Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #124
It's cold in Louisiana too.
As many of my coworkers, family, and friends like to remind me, the state where I live does not do well with cold weather. They also like to remind me that 17 degrees Fahrenheit is also “not that cold.”
Yes, there have been plenty of places colder this week; 17 degrees is enough to shut down our corner of the world because when there is ice on the roads here, there are no salt trucks or infrastructure to make the roads safe.
We wait it out at home. When it melts, we go back to normal. And it usually melts within a day or two.
When you work from home, the weather does not cause any interruption at all.
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. 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.
Which leads me to my point. If you’re a company that has forced everyone to return to the office five days a week, closed the office due to the extreme weather conditions, and expected your employees to work from home those days, you suck.
You suck because you obviously recognize that the work can be done without being in the office, you just only want that flexibility when it benefits you, not your employees.
If your company did that, I’m sorry. They suck. That’s all I can say.
Careers and the Workplace
Network Now, Because It's Likely You Will Be Laid Off Eventually
Greg offers up some great networking advice, but maybe the best thing he offers is a reality check. It's better to be prepared. It's better to have a plan, and it's always better to have more connections when you find yourself looking for your next gig. Don't wait to be without a job before forming connections with people in your industry. Prepare to be laid off because sooner or later, it might be you getting the call from HR, and as many of us can tell you, how you performed as an individual in your job won't matter in the end.
We all need to get better at this:
Frankly, I’m surprised it’s only 25% - Quarter of employees do not trust their CEO
Training and Development
All the latest information - L&D Trends Map - 2023 L&D Trends
And who you should be following to keep up with what’s coming in 2024 - 50 learning professionals to keep an eye on in 2024
Mental Health in the Workplace
Employee Wellness Plans Are Likely Making No Difference
The research from the UK seems to indicate that many of our workplaces are just spinning their wheels with these programs while ignoring the real issues. The things that cause the high stress and burnout are systemic, and we're just telling people to meditate. That's not a solution; it's offloading the responsibility of creating a sustainable workplace for individual employees.
Given that news, though, we should be thinking much bigger about this - You can’t ignore mental health at work.
This is widespread, no doubt. - How to Overcome Self-Doubt at Work.
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
If you missed the announcement - Microsoft Eliminates 300 Seat Requirement for Copilot.
Linked - Surveyed drivers prefer low-tech cars over data-sharing ones
Remember when Google bragged about being the “Do no evil” company? - Chrome updates Incognito warning to admit Google tracks users in “private” mode.
Interesting things to consider - Episode 128: eDiscovery Implications of Facial Recognition Technology: Lessons from State v. Arteaga.
Cory Doctorow has some interesting points about spammers and scammers and how AI might worsen it.
But did we sign up for our car to be sending that information about our favorite places to advertisers and insurance companies? I'm betting not. It's a little icky to know that these companies will know where you've been and how you got there.
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.