Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #120
There's Remote Work, Work From Home, and this week, Work Mostly From Bed
Should we call it WMFB?
As you may recall, I work remotely. Most of the time, that is from home, but occasionally it has been from a hotel or other location that is not my home.
Last week, though, I made the trip to visit the office. It was a chance to meet the team, reunite with former and current coworkers, and visit some friends. It was a good week to do so because with the holiday party happening, hybrid folks were more likely to be around, and I could meet as much of the team as possible.
It was fun, I enjoyed myself. Then, I returned home and tested positive for COVID.
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.
There’s a lot I could say about this experience, but I also realize that whatever I say about it would be anecdotal, not proof of some far-reaching policies that should be considered. We’d need far more data to make those kinds of calls.
What I will say is this. People with symptoms should never feel a need to come to an office to do office work. I’ve always been able to do my job remotely; this week was no exception. I might need to lie down and take more breaks, but I can keep working. Most of your office workforce should be able to do the same and not feel guilty about it.
I don’t know if my illness resulted from the office, the holiday party, the hotel, or other encounters during the week in Columbus. Still, it certainly makes me appreciate the ability to not go anywhere during the cold and flu season. I hate being sick.
Nevertheless, this week’s thought-provoking things are a little lighter than normal because I’ve been sleeping more than normal. Here’s hoping your company holiday party doesn’t leave you with unwanted gifts.
Careers and the Workplace
Where is the Real Value That We Should Measure?
We measure what people watch because it's easy. Then we make that the stand-in for the information we need to know, why they stay subscribers. Why they subscribe is a more complicated question, but it's the question that matters if you're selling subscriptions.
Are we there yet? - The End of Retirement
"Want to keep your house? Support your kids? Stay alive? Never stop working."
This is not a surprise - Most HR pros say RTO is creating a retention problem.
Something from the archives - Linked: The young and unemployed need better networks.
Training and Development
Career Management Involves Both the Manager and the Employee - a collection of ideas about career development from both perspectives.
It’s true. You can overwhelm people with too much change at once. - When Designing Employee Learning Programs, Less Is More
Mental Health in the Workplace
Linked - The ripple effects of layoffs
It's December, and the number of organizations conducting layoffs keeps growing. It's been a never-ending cycle of layoffs. Let's not kid ourselves and assume that everyone is feeling OK about that. Let's not ignore the mental health elephant in the room, let alone the damage to workplace culture. And let's also acknowledge that leaders who have conducted any layoffs do not get the benefit of the doubt regarding trust. There's simply no reason to trust you.
Do more than the basics - Don't Just Check the Box, Again: Authentic Approaches to Mental Health at Work in 2024
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
How to talk to older people in your life about scams - Scammers tend to target older individuals, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have that same conversation with everyone.
Generative AI and the Evidence it Creates
Oh, this is great - Marketing Company Claims That It Actually Is Listening to Your Phone and Smart Speakers to Target Ads.
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.