Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. I write this weekly newsletter so subscribers can see some of the things I’m writing and sharing without depending on social media algorithms to show them to you. Each week I’ll share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and important information about privacy, security, and legal tech.
You can find out all about me here - Mike McBride Online.
If you haven’t seen the TikTok trends about “Girl Math” and “Boy Math” they are pretty entertaining, but by far my favorite variation was this playlist covering “Corporate Math”. Some examples:
Corporate Math is saying there’s no money to give you a raise right now, but please do the work of your superior for the next 8-12 months.
Corporate Math is forcing one worker to do the work of three and then blaming their failure on a lack of time management.
It’s giving unlimited time off and then shaming a worker who takes more than a week's vacation.
Corporate math is scheduling back-to-back meetings all day and then asking why you didn't get your work done...
It goes on from there in the videos and the comments. Frankly, some of it is funny and some of it hits a little too close to home to be funny. If you know, you know.
Give us your own definition of “Corporate Math” or, one I’m also curious about, “Law Firm Math”.
Also this week:
Careers and the Workplace
Linked - Looking for a Job While the World is Falling Apart
The difference between being informed and being overwhelmed often comes down to being able to turn the news off, set boundaries around our social media use, and so on. But it can be especially difficult to do that when your day isn't filled with things you have to do.
This is an interesting reminder - Taylor Swift Just Did Something Incredibly Simple, Yet It's a Powerful Example of Emotional Intelligence. Clean up after yourself, even when it's someone else's job to clean the suite because you respect them.
This is a fun rant, but also an important message. We need to talk about how much the office sucks for many people, and what we could do instead to retain those people:
Training and Development
Here's the challenge for those of you who want to lead. If someone in a meeting says something using jargon that you aren't sure everyone in the meeting understands but is afraid to admit they don't understand, ask the question on their behalf. Show them that asking questions is a good thing, and model the behavior that says learning is so important here that we ask questions without fear.
It also sends the message that we expect everyone to take the time and explain things to each other. That's a big part of having a learning culture.
This has always been an important skill for training, and anyone who needs to convey information or be persuasive - Why storytelling may be the secret to success at work
We know too much stress is bad for us, but how bad? - How stress weathers our bodies, causing illness and premature aging
Mental Health in the Workplace
We congratulate people who overwork, but we should probably be worried about them instead - The Hidden Cost of Overworking: A Look at Emotional Well-Being
Tools for Managers to Help Employees with Their Mental Health Challenges - these could prove helpful.
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
This is a good intro if you’re not familiar with passkeys - Passkeys are the end of passwords, and, yes, you want them
This has always been an effective hacking tool - Social Engineering Reemerges
One More Case About Hyperlinked Files as Modern Attachments - Doug Austin with more on the question of linked files in emails.
It’s not just that “X” seems to have no idea how to fight bots and scammers anymore that makes me question their test of charging $1 per year to create a new account, it’s questioning who would trust them with their payment information.
This is always good to remember - Be On Alert; That HR Email Could Be A Phishing Email!
That’s all folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put in each week to share this with you.