An early September batch of links
Since the most recent batch of links went out, paying subscribers received a primer on neurodiversity, a reflection from me about why you shouldn’t exclusively hire the smartest people in the room, then everyone got a replacement for a batch of links while I was OoO, then paying subscribers read an essay on what you should be asking at job interviews, and finally a set of interviews with boomeranging employees about what this year, of all years, has meant for them. This coming weekend, paying subscribers will enjoy a short introduction from me about transforming oneself at work, followed by the republishing of an essay I composed this summer for another newsletter.
Below, you’ll find a batch of recent links that cover the themes of this newsletter, which are career development, community building, and self care.
They’ve Been Friends for 60 Years. Lew and Bobby Have Figured Out What Most Men Don’t. This is a massive step forward for men, if we believe that these gentleman are endemic of a new generation of aging Americans who are in touch with themselves and afterward as a result better in touch with others. It would be a real legacy for the boomer generation to set a standard of male loved ones being close at hand as well as at heart.
Cities to Cruise Ships: You’re Bringing Too Many Tourists Here. I love this story, which illuminates a certain type of cruise consumer that hadn’t dawned on me before but makes perfect sense with how and why (some) people cruise.
The endless battle to banish the world’s most notorious stalker website.
Where in the World Are People Back in the Office? This is so not the solution, it’s really unbelievable to me that anyone is making this mistake in the name of progress:
This year, Mr. van Rossum asked his employees to begin working in the office at least two days a week. He tried to make the experience enjoyable by carving out time for levity. Every meeting starts with a nonwork-related icebreaker, like a game of telephone.
Finance firms crack down on hybrid work as staff rebel. It’s starting to sound like whatever policy a company puts into place will be accepted provided that the policy stops changing. It’s been hard for people to adjust to new norms, both practically and philosophically. We should expect people to move around, if they can, as a result of policies being different all over in comparison, but not to fluctuate within one company.
The Fed cares a lot about jobs data — but it may be getting mixed signals.
Are liberal arts degrees worthless? ‘Employers don’t care what you major in,’ says career expert. This is among the most persistently irritating ongoing cultural conversations. There are loads of reasons to be a liberal arts major, and businesses today appreciate those things perhaps more than the same businesses did a decade ago. This never should have been an issue, and it’s a testament to how little most people understand about businesses and business skills.
Diamond Prices Are in Free Fall in One Key Corner of the Market.
Getting Promoted Often Leads to Jumping Ship, New Data Reveal. This isn’t that surprising, is it? People want to reach the top of their salary band and then to start the next band rather than to break the band. Odds are less likely they’ll be promoted again at the same company any time soon.
Is RTO being used to slim staff instead of layoffs?
Movers See All, and They Have Thoughts on Your Relationship.
“And then I realized what was happening,” Mr. DeFabrizio said. “Daniel and their partner would get into some sort of fight and it’s like, ‘I’m calling the movers!’ And they would always make up in the morning and not break up. And I’m like, Daniel, I can’t be a part of this, this toxic relationship.”
For Some Gen Xers, Skateboarding Is for Life.
Burned Out at Work? Find Someone to Split Your Job 50-50 With You.
Companies need to think less about how much time someone is spending at their actual job and more about whether they are getting the most important work accomplished, she argued at the time. But not many companies changed their way of thinking until recently.