some of the basics of what I remember feeling stress about. It’s good that he and his friends are more upfront about these issues with one another than I was. I hid from it all, which further held me back and gave me too much distance from the people I really needed to be speaking with and turning to for comfort, perhaps even some answers.
‘Everybody’s Replaceable’: The New Ways Bosses Talk About Workers. “Workers like Donnie Donselman, who recently worked for a technology-services firm, can sense the new power dynamic. As he applies for new tech jobs, the 47-year-old has noticed that many companies now want applicants to do so many tasks, a position is essentially “three jobs” in one.” I really hate this casting by both the reporter of the power dynamic and of the source for talking about work demands in such a limited manner. There are better talking points here for all parties involved that match to what’s going on.
A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship.
Peak performer or workaholic? Why HR leaders need to watch out for hyper-productive employees. It may be a function of my age, but when people brag about how many hours per week they work, I am not impressed. Instead, I wonder if they actually have any clue how many hours per week they work. It’s not a brag how they believe it is.
Adults Are Now Obsessed With Roblox, Thanks to This Fashion Game.
There’s now a feature that allows users the opportunity to explore and educate themselves on subcultures and fashion trends. “I knew some of them, like Y2K, that’s pretty popular, but something like punk, for instance,” she says, “it’s a fashion aesthetic, but it’s not just that. It’s also a movement.” Dress to Impress gives users ample space to interpret these loose themes as they see fit—that’s often what scores you a winning ticket.
Why work requirements for Medicaid "don't work".
‘A five-hour work day is the only way I can still have a career’.
“Everywhere that I was applying for jobs, nobody would take me at the level that I had worked previously, because I’d come out and I’d done what I needed to do for my family.
Fewer Foreign Workers Are Eyeing U.S. Jobs.
Social Security confusion: Yahoo Finance readers speak out. Good explainer. I like this type of service journalism based around what readers are asking. I don’t like advice columns, generally. This as a sprinkle on top of regular coverage makes sense to me to address the concerns of people during a time of uncertainty.
The minimum wage is now coming for white-collar work.
A stealth alternative to layoffs.
But layoffs also come with a significant downside. Studies show they create a culture of fear, which affects the productivity and performance of the employees who survive — perhaps even as much as an RTO mandate would. When it comes to making cuts to their workforces, employers are going to pay a price no matter how they go about it. The question is: What's the best way to mitigate the negative consequences in the current environment?