What kids want from working mums, the flipside of being smart, and more top insights

This week, the Daily Rundown is keeping you current on the world of work and the big ideas that will shape 2019 (and beyond). Read on and join the conversation.

Working mothers may be better off putting their feet up when they get home. A new look at data collected from 900 professionals found while children were fine with their working mother spending time on herself, they exhibited “bad behavior” when she engaged in housework. The analysis, on data collected by Drexel University in the 1990s, also found children responded better to quality, device-free time with their working parents, over longer, disrupted periods of time.

Being smart isn’t always better for your career. Smart people may sabotage their own success by focusing on that one talent, says clinical psychologist Alice Boyes, over building relationship skills and learning to collaborate. Boyes wrote in the Harvard Business Review that people focused on their own intellect may avoid the company of other smart people, and also become bored easily and fail to follow through with tasks. “Raw intelligence is undoubtedly a huge asset, but it isn’t everything,” she notes.

What's the value of an office? This koan-like question is posed by Quartz, which cites some cases of companies ordering remote workers to show up — and even hiring seat fillers — to, well, look more like an office to important visitors. Figuring out how to spur cross-team innovation may not be an issue for, say, call centers, where everyone is siloed by necessity. But for those who need to collaborate, there is no substitute for proximity, even if only to check in with your work spouse.

Millennials are opening up on pay: Compared to baby boomers, millennials are relatively uninhibited about divulging how much they make to colleagues, according to a survey from Bankrate.com. About 33% of millennials have shared their salary with their colleagues, compared to just 18% of boomers. Millennials are also more likely to disclose their earnings outside of the office. This increased openness is coinciding with calls by employees for more transparent and more equitable pay arrangements, Bloomberg reports.

The best talks begin with big ideas, distilled into few words, says TEDx producer Tricia Brouk. If you want to pitch yourself as a speaker at an event, explain your primary point in 15 words or fewer. Most event organizers are busy, and they are liable to disregard your pitch if you don’t make your case quickly and with force. The practice will also help you hone in on what you want to convey during your talk and what you want your audience to walk away with after you are finished.

Monday blues? Laugh them away with Dilbert...

Idea of the Day: Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest person in the room, advises Allyn Reid, co-founder of Secret Knock Conference.

“Your influence is not determined by your volume. Or your screen time. Or the placement of your name in the credits. Influence is a natural byproduct of respect, and for women in the workplace it can be achieved without any kind of masculine posturing whatsoever.”

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories in the comments.

— LinkedIn Editors (India)