Happy At Work: Weekly Roundup
Jack Kelly
Forbes, Board of Directors Blind, Founder and CEO of The Compliance Search Group and Wecruitr.com, Co-host of the Blind Ambition Podcast
In this episode, we talk with Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing about the importance of building strong teams. Watch Episode 3 here.
In an historic event, Starbucks workers in a Buffalo, New York store voted to form a union—the first of its nearly 9,000 company-owned stores. The decision to unionize echoes the growing sentiment of workers. The employees are joining Workers United, which is part of the Service Employees International Union. This organization has fielded inquiries from Starbucks staffers around the country. The vote is a rare one for the restaurant industry. Less than 2% of food-related workers are covered by a union.
Jefferies, an investment bank located in Manhattan, with around 4,500 employees worldwide, reported over 40 new Covid-19 cases in December—with 10 on Tuesday. Peregrine “Peg” Broadbent, the bank’s chief financial officer, previously died from Covid-19 complications back in March 2020. Reuters reported that CEO Richard Handler wrote in a memo, “Our priority now is to best protect every one of you and your families.” Handler continued, “Effective today, we are canceling all social events and entertainment until January 3rd.” Staff was asked to return home. Moving forward, the company is also requiring a mask mandate in all of its offices, even for those who are already vaccinated.
A tornado knocking out your building, followed by the Covid-19 outbreak is not a good way to start a business. Despite some early challenges, Joshua Mundy and Quawn Clark founded Pivot Technology School, a fast-growing Tennessee-based EdTech startup. Isaac Y. Addae, an assistant professor at Tennessee State University, joined the duo as Chief Strategy Officer.
You can visualize important business decisions being made in wood-paneled executives suites with older executives sitting around expensive, mahogany conference tables, saying, “I have a gut feeling.” Then, they offer an edict to the workers. Ben Waber, cofounder and president of Humanyze, a workplace analytic provider, contends important decisions could now be made with powerful data rather than relying upon emotions and doing something because “we’ve always done it this way.”
Three of Better.com’s top executives have reportedly resigned from the company after the unicorn mortgage lender was hit by a wave of backlash over the leaked Zoom call, where CEO Vishal Garg callously laid off around 900 employees.
This seems to be the year when the already-popular Reddit blew up—in a good way—to become a household name around the world. During the pandemic, the network for online communities became the go-to destination for people to share their opinions, experiences and stories and connect with one another.
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It’s been estimated that over 55 million Americans work in the gig economy. This includes independent contractors, freelancers and various forms of temporary flexible jobs. About 16% of Americans have earned money through an online gig platform. These are the people who select your food at the grocery store via Instacart, drive you around in Uber and Lyft cars, deliver food through DoorDash and provide a wide array and growing number of conveniences—mostly accomplished through app-based tech platforms.
A new Indeed survey tapped into the zeitgeist of our collective mindset. The pandemic caused us to reevaluate our lives and careers. The data shows that millions of Americans decided that they’re not going to waste anymore of their precious time at a job that they don’t like.
The current job market is so incredibly challenging that companies are forced to “compromise” on the quality of candidates just to get the help. To compound the problem, by bringing aboard people who don’t possess all of the needed skills and experiences, it holds business back, according to a new survey conducted by AI-powered, talent management platform Beamery.
In a viral LinkedIn post, Shivangi Narula wrote about the incoming CEO of Twitter, “[Nine] out of 10 recruiters would have rejected Parag Agrawal’s profile because of the gaps in his career and frequent job switches. If Twitter HR had done the same 10 years ago, they would have lost on a gem of a talent who has become their new CEO. I was shocked after looking at his profile because I may have been amongst those [nine] recruiters too.”
In a stunning and controversial announcement, outgoing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a “preemptive strike,” by mandating all private employers in New York City to get their workers vaccinated. He attributed the decision due to the potential spread of the new Omicron variant. The edict is scheduled to take effect on December 27.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency over the Omicron variant. She said in a statement, “While the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it’s coming.” Hochul added, “We’ve taken extraordinary action to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and combat this pandemic.”
About Jack Kelly
Jack?Kelly is the CEO, founder, and executive recruiter at one of the oldest and largest global search firms in his area of expertise. He has personally placed thousands of professionals with top-tier companies over the last 20-plus years. Jack?is passionate about advocating for job seekers. In doing so, he founded a start-up company, WeCruitr, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The mission of WeCruitr is to help people in need and make the job search more humane and enjoyable. As a proponent of career growth,?Jack?shares his insider interviewing tips and career advancement secrets as a Senior Contributor for Forbes.?He?also covers timely topics related to corporations, high-profile people, Wall Street, politics and other important matters. The pieces offer insight into the news and how it may impact your career. Jack is the author of?How To Get A Job In Tough Times, as well as the cohost of the?Happy At Work?podcast.
Independent Commissioner | Risk Management and Executive Assessment
3 年Very inspiring...Various managerial techniques, strategies and tactics were utilized as and when the situation arises. All ammunitions are available for use but measuring doses and finding the perfect timing has become a specific art for Zak to become a successful leader. Similar analogies for doctors in finding the right medications for some specific health issues; or a chef in mixing recipes to create a beautiful and tasty dish. A good reminder for me. Thank you.