Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #108
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Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #108
Thinking of going back to the office all day every day? Prepare for lots of turnover
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.
I shared this link earlier this week, mostly because of this stat:
Meanwhile, a staggering 76% of employees stand ready to jump ship if their companies decide to pull the plug on flexible work schedules, according to the Greenhouse report. Moreover, employees from historically underrepresented groups are 22% more likely to consider other options if flexibility comes to an end.
Let’s face it, if employees have had the flexibility that comes with hybrid or fully remote work and gotten the job done, taking away that flexibility is just punishing them for no good reason. The author can talk about cognitive biases and the anchor fact but it all still comes down to a job that can be done in a lot of different ways, and management deciding their way is the only option.
Given a choice, why work for someone like that?
Many companies who went full-time back to the office expected some turnover, but it appears that turnover has still been significantly higher than expected. I’ve seen many a statistic showing how quickly fully remote positions get filled compared to other options, and how new hires take less money to be remote.
One thing is clear, there is a significant percentage of the workforce who has no desire to be tied to an office every day, myself included. There are far more benefits to working remotely than downsides. Just not commuting adds so much time to the day and lowers the cost of working enough that going back to an office seems crazy.
And, I don’t have kids or parents to take care of. Those folks need flexibility, why would they give it up?
What would it take for you to give up a flexible working situation?
Careers and the Workplace
Should Everyone Be Passive Job Seeking?
Networking can open us up to a variety of opportunities. It can be making friends, learning from each other, and even finding new job opportunities. It might look like passive job-seeking no matter what our intentions are, but in 2023 is passively looking for your next job not a good idea anyway?
Speaking of networking:
You Must Define Your Own Work Life Balance - It might not be leaving at 5 every day for you, which is why flexibility is so key.
Training and Development
Check out the episodes from the Talent Development Leader Podcast, there might be one or two that interest you.
The legal industry has had quite a week. One that makes me assume that the training we do around sexual harassment clearly isn’t working. I, literally, just finished reading Maribel Rivera’s plea for us to do more than a quick training video and social media push in the wake of what happened at CS Disco, when I opened up an email and saw this - Biglaw Partner Accuses Firm Of 'Callous Gaslighting' In $20 Million Sexual Harassment Lawsuit. Whatever training we’re doing is not making enough of a dent in the culture. The claims in that lawsuit are gross. They are the kind of thing that many of us assume were left behind in the days of Mad Men, but for too many law firm partners, those days never ended.
Their days in the legal industry should be ended for them.
Mental Health in the Workplace
6 tips to help you manage your day AND your anxiety when working from home - It can’t be a struggle.
I’d make the argument in a simpler fashion - you don’t owe them - but there is more to be said on the topic: How To Disconnect From Work Without Feeling Guilty
CPTSD In The Workplace: Creating Connection - How do I connect with my team when CPTSD makes it difficult to connect with people?
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
Linked - Microsoft leaks 38TB of private data via unsecured Azure storage
As the article mentions, Microsoft does not make it easy to manage SAS tokens in bulk. It's pretty easy to have a bunch of Azure data blob storage items lying around for years with active SAS tokens that were totally forgotten about.
Two Separate Courts Reiterate That Online Age Authentication Mandates Are Unconstitutional - I’m not a lawyer or Constitutional scholar, but this seems pretty obvious.
This is interesting. Lots of tech providers are on board, but will the lawyers understand it and trust it? - EDRM Announces Platforms Incorporating Email Duplicate Identification Specification: EDRM MIH
Lastly, it’s never a bad time to be reminded - Understanding Phishing Emails: How to Spot and Avoid Them
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.