Late May batch of links
Since the previous batch of links went out, paying subscribers received templates to perform outreach of their own and also encouragement for how to level up their presentations, and, yesterday, a guest interview to address online courses - what they’ve been and where they’re going. I hope in the weeks thereafter, as we slide into summer, to move over to some more personal topics on greater occasion and to finally tackle some more off-the-clock pursuits.
Below, you’ll find a batch of links that touch on the core themes of this newsletter: professional development, community building, and self care. I hope you enjoy perusing them.
This is how you are inadvertently being a bad boss. There’s an interesting moment in this podcast episode when the hosts realize that through their research they have discovered the same bad behavior common in their own workplaces. It underscored how routine we take and accept mediocre to lousy bosses.
Walmart is fast-tracking college grads to store manager roles that pay $210,000 a year.
‘Parents Are Always in the Parent Role’: When Adult Children Move Home in Crisis. There are some stats in this story about how many young adults are struggling so much this year. It’s been an overlooked topic for some time, and I commend this featured family for their willingness to speak openly about what’s happening.
Goldman Sachs says senior staff can take as much time off as they want.
Are You Happy? Your Boss Is Asking. I can’t help but walk away from this article feeling that many executives are obsessing over a metric that isn’t really measurable, and people leave companies for a wider variety of reasons, including but not limited to unhappiness. And that can all change quickly. And it’s hard to know what’s really happening from occasional surveys.
When a Relationship with a Colleague Goes Sour.
How employers are teaching young professionals emotional intelligence. This seems like the right set of questions to ask:
“They’re new, they don’t know how to navigate the organization, they may have never been to an office or met anyone they’re working with in person,” Lamm said. “How can you help them think about that? How can you help them build adaptability, demonstrate curiosity and learn the business?”
Post-pandemic, four years of college steadily loses its appeal.
Glass art called to him, so he left Home Depot to make marbles. “He figured if he failed, he could always go back.” This is a key piece of the whole segment of people quitting their jobs. He took the risk because if it didn’t pay off, there wasn’t much to lose. He’ll be better off in the long run for giving this a shot, regardless of whether it sticks or not.
Carrot vs. stick: Can you hack your productivity with punishment?
Some Minority Workers, Tired of Workplace Slights, Say They Prefer Staying Remote. People have this tendency to comment on other people’s appearance, defaulting to it as a way toward connecting with the person sitting in front of them, when it’s actually some percentage of the time not an effective tool to achieve that. I am not in the demographic that this article addresses, but I can tell you I didn’t enjoy it when I had a manager who far too often berated my choice of clothing. Maybe we can try to leave behind all of those comments of what you see on someone’s body?
Shaky Wifi, a stained blazer, forgotten lunch: Going back to the office was harder than expected.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shares the No. 1 trait you need to land a job there. Lol, I guessed the trait from the headline alone. This has less to do with Chesky or Airbnb, more to do with what gets you hired today. It’s relatively easy to beat the test, if you’d like to figure out how to take that trait. At many companies nowadays, it must be demonstrated. People want to work with people they’ll want to work with.
Burnout and America’s great resignation: how employers can help.
Americans are stepping off the ‘hamster wheel’ and redefining what success looks like. Been hearing a lot of this from people I sit down with this year:
But there’s something to the idea of hitting a reset button, especially after the eight years he’s spent working as a nurse. He’s feeling burnt out and disillusioned about the health care industry. “I’d probably have less money, but I bet I would be happier,” Sam says.