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 had a recruiter reach out to me this week. He works for a third-party but laid out exactly what company he was working for and the position they were looking to fill.
This is a rather well-known company in the eDiscovery space. I recognized the name. I know some people who have worked there.
The email asked me if I was happy at my current company, and about how their company culture would align well with what I’ve been doing at my current company but provide more opportunities.
You might now be asking what my current company is since I’ve been laid off for a couple of months now.
That would be Mike McBride Online. My website and newsletter. The company I am listed as the owner of on the business LinkedIn page.
The dude was just copy/pasting stuff from LinkedIn and dropping it into his boilerplate email, not realizing how dumb it sounds.
Luckily I know some recruiters who are better than this, but if this sounds like your recruiters, be better. Also, companies, maybe keep in mind how bad your recruiting partners are making you look. I know I’m not interested in working there after this. (I wouldn’t have been interested in the position anyway, but this puts the icing on the cake for that decision.)
What kind of lazy recruiting emails have you gotten recently?
Careers and the Workplace
The Important Question - What is all this Productivity For Anyway?
Which got me thinking, if we are taking vacation time, sick time, or even going with a four-day workweek because it will help us come back and be more productive workers, then why bother? Is that all we are? Does everything we do, including what we do outside of work, have to revolve around our jobs?
Since layoffs are still a thing - The Ultimate Layoff Survival Guide: How To Rebound From A Job Loss
It’s not just me saying it - HubSpot says remote employees are more engaged, just as productive
Training and Development
Implicit in the argument for RTO due to training and mentorship is the expectation that you actually offer training, which you probably don't according to Work in Progress:
Gen Z Career Crisis: Bad Managers Replacing Young Workers Jobs With AI - and even if entry-level workers get to keep a job editing the output of generative AI tools, will they ever get credit for anything that would lead to a promotion or the opportunity to develop new skills?
Want to learn a new skill set? Here’s how with no classroom required.
Mental Health in the Workplace
The Gap Between What Management Thinks about Mental Health and What Employees Experience
Leaders often throw benefits out to solve the problem, when work might actually be the problem. A great employee assistance program, health insurance that fairly covers mental healthcare, heck maybe they even threw in a few meditation app subscriptions for free. "See, we care!"
But the employee is quietly suffering from a lack of any connection to coworkers, poor communication with their boss, workplace stress, or even bullying and harassment, with no one in leadership to talk to. That's not going to make them feel like you care.
Sharing – The Essential Role Of Mental Health For A Diverse, Inclusive Workplace
That’s a lot of very skilled, talented people who you won’t be able to attract if you ignore mental health.
Need a mental health day? - Taking a Pause: Essential Tips for Maximizing Your Mental Health Day
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
This week I shared a few things about M365:
Microsoft Teams Collaborative Meeting Notes - my impressions of this new feature. Paid subscribers to my M365 newsletter also got the lowdown on my eDiscovery testing of meeting notes.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Cost Revealed at $30/user per Month - the sticker price is going to give some organizations pause, it’ll be a huge budget item for large companies and a significant extra cost to smaller ones. I predict, however, that many will look at the math this way; if CoPilot makes my staff 10% more productive, maybe I need 10% less staff. This is how the job replacement begins, around the edges.
Microsoft Bows to Pressure to Free Up Cloud Security Logs - It wasn’t a good look when the news got out about the Chinese hacking into M365 mailboxes and the very short log retention you get without paying extra made it impossible for security pros to investigate. On the other hand, I know many an organization that exports these logs out into another tool in order to keep them longer.
Speaking of security tools for M365 and other cloud tools - CISA shares free tools to help secure data in the cloud
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.