Napping at work has been adapted by many cultures as a simple and cheap way for companies to give employees a midday break and a recharge of their batteries. Although taking a nap is proven to up afternoon productivity as well as creativity, there’s still a real stigma against the practice in the United States. … Read full-story
Artificial Intelligence has crept from the pages of mid-century sci-fi stories into the very mainstream of American culture – especially in the workplace. For decades now, workers have speculated about how (and when) AI will affect their own job futures: Will automation replace the need for humans, or will the AI be used in ways … Read full-story
We all know how nerve-wracking a job interview can be. It can be so important for the interviewee, and yet can seem so off-hand to the interviewer (who has to do ten of them today.) You’ll go home after the interview and replay every little moment and secondary hesitation and twitcn in your head. You’ll … Read full-story
A healthy workplace culture is an exceedingly enviable thing for any company to brag about. Resources like Comparably have given a clear voice to employees for airing any grievances and singing any praises about the companies they work for, so it’s harder than ever for a business to get away with a toxic workplace environment. … Read full-story
They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The implication of the old saying is that we idealize what we don’t have, and tend to undervalue what we do. If your current dissatisfaction has to do with something inside you, you’ll take it with you right over the fence … Read full-story
Okay, you landed the interview, you did your research, and on the big day you handled yourself well. So now what? Everyone knows how maddening it can be to replay the minutes of your interview in your head, and to quiet that often self-critical stream of thought, we sometimes tell ourselves, “Well, there’s nothing I … Read full-story
Employers are currently faced with a job market reflecting low unemployment rates, which means the power has shifted back to the talent. If you’re looking to enlist the hottest new talent out there, you’re going to have to give them what they expect of a modern company: comfort, respect, flexibility, and an ethical approach to … Read full-story
Retaining employees saves a company money, and for bottom-line oriented businesses, that’s reason enough. But a company that hosts a lot of long-time employees can also be assumed to be one that treats its workers fairly, keeps them occupied, and respects their individuality. Job seekers who find that company is known for great retention knows … Read full-story
Ending up with the right kind of culture is the bedrock of everything – and it isn’t always easy. When Reid Lappin, Founder & CEO of Chicago digital innovation agency Vokal, talks about company culture, what is easy to see is that the topic is something he is passionate about and takes seriously. As … Read full-story
Of all the many tensions one has to manage during a work day, the tension between wanting to take a break and not breaking with your work pace is always tricky. Most experts would attest that taking an hour break from your work for lunch is humane, rational, and just the kind of siesta one … Read full-story
A straight definition of mindfulness goes like this: It is “the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment.” Not being mindful is an issue that – if one had to guess – only affects human beings. Other animals have no choice but to live in the moment, and it … Read full-story
Most tech companies are organized around developing new products for the evolving needs of our 21st century world. It goes without saying, then, that product roles are among the important and most prized positions at tech companies large and small across the nation. Product talent keeps tabs on intended audiences, helps manage a cross-functional development team, … Read full-story
The scouring of systematic and individual racism from the institutions of America is unfortunately an ongoing process. And racism in the workplace, where personal boundaries are different, is an especially ugly issue. While it feels that progress on this issue is being made in recent years, its clear from the below information that some groups … Read full-story
Many of could us a nap once in a while to recharge our batteries while at work, but it’s hard to find a company in this country where napping is encouraged or where nap spaces are provided. Asian countries seem to have initiated this practice in the popular imagination, but few American companies have picked … Read full-story
For most of us, jobs aren’t just about a reliable paycheck anymore. Increasingly, compensation outside of base salary is what keeps us with our jobs whether or not we feel passionate about the work otherwise. Our jobs pay for our medical bills, feed us, offer daycare for our children – some even give workers time off … Read full-story
We all lead multiple lives, and every once in a while we get the feeling that its time to start another new one. Unhappiness and dissatisfaction can start as just at tickle, a feeling that you’ve been sold a bad bill of goods. But if the ambiguous feelings are rooted in a real problem, they’re … Read full-story
An interview is an awfully short time to get a sense of who a job candidate is. And as we all know, simply having the right skills or job experience for the role in question doesn’t paint the picture you need to make a good decision on potential talent. What you really want is to … Read full-story
According to Wikipedia, soft skills are a set of skills that “enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals.” Almost none are taught in school, and almost all are taught by simply living life and noting how others prefer to be treated. Much is said about the … Read full-story
They’ve arrived: With this year’s graduating class, it’s fair to say that the Gen Z workforce is at the door of U.S. workplace culture. And make no mistake, these are not Millennials. In fact – as is often the case with successive generations – they are in some areas diametrically opposed to Millennials. The citizens … Read full-story
One thing we expect from every job we have is an opportunity for some form of advancement. A potential promotion is just the kind of dangled carrot that can eradicate feelings of meaningless and dreary repetition about the daily, weekly, and monthly duties of our current jobs. But not every employer was created equal in … Read full-story
Everyone is on their best behavior at a job interview. The interviewee is putting the best version of himself forward, and the hiring manager is trying to put their company in the best light. Since culture is becoming an increasingly important factor in the U.S. workplace and in terms retention, we were curious how often … Read full-story
Wanderlust sets in before too long, its part of human nature. Even the best and most satisfying can start to seem stifling to us when we get the idea in our head about the grass being greener elsewhere. It’s up to the company leaders to ensure that enough is done to make sure each and … Read full-story
Workplace culture is such a common concept now in the United States that it can still be bewildering when a workplace goes toxic. Everyone knows the kinds of things that need to happen to keep a happy, productive workforce on their toes, so why would any company fail to supply that groundwork? The answer seems … Read full-story
Most of us spend a large number of our waking hours at work, so the idea that we would let our careers take over any more of our lives than those normal daylight hours can be frustrating. Therefore, a strong work-life balance is always a going concern in the modern workplace. But not all work-life … Read full-story
It’s no mystery that workers need time off once in a while to fully reconnect with their lives and recharge their batteries. It can even be a serious matter: work-related stress burnout has just recently been officially defined as a syndrome by the World Health Organization. When an employee does have the opportunity for a potential … Read full-story
Remote working will become more and more standard as the U.S. rolls ahead into the 21st century. Managing remote workers can be a challenge, as few of the standard management tactics employers are used to for dealing with in-house employees relate for an employee who is working on their own schedule at their own location. … Read full-story
Job interviews can become airless affairs, where both the person conducting the interview and the person being interviewed can lose track of what the goal is and, at worst, stop treating each other like human beings. Since the actual job – should the potential hire land it – will not resemble a police interrogation in … Read full-story
We all know about the fate of the best laid plans, but what is to explain the fact that the more years of work experience we accrue, the less we feel like we have a clear vision for the rest of our career? Stats below show that workers who had been on the job for … Read full-story
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is the most important work-related benefit to those who responded to a question about how important that sense of personal equilibrium was when compared to similar benefits of a working life such as compensation, advancement, and stability. 34% of respondents said that a sense of work-life balance was the most important … Read full-story
There’s a difference between being challenged at work and being overwhelmed. We asked employees to anonymously answer the question, “Are you challenged at work?” While one might expect feelings of being challenged to decrease as one becomes accustomed to their role, our data shows that most workers remain challenged by their jobs throughout their careers. … Read full-story
