The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week

The cat’s out of the bag. The genie’s out of the bottle. The workforce’s out of the office. 

And, like the cat and the genie, the workforce is not going back (at least, not full time), according to an article in The Guardian that tops our list below of must-reads for talent professionals.

“[T]he workplace has been redefined by the pandemic,” says The Guardian, citing a recent paper by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom. “Nearly half of all employees in the U.S. are working from home for at least some of the workweek. . . . [F]or the most part, everyone who can work from home is doing so at least some of the time.” The article applauds hybrid work policies, calling them a “‘win-win’ situation for employer and employee” and noting that Bloom’s research shows that the flexibility to work from home has a value similar to an 8% pay raise for workers.

Hybrid also draws a line between the kinds of work done in the office and the kinds done at home. “[The office is] about meetings, trainings, presentations, lunches, events, and connecting,” Bloom tells The Guardian. “The office is for socializing. At home is for one-on-one Zooms and analyzing and thinking.” And as technology gets better, Bloom says, with more sophisticated laptop cameras and software, work from home will keep growing.

Elsewhere in this week’s list, find out how virtual reality is upending workplace training; why Walmart’s chief people officer always asks the same interview question to senior leaders; and why you should aim for something better than bigger.

Here are the must-read articles and posts from this week:

1. ‘The Office Is for Socializing’: How Work from Home Has Revolutionized Work (The Guardian)

2. Generative AI in Business: Huge Potential, Lots of Playing Around (Josh Bersin)

3. The Harsh Truths About Building Company Culture (Chris Donnelly on LinkedIn)

4. Virtual Reality Brings New Vision to Workplace Training (BBC)

5. The One Interview Question This Exec Always Asks Senior Leaders (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

6. Be That Person — Give Someone a Chance Today (Linda Le on LinkedIn)

7. How to Reskill Your Workforce in the Age of AI (Harvard Business Review)

8. Instead of Bigger, Aim for Better (Bonnie Dilber on LinkedIn)

9. Turning Rejection into Opportunity: Mastering Rejection Feedback (Recruiting Daily)

10. Why Trust Is a Superpower for Managers (Jess Ramos on LinkedIn)

Here is the must-listen podcast:

Leading a Workforce Empowered by New AI Tools (HBR IdeaCast)