WorkLife

Corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are currently under fire, and some are trying to replace the term DEI with another acronym — “MEI” — which stands for merit, excellence and intelligence. Elon Musk and Alexandr Wang, co-founder and CEO of Scale AI, have spoken out against DEI programs in favor of what they call “MEI” based hiring, which they describe as hiring based solely on one’s talent and ability to do the job well — often assessed by an impressive track record, or simply letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves. In a recent blog post, Wang wrote “we only hire the best person for the job, we seek out and demand excellence and we unapologetically prefer people who are very smart. We treat everyone as an individual. We do not unfairly stereotype, tokenize or otherwise treat anyone as a member of a demographic group rather than an individual.”

Cell phones are ever-present in the modern workplace and an essential tool for many to do their jobs in remote and hybrid environments. But they can also serve as a major distraction and zap productivity — for instance when returning a client’s text turns into falling down an hour-long TikTok-watching rabbit hole. Employers are just beginning to recognize the issue but workers struggling to focus are using their own tactics to use their phones more meaningfully on the job and ensure they’re staying on task. Read more: https://buff.ly/4cY8npw

Today’s workers (especially those in younger generations) aren’t afraid to job hop when their current roles start to feel stagnant or disengaging. So employers are tapping into a solution to keep staff engaged and advancing in their roles — by making work more like school. The idea, known as a “corporate university” is essentially an internal program to offer tailored learning and development opportunities for staff based on their individual interests and goals. By giving staff a clear path toward their professional paths of choice, corporate universities can foster internal talent mobility, ultimately resulting in lower turnover rates, higher engagement and boosted innovation. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eTYSAsJc

Maybe you were one of those college students who decided to take a gap year, putting your studies on the backburner to travel Europe or pursue some other dream. The concept has now gained traction in the work world, with the rise of the so-called “adult gap year.” Unlike a traditional break in one’s studies, this one has working people taking a yearlong break from their jobs to pursue travel, passion projects or personal growth. In his bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek, author Tim Ferriss advocated for taking such “mini-retirements” throughout one’s career. Some companies even offer extended breaks with pay.

As a WorkLife reader, you're invited to participate in our next survey on your company's employee #retention strategies and policies. As a thank you for completing this quick survey, you’ll be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card as well as receiving the research once the findings are published. To ensure you are entered into the drawing and receive the results, be sure to enter your email at the end of the survey.

Shopify made headlines last year when it announced its calendar purge and subsequent meeting cost calculator. From there, many other large companies followed suit and asked themselves how they, too, could minimize the amount of #meetings on people’s calendars. Some companies – among them work management platform Asana – doubled down on efforts it was already making around streamlining meetings. In early 2022 Asana conducted a “meeting doomsday” exercise. Employees were asked to identify recurring meetings that they found lacked value and then remove all of the standing meetings with fewer than five attendees from their calendar for 48 hours. #meetingpurge Read more: https://buff.ly/4bGufVV

Quiet vacationing is a major workplace trend this summer for many workers in hybrid arrangements. It’s essentially when an employee takes a vacation without formally requesting time off or informing their supervisor. Instead, they’ll work a bit remotely from wherever they’ve traveled to, then log off and enjoy their vacation time.?#quietvacation #quietvacationing Read more: https://lnkd.in/gN-UPP-R

Office attendance is up significantly since about a year ago, with most workers now back a couple days a week in #hybrid arrangements. But some people are still working entirely remotely — and they’re feeling left out. #RTO FOMO — aka return to office fear of missing out — is now a thing, especially among younger workers. With many of their peers back working in person, they’re realizing just how much they might be missing out on by continuing to work from home. #returntooffice #remotework In this piece by Hailey Mensik, we speak to Leah Farmer, Barbara Palmer of Broad Perspective Consulting, and Sophie O'Brien of Pollen Careers.

Workers are back in offices and missing many luxuries afforded to them while working from home — such as a chance to be alone. Bustling open offices built for collaboration are a lot to come back to, and workers are looking for places to get some peace and quiet alone and away from their desks.?#rto #remotework Read more: https://lnkd.in/dHKH4tmV

#GenerativeAI tools that are poised to eliminate time-consuming tasks leading to major boosts in workplace productivity have yet to make good on that promise. In fact, right now they are doing the opposite — giving employees more work to do and contributing to burnout. Read more: https://buff.ly/3WgJRsi