An early July batch of links
Since the most recent batch of links went out, paying subscribers received a long correspondence I had with someone from my past and present, then a meditation on fixing what can be fixed. In addition, in a bonus column, all subscribers read my reflections on giving advice that I shared with a reporter, upon request. This coming weekend, paying subscribers will receive an essay about online sports gambling.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links that cover the themes of this newsletter, which are career development, community building, and self care.
The Maggid Method: The Impact of Shared Pulpits: A Unique Approach to Synagogue Sermons. After I delivered my annual sermon at my synagogue last January, I got myself invited onto a podcast to discuss what I’d written and delivered - and why. At last, that interview has been edited and published. The YouTube version is what I linked to, but you can find it on Apple or Spotify, if you prefer the podcast version. I’m eager to hear your feedback, if you have it, about what I believe to be true about communal leadership.
People Are Feeling Stuck in Their Jobs. Bosses Are Starting to Worry.
Break Your Runner-Up Streak at Work. A lot of good wisdom here. I relate to much of it. In 2017, after being passed up for a raise and a promotion I’d asked for, I wound up looking for my next thing elsewhere. A few months later, when I gave notice, my manager at the time was incredibly supportive about it, saying I’d gone and got the job she couldn’t give to me. I appreciated that she had understood that it was time for me to set off, set apart.
Why more young people are signing up for AARP memberships.
The companies that want young people to think about death. I placed this story on behalf of a portfolio company. It wound up being an interesting subject for me to read about in its own right. “For the most part, these companies are trying to meet young people where they are. That means approaching them at transitional periods — leaving home, going to college, or getting their first professional job — with influencer campaigns on TikTok and Instagram that explain how a will or trust might be relevant to them.”
Gen Z's never-ending safety net.
Trying to look busy is a wasteful, but often necessary, part of many jobs.
“The more time that employees have to spend being performatively busy, the less likely they’re doing things that are actually translating to outcomes,” he says, adding that trying to look busy often requires dedicating extra time to getting things done. “The more people get busy, the more they get worn out, the more they get burnt out, stressed out, and that can have negative consequences for well-being in the long run.”
Companies are beefing up 'emotional salary' to address today's disengaged workers.
White-Collar Work Is Just Meetings Now. “Complaining about meetings is like complaining about telemarketers, or modern political parties: an unoriginal protest, perhaps, but fundamentally justified.” I disagree. The people who complain about meetings are the ones who are enjoying meetings, likely scheduling them. It’s taboo for them to admit they love meetings. People who don’t love meetings don’t attend meetings enough to complain about them.
The New Age of Endless Parenting.
The new normal of office life.
Offering flexible working patterns in a decent place that makes it easy to do the job you’re paid for is a basic recipe for success in a world where we seem highly unlikely to go back to working the way we did before 2020.
Are We Talking About Therapy Too Much?
We deserve a more nuanced conversation about working moms.
Averages can mask a lot, too. White women tend to experience higher motherhood penalties than Black and Hispanic women, but the magnitude of the penalty has gone down significantly for all women over the last 50 years, thanks to factors such as increased educational attainment and mothers returning more quickly to work after having kids. In some fields, there’s no penalty at all.
American Workers Have Quit Quitting, for Now.
Most women in new survey struggle to prioritize their health. It definitely does feel as though there isn’t enough time in the day to prioritize personal health and wellness, and either people have always felt this way, and there was less chatter about it than of late, or there was simply less on people’s plates then to allow people to get to the self care components they prioritize.