Hitting inbox zero, ear damage at work, preparing students for AI
Here are 5 things to know about work this week.
Hello, and welcome to WorkLife’s 5 Things newsletter. In this weekly newsletter, we will spotlight five things to know about the latest issues affecting modern workplaces.?
It’s a weekly compilation of highlights selected from WorkLife’s daily newsletter. Sign up here to get an in-depth look at how work, the workplace and workforces are changing to meet new needs and expectations, in your inbox every weekday morning.
1. Employers are ensuring the next generation of workers are equipped with AI skills
More employers are collaborating with higher education institutions to train young people on how to use generative AI so they can hit the ground running when they enter the workforce.
Last September, IBM committed to training 2 million students in AI by 2026. 亚马逊 swiftly followed suit, announcing it would provide free AI skills training to 2 million people by 2025 and $12 million in generative AI scholarships.
Their pledges are part of growing efforts to ensure that the next generation of workers understands how AI is changing work as we know it today and altering job requirements. Given the nascency of the tech, relatively few students are using it yet. Only 38% of students reported using AI at least monthly, according to a report by education technology firm Anthology Inc . Meanwhile, only 20% of students in the U.S. have said they use generative AI, per a global study from another ed-tech firm Chegg Inc.
2. ?Fostering understanding, not resentment when some people need flexible work conditions
Having a culture that fully embraces being flexible means ensuring non-parents are supported and understand what different types of flexible working are available, so they don’t feel like they’ll be left with more work, when a colleague leaves at 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. for instance, to do a school pickup.
While many organizations are family-friendly, it’s far from universal.
WorkLife spoke to three working moms who all look back with regret, at how they treated other mothers on their teams. C. Quinn Smith , senior director of product management at jobs board Indeed in the U.S., is a mother of two kids under the age of five years old. She had her first daughter at 38 years old and was a manager for many years before that.?
“I am so sorry to all the moms or parents that I managed prior to understanding,” she said. “I always felt like I was flexible and understanding, but I didn’t get like, how many hours in a day you could be working before getting to work, or what saying, ‘I had a sick kid up all night’ actually meant. I intellectually understood — I’d say, ‘sure take all the time you need,’ but now I understand it on a whole new emotional level,” she said.
3. Are you taking headphone breaks during your 8-hour workday?
While an office environment isn’t as loud as a factory or construction site, some people wear their headphones for their entire eight-hour workday, which could lead to hearing damage in the long term, experts say. The World Health Organization recommends listening through headphones for a maximum of one hour per day.
People who work from home, or a third space like a cafe or coworking space, may be particularly at risk, given it’s common in those spaces to wear headphones to drown out other noise or distractions.?
While most employers boast health benefits including vision and dental, they almost always leave hearing out of the picture. According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People around 1 in 2 adults have their eyes and teeth checked, while only 1 in 20 (6%) have their hearing checked.?
“What we often forget to realize is that headphones create noisy workplaces, even in those silent offices, where we wear headphones to cut out the sound or to commute,” said Amanda Philpott , hearing health expert and co-founder and CEO of eargym | B Corp .
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4. Here’s how to reach inbox zero
WorkLife spoke to several people who celebrated their inbox zero achievement. While it may seem far-fetched for someone who has tens of thousands of emails, there can still be a light at the end of the tunnel if you so wish. And for most of these folks, it’s tied to feeling anxious from seeing a huge number of unread emails or not knowing who they need to get back to.?
That was the case for Mathilde D. , a senior performance marketing manager at global employment platform Oyster? . “I’ve been trying to clear my inbox every day for as long as I can remember,” said Dechansiaud. “It gives me anxiety having unopened emails. I also do the same on Slack, I open and read everything and then manage through a to-do list. I just hate seeing notifications of unread messages.”
AI tools have helped make this possible, with more people leveraging Superhuman, SaneBox, HelpScout and more.
5. More people are talking about salaries on TikTok
“My salary is $70,000 a year and my paycheck today was $1,997. First, I always pay off my credit card in full so I don’t have to pay interest. That was $385. Then I pay rent and car payments, so I’m putting $700 into a checking account for those bills.”
That’s a snippet from one of Lexi Larson’s payday routine videos, including hashtags like #salarytransparency and #paytransparency in the caption. Larson, 27, is part of a growing group of people who are sharing how much money they make from their jobs and what they do with it, including paying off credit card bills, rent and car payments.?
Many believe that workers who share their own salaries on TikTok help continue the conversation between more legislation getting passed in more states, which encourages employers to step up their salary transparency efforts.?
Color by numbers
WorkLife is asking our readers how they’re approaching modern work. This past week, we asked them questions related to our recent coverage. Here’s what we found.
65% of 25 respondents said no.?
74% of 35 respondents said yes.
Elsewhere in Digiday Media
Check out some of Digiday Media’s other stories on the future of work over the past week:
This is a weekly compilation of highlights from WorkLife’s daily newsletter. Sign up here to get WorkLife’s comprehensive work coverage in your inbox each morning.
This newsletter was curated by Cloey Callahan , senior reporter at WorkLife. Let us know what you think, or what you hope to see more of, by dropping us a note at [email protected].