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c0.529-0.162,1.073-0.093,1.526,0.148s0.812,0.655,0.973,1.184l82.542,272.133c0.16,0.528,0.091,1.07-0.149,1.521 C445.71,373.342,445.297,373.702,444.77,373.863z"></path></g></svg><span>Bitesize</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-cbeebies"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies"><span>CBeebies</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-cbbc"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc"><span>CBBC</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-food"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food"><span>Food</span></a></li></ul></nav><nav class="orbit-header-links international"><ul><li class="orb-nav-homedotcom"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-newsdotcom"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/news"><span>News</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-sport"><a 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id="orbit-more-drawer"><div class="orbit-more-drawer-content"><ul class="more-domestic"><li class="orb-nav-home"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/"><span>Home</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-news"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 512 512" enable-background="new 0 0 512 512" xml:space="preserve" focusable="false"><g><path fill="#B80000" d="M302,424h-68c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S232,422.552,232,422V306c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S233.448,304,234,304h68c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S304,305.448,304,306v116c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S302.552,424,302,424z"></path><path fill="#EB0000" d="M422,280H234c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S232,278.552,232,278V90c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S233.448,88,234,88h188c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S424,89.448,424,90v188c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S422.552,280,422,280z"></path><path fill="#D30000" d="M206,328H90c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S88,326.552,88,326V210c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S89.448,208,90,208h116c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S208,209.448,208,210v116c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S206.552,328,206,328z"></path></g></svg><span>News</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-sport"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 512 512" enable-background="new 0 0 512 512" xml:space="preserve" focusable="false"><g><path fill="#FFD230" d="M90,184h332c0.552,0,1.052-0.224,1.414-0.586S424,182.552,424,182V90c0-0.552-0.224-1.052-0.586-1.414 S422.552,88,422,88H90c-0.552,0-1.052,0.224-1.414,0.586S88,89.448,88,90v92c0,0.552,0.224,1.052,0.586,1.414S89.448,184,90,184z"></path><path fill="#FFA100" d="M306,424h116c0.552,0,1.052-0.224,1.414-0.586S424,422.552,424,422v-92c0-0.552-0.224-1.052-0.586-1.414 S422.552,328,422,328H306c-0.552,0-1.052,0.224-1.414,0.586S304,329.448,304,330v92c0,0.552,0.224,1.052,0.586,1.414 S305.448,424,306,424z"></path><path fill="#FFBA00" d="M210,304h212c0.552,0,1.052-0.224,1.414-0.586S424,302.552,424,302v-92c0-0.552-0.224-1.052-0.586-1.414 S422.552,208,422,208H210c-0.552,0-1.052,0.224-1.414,0.586S208,209.448,208,210v92c0,0.552,0.224,1.052,0.586,1.414 S209.448,304,210,304z"></path></g></svg><span>Sport</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-weather"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 512 512" enable-background="new 0 0 512 512" xml:space="preserve" focusable="false"><g><path fill="#067EB3" d="M316.234,368.56l52.326-52.326c0.391-0.391,0.586-0.902,0.586-1.414c0-0.512-0.195-1.024-0.586-1.414 L252.594,197.44c-0.391-0.391-0.902-0.586-1.414-0.586s-1.024,0.195-1.414,0.586l-52.326,52.326 c-0.391,0.391-0.586,0.902-0.586,1.414s0.195,1.024,0.586,1.414L313.406,368.56c0.391,0.391,0.902,0.586,1.414,0.586 C315.332,369.146,315.844,368.95,316.234,368.56z"></path><path fill="#1969A6" d="M90,424h74c0.552,0,1.052-0.224,1.414-0.586S166,422.552,166,422V258c0-0.552-0.224-1.052-0.586-1.414 S164.552,256,164,256H90c-0.552,0-1.052,0.224-1.414,0.586S88,257.448,88,258v164c0,0.552,0.224,1.052,0.586,1.414 S89.448,424,90,424z"></path><path fill="#149EDC" d="M258,166h164c0.552,0,1.052-0.224,1.414-0.586S424,164.552,424,164V90c0-0.552-0.224-1.052-0.586-1.414 S422.552,88,422,88H258c-0.552,0-1.052,0.224-1.414,0.586S256,89.448,256,90v74c0,0.552,0.224,1.052,0.586,1.414 S257.448,166,258,166z"></path></g></svg><span>Weather</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-iplayer"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 512 512" enable-background="new 0 0 512 512" xml:space="preserve" focusable="false"><g><path fill="#DC2878" d="M182,358h-68c-0.55,0-1.05-0.225-1.412-0.587C112.225,357.05,112,356.55,112,356V156 c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414S113.448,154,114,154h68c0.55,0,1.05,0.225,1.413,0.587C183.775,154.95,184,155.45,184,156v200 c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414S182.552,358,182,358z"></path><path fill="#FF4C98" d="M372.106,248.243l34-58.89c0.275-0.476,0.33-1.022,0.197-1.517c-0.133-0.495-0.453-0.94-0.93-1.215 l-173.205-100c-0.478-0.276-1.023-0.332-1.518-0.2c-0.494,0.132-0.938,0.454-1.214,0.932l-34,58.89 c-0.275,0.476-0.33,1.022-0.197,1.517c0.133,0.495,0.453,0.94,0.93,1.215l173.205,100c0.478,0.276,1.023,0.332,1.518,0.2 C371.386,249.042,371.83,248.721,372.106,248.243z"></path><path fill="#AF0D5B" d="M372.106,263.757l34,58.89c0.275,0.476,0.33,1.022,0.197,1.517c-0.133,0.495-0.453,0.94-0.93,1.215 l-173.205,100c-0.478,0.276-1.023,0.332-1.518,0.2c-0.494-0.132-0.938-0.454-1.214-0.932l-34-58.89 c-0.275-0.476-0.33-1.022-0.197-1.517c0.133-0.495,0.453-0.94,0.93-1.215l173.205-100c0.478-0.276,1.023-0.332,1.518-0.2 C371.386,262.958,371.83,263.279,372.106,263.757z"></path></g></svg><span>iPlayer</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-sounds"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px" viewbox="0 0 512 512" enable-background="new 0 0 512 512" xml:space="preserve" focusable="false"><g><path fill="#A13104" d="M122,304H78c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S76,302.552,76,302v-92c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S77.448,208,78,208h44c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S124,209.448,124,210v92c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S122.552,304,122,304z"></path><path fill="#D24712" d="M230,376h-80c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S148,374.552,148,374V138c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S149.448,136,150,136h80c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S232,137.448,232,138v236c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S230.552,376,230,376z"></path><path fill="#FA6400" d="M422,424H258c-0.552,0-1.052-0.224-1.414-0.586S256,422.552,256,422V90c0-0.552,0.224-1.052,0.586-1.414 S257.448,88,258,88h164c0.552,0,1.052,0.224,1.414,0.586S424,89.448,424,90v332c0,0.552-0.224,1.052-0.586,1.414 S422.552,424,422,424z"></path></g></svg><span>Sounds</span></a></li><li class="orb-nav-bitesize"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize"><svg class="product-icon" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" 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srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8hskt.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:880px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8hskt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hskt.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hskt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8hskt.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8hskt.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><img draggable="false" title="(Credit: Getty Images)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hskt.jpg" alt="(Credit: Getty Images)" id=""/></picture></div></div><div class="article__container"><div class="article__main"><div class="article__subcontainer"><article class="article__body"><div class="article__author-unit"><div class="author-unit"><div class="author-unit__container author-unit__container--desktop"><a class="author-unit__text b-font-family-serif" target="" rel="" id="">By Bryan Lufkin</a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://twitter.com/@bryan_lufkin" class="author-unit__icon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id=""><div class="gelicon--twitter"></div></a><span class="b-font-family-serif b-font-weight-300">24th May 2022</span></div><div class="author-unit__line"><div class="styled-line styled-line--dark-grey styled-line--large"></div></div></div></div><div class="article__body-content"><div class="article__intro b-font-family-serif">Employees have long threatened to walk if employers call them back into the office. Now, the dominoes are starting to fall.</div><div><div class="body-text-card b-reith-sans-font"><div class="drop-capped b-reith-sans-font drop-capped--worklife">T</div><div class="body-text-card__text body-text-card__text--worklife body-text-card__text--drop-capped body-text-card__text--flush-text"><div><p>Throughout the pandemic, many workers have said they'd quit if employers forced them back to the office. In March, Robert Half, a global recruiting firm, released a survey that revealed 50% of US workers would rather resign <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/are-workers-ready-to-return-to-the-office">than be forced back to the office full-time</a>.</p> <p>But in early May, one high-profile worker put his money where his mouth is: Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://twitter.com/ZoeSchiffer/status/1523017143939309568">resigned over the Silicon Valley giant’s return-to-office policy</a>. The company had <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://9to5mac.com/2022/04/11/apple-returns-to-in-person-work-remote-option/">started bringing back workers</a> one day per week starting 11 April, then two days 2 May, with a ramp-up to three required days starting 23 May. The high-ranking Goodfellow wasn’t on board with the plan – so he walked. (Apple has not responded to BBC Worklife's request for comment; it also has yet to comment publicly on the reports of Goodfellow's resignation.) </p> <p>Perhaps Goodfellow’s exit wasn’t surprising – at least not among Apple’s workforce. A recent survey of more than 650 Apple employees on third-party anonymous polling site Blind revealed 76% of respondents <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.teamblind.com/blog/index.php/2022/05/02/apple-office-return-rto-hybrid-working-pilot-reaction/">were dissatisfied with the company's return-to-office plans</a>; 56% said they'd consider resigning over it.</p> <p>But outside the company, some experts aren’t shocked, either.</p> <p>"I'm not at all surprised – in fact, I'm surprised it took this long" for an executive at a high-profile company to quit over return-to-office, says Anita Williams Woolley, associate professor of organisational behaviour and theory at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, US. She says senior leaders at businesses she works with have all been "kind of watching each other to see who's going to do what first, and what the reaction is going to be" to tapering off remote work. "Now, they're getting the reaction."</p> <p>Goodfellow is just one highly visible example of a worker choosing to quit, instead of reluctantly accepting an undesirable work policy. Yet there are plenty more workers itching to leave who haven’t yet. However, some recruiters and analysts believe a prominent professional’s much-talked-about move could be a sign that more resignations will follow as RTO policies start to sink in – and workers begin to bite back.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body__image-text article-body__image-text--landscape"><div id="worklife/article/20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-p0c8htwj"><div><picture><source media="(min-width:1200px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0c8htwj.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:1200px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0c8htwj.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:880px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8htwj.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:880px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8htwj.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8htwj.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8htwj.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8htwj.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8htwj.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><img draggable="false" title="Some Apple workers have publicly resisted the Silicon Valley company's gradual return-to-office scheme, and have pushed to keep pandemic-era flexibility (Credit: Getty Images)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8htwj.jpg" alt="Some Apple workers have publicly resisted the Silicon Valley company's gradual return-to-office scheme, and have pushed to keep pandemic-era flexibility (Credit: Getty Images)" id=""/></picture><div class="inline-image__description b-reith-sans-font inline-image__description--desktop"><div class="text-summary"><p class="text-summary__text text-summary__text--grey text-summary__text--left">Some Apple workers have publicly resisted the Silicon Valley company's gradual return-to-office scheme, and have pushed to keep pandemic-era flexibility (Credit: Getty Images)</p></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="body-text-card b-reith-sans-font"><div class="body-text-card__text body-text-card__text--worklife body-text-card__text--flush-text"><div><p><strong>‘A tipping point'</strong><strong> </strong></p> <p>Although there isn’t any hard data to show increased quits due to ending flexible work specifically, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://twitter.com/LevDBronsteins/status/1525691482551754752">anecdotes of worker exits </a>are <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://twitter.com/FinnAhern/status/1524833272475160577">starting to trickle in</a>. </p> <p>"Companies are really starting to go back more, and at scale – so employees are having to really step back and decide" if staying is worth it, says Elise Freedman, senior client partner at Korn Ferry, a US-based recruiting company. "The other reality is that there are <em>a lot</em> of open positions out there."</p> <p>These two factors have led to "a tipping point", says Eric Anicich, assistant professor of management and organisation at University of Southern California, US, and when workers start to act, others are likely to follow. “Seeing similar others – e.g., peers, co-workers – and respected authority figures – e.g., high-level executives – quit may be the final straw for some employees.”</p> <p>Woolley agrees, saying more "workers have friends who are changing jobs, and so it can start to seem less intimidating to take the leap".</p> <p>Return-to-office plans have been a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220113-why-a-wide-scale-return-to-the-office-is-a-myth">can many companies have kept kicking down the road</a>, but the road has finally come to a dead end, forcing both companies and workers to react. And, in many cases, they don't seem to be on the same page.</p> <p>"With much of the Covid-related uncertainty now lifted, workers may begin to act on the preferences they formed over the past two years," says Anicich. "All of those things are going to be hard to uproot – even going from five days remote to three days remote."</p> <p><strong>Can all workers do this?</strong></p> <p>Of course, workers don't all have the same options. While reports indicate that Goodfellow <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-17/ian-goodfellow-former-apple-director-of-machine-learning-to-join-deepmind?sref=10lNAhZ9">already has another job at Google</a>, workers' ability to transition into more flexible jobs will hinge on multiple factors.</p> <p>"If you're in this knowledge-worker class, I still see it as a pretty flexible time, and a pretty empowering time, to be in the economy right now," says Anicich, since we're currently in a tight labour market in which <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220412-what-upskilling-means-for-the-future-of-work">many companies will fight over </a>candidates – <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220428-the-top-talent-interns-taking-home-sky-high-wages">even if they're as young as intern</a>s. A <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61475720">wealth of choice for many workers</a> – especially those in sectors like tech and finance – is enabling workers to act on leaving companies due to policies that don’t sit well.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body__pull-quote"><blockquote class="inline-quote b-font-family-serif b-font-weight-300 inline-quote--worklife"><h2 class="simple-header b-reith-sans-font b-font-family-serif b-font-weight-300 simple-header--serif-light-italic simple-p-tag--medium simple-p-tag--quote">It basically comes down to how quickly you believe you can find another position – Elise Freedman</h2></blockquote></div><div><div class="body-text-card b-reith-sans-font"><div class="body-text-card__text body-text-card__text--worklife body-text-card__text--flush-text"><div><p>But despite workers having more power, not everyone is in the position like Goodfellow’s, with seniority, highly specific talent and a strong network. A worker considering leaving needs to have in-demand skills in a sector actively seeking workers as well as options on the table from companies offering more flexibility than their existing job. It can be a narrow needle to thread for some jobseekers.</p> <p>Ultimately, Freedman believes "quitting over return to office is less about your level and more about your personal situation", pointing to the wide range of scenarios workers have found themselves in during the pandemic. “I think it basically comes down to how quickly you believe you can find another position," she says.</p> <p><strong>‘Let us decide’</strong></p> <p>If more workers really do quit, what happens next? </p> <p>Some companies may continue to waffle, says Woolley: to guard against this kind of attrition, "many organisations held off on putting out formal policies over concern about this happening, and some may continue to keep things vague or 'flexible'". Additionally, some firms who have released formal plans to bring back workers have since softened their stands, or even reversed course. Apple has <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.techradar.com/news/apple-shelves-its-plan-to-get-workers-back-into-the-office">paused its return to office scheme</a>, citing rising Covid-19 cases; it’s not clear whether quits have quietly factored into this decision, too, but employees are <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/technology/apple-delays-return-to-office.html">reportedly pleased with the delay</a>.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body__image-text article-body__image-text--landscape"><div id="worklife/article/20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-p0c8hvb8"><div><picture><source media="(min-width:1200px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0c8hvb8.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:1200px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p0c8hvb8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:880px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8hvb8.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:880px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1280x720/p0c8hvb8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hvb8.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:576px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hvb8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8hvb8.webp" type="image/webp"/><source media="(min-width:224px)" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/624x351/p0c8hvb8.jpg" type="image/jpeg"/><img draggable="false" title="Experts say that workers have become locked into their remote work habits of the last two years, and losing that perk could prompt them to walk (Credit: Getty Images)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455im_/https://ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/976x549/p0c8hvb8.jpg" alt="Experts say that workers have become locked into their remote work habits of the last two years, and losing that perk could prompt them to walk (Credit: Getty Images)" id=""/></picture><div class="inline-image__description b-reith-sans-font inline-image__description--desktop"><div class="text-summary"><p class="text-summary__text text-summary__text--grey text-summary__text--left">Experts say that workers have become locked into their remote work habits of the last two years, and losing that perk could prompt them to walk (Credit: Getty Images)</p></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="body-text-card b-reith-sans-font"><div class="body-text-card__text body-text-card__text--worklife body-text-card__text--flush-text"><div><p>But just as companies were forced to adapt to remote work when they had no other choice, they also might have to adapt to this new, potentially permanent, landscape of remote work. "It can be a hard reality to grasp for many employers, but the old way of doing business is over," says Rich Deosingh, US-based district president for Robert Half. "Retention is a huge issue for all employers right now, and if you take away flexible work options, your employees are going to consider other options."</p> <p>And for workers at all levels of an organisation, companies allowing them to work remotely – <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220127-location-based-salary">just as long as they take a pay cut</a> – isn't going to fly, experts say. "I think it's starting to move in the direction where people are not even going to be willing to say, 'oh, I'll take a pay cut, or I'll take a lesser job'," says Woolley.</p> <p>Freedman agrees, pointing to firms like Spotify that are continuing to pay New York City-level salaries to workers <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-unveils-new-remote-work-option-for-all-employees-2021-2">no matter where they're based</a>. She says workers will continue to leave those that don’t accommodate them, and gravitate toward companies that say, "'we're paying for the value of <em>you</em> – live wherever you want'". (That could explain why, after Airbnb announced it's never going back to the office, their careers site <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnbs-careers-page-viewed-800k-times-work-from-anywhere-benefit-2022-5">reportedly raked in more than 800,000 visits</a> earlier this month.)</p> <p>Still, Freedman also says that big shiny firms like Apple in tech or Goldman Sachs in finance (a company that's <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://fortune.com/2022/03/10/goldman-sachs-office-hybrid-remote-work-david-solomon/">forced many workers in five full days a week</a>) have a prestige that may convince some workers to stay. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility">"Some folks are willing to trade off" flexibility</a> for having a big name on their résumé – as well a major pay cheque, especially as sectors such as these are boosting salaries and perks amid a talent war.</p> <p>But the allure of prestige could have its limits – especially if similarly notable competitors are offering better flexible arrangements. Ultimately, "all indicators are pointing to the conclusion that we will see more churn occur as organisations announce their policies", says Woolley. </p> <p>It's still unclear that Goodfellow's high-profile departure will be a signal more dominoes will fall. But many workers are growing restless. As thousands of Apple employees have said in an <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://appletogether.org/hotnews/thoughts-on-office-bound-work">open letter to management</a>: "there is no one-size-fits-all solution, let us decide how we work best, and let us do the best work of our lives".</p></div></div></div></div><div class="article__end"><div class="article-end article-end--desktop"><div class="article-end__line--long"><div class="styled-line styled-line--worklife styled-line--medium"></div></div><div class="article-end__share-tools"><div class="article-share-tools article-share-tools--popout article-share-tools--dark"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/mailto:/?subject=Shared from BBC:The%20workers%20quitting%20over%20return-to-office%20policies&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.email" class="email-icon gelicon--mail" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id=""><span class="screen-reader-only">Share using Email</span><div id="EmailIcon"></div></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20workers%20quitting%20over%20return-to-office%20policies&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.twitter&via=BBC_Worklife" class="twitter-icon gelicon--twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id=""><div id="TwitterIcon"></div><span class="screen-reader-only">Share on Twitter</span></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.facebook&t=The%20workers%20quitting%20over%20return-to-office%20policies" class="facebook-icon gelicon--facebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id=""><div id="FacebookIcon"></div><span class="screen-reader-only">Share on Facebook</span></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220525014455/https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fworklife%2Farticle%2F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies%3Focid%3Dww.social.link.linkedin&title=The%20workers%20quitting%20over%20return-to-office%20policies" class="linkedin-icon gelicon--linkedin" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id=""><span class="screen-reader-only">Share on Linkedin</span><div id="LinkedInIcon"></div></a></div><div class="redesign-article-end__share"><div class="share-button-with-popout"><button class="share-button b-reith-sans-font"><span class="gelicon--share"></span>Share</button></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><aside class="article__similar-articles"><div class="b-reith-sans-font related-articles"><h3 class="related-articles__header related-articles__header--bright">Recommended Articles</h3><ul class="related-articles__list square-images"><li><div data-bbc-container="similar-articles" data-bbc-title="Want a remote job? 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Images)","templateUrl":"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20220525014455\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Fychef.files.bbci.co.uk\u002F$recipe\u002Fp0by5nsv.jpg","title":"women-porch.jpg","creationDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","entity":"image","guid":"","id":"p0by5nsv","modifiedDateTime":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z","project":"","slug":"","url":"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20220525014455\u002Fhttps:\u002F\u002Fychef.files.bbci.co.uk\u002F$recipe\u002Fp0by5nsv.jpg","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728}},"articles":{"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other","_id":"6267dfd31f4b7b357d59cdc4","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Falex-christian"],"bodyIntro":"Rather than sending a withdrawal or rejection email, workers and employers are simply cutting off contact during the hiring process. Are we stuck in a ‘ghosting’ spiral?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Laura was invited for a final-stage interview at a multinational music corporation based in London, she thought she was on the cusp of landing her dream role. After passing a first-round phone interview and meeting team members in person, all Laura had to do was meet a senior-level executive. “It was presented to me as a formality,” she says. “The interview went well, and I was later told I’d got the job.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd then – nothing. Despite receiving initial guarantees she would be joining the team, the email formally confirming Laura's role never arrived. She’d send occasional follow-ups to the firm’s HR department only to receive non-committal replies. “It was always me instigating the conversation,” says Laura. “The last message I received said they promised to contact me as soon as they had more information on my new role. I never heard from them again.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELaura had been ghosted. Rather than sending her a formal rejection or an explanation of what had happened, her potential employer ignored her. It’s a practice that’s common in the recruitment process; one recent study of 1,500 global workers found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.greenhouse.io\u002Fblog\u002Fkey-learnings-from-the-2022-greenhouse-candidate-experience-report\"\u003E75% of jobseekers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have been ghosted by a company after a job interview. Employers openly acknowledge that they do it; only \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.indeed.com\u002Flead\u002Fimpact-of-covid-19-on-job-seeker-employer-ghosting\"\u003E27% of US employers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E surveyed by job listings site Indeed said they hadn’t ghosted a candidate in the past year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it’s not just companies. Right now, employees are ghosting back – and potentially in higher numbers than ever before. In the same 2021 Indeed survey, 28% of workers said that they’d ghosted an employer – compared to 19% two years before. The phenomenon seems to be happening at all stages of the recruitment process. While some employers reported that candidates cut off communications following an initial phone screening, a quarter said new hires had “no-showed” on their first day at work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGhosting is considered bad practice for both companies and workers; no one likes being on the receiving end of it. Yet its rise seems inexorable: digital hiring processes deluge companies with candidates, making replying to everyone hard, even as labour shortages give job-hunters more options as employers scramble for talent. Is the inevitable consequence of this an increasingly discourteous recruitment process – or can steps be taken by both sides to avert a downward spiral?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEasier – but more impersonal?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E‘\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20190118-how-people-are-ghosting-their-employers\"\u003EGhosting\u003C\u002Fa\u003E’ was originally coined in the dating world: it meant a sudden, unexpected end to all contact. It’s a social phenomenon increasingly being co-opted in the workplace – and put into practice on either side of the interview table.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing able to suddenly drop communications during the recruitment process generally favours the party in the more \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good\"\u003Epowerful position\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Traditionally, employers have been more likely to ghost than the workforce. However, even before Covid-19, ghosting had become a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.washingtonpost.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2018\u002F12\u002F12\u002Fworkers-are-ghosting-their-employers-like-bad-dates\u002F?noredirect=on\"\u003Egrowing trend among candidates\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, too: thanks to a tightening job market, they could afford to begin mimicking companies’ behaviour.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Candidates are being approached all the time with an abundance of jobs to choose from. If they have multiple applications on the go, it can be easier to simply ignore one of them – Craig Freedberg","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut the pandemic has acted as a catalyst, fuelling the current spike. Yuletta Pringle, of the Society for Human Resource Management, based in Virginia, US, says the rise is coming from both workers and employers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPringle attributes the uptick to the fall-out from the Great Resignation. “Labour shortages have left employers pinched and desperate to hire, meaning they have to push out a ton of feelers online and may not be able to respond to everyone,” she explains. “On the employee side, there are so many job vacancies – they may be ghosting potential employers as they search for their ideal role and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly\"\u003Emove around the recruitment process\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn many cases, recruitment processes have been digitised. Job-search algorithms place the open positions right in front of workers. ‘Easy apply’ options mean candidates can send off resumes for multiple jobs more effortlessly than ever. Virtual interviews have improved accessibility, increasing opportunities for employers and workers to find the best fit. “Before the pandemic, only a fraction of interviews brokered through us would be done virtually,” says Craig Freedberg, a regional director at recruitment firm Robert Half, based in London. “Now, 99% of our first-stage interviews are via Zoom calls.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, the convenience of digitised and virtual recruitment comes at a cost. Employers are having to both widen their net and interview more people as a result of the hiring crisis. That creates a knock-on effect for hiring managers who, whether inside firms or at external recruitment companies, are dealing with a glut of applicants and roles. “Much of the ghosting we’re seeing today may simply be the fact that someone just can’t get back to everyone,” says Pringle. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe loss of in-person interviews may also be a factor in ghosting by both parties. “It can sometimes be harder to build a rapport with someone virtually,” says Freedberg. “The emotional investment of travelling to meet someone for an in-person interview is difficult to replicate when you’re clicking on a calendar link from home, and it’s easier for employers to ghost when you’re losing that human, face-to-face element.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe process can, therefore, feel increasingly transactional. And, in the current buoyant job market, applicants may well be swamped, too. “Candidates are being approached all the time with an abundance of jobs to choose from,” says Freedberg. “If they have multiple applications on the go, it can be easier to simply ignore one of them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0btvx9b"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBalancing ghosting and professionalism\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMarket conditions may well mean that not replying to every lead or candidate is becoming more normalised. But ghosting comes with downsides to both employers and candidates: it leaves a bad impression – likely ending a professional relationship before it’s even begun.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor that reason, some companies, particularly relationship-led ones, remain staunchly anti-ghosting – even if they’ve been on the receiving end themselves. “In our industry, it’s very important to be approachable and build strong relationships, so we’re certainly anti-ghosting,” says Christoph Hardt, founder of consultancy marketplace Comatch, based in Berlin. “Nevertheless, we’re seeing more of our requests to consultants go unanswered. That can be seen as unprofessional, but it’s a consequence of the current market: a worker may ghost simply because they’re too busy.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPringle suggests that both employers and workers could benefit from thinking about what constitutes ghosting and where this strays into unprofessionalism. “If you have a job posting and, through your digital process, you push out your vacancy to hundreds of candidates but don't reply to each one individually, is that ghosting? Or, would ghosting be once you've made some contact both ways and then communication drops? It would be helpful to define it first.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike its dating namesake, Freedberg believes that interview ghosting is rooted in a lack of commitment. “A precursor to ghosting is when either party doesn’t feel bought into the process or has that emotional investment,” he says. “There has to be greater emphasis on approaching people you genuinely think are right for the job. And, if someone takes time out of their day for an interview, virtually or in person, they deserve feedback.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"There were no excuses to ghost me: I’d invested so much time and energy reaching that point, only for them to drop off the face of the Earth – Laura","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPringle believes responsibility for communication still falls on the employer’s side – and says the right kind of communication can limit the prospect of ghosting from the outset. “If the employer is as clear and specific on the requirements of the position as possible, right at the beginning of the hiring process, then that could help reduce ghosting on the employees’ side,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKeeping in touch with candidates during the recruitment process is also important, stresses Freedberg. “Much of the time, it’s just about managing expectations,” he says. “If there are delays to the recruitment process on either side, responding to people’s emails and letting them know will always be considered good practice.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut workers have responsibilities, too. Freedberg suggests that rather than applying for jobs on autopilot, workers mindfully select positions that offer a good cultural fit. Otherwise, they risk wasting recruiters’ time. “If a candidate agrees to meet an employer for an interview, then decides to ghost, then that’s something a client won’t be happy with,” he adds. “It’s just bad practice.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGenerally speaking, for both sides, the rule of thumb seems to be that the further you go down the recruitment process, the less acceptable it is to ghost. The more effort an applicant or a company has invested in the recruitment process, the ruder an abrupt end to contact will feel. Inevitably, it will leave a bad impression – as was the case for Laura.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the end, she never received a rejection email. Instead, the delays, doubt and ghosting she experienced inflicted a deeper psychological blow – one that caused her to rethink her entire career. “I’d rather have just been told that for whatever reason I didn’t get the job,” she says. “There were no excuses to ghost me: I’d invested so much time and energy reaching that point, only for them to drop off the face of the Earth.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-15T13:08:24Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why workers and employers are ghosting each other","headlineShort":"The unstoppable rise of 'ghosting'","image":["p0btvwgl"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Rather than sending a withdrawal or rejection email, workers and employers are simply cutting off contact during the hiring process. Are we stuck in a ‘ghosting’ spiral?","summaryShort":"Workers and recruiters alike are going radio silent. What's going on?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-14T19:48:31.191902Z","entity":"article","guid":"984fbb10-b96e-40df-a533-df39f513292a","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-14T19:48:31.191902Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095708},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b29a56b2c72","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Falex-christian"],"bodyIntro":"Companies are calling employees back to the workplace – but not all of them. This is stoking resentment among workers and employers.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn February, Mark’s employer, an energy firm based in Ohio, US, told him he had to return to the office. The software engineer’s bosses had praised his output while working from home, and he never missed a deadline. Yet, in a company with more than 1,000 employees, it was only Mark’s department that initially received instructions to go back three days a week.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Our team is small and all of us are on the same page: we don’t need to be there,” explains Mark, whose surname is being held for job-security concerns. “For my day-to-day responsibilities, there are no benefits gained by being in the office – I can accomplish all my tasks from home.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Mark, the on-the-ground reality is that only his five-person team, and a smattering of others, are actually back in the workplace. “I can count on both hands the number of employees present most days. We’re at the bottom of the pyramid, and have been told flat out we need to be in the office.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESenior-level colleagues at the company, however, still get to work remotely. Some of them are doing so while they travel around the US. “They’re never in the office,” says Mark. “We've had company-wide meetings where these employees were videoing in from vacation spots. Someone must have pointed out the optics – they've had their cameras off in the last few meetings.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Mark and his team, this disparity between who gets to work from home and who has to return to the office has created friction: different employees are subject to different rules, and it feels unfair that the rationale has never been explained. “It’s never been addressed by management,” he says. “While we can submit return-to-office queries during virtual meetings, they’re never been answered directly.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs pandemic restrictions end, more and more companies are calling employees back to the office – yet the rules are not universal for all workers. Some bosses are allowing exceptions for individuals or particular groups of workers – moves hard to explain in the return-to-office world. While mandating certain behaviours from most employees, they’re allowing others to retain special arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut with some employees across an organisation working with very different attendance rules, tensions are beginning to bubble to the surface, impacting workplace dynamics.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘No clear policy’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s no surprise calling staff back to the office is throwing up challenges. When the pandemic hit, employees had to switch to remote work almost overnight. As lockdowns bit and workers faced huge upheaval to their daily lives, managers had to be flexible about when and where teams got their jobs done; in some cases, parents changed their hours and cramped city-dwellers decamped to rural locations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo years on, many workers have crafted bespoke working set-ups that keep them productive outside traditional, in-office working patterns. Some of these employees are now being granted accommodations by employers to continue doing so; this group might include people who moved away from their work location during the pandemic and now want to keep their job remotely. There are also new recruits, hired on remote contracts.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"We've had company-wide meetings where [senior] employees were videoing in from vacation spots – Mark","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA large chunk of the workforce, however, are being instructed by the same bosses to return to the office on a hybrid or full-time basis. That’s left employers with a problem: they’re appearing to show favouritism; bestowing flexibility to a select few workers, while enforcing restrictions upon the majority. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor bosses, it’s an easy move to call back those who still live within commuting distance to the office as well as junior-level employees. But mid- and senior-level workers may have greater leverage in keeping flexible arrangements. “More experienced employees often feel quite strongly about their desire for hybrid or remote practices,” says Helen Hughes, associate professor at Leeds University Business School, UK. “They often already have social capital and leverage nested in the relationships and reputation they’ve previously built.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGiven current labour shortages, experienced workers might also be in higher demand – particularly in sectors where competition for talent is fiercest. If companies want to keep them, they have to bend in some cases. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, giving some employees special working conditions can create perceptions of inequity, potentially dividing teams and stoking resentment. “If the decisions around who works from home and who has to go into the office are seemingly unfair, and that some employees have had a better deal, it has the potential to drive in-groups and out-groups in the workplace,” says Hughes. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis creates the risk of cliques, she adds, and the creation of a two-tier workforce with a majority of in-office employees and a minority of remote workers, potentially forming rifts between teams. And a lack of company cohesion linked to aggrieved employees can lead to a raft of negative consequences that might impact workforce dynamics, says Amy Butterworth, consulting director at London-based flexible-working consultants Timewise. “The quality of work will suffer, there is a big hit in relation to inclusion and you won’t get the best out of teams.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c077wn"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAs companies scramble to develop \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220113-why-a-wide-scale-return-to-the-office-is-a-myth\"\u003Ereturn-to-office policies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a lack of plausible explanation from bosses can exacerbate rising tensions. When digital-agency worker Sarah began a new job in the north of England, her employer said they’d need her at their headquarters on a full-time basis because she lived locally. Her colleagues, however, were allowed to work remotely because they weren’t a commuting distance away. “My boss didn’t have a clear flexible-working policy: they just made it up as they went along,” she says. “They said because it was easier for me to go in, I should be there every day.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Sarah, such workplace dynamics didn’t create resentment towards her colleagues – but towards her employer instead. “I was ultimately punished based on where I lived. Flexible working shouldn’t be about your proximity to the office,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Management themselves are ghosts’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy selecting which workers have to return to the office, and which can have flexible working, employers are inadvertently creating off-kilter workplace dynamics. It’s leading some employees to challenge such \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.protocol.com\u002Fbulletins\u002Fgoogle-employees-upset-remote-work\"\u003Edecision making\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at a corporate level. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Mark’s case, he’s particularly angry his company has failed to explain why employees who worked productively in remote set-ups should be forced to return to the office. “We’ve been told flat out we need to be back in, yet management themselves are ghosts,” he says. “If internet access is all that’s required to complete your tasks, then work shouldn't be bound to any single location.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I was ultimately punished based on where I lived. Flexible working shouldn’t be about your proximity to the office – Sarah","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EButterworth says establishing fair working practises ultimately comes down to consulting directly with employees. “If a worker has a reluctance in returning to the office, then the employer has to demonstrate the value to the individual, their work and the wider team. And if people have been hired on specific remote contracts, that needs to be communicated on why they have a different set-up.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFiguring out why employers are allowing one employee is to work remotely and asking another to come into the office can help reduce tensions in teams. “It’s about looking at the needs of a role, the team and the worker,” says Butterworth. “As long as people understand these decisions, it’s easier to find a solution.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe danger is that without careful consideration and transparent processes in place, some workers will feel hard done by if they’re asked to return to the office while others aren’t. As well as an instant hit on morale, it can create issues between colleagues, driving deep wedges in the workplace over the longer term.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith little in the way of explanation as to why he has to be in the office, while others can work from anywhere, Mark is now looking for a new job. “[Managers] use phrases like ‘team building’ and ‘collaboration’ to justify the return-to-office push,” he says. “But I don’t think it’s fair for non-site-essential employees to report at the workplace. Companies incapable of flexibility will haemorrhage the quality employees.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-11T15:16:24Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The simmering tension between remote and in-office workers","headlineShort":"'If he's remote, why can't I be?'","image":["p0c077kx"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Companies are calling employees back to the workplace – but not all of them. This is stoking resentment among workers and employers.","summaryShort":"Some workers are getting special treatment in the newly remote workplace","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-10T19:36:31.568191Z","entity":"article","guid":"f2189d55-182b-4c17-b705-7f6bdc438d39","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-14T12:32:34.526698Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095697},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good","_id":"6267dfab1f4b7b3e733455b7","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Falex-christian"],"bodyIntro":"Employees have more agency due to the labour shortage. But is it actually making a long-term difference?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Great Resignation has left employers squeezed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2021, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002F2022\u002F02\u002F01\u002Feconomy\u002Fus-job-openings-quite-december\u002Findex.html\"\u003EUS employees left the workforce in record numbers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, leaving \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reuters.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Fus-job-openings-jump-11-million-october-2021-12-08\u002F\"\u003Emillions of positions unfilled\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Similar patterns have played out in the UK; in January, the Office for National Statistics announced a record-high of more than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Femploymentandlabourmarket\u002Fpeopleinwork\u002Femploymentandemployeetypes\u002Fbulletins\u002Fjobsandvacanciesintheuk\u002Fjanuary2022\"\u003E1.2 million job vacancies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. For months, employers have struggled to fill open roles and keep existing workers from moving on.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese figures imply that employers are on the back foot, compared to workers, who are in a new position to bargain with current and prospective bosses. And indeed, amid\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002F2021\u002F09\u002F08\u002Feconomy\u002Fus-job-openings-july\u002Findex.html\"\u003E an incredibly tight labour market\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, many employees can afford to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle\"\u003Echerry-pick roles\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that align with their values, command \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly\"\u003Ehigher salaries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or tailor \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete\"\u003Ework perks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for a new hybrid set-up.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd beyond finding themselves with the upper hand in a hot job market, many workers are also becoming more active in labour issues; in the US particularly, a wave of strikes and increased union activity has swept across both knowledge- and service-work jobs. “People are increasingly unwilling to accept substandard working conditions of all kinds,” says Benjamin Sachs, professor of labour and industry at Harvard Law School. “That includes poor pay, a lack of resources or not feeling respected on the job.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe worker shortage has seemingly emboldened employees. But where is this newfound power truly making a difference? And does it mark a permanent shift in the dynamic between employers and their staff, or is it merely a fleeting labour market trend?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere power is bringing change\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers are harnessing power to spur change in a few distinct arenas – most are connected to better working conditions, from pay to benefits to workplace health and safety.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFirst, the high demand for workers amid a limited supply is increasing salaries, particularly among private sector workers. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffred.stlouisfed.org\u002Fseries\u002FCES0500000003\"\u003Ethe average hourly earnings of all employees in the private sector\u003C\u002Fa\u003E rose to a record $31.63 (£23.37) in January – nearly $2.00 more than a year earlier. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bndqjv"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn service jobs, where pay can be a barrier to keeping workers, major businesses have also been forced to introduce \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Feu.usatoday.com\u002Fstory\u002Fmoney\u002Ffood\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F27\u002Fstarbucks-pay-raise-hourly-wage-increase-2022\u002F8567718002\u002F\"\u003Emultiple wage hikes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; smaller companies are incentivising staff with new benefits, such as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.bloomberglaw.com\u002Fdaily-labor-report\u002Fdesperate-for-workers-small-companies-pump-up-health-coverage\"\u003Ehealth insurance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “Those in hospitality and retail seem to have more power than they did previously because of labour shortages,” says Abigail Marks, professor of the future of work at Newcastle University Business School, UK.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKnowledge workers, too, are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office\"\u003Epushing back\u003C\u002Fa\u003E against company return-to-office policies, staging \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2021-04-15\u002Fex-jpmorgan-trader-says-colleagues-staged-walk-out-over-firing\"\u003Ewalkouts\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and demanding \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-58054983\"\u003Ehigher pay\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “We’ve seen a widespread uptick in strikes, organising and activism across multiple industries,” says Sachs. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn October 2021, a burst of employee activism and strikes occurred across America, particularly in the private sector. Dubbed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fabcnews.go.com\u002FBusiness\u002Fstriketober-workers-seize-power-pandemic-wanes\u002Fstory?id=80640190\"\u003E‘Striketober\u003C\u002Fa\u003E,’ swaths of workers walked out on their jobs across multiple industries; many demanded better pay and treatment after working through the pandemic, often in roles that were deemed essential. In the largest instance, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fus-news\u002F2021\u002Foct\u002F23\u002Fstriketober-unions-strikes-workers-lasting-change\"\u003E10,000 workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at manufacturing firm John Deere went on strike – the biggest of its kind in the US for two years.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers are also applying pressure to some of the biggest companies in the world – and winning. In one example, Amazon previously had a policy that banned employees from break rooms and non-work areas for more than 15 minutes either side of their shift. However, following a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbsnews.com\u002Fnews\u002Famazon-reaches-settlement-that-gives-workers-more-power-to-organize\u002F\"\u003Erecent settlement\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with the American labour regulator, Amazon now has to allow its 750,000 employees in the US to organise within the buildings. “I think the current National Labour Relations Board is the most progressive – and the most activist – one we’ve seen in generations,” says Sachs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the UK, the past year also saw Uber agree to recognise the GMB trade union for its \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thetimes.co.uk\u002Farticle\u002Funions-need-to-harness-technology-to-help-to-rebuild-their-lost-muscle-xsx83fpk0\"\u003E70,000 private hire drivers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – the first time a gig economy ride-hailing app has accepted collective bargaining. “To allow recognition of a trade union is very important,” explains Marks. “If conditions don’t improve, then people have at least the opportunity to take action.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Those in hospitality and retail seem to have more power than they did previously because of labour shortages – Abigail Marks","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAs hybrid and remote working increases, the workplace is becoming more and more fragmented. Although that can make it harder for informal conversations to take place between employees around pay and working conditions, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement\"\u003Eonline communities are growing in response\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, offering networks for home-based employees to take collective action, digitally. “There is growing evidence that there is more informal organising being done online,” says Marks. “It’s the logical way forward, and it helps empower people.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy employee activism only goes so far\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile there has been a rise in worker power in the short term, there are still few signs that any changes are likely to stick.For one, the labour movement is hampered by the waning presence of trade unions. Sachs says, “The popularity of unions is going up and up – but actual union density is going down.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2021, fewer than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fpdf\u002Funion2.pdf\"\u003E10% of American workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E belonged to a union. The disconnect is down to the law, explains Sachs. In 1947, the US government passed the Taft-Hartley Act to restrict the power of unions. Boycotts of businesses that workers had no direct dispute with, such as places where their employer bought or sold products, were made illegal, as were closed shops, where employers could only hire union members.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnion membership has been on a downward trajectory in the decades since. “Although the law still guarantees workers the right to form and join a union if that’s what they want,” adds Sachs, “it’s a right that’s been eviscerated over time through judicial opinion and employer practises.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat means workers face an uphill battle in trying to institutionalise their power. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Employees need a collective organisation that channels their demands: a union,” says Sachs – but it is becoming increasingly difficult to push them through. He cites Starbucks workers in the US, who are currently trying to organise shop by shop, only to be met with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-60312013\"\u003Ecorporate resistance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Forming – and therefore joining – a union is made all the more challenging, given that employers are reticent in recognising them. Sachs adds that the law also gives management the leeway to fight unionisation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bndr0r"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAnd while wages are on the rise, so too is the cost of living. In many cases, experts say, market conditions, rather than employee power, are dictating that pay needs to increase. “Although salaries are going up, it’s often not in proportion to rising bills and energy costs,” says Marks. “Many workers in the UK public sector haven’t had pay rises – their real wages are going down.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking longer term\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn many cases, the recent surge in worker power is making a short-term difference. But it doesn’t paint the full picture of where we might be going in the future.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMuch of this activity has been reactive by employers, who are scrambling amid the unprecedented hiring crisis. “For those in higher demand now, like hospitality workers, they have more power than before,” says Marks. “But it’s because of a short-term labour market issue, rather than from employee power or employer goodwill.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe employee activism we’re currently seeing could then also shift back once the labour shortage normalises. “History shows that if workers don’t have an institution, organisation or mechanism to translate their market power into some kind of sustained form of collective voices, then these signs of optimism soon fade,” says Sachs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESystemic change is still yet to happen. Unless the provision of entitlements like paid holiday, minimum wages and other benefits is enshrined in law, any employee gains made at local or company level can be easily rolled back once market conditions allow companies to do so. “Anything an employer gives today can be taken away tomorrow,” adds Sachs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, while we’re currently witnessing the pendulum swing towards employees, there are no guarantees that it won’t swing back to employers. We don’t know, however, when that might be, how long the labour shortage could go on for or even what the pandemic has still in store.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor all the progress made by workers, there is currently little certainty about how much will remain for good. Marks says: “The employee power that we’re currently witnessing is manifesting for a small group of people at a particular point of time – and we just don’t know what will happen.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-02-15T15:03:53Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Can newfound worker power change the workplace for good?","headlineShort":"The workers who hold the power","image":["p0bndqc9"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":["p0bp6w3c"],"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Employees have more agency due to the labour shortage. But is it actually making a long-term difference?","summaryShort":"Workers have leverage now, but will it translate to long-term gains?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-14T23:05:00.662562Z","entity":"article","guid":"ee233884-b863-404f-8814-8326bc0712de","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:13:53.302003Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095705},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one","_id":"6267dfa61f4b7b2c1219e780","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmeredith-turits"],"bodyIntro":"Millions of workers are on the hunt for remote jobs. But there may not be enough flexible positions for all of them.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWorkers want remote jobs. As a widescale return-to-office sweeps the globe, many employees are fighting to stay out of the office as much as possible – and some have plans to leave employers who won’t accommodate a flexible future.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EData from a May 2021 Morning Consult survey of 1,000 US adults showed nearly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2021-06-01\u002Freturn-to-office-employees-are-quitting-instead-of-giving-up-work-from-home\"\u003E40% would consider jumping ship if their employers didn’t offer remote-work flexibility\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. That number shot up to 49% for millennials and Gen Z. Increasingly, many workers have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fslate.com\u002Fhuman-interest\u002F2021\u002F07\u002Fworkers-quitting-over-remote-work-going-back-to-office.html\"\u003Eanecdotally reported doing so\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough this is throwing some employers into a frenzy, not all are jumping to respond to workers’ demands by opening a remote- or hybrid-work option, or at least keeping jobs quite as location flexible. This is because a supply-and-demand problem may underpin these figures: despite an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F29\u002Fthere-are-now-a-record-5-million-more-job-openings-than-unemployed-people-in-the-us.html\"\u003Eoverabundance of open positions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in many countries including the US and UK, and a job market that continues to favour employees, some data shows there simply may not be enough location-flexible jobs for everyone who wants one.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese trends differ by countries and industries, but figures are increasingly indicating a far-reaching worker interest that may not align with job-market reality. It might be a tough pill to swallow for workers who feel their options abound – and the result is that some jobseekers may have to bend to an in-office future they’re resisting.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA supply-and-demand conundrum\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecent global figures from job sites Indeed and LinkedIn, shared with BBC Worklife, show worker interest in jobs with a remote component is outpacing the number of such available roles in many cases.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven as remote-job postings have shot up during the pandemic, “the share of job searches that contain keywords related to remote work has risen even more in most large economies”, points out Pawel Adrjan, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) research at Indeed. “If we look at the US overall, searches for remote work have gone up four-and-a half times as a share of all searches since 2019, and the share of remote job postings has gone up by only 3.2 times.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In the UK, remote-job postings have increased 329%, while the number of searches has skyrocketed 790%","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the US, postings that explicitly mention remote work between January 2020 and March 2022 are up 319%, yet searches are up 458%. In the UK, remote-job postings have increased a similar 329%, while the number of searches has skyrocketed 790%. This mismatched pattern also holds in countries such as Italy, Germany and France, where remote-job postings have declined (or are generally less available) since their pandemic peak. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAcross the world, demand has been outstripping supply in many cases – and, according to Adrjan, people are still very actively searching for at least partially remote roles, even as the pandemic wanes in some economies. He says the supply of these jobs is getting even tighter in countries with weaker broadband infrastructures, like Italy, and in those where cultural acceptance of remote working isn’t as high, like France and Japan. In these economies, the share of remote postings is dropping, as employers begin transitioning newly open roles back to the office.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, LinkedIn’s data on remote jobs – positions explicitly labelled as remote, or ones that contain related keywords, such as ‘work from home’, including hybrid roles – showed a dramatic increase in the number of applications. In March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, paid remote jobs attracted 1.8 times the share of applications than paid non-remote jobs; in March 2022, this figure was higher at 2.6 times. Even as the number of remote roles increased, they couldn’t keep pace with the number of applicants for these jobs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The key takeaway here is that the supply of, and employees’ demand for, remote jobs have both grown rapidly over the past two years, but demand has grown faster,” says Mary Kate Fields, data communications manager at LinkedIn.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c2jq9b"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘There’s going to have to be some give’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile remote-work options do still exist, of course, the specific industry of a particular job has a lot to do with how flexible employers are willing to be about where workers are getting jobs done. This is particularly the case where face time is increasingly essential as restrictions ease, like travel, retail and construction, according to LinkedIn’s data as well as Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn’s chief economist.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOliver Price, UK solutions director for technology at recruiting consultancy Robert Half, agrees that sector influences how many workers can have location-flexible arrangements. Technology is a good example, he says; because the labour market is still so competitive for occupations like developers, workers can afford to press for the remote work they want.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If [an employer has] had a job requisition open and it’s been incredibly challenging to hire the right person, and the right person comes along but has a slightly different personal situation… you have to at least consider that,” he says. In other words, some workers may be in a position to leverage their talent to secure a more preferable remote-work arrangement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I think, ultimately, you’re going to see jobseekers having to compromise a little bit more – Karin Kimbrough","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EStill, as the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle\"\u003EGreat Reshuffle\u003C\u002Fa\u003E continues, driven largely by workers looking for more flexible accommodations, the reality is some jobseekers may be disappointed by their options. And, says Kimbrough, it’s important to remember that only a third of employers are offering remote work at all – which means at two-thirds of companies, the option isn’t even on the table. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is one caveat, however – somewhat “hidden” remote roles. Adrjan explains that there may be some companies who are willing to negotiate location flexibility and make personal accommodations, even if they may not explicitly be advertised in job listings. After all, adds Price, employers do need to recruit and retain talent, and understand they may have to give a little on their end to do so.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, however, Kimbrough says “there’s going to have to be some give by jobseekers”, especially as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.microsoft.com\u002Fblog\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F16\u002Fgreat-expectations-a-roadmap-for-making-hybrid-work-work\u002F\"\u003Eemployers across the globe dig their heels in about a return-to-office\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as the global economy slows and the labour market rebalances. Price agrees “candidates are having to be a bit more flexible than they even likely want to be at this current period in time”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“[Workers] have been in the driver’s seat for at least a year, if not longer, but that won't last forever,” says Kimbrough. As we get through this jobseeker-friendly period in the job market, she adds, workers may have to cede their position of power. “I think, ultimately, you’re going to see jobseekers having to compromise a little bit more.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-26T16:19:03Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Are there enough remote jobs for everyone who wants one?","headlineShort":"Want a remote job? Good luck","image":["p0c2jq9s"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Millions of workers are on the hunt for remote jobs. But there may not be enough flexible positions for all of them.","summaryShort":"Demand for flexible jobs is outstripping supply in many cases. What now?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-25T19:51:30.162637Z","entity":"article","guid":"5c7fe21a-e475-40d2-adf4-57a6dc05b47b","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-26T14:52:29.712388Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095696},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more","_id":"6267dfcc1f4b7b58c204ab72","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmark-johanson"],"bodyIntro":"To pull reluctant workers back to the office, some employers are upping pay packets and offering perks just for stepping through the door. Is it the right approach?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe looming return to the office – put off so many times in recent months – has many leaders grappling with how to re-populate expensive real estate they’ve been paying for, but barely occupying, for the past two years. For some companies, one solution has been to throw more money at the problem, paying workers additional sums for the perceived inconvenience of actually travelling to work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EMuch has been discussed about whether fully remote workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220127-location-based-salary\"\u003Eshould be paid lower wages\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – particularly if they’ve now relocated to lower-earning geographic areas. Yet, far less attention has been given to in-office workers: if they’re going to give up the benefit of working from home in 2022, will they now need to be paid for it? After all, surveys show most employees have little appetite for going back to the office full time. In fact, 54% of remote workers in a mid-February survey from business-intelligence firm Morning Consult \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmorningconsult.com\u002Freturn-to-work\u002F\"\u003Esaid they would consider quitting their jobs if their companies tried to force their return\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWith statistics like these in mind, some companies are now considering pay rises and perks to help soften the blow of coming back to the cubical either full time or, more likely, on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fhello-hybrid\"\u003Ea hybrid model\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of two to three days in the office and the rest remote. Yet, studies show that even that may not be enough for some workers, who now prize flexibility far more than compensation. Moreover, creating new compensation tiers for remote and in-office workers could actually exacerbate pay gaps for women and minorities, creating new equity problems over the coming months.\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETo give or to take?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EPay is often a way for a company to signal where it places value. So, if the company feels strongly about the power of in-person connections right now – and wants to impress that upon employees – pay rises for those who come in at least three days a week may be a useful tool, says Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom.\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EMoreover, pay rises tend to be a much simpler solution than cuts. In behavioural economics, ‘prospect theory’ suggests individuals assess their losses and gains in an asymmetric manner, making it far easier to give someone something than it is to take it away. This is the reason many analysts believe that, instead of remote workers being forced to take pay cuts, in-office staff will likely see gains. Yet, those gains won’t always happen in obvious ways. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“Most companies I’m talking to are typically moving to a two-pay system,” explains Bloom. Fully-remote workers may see their pay frozen, while “folks that come back to the office are going to get a 5% to 10% pay increase, which isn’t really a pay increase but setting it to market norms [due to inflation]”. Bloom says quite a few firms are talking about the 10% pay difference.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Employers are trying to make the office a destination that you want to go to – Ruth Thomas","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAdditionally, some companies are building in other financial incentives for in-office workers, such as commuting costs. “People kind of absorbed that travel cost into their living expenses while they were home for 18 months and now that feels like an additional expense,” explains Ruth Thomas, a UK-based pay equity strategist with compensation data company Payscale. That’s why companies like Bloomberg now offer global employees a daily allowance of $75 (£55) for commuting.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlong with pay, companies are coming up with other creative perks to reward in-office workers. Simon Coughlin is the associate director of London-based PR agency Babel, which asks employees to be in the office for a minimum of three days per week to aid in collaboration and creativity. “We’ve found that there is a tendency for people to choose to be in the office on days other than Monday and Friday,” he says. “So, to entice people into the office on those days we have breakfasts, lunches and, on Friday, drinks starting at 1600.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBeyond drinks and meals, some companies are offering return-to-office benefits like social programming and free gym memberships. American real estate data company CoStar Group even raffled off luxurious prizes to workers coming back into the office, including a Tesla and all-expense-paid trips to Barbados (its office occupancy \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Fbarbados-trip-a-tesla-returning-to-the-office-at-this-firm-has-its-rewards-11619967601\"\u003Ereportedly\u003C\u002Fa\u003E shot up by 16% after the announcement). \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“Employers are trying to make the office a destination that you want to go to,” says Thomas. “The ‘yacht club destination’ is what I’ve heard it described as.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EHowever, Bloom cautions these premiums may not last. “In some ways [these incentives] are revolutionary, but I actually think that will die out because it’s really a transitionary phase when we are coming off the pandemic into the post-pandemic,” he explains. Five years from now, he predicts, the need for these pay incentives will probably be gone, “because you are not going to hire new people into the fully remote roles [for a hybrid office]”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bsxl1y"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman commuting to work on the subway","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho’s coming back to the office (and who’s not)?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIn the short to medium term, Bloom believes the issue of how fair it is to be paying the same workers at different scales could become a big topic of debate. “Next year it will be hot news and maybe there will be lawsuits over this,” he says. “People will feel – maybe rightfully so – aggrieved over it. They may say ‘I’m doing the same job as my co-workers’, but that will just die out as these folks are not replaced.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThere have always been pay discrepancies between distinct groups, including contractors and employees or local managers and managers flown in from abroad, Bloom adds. “The painful bit now is that it’s so transparent,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People will feel – maybe rightfully so – aggrieved over it – Nicholas Bloom","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThomas has similar concerns that differing pay scales and perks could open companies up to litigation. “In pre-pandemic times, we all were just expected to come to work, and you didn’t have that choice, and you couldn’t say ‘I was caring for this person’,” she says. “But some of us have had nearly two years at home where we built in these caring routines into our lives and we’re not prepared to give them up.” She believes that people who have proved they can do their jobs successfully from home could potentially allege discrimination if they are excluded from pay rises offered to their in-office colleagues. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThomas notes that there are clear demographic differences in who wants to come back to the office and who doesn’t. Some 52% of women want to work at least mostly remotely, compared with just 46% of men, according to Slack’s latest \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffutureforum.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F01\u002FFuture-Forum-Pulse-Report-January-2022.pdf\"\u003EFuture Forum Pulse\u003C\u002Fa\u003E report. Meanwhile, the report also found that, in the US, 86% of Hispanic and Latino workers and 81% of Asian and Black workers prefer a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement, compared with 75% of white workers. The study attributes this to minority workers experiencing fewer microaggressions and doing less \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210119-why-its-hard-for-people-of-colour-to-be-themselves-at-work\"\u003Ecode-switching in a remote scenario\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThese differing preferences have the potential to exacerbate pay gaps – particularly if women and minority workers are more likely to stay fully or partially remote and pay rises are more likely to go to employees who return to the office. Thomas urges leaders to keep a detailed count of who’s back at the office by race and gender “so you can spot whether that’s going to cause you an issue down the line”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBeyond issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, there remain real questions about whether pay increases and perks will be enough to lure employees back to the office in the first place, particularly given how hot the labour market is for those who could easily change jobs if their remote work demands aren’t met. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fold.iwgplc.com\u002FMediaCentre\u002FArticle\u002Fwhy-employees-prefer-hybrid-working-to-pay-rise\"\u003Estudy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from Switzerland-based International Workplace Group found that 72% of workers preferred long-term flexibility in where they’re based compared to a 10% pay rise. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EMeanwhile, on the anonymous professional network Blind, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teamblind.com\u002Fblog\u002Findex.php\u002F2021\u002F04\u002F05\u002Femployees-willing-to-make-less-money-to-stay-home\u002F\"\u003Eusers were asked\u003C\u002Fa\u003E whether they’d prefer a permanent work-from-home option or a $30,000 pay rise to go to the office. Of the more than 3,000 US-based respondents – who represented companies such as Amazon, Google, and Twitter – 64% chose flexibility over pay. For some workers, it seems, the pay rise would need to be very, very significant to override the benefits of home working. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-08T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Should in-office workers be paid more?","headlineShort":"Pay rises for going back to the office?","image":["p0bsxk56"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A worker looks at high-rise office buiildings","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"To pull reluctant workers back to the office, some employers are upping pay packets and offering perks just for stepping through the door. Is it the right approach?","summaryShort":"The firms offering financial incentives to staff who come back in","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-07T22:03:20.307266Z","entity":"article","guid":"45eb11e1-8e4d-4de3-a128-77ce48777477","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-09T09:25:13.164555Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095697},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","_id":"6267dfaa1f4b7b30385c2002","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Some new graduates are beginning their careers on salaries most workers will never hit in their careers – but what are the long-term implications?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDavis Nguyen specialises in helping college seniors begin a career in management consulting. It’s an industry that historically pays well: even before the pandemic, some of the biggest firms offered undergraduates salaries that often approached the six-figure mark. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, in the current market, Nguyen’s clients are doing particularly well. “They’ll come back and say ‘I have two great offers’,” explains the founder of My Consulting Offer, based in Georgia, US. “One is for $120,000 (£91,630), the other is for $140,000 (£106,900). Today’s climate means graduates can earn much more money than a few years ago.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EManagement consulting is among the sectors in which graduates are increasingly walking straight from the lecture hall into six-figure roles – earning pay packets most people will never see in their lifetimes. In Big Tech, entry-level software engineers are often starting on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thisismoney.co.uk\u002Fmoney\u002Fmarkets\u002Farticle-9781363\u002FGoldman-Sachs-considers-paying-graduates-six-figure-salaries.html\"\u003Esuch wages\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. At the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Fgoldman-sachs-is-giving-entry-level-bankers-a-nearly-30-raise-11627930285\"\u003Elargest banking corporations\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, pay for first-year analysts has spiked nearly 30% – a $110,000 (£83,979) base salary, in some cases. At the biggest London law firms, some newly qualified solicitors begin their careers on a £107,500 salary ($141,115). Nguyen says “20-year-olds earning $100,000 from the get-go” has increasingly become the norm since the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOften, these young employees are joining firms where colleagues began with lower pay, and had to work hard for years to earn six figures. Such organisations would argue it’s a response to market needs: the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F29\u002Fthere-are-now-a-record-5-million-more-job-openings-than-unemployed-people-in-the-us.html\"\u003Ehiring crisis\u003C\u002Fa\u003E means the competition for talent remains fierce; if an employer wants the best candidates willing to put in long hours, they have to pay a high price for them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, beyond matching the market rate, does offering graduates huge pay packets actually bring benefits, like incentivising longer hours or boosting work ethic? Or can it create unintended consequences, for both the young high-earner as well as the wider workforce?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘High pay is an expectation’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWages for graduates have been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2021\u002F09\u002F01\u002Fcollege-graduate-starting-salaries-are-at-an-all-time-high.html\"\u003Esteadily rising\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for years. According to 2021 data from US non-profit the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the starting salary for some entry-level workers in particular fields has spiked dramatically: for example, the average wage for a computer-science major has risen to $72,173 (£55,100) – a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.naceweb.org\u002Fuploadedfiles\u002Ffiles\u002F2021\u002Fpublication\u002Fexecutive-summary\u002F2021-nace-salary-survey-winter-executive-summary.pdf\"\u003E7% hike in just one year\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"US employers are paying first-year tech workers an average starting salary of $110,027 (£84,000)","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ENicholas Bloom, professor of economics at Stanford University, says demand for labour is fast outstripping supply in sectors, particularly in tech. The financial industry – with jobs that often require \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003E70-hour-plus workweeks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – has also driven up starting salaries to hire the best candidates. So, in most cases, graduates are being handed six-figure salaries simply as a “blunt recruitment tool” amid the current labour market conditions, adds Rue Dooley, an HR knowledge advisor for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), based in the US.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Workers want to be thought of as a prized asset by their employer,” says Dooley. “Younger employees are saying high pay is an expectation not because they necessarily demand it, but because they’re aware of the talent shortage and they know their price.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis means some entry-level workers can secure huge pay packets before they’ve even left the college dorm. “We’re regularly seeing firms double in size every 18 months, so graduate salaries are closely following the market,” adds Bloom.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn tech, smaller start-ups are also now having to pay entry-level employees higher salaries to match the more-established corporations. Josh Brenner, CEO of recruitment marketplace Hired, based in New York City, says US employers are paying first-year tech workers an average starting salary of $110,027 (£84,000). \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENguyen’s undergrad clients often land jobs with wages that dwarf the pay of his own first management consulting role. He believes it to be a good thing. “The six-figure starting salaries of today are an upward trend that stretches back decades,” he says. “High pay opens up opportunities for people who simply wouldn’t otherwise have had them, and it doesn’t take money away from those who started on lower pay.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGolden handcuffs – and other problems\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut while there are many upsides to the rise of six-figure salaries, these high compensation packets can come with insidious consequences.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn some cases, these workers may find themselves trapped in jobs they hate, especially if workers have built lifestyles around earning big pay-outs – a phenomenon often called ‘golden handcuffs’.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENguyen says such wages can also skew young employees’ perception of pay, blocking them from pursuing more meaningful career paths. “Some may want to eventually move into teaching or work for a non-profit. Previously, the salary drop was around $50,000. Now, it’s closer to $100,000 – that could be enough to prevent someone from changing careers.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHuge salaries can also weigh young employees with a psychological burden. Nguyen says some of his undergraduate clients can feel intimidated beginning their working lives in a job that pays a fortune. “There are some who come from low-income backgrounds and think, ‘What did I do to earn so much more than my parents ever made?’ It can cause imposter syndrome.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOthers in the same organisations can also feel negative effects when first-time employees are handed six-figure salaries without hesitation. For example, experienced colleagues may bristle at entry-level compensation packets – especially when they take home less money than a recent graduate, despite years-long tenure at the company. “It can create pay disparity issues,” says Dooley.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, companies themselves may not necessarily get what they pay for. While sky-high wages can effectively ‘buy’ a candidate’s willingness to regularly clock unpaid overtime, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee better work ethic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"High wages may feel good when someone gets a job, but once they start, they typically want much more: the effects of good pay will be psychologically ‘spent’ – Tomas Chamorro","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“The risk is employers, in some cases, assume staff are going to be super motivated because of their high compensation, but in fact they take it for granted,” says Tomas Chamorro, professor of business psychology at University College London. “High wages may feel good when someone gets a job, but once they start, they typically want much more: the effects of good pay will be psychologically ‘spent’.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E'Jobs to grab while you can'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the labour market as it is, six-figure starting salaries will probably continue to be the norm in certain high-paying industries. But it’s unlikely there’ll be much of a trickle-down effect for entry-level workers in less elite sectors.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERather than push wages up across the board, six-figure salaries for an ultra-privileged subset of employees may instead drive pay inequities deeper. “What we’re seeing is clearly increasing inequality and the gap keeps growing,” says Bloom. “If you have a computer-science degree you can be earning $250,000 by 25, while if you left school at 16 you might be earning $25,000 – a ten-fold difference.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe gap will likely keep growing even if the labour market snaps back in terms of supply and demand. Bloom explains while wages often rise, they almost never fall. For example, Nguyen says salaries in management consulting have long endured the rigours of recession. “We’ve seen wages withstand so many economic cycles: firms plan for it and restructure pay, but they wouldn’t ever get rid of the six-figure salary.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, given their resistance to the ebb and flow of the market, six-figure graduate wages are not only likely to become more and more ingrained, they may also climb further. And if jobs become scarcer due to a labour-market normalisation, these pay packets will become increasingly out of reach for most people. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Six-figure starting salaries are here to stay, and if growth cools it'll mean they’ll be even harder to come by,” says Bloom. “These are jobs to grab while you can – if you can – for a privileged few.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-05T11:24:42Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The entry-level workers earning six-figure salaries","headlineShort":"The entry-level workers making $100,000","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Some new graduates are beginning their careers on salaries most workers will never hit in their careers – but what are the long-term implications?","summaryShort":"In some sectors, new graduates are on six-figure salaries many people never hit","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-04T19:55:05.324384Z","entity":"article","guid":"3264e8c3-dac7-4561-a937-7108701e4d3b","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-04T19:55:05.324384Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095724},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace","_id":"6267dfab1f4b7b357d59cd59","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Remote working during the pandemic shrank employees’ worlds. Now, some colleagues feel like they simply don’t exist in workers’ daily lives – and it's having an effect.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe rituals of office work used to mean communication with colleagues was a given. Chats in the coffee room, communal birthday cakes or a shared walk to the car park at the end of the day provided brief moments to connect outside daily tasks. Even if people didn’t directly work together or weren’t on the same team, employees had at least some colleagues to exchange a few casual words with throughout the workday. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe switch to remote work has changed that. Now, employees work via virtual channels, in a much more siloed manner: they interact with the people they share tasks with. For many, there is no work-related reason to seek out colleagues who aren’t connected to their roles and workloads, and many people’s work worlds have shrunk – no more ‘just because’ chats to the woman in IT or guy in accounts. Colleagues who used to be small – but important – parts of workers’ office lives are now effectively ghosts. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s clear this impacts workers; research shows many remote employees feel less connected to their teams and companies. Solving the problem is difficult – after all, Slacking or Zooming a co-worker you don’t know well, for no work-related reason, could feel decidedly odd. Yet finding ways to restore these post-pandemic work communities may be key to ongoing wellbeing at work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA shrinking world\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMore than two years since the start of the health crisis, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffutureforum.com\u002Fpulse-survey\u002F\"\u003Efewer than 30%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of knowledge workers around the world are working from the office every day. That means that many employees are interacting with far fewer co-workers than at their desks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA 2021 Microsoft study of its own staff showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fresearch\u002Fpublication\u002Fthe-effects-of-remote-work-on-collaboration-among-information-workers\u002F\"\u003Eswitching to remote work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E meant “employees didn’t just change who they worked with, but also how they worked with them”. At the company, business groups (such as work teams) and informal communities (such as friendship groups) became less connected; people in different groups connected with each other 25% less than before the pandemic. Groups also became static, as workers hung on to existing connections instead of making new ones.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"left","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA second study by a team of US academics and Microsoft researchers analysed email data sent from 1.4 billion professional email accounts across thousands of organisations, including Microsoft, between July 2018 and November 2020, and identified similar results. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Farxiv.org\u002Fpdf\u002F2104.00641.pdf\"\u003EOrganisational silos became more defined during the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and these silos also became less connected to each other as people talked mainly to their own team members. This trend persisted even as the silos themselves became unstable, for example when members left the company.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAmanda Thomson, founder of Noughty alcohol-free wines, has certainly experienced a loss of connection with some colleagues. Before the pandemic, she interacted constantly with colleagues and contacts, either in the company office in London or at industry events. “There was a huge amount of communication, and I was with people all the time,” she says. As an extrovert, spending time with others gave her a buzz; she would often finish the workday inspired by her interactions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the pandemic forced an abrupt switch to full-time remote work, connections with colleagues were very different. The shift came as the company prepared for a global launch, meaning the workload was intense. Instead of being a joy, long virtual meetings with external contacts left Thomson drained. Interactions with colleagues were reduced to daily 15-minute check-ins, as opposed to the casual chats she used to have on and off all day.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It was pretty productive, but there wasn't any downtime at all,” she says. The opportunity to chat, to joke or to have spontaneous conversations had been squeezed out. Contact with some of her indirect colleagues and work contacts – such as freelancers and fellow founders – stopped altogether, shrinking her social circle at work. “For those of us who are more extrovert, a lot was lost,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘No room for nuance’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch suggests many people feel the same way as Thomson. A 2021 survey by job-search site Indeed found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.indeed.com\u002Fcareer-advice\u002Fcareer-development\u002Fcovid-19-what-people-miss-most-about-office-work?utm_campaign=earnedsocial%3Acareerguide%3Asharetwitter%3AUS&utm_content=50%25%20of%20Remote%20Employees%20Miss%20Their%20Commute%20%28and%20Other%20Surprising%20Things%20People%20Miss%20Most%20About%20Working%20in%20the%20Office%29&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter\"\u003E73% of people missed socialising in person and 46% missed work-related side conversations\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that happen in the office. “There are people who utilise work for social aspects, and they like having those social interactions at work through their day,” says Simmy Grover, academic in organisational psychology at University College London.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPart of the reason is that these social ties people have in the workplace feed into their sense of attachment and belonging at work. One US study showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pewresearch.org\u002Fsocial-trends\u002F2020\u002F12\u002F09\u002Fhow-the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-and-hasnt-changed-the-way-americans-work\u002F\"\u003E65% of workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E who had switched to teleworking all or most of the time felt less connected to their colleagues than they did before. A second study showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ccsinsight.com\u002Fblog\u002Fsocial-interaction-tops-remote-work-challenges\u002F\"\u003Ealmost a quarter of workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E felt disconnected from goings on in their company overall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt makes sense workers would miss daily interactions with colleagues who have become good friends, but there are also reasons employees miss those who play a more casual role in the workday. The outer circle of acquaintances – the friendly colleagues at the coffee machine or the lift – are known as\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200701-why-your-weak-tie-friendships-may-mean-more-than-you-think\"\u003E‘weak-tie’ friendships\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Research shows interactions with these people – typified by light, casual conversations – bring about \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0146167214529799\"\u003Efeelings of belonging and increased happiness\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that make the workday more positive. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMuch has been written about the impact of reduced interaction between colleagues on workplace innovation, creativity and collaboration. Yet Thomson says the one thing she’s missed above all during her time away from colleagues and contacts is laughter. “Online jokes don't always translate. The other person may or may not get it, and there's no room for nuance so a lot of real-world laughter was missed. I'd hazard a guess that in 2022, we all laugh a lot less than we used to together.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBirthdays and virtual coffees\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some people, of course, the loss of these interactions may be less significant. Introverts may not miss their ‘ghost colleagues’ as much, while those with caring responsibilities may find the benefits and convenience of remote work outweigh any negatives linked to fewer interactions with people in the office.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe onus is also on companies to find better ways to translate in-person culture into the online space so that colleagues can continue to connect in meaningful ways. Good remote company communications may mean things like creating a newsletter, podcast or virtual town halls to share information workers may have otherwise absorbed in the office. “It takes a deliberate practice, and usually it takes a person or a group of people who are leading the charge and really paying attention,” says Lisette Sutherland, author of Work Together Anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EShe points out connection happens when we pay attention to each other, “so we need to find ways of doing that, whether that's remembering birthdays or just scheduled virtual coffees”. Other examples can include integrating opportunities for socialising into the workday, for example including a quiz in a meeting or creating a Slack channel for non-work-related chat.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven so, these online connections can still lack some of the unexpected joy of bumping into a friend at the photocopier or sharing a quick joke with a colleague before a meeting begins; the kind of spontaneous moments that used to regularly improve the workday, but that Grover says are so hard to recreate online.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Thomson’s case, though she misses pre-pandemic ways of working, she is not planning a full return to in-person work for her company. The benefits of remote work are too significant, both for colleagues who are less social than her and for productivity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, as Covid-19 restrictions have been reduced, she has been keen to re-connect with her wider work circle in person where possible. “I’m going out of my way to ensure that whenever there’s a chance to have a fun face-to-face meeting with someone I really like, I’ll make the time,” she says. This includes her own ghost colleagues; she credits real-life meetings with helping to build back strong and weak ties at work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor people like Thomson, using in-office days to re-establish relationships that were muted or lost during two years of home working may play a crucial part in making their day-to-day job enjoyable. “It's just great to be with people,” says Thomson.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-17T13:24:30Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The 'ghost colleagues' of the remote workplace","headlineShort":"The rise of 'ghost colleagues'","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Remote working during the pandemic shrank employees’ worlds. Now, some colleagues feel like they simply don’t exist in workers’ daily lives – and it's having an effect.","summaryShort":"In the remote workplace, it's like some co-workers simply don't exist","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-16T20:32:30.069557Z","entity":"article","guid":"432f7b39-014f-4238-a862-55f802727f69","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-17T11:31:01.601301Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220315-the-ghost-colleagues-of-the-remote-workplace","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095697},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace","_id":"6267dfb91f4b7b4af41c3a5a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"On-site childcare can cut down on parental stress, up worker engagement and help keep mums in the labour market. Why doesn't everyone offer it?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAfter almost nine months working remotely due to the pandemic, Jessika, a 35-year-old living in Asheville, North Carolina, US, has been called back to the office – and she has no idea how she’s going to manage childcare.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EShe’s seven-and-a-half months pregnant and has a five-year-old daughter in Kindergarten. Her soon-to-be new-born is on seven different year-long waiting lists for local childcare centres, and her husband, a beer brewer, can’t work from home. Before her April due date, Jessika and her husband have to figure out who can watch the baby while they’re at work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIt’s important Jessika keeps her job as an impact associate at a private health trust, since she is the primary breadwinner in the family. “Mine is the income we can’t lose,” she says. What she wants is employer-sponsored on-site childcare. A dedicated space for her baby at the office would give her a way to breastfeed during the day, reduce her out-of-pocket expenses and cut down on extra commuting. Jessika says this set-up would radically reduce her stress, while allowing her to feel excited about going back to the office.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“It’s hard to even fathom,” she says, but on-site childcare is “the dream”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAs employees \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003Econtinue to quit jobs en masse in search of better ones\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, employers are scrambling to retain talent and fill empty seats. This has given many workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.npr.org\u002Fsections\u002Fmoney\u002F2022\u002F01\u002F25\u002F1075115539\u002Fthe-great-resignation-more-like-the-great-renegotiation\"\u003Eleverage over both existing and prospective employers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete\"\u003Enegotiate benefits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that better suit their priorities, many of which were reshuffled amid the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ELooking after kids has been particularly difficult to navigate over the last two years, due to school and day-care closures. Among the slew of possible family benefits is a growing demand for on-site childcare – an employer-sponsored day-care centre located in the workplace.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EThis story is part of BBC's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EFamily Tree\u003C\u002Fa\u003E series, which examines the issues and opportunities parents, children and families face today – and how they'll shape the world tomorrow. Coverage continues on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EBBC Future\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Family Tree","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlthough Jessika’s employer is not currently planning on introducing the benefit, increasingly, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.npr.org\u002F2022\u002F01\u002F04\u002F1064124004\u002Fchild-care-is-getting-more-support-from-some-private-companies?t=1641302812889\"\u003Esome companies are considering\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.npr.org\u002F2022\u002F01\u002F04\u002F1064124004\u002Fchild-care-is-getting-more-support-from-some-private-companies?t=1641302812889\"\u003Eeven opting in\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – to make her dream a reality. “Now that employers are calling their employees back to the office, we are seeing an uptick in interest for on-site childcare services,” says Stephen Kramer, CEO of US-based childcare provider Bright Horizons.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ENew childcare services could have multiple positive effects, like keeping more working parents with their current employers; enabling primary caregivers of all types who stepped away from the workforce a path to returning; and better positioning companies to retain and attract new talent in a contracted labour market. Now, the question is: will employers heed the writing on the wall and roll out on-site childcare or is it still a pipe dream?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA perk that matters most for parents\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ENo matter what their employment situation is – remote, hybrid or in-office – working parents have to manage childcare. “It’s absolutely the most important thing on their minds right now,” says Sarah Damaske, an associate professor of sociology, labour and employment relations and women’s studies at Pennsylvania State University, US. This is particularly the case for those with younger kids. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EHistorically, especially in the US, where \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F06\u002Fupshot\u002Fchild-care-biden.html\"\u003Ethere aren’t public options\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for kids under five, parents have largely had to arrange care on their own. And securing a place for children has only become more difficult during the pandemic, with childcare centres forced to close in droves due to capacity limits and a haemorrhaging of workers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ENow parents want expanded childcare benefits, says Abakar Saidov, CEO of London-based recruitment platform Beamery. In a September 2021 survey of 5,000 UK and US professionals (at least 56% of them parents), Beamery found \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbeamery.com\u002Fresources\u002Flatest-content\u002Fbeamery-talent-index-third-edition\"\u003Ethe desire for employer-sponsored care benefits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E outranked “gym memberships, mental wellbeing programs, and even enhanced parental leave pay”. And, according to a 2021 survey commissioned by New York City-based childcare provider Vivvi, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fvivvi.com\u002Fblog\u002Ffamily\u002Farticles\u002F__working_parents_survey\"\u003E40% of respondents were considering looking for a new job or even leaving the workplace altogether\u003C\u002Fa\u003E if they couldn't access reliable options.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe value of employer-sponsored childcare is well documented. A 2010 Bright Horizons survey of 3,100 parents who had access to on-site facilities showed that they were \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.brighthorizons.com\u002F~\u002Fmedia\u002Fbaaef6571dc04ae4802d735ec39b6745.pdf\"\u003Eable to concentrate better at work, were more likely to remain at a job, and could more effectively balance their work and family commitments\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Though these findings are not new, the pandemic has brought them into sharp focus, says Kramer: “In order to be engaged and productive in their jobs, parents need their children to be well cared for.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In order to be engaged and productive in their jobs, parents need their children to be well cared for – Stephen Kramer","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAnother important way that on-site facilities help reduce parental stress is by cutting down on cost and commute. They “don’t have to drive all over for it”, says Damaske, and it “feels safe” because their kids are nearby.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAnd perhaps most importantly, employer-provided on-site facilities can help reduce the burden parents face when trying to find quality care – and quality care that they can actually afford – a factor that has contributed to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Flibrary\u002Fstories\u002F2021\u002F03\u002Fmoms-work-and-the-pandemic.html\"\u003Emothers dropping out of the workforce\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in record numbers during the pandemic. “One of the things that parents report is that, when childcare is easily accessible and they know it’s high quality, it keeps them, especially mums, in the labour market,” says Damaske. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA benefit for employers as well\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EEmployers who are currently scrambling to hire and retain talent also stand to gain, Kramer says, by using the benefit to recruit workers, draw employees back to the office and keep their current staff from leaving.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThese kinds of results don't just apply to full-time salaried workers, either. Damaske says on-site childcare is a move that’s especially impactful when it’s available to workers in all kinds of employment arrangements. Saidov adds accessible, on-site childcare allows hiring managers to consider \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.zenefits.com\u002Fworkest\u002Fworkplace-daycare-growing-in-popularity\u002F\"\u003Ea larger talent pool\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, one that ordinarily might not be able to apply due to childcare costs and obligations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EDixie Benca has seen these positive effects in action at her restaurant, McGee's Scot-Irish Pub, in South Carolina, US. After struggling to hire back part-time hourly workers when the pandemic forced her to shut shop for three months, Benca – whose own son is almost three – introduced on-site childcare in July 2021. Now, the business is fully staffed, with applicants on a waiting list for new job openings. Benca checks in with her team regularly, and says that for the parents using the program, “not one of them has even considered going somewhere else to work since they’ve been here.”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EShe’s also noticed the staff taking advantage of this perk seem more productive, because they’re not worried about what’s going on at home. And when something inevitably does happen, they don’t necessarily need to leave work mid-shift. “One child got a bloody nose recently,” says Benca. “Mom went into [the nursery] to handle it, and in 10 minutes she was back to work.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFor rural families, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ffyf.org\u002Ffamilies-in-rural-communities-face-acute-child-care-challenges\u002F%252523:~:text=Families%25252520in%25252520Rural%25252520Communities%25252520Face%25252520Acute%25252520Child%25252520Care%25252520Challenges,-October%2525252013%2525252C%252525202021&text=Access%25252520to%25252520high%2525252Dquality%25252520child,to%25252520formal%25252520child%25252520care%25252520facilities.\"\u003Ethe need for childcare is particularly acute\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The reduction in capacity most day-cares are experiencing is only exacerbating a supply and demand issue that existed in many communities prior to the pandemic, says Kramer – not only do they face the challenge of locating operating care centres, but they also typically have to drive far out of their way to use them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAt manufacturing company AriensCo in Brillion, Wisconsin, US, at least 60% of the 1,300 production workers drive in from out of town for their shifts, says Executive Vice President of Administration Steve Servais. Like \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnewmfgalliance.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F12\u002FVitality-Study-12-8-2020.pdf\"\u003Emany in their sector\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, AriensCo is struggling with hiring and employee turnover. As an incentive to keep them coming to work, the company built its Brillion Early Learning Center less than a mile from the factory in September last year – open from 0445 until 1830 so that production workers on first and second shifts are covered. Services are available to employees at a 50% subsidy and at full cost to the public. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe facility has been such a success for parents on staff – who Servais says are notably more energised and engaged with the company – and the wider Brillion community that they’re already considering expansion. “The building was designed in a kind of L-shape format so we could build off the wings if we needed to,” he says. And as AriensCo’s internal employee waiting list grows “that starts to become an easy decision”, especially as the company is actively looking to recruit at least 200 employees across various different roles. “[On-site childcare] is absolutely a differentiator for us,” says Servais.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENot a perfect solution (yet)\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWhile some companies have begun to offer on-site childcare, many may baulk at the cost and debate the benefit to parents working remotely.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ELike off-site childcare centres, company-run day-cares (larger than a certain size, determined by state or local governments) must be licensed, insured and staffed with trained caretakers. AriensCo partnered with childcare provider KinderCare to handle most of the operations behind their multi-million-dollar facility, and have had to budget $500,000 (£370,000) annually to cover employee subsidies – costs that could be untenable for many smaller businesses.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"One child got a bloody nose recently – mom went into [the nursery] to handle it, and in 10 minutes she was back to work – Dixie Benca","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFor others, establishing and maintaining these facilities doesn’t yet make sense from a logistical standpoint, especially when \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220113-why-a-wide-scale-return-to-the-office-is-a-myth\"\u003Ereturn-to-office dates are still in flux\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and some workers may not return at all. Flexible benefits – like paid access to online care-finder platforms, subsidised back-up care (for when babysitters cancel or private day-cares close) and cash allowances to parents – might make more sense for many offices right now, says Saidov.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWhile on-site childcare would certainly ease the transition for parents returning to the office or re-entering the labour market, says Damaske, it’s not a standalone solution. “The problem is tied up in the need for more paid parental and family leave, and more sick days,” too, she says. “As long as there are going to be exposures [from Covid-19 and other illnesses], even in-business childcare centres are going to have to close. Then what happens?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EStill, Kramer argues on-site childcare is worth the financial investment regardless of return-to-office plans. At Bright Horizons, he’s seeing both employers with in-office and remote staff offer the benefit. “The fact is, all working parents need childcare,” he says, even if they’re at home for part of the week. And employers need to make sure that “over the long term, they’re solving for those challenges”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘It’s solved the childcare problem in spades’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIf workers continue to leave jobs en masse, employers dragging their feet over on-site childcare might be forced to reconsider adding the perk as part of an overall recruiting, retention and return-to-office tool, says Saidov. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ELooking to the future, Kramer believes on-site childcare is going to become more commonplace. “Employees’ expectations have changed,” he says, and company leaders should really be “thinking about how they can create a more sustainable work environment” going forward. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBenca also hopes more companies can find a way to work the cost of childcare into their business plans, like she has. “It’s certainly better financially than to continue to lose good workers,” she says. And while her on-site nursery hasn’t fixed every pandemic struggle the pub has faced, “it’s solved the childcare problem in spades”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIn Asheville, Jessika is focusing on the positives: a job she loves, a flexible and understanding boss, and a new baby on the way. Once that day comes, however, her family is going to have to make some tough decisions. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“I just keep hoping that we'll get lucky, and that [the baby] will get off the waiting lists for day-care,” she says. “My husband and I have been trying to figure out what would happen if not; maybe he does quit his job.” But if on-site childcare were to become a reality, she’d opt in – “100%, without hesitation”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace-9"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-02-17T19:48:24Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Could on-site childcare lure parents back to the workplace?","headlineShort":"The number one perk for working parents","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"On-site childcare can cut down on parental stress, up worker engagement and help keep mums in the labour market. Why doesn't everyone offer it?","summaryShort":"The pandemic has shifted priorities – and parents are pushing for more","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-16T23:28:39.341763Z","entity":"article","guid":"cfa83aee-2e3e-44ba-8592-2681aafe3d1d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:22:29.2885Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-could-on-site-childcare-lure-parents-back-to-the-workplace","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095697},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job","_id":"6267df951f4b7b33542456df","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"These days, swapping a passion role for a less-interesting job with better pay and benefits could well make sense. Is it time to end the stigma of 'selling your soul'?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMolly, a US tech worker in her 30s, used to work at a company whose mission she was deeply invested in. “It was part of my identity,” she says. But when the pandemic hit, bringing rolling redundancies, uncertainty, long hours and burnout, Molly decided it was time to change jobs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe move came with trade-offs; while her new role paid better and offered more remote work, Molly didn’t click with the company’s mission, and she wasn’t particularly interested in the sector. Though she initiated the move, she felt conflicted. “I felt like I was selling out,” says Molly, whose full name is being withheld for job-security concerns. Even though she was burnt out, it “felt like I was very at war with my inner values”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn an age in which workers have been conditioned to follow their passions and find roles that are meaningful, the idea of pivoting from a fulfilling job to a boring one with better conditions is, to some, practically taboo. This dilemma can be particularly acute for younger workers; studies show that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww2.deloitte.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fdam\u002FDeloitte\u002Fglobal\u002FDocuments\u002F2021-deloitte-global-millennial-survey-report.pdf\"\u003Enearly half of millennial and Gen Z workers want a role at a company that aligns with their personal ethics\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; 15% reported they made values-based career decisions during the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s clear, however, that the global pandemic has left employees \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle\"\u003Equestioning every aspect of work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220127-location-based-salary\"\u003Epay levels\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220103-will-workers-continue-to-pay-a-price-for-flexibility\"\u003Eflexibility\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to those all-important \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210622-why-its-so-hard-to-put-boundaries-on-our-time\"\u003Ework-life boundaries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Many people want to change how they work, to find better ways of accommodating professional duties and personal lives. After so much uncertainty over the last two years, some workers are also more conscious of how precarious financial stability can be.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some, swapping a lower-paid, potentially long-hours passion role for a less-interesting job with better pay and benefits could well make sense. And, with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002F865ffa54-5ed1-4a0e-ae33-8e3bbdf1b212\"\u003Esalaries rising across sectors\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, companies \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fhello-hybrid\"\u003Eoffering new work models\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and awareness of work-related mental health issues \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbigthink.com\u002Fneuropsych\u002Fmental-health-google-searches-2021\u002F\"\u003Eat an all-time high\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, now might just be a good time for people to seek out a role that sets them up for the life they want to lead. Perhaps calling this kind of transition ‘selling out’ isn’t quite right anymore.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Going to the dark side’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMultiple factors triggered Molly’s decision to switch roles, including wanting more stability amid a wave of pandemic redundancies, a desire to protect her mental wellbeing and better pay. A crucial factor was her wish to continue working remotely; her previous employer was pushing staff to come to the office as much as possible.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, despite her valid reasons for leaving, Molly says her colleagues judged her when she disclosed her new role; there was a sense she was “going to the dark side”, she says. “There’s some expectation of what is a ‘good switch’; [for example], if you’re going to a very mission-driven company or starting your own business. It kind of bummed me out that I wasn’t able to be like, ‘I’m going here’, and have people be like, ‘Oh, I’m so proud of you, that’s amazing’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"There’s no need for judgmental views ever, and surely not when one is taking care of their needs and commitments, financial and any other – Anat Lechner","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAt issue is the fact that many workers, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzfeednews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fannehelenpetersen\u002Fmillennials-burnout-generation-debt-work\"\u003Eespecially millennials\u003C\u002Fa\u003E like Molly, have absorbed the idea they should be in ‘dream jobs’ that align with their values. Catherine Shea, assistant professor of organisational behaviour and theory at Carnegie Mellon University, US, says this is a long-standing dilemma: do you want “a job where you find meaning, or do you find meaning somewhere else and a job funds that?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWork people are passionate about, she points out, often comes with a penalty; a 2019 study showed that many \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002Frecord\u002F2019-21488-001\"\u003Eorganisations exploit workers’ passion to pay them less or allocate them menial tasks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. So-called dream jobs can also feed into toxic ‘hustle culture’ that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2019\u002F01\u002F26\u002Fbusiness\u002Fagainst-hustle-culture-rise-and-grind-tgim.html\"\u003Econvinces workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E they need to work all hours to prove their passion and commitment to others as well as themselves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bp7sz0"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet, it’s still seen as a badge of honour to choose a passion-based job – it’s a sign that a worker has stayed true to their values despite obstacles; opting for a less interesting, potentially higher-paid role means they sold their soul to take the easy way out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut Shea suggests that the pandemic may have caused some ‘passion workers’ to feel disenchanted with their roles. Workers, she suggests, may see “the limits of the feel-good emotions that their organisations can give them, particularly when working remotely. A passion job may have been fun in an interactive office setting, which could have compensated for the lower pay. Now that everything is on Zoom, why not get paid more?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s not so much selling your soul, I think,” adds Shea. “It’s now flipping passion on its head and seeing the negative aspects” of a job you otherwise care about.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘It’s very easy for me to let go’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExperts say there’s no data yet to suggest that more people are ‘selling out’ in the pandemic. But, says Anat Lechner, clinical associate professor of management and organisations at New York University, any time of great uncertainty makes people say to themselves, “‘I need to maximise the opportunities that I can get, because God knows what tomorrow will look like’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERepeated trauma over the last couple of years, add Lechner and Shea, has led workers to seize the opportunity to go for higher salaries and more flexible perks – jumping for the better deal on the table right now – since the future is generally uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's not just insecurity driving workers to assess their employment options, however. During the pandemic, many workers have had an opportunity to take stock of priorities and decide what they want from their jobs, whether work flexibility, more money or an ability to draw firm boundaries between professional and personal lives. While every job has its stressors, taking that step to match a role to your particular priorities can pay off. “’I’m not selling my soul – I’m actually repositioning myself so I can have a better life’,” says Lechner.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Molly’s case, prioritising comfort and wellbeing over passion in her employment has been rather freeing. “One of the pros is since you don’t care about that industry, you’re not going to take it home with you. It’s very easy for me to let go, and let things roll off of me,” she explains.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd for workers later in their careers, the money and stability that comes with swapping passion for a less inspiring role may be less about ‘going to the dark side’, and rather just a case of pragmatism. Workers might have kids, want to buy a house or review their pension and realise, quite simply, that they need to earn more.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Reality can hit you with a brisk wind,” says Lechner. “It’s one thing to pursue beautiful ideals when one is a relatively agent, and a whole different game to continue with that pursuit when you a have a couple of little ones needing to be fed.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese days, the experts suggest, judging a former colleague for ‘selling out’ is unwarranted. “There’s no need for judgmental views ever, and surely not when one is taking care of their needs and commitments, financial and any other,” says Lechner.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince moving jobs, Molly hasn’t looked back. “The energy [at the new job] is much more positive – it’s not bleak. I actually am very content. I’m not burnt out anymore,” she says. In her career, she says, she’s always wanted to go for the sexier companies. But now? “I’ve learned that’s not a requirement.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job-4"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-02-16T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The taboo of 'selling out' for a better-paying job","headlineShort":"The workers 'going to the dark side'","image":["p0bp7t98"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"These days, swapping a passion role for a less-interesting job with better pay and benefits could well make sense. Is it time to end the stigma of 'selling your soul'?","summaryShort":"'Selling your soul' for a better-paying job is taboo – but should it be?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-15T21:16:24.961428Z","entity":"article","guid":"8e016f61-c1a1-468f-93df-2daa4a27fa02","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:22:34.206305Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095701},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid","_id":"6267dfba1f4b7b3e4e2116ab","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"People significantly underestimate what other people make for the same work, which keeps them in poorly paying jobs – and disadvantages many workers.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor many people, wanting a bigger salary is a major motivating factor for looking for a new job. While it’s not the only consideration, if you can earn more money doing the same work elsewhere, it’s worth at least exploring your options. But to do that, you first need to believe in the possibility of being paid more for the same work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a recent study, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Feml.berkeley.edu\u002F~schoefer\u002Fschoefer_files\u002FJRRS_Beliefs_Rents_Outside_Options_Dec2021.pdf\"\u003Emost people significantly underestimate what people are earning in similar jobs elsewhere\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The researchers argue this holds back people from seeking better paid jobs or higher pay for their current role, and that it particularly disadvantages the lowest earners. They suggest that if workers were more aware of salary disparities, at least 10% of low-paying jobs would simply not be viable at current pay rates. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat exactly stops us from believing that the grass might be greener on the other side? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough people are increasingly aware of the benefits of salary transparency, particularly as a means of\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20190429-the-loopholes-that-disguise-the-gender-pay-gap\"\u003E reducing the gender pay gap\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, in general we remain reluctant to talk about pay openly. There are also powerful reasons people don’t seek out salary information. Yet, it’s clear that in many cases, it would be to our advantage to be more informed about pay. With workers in greater demand than ever amid the upheavals of the pandemic, developing a little more salary curiosity could well pay dividends. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPessimistic beliefs\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENina Roussille, an economist at the London School of Economics, was part of a team from US, UK and German universities who set out to explore how workers view their “outside options” when it comes to pay. Their study, carried out in 2019 and 2020 in Germany, surveyed 516 people who were broadly representative of the working population “to try to measure first, people’s beliefs about what they could make elsewhere” and then see “how it compares to what they could \u003Cem\u003Eactually\u003C\u002Fem\u003E make”, says Roussille.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"That really self-fulfils the prophecy of low-paying firms being able to further lower wages to people that are misinformed about the job market – Nina Roussille","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EParticipants were asked whether, if they had to move to a similar job in a different company within the next three months, they would earn more, less or about the same. About half said they believed they’d earn pretty much the same salary. But when those beliefs were compared to the actual salaries being earned by some of their former colleagues it was clear these beliefs about potential future salaries were distinctly pessimistic. Most of their former colleagues actually reported seeing “large positive wage changes” on moving jobs, according to the paper. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, about half of those surveyed believed they were earning roughly the median pay for their occupation, but in reality only 20% of people were. The others were earning far more or far less and, strikingly, people in the lowest-paying firms were also the least likely to believe they could earn more elsewhere. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“That really self-fulfils the prophecy of low-paying firms being able to further lower wages to people that are misinformed about the job market,” says Roussille. If those workers knew they were being so radically underpaid, “they would decide potentially to start looking elsewhere”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERoussille and her co-authors go on to calculate that if all workers had access to accurate market salary data, “between 10% and 17% of employment relationships would not be viable at current wages”, because workers would simply demand more. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy we don’t do more research\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study did not look at why exactly people were so ill-informed about salary levels elsewhere. But research suggests that while most employees do want more information on pay so they can make better choices, they are actually very reluctant to share or ask for that information themselves. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn one study of a large international finance firm, for example, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nber.org\u002Fpapers\u002Fw25145\"\u003E89% of respondents said they would be uncomfortable asking a colleague what they earned\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and 38% would not share their own salary, even if they would be paid a small bonus to do so.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Pensive chef","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETamara Montag-Smit, assistant professor of management at Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell, US, says her own research suggests this reluctance stems from people’s concerns about “what it might mean for their relationships with others”. This is particularly the case for workers who felt they might be earning much more or much less than their colleagues, she says, and fear that if people knew what they earned it might damage their status within the workplace. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut she says whether or not people even wanted salary data was also strongly linked to how they viewed their employer. In a study of American workers, Montag-Smit found that if someone felt “pretty comfortable with the status quo” and believed their employer or the job market were rewarding them fairly for their work\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1111\u002F1748-8583.12292\"\u003E, they simply weren’t as interested in understanding what those around them are earning\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the flip side, having doubts about the fairness of the system led workers to question whether they might also be being misled about pay, which made them “more likely to seek that information, and maybe do something about that”. This is where corporate policies around pay secrecy can backfire, she says, because secrecy can just cause workers to assume rewards are being unfairly distributed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, structural inequalities ensure some people are more likely to believe they can earn better elsewhere than others. A recent survey in the UK showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.peoplemanagement.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002Fethnic-minority-workers-far-less-likely-to-receive-pay-rises-than-white-counterparts#gref\"\u003Ethat ethnic minority professionals were far less likely that white employees to negotiate for pay\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, because they didn’t believe they would be successful. And if they did, they were indeed far less likely than white colleagues to win. In the US, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mckinsey.com\u002Ffeatured-insights\u002Fdiversity-and-inclusion\u002Fthe-economic-state-of-Black-america-what-is-and-what-could-be\"\u003Eblack workers are disproportionately concentrated in low-paying job\u003C\u002Fa\u003Es. Men are also \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2018\u002F06\u002Fresearch-women-ask-for-raises-as-often-as-men-but-are-less-likely-to-get-them\"\u003Emore likely than women to both ask for and win a raise.\u003C\u002Fa\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBoth Roussille and Montag-Smit say that, in the case of women at least, being informed goes a long way towards denting these disparities. Montag-Smit’s ongoing research suggests that in companies with wage transparency, men and women are equally likely to negotiate for better pay. Likewise, Roussille says the so-called “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-how-the-salary-ask-gap-perpetuates-unequal-pay\"\u003Eask gap\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” – which sees women asking for less pay than their similarly skilled male counterparts – is eliminated, if people are told the median salary for a role before sharing their own salary expectations. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWorkers with the upper hand?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOverall, however, Montag-Smit has observed a “slow trend” towards greater transparency around salaries in recent years. “Even the idea of sharing things like the median pay or the highest-earning employee just weren't really something that HR departments would talk about 10 years ago,” she says. “But now it seems to be much more the norm.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s driven in part by the proliferation of sites like Glassdoor, where people anonymously share their own salary data. Montag-Smit says workers have been “using that to their advantage” and approaching salary negotiations with at least some awareness of their market value. There also appears to be a generational shift at play, she adds, with her research suggesting that “younger people are more inclined to both seek and share pay information”, a trend she expects to continue.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Even the idea of sharing things like the median pay or the highest-earning employee just weren't really something that HR departments would talk about 10 years ago – Tamara Montag-Smit","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“I think because of the ‘Great Resignation’ and where we are, that you might see people using that information with more leverage, because employees just generally have the upper hand right now in most sectors right now,” she adds. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERoussille says she and her co-authors are hopeful their research will be of use to workers. She advises people to spend time on pay comparison websites to “get a sense of the distribution of wages”, but also suggests going against those taboos and directly asking former colleagues what they’re earning now. “You're probably going to learn something about your outside options that you don't know right now,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe acknowledges the limitations of encouraging people to seek out salary data. Finding the right information takes effort and time, and even before then, you need to believe that there are opportunities for you and that you have a good earning potential. That 10% of workers who are most likely to get trapped in low-paying jobs are “the people we really want to reach”, she says, but they are also the least likely to have the time and resources to get better informed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If you’re anchored in your belief that you’re not going to make more elsewhere, how do we trigger you to look for the information?” she says. “Our research currently doesn’t have the answer, but hopefully that is the direction we are going to take.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":true,"displayDate":"2022-02-07T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The salary ignorance that keeps many workers underpaid","headlineShort":"Why you might be radically underpaid","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Pensive office worker","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"People significantly underestimate what other people make for the same work, which keeps them in poorly paying jobs – and disadvantages many workers.","summaryShort":"Many workers aren't making what they should because of a judgement quirk","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-06T22:22:33.179297Z","entity":"article","guid":"6ba3a7d3-98f0-4dbb-bf90-a856efcad426","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:21:58.077741Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-the-salary-ignorance-that-keeps-many-workers-underpaid","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095698},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies","_id":"628c3e411f4b7b527738efd5","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Employees have long threatened to walk if employers call them back into the office. Now, the dominoes are starting to fall.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThroughout the pandemic, many workers have said they'd quit if employers forced them back to the office. In March, Robert Half, a global recruiting firm, released a survey that revealed 50% of US workers would rather resign \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.roberthalf.com\u002Fblog\u002Fmanagement-tips\u002Fare-workers-ready-to-return-to-the-office\"\u003Ethan be forced back to the office full-time\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut in early May, one high-profile worker put his money where his mouth is: Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FZoeSchiffer\u002Fstatus\u002F1523017143939309568\"\u003Eresigned over the Silicon Valley giant’s return-to-office policy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The company had \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002F9to5mac.com\u002F2022\u002F04\u002F11\u002Fapple-returns-to-in-person-work-remote-option\u002F\"\u003Estarted bringing back workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E one day per week starting 11 April, then two days 2 May, with a ramp-up to three required days starting 23 May. The high-ranking Goodfellow wasn’t on board with the plan – so he walked. (Apple has not responded to BBC Worklife's request for comment; it also has yet to comment publicly on the reports of Goodfellow's resignation.) \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps Goodfellow’s exit wasn’t surprising – at least not among Apple’s workforce. A recent survey of more than 650 Apple employees on third-party anonymous polling site Blind revealed 76% of respondents \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teamblind.com\u002Fblog\u002Findex.php\u002F2022\u002F05\u002F02\u002Fapple-office-return-rto-hybrid-working-pilot-reaction\u002F\"\u003Ewere dissatisfied with the company's return-to-office plans\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; 56% said they'd consider resigning over it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut outside the company, some experts aren’t shocked, either.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"I'm not at all surprised – in fact, I'm surprised it took this long\" for an executive at a high-profile company to quit over return-to-office, says Anita Williams Woolley, associate professor of organisational behaviour and theory at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, US. She says senior leaders at businesses she works with have all been \"kind of watching each other to see who's going to do what first, and what the reaction is going to be\" to tapering off remote work. \"Now, they're getting the reaction.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGoodfellow is just one highly visible example of a worker choosing to quit, instead of reluctantly accepting an undesirable work policy. Yet there are plenty more workers itching to leave who haven’t yet. However, some recruiters and analysts believe a prominent professional’s much-talked-about move could be a sign that more resignations will follow as RTO policies start to sink in – and workers begin to bite back.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c8htwj"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘A tipping point'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough there isn’t any hard data to show increased quits due to ending flexible work specifically, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FLevDBronsteins\u002Fstatus\u002F1525691482551754752\"\u003Eanecdotes of worker exits \u003C\u002Fa\u003Eare \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FFinnAhern\u002Fstatus\u002F1524833272475160577\"\u003Estarting to trickle in\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Companies are really starting to go back more, and at scale – so employees are having to really step back and decide\" if staying is worth it, says Elise Freedman, senior client partner at Korn Ferry, a US-based recruiting company. \"The other reality is that there are \u003Cem\u003Ea lot\u003C\u002Fem\u003E of open positions out there.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese two factors have led to \"a tipping point\", says Eric Anicich, assistant professor of management and organisation at University of Southern California, US, and when workers start to act, others are likely to follow. “Seeing similar others – e.g., peers, co-workers – and respected authority figures – e.g., high-level executives – quit may be the final straw for some employees.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWoolley agrees, saying more \"workers have friends who are changing jobs, and so it can start to seem less intimidating to take the leap\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReturn-to-office plans have been a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220113-why-a-wide-scale-return-to-the-office-is-a-myth\"\u003Ecan many companies have kept kicking down the road\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, but the road has finally come to a dead end, forcing both companies and workers to react. And, in many cases, they don't seem to be on the same page.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"With much of the Covid-related uncertainty now lifted, workers may begin to act on the preferences they formed over the past two years,\" says Anicich. \"All of those things are going to be hard to uproot – even going from five days remote to three days remote.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan all workers do this?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, workers don't all have the same options. While reports indicate that Goodfellow \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2022-05-17\u002Fian-goodfellow-former-apple-director-of-machine-learning-to-join-deepmind?sref=10lNAhZ9\"\u003Ealready has another job at Google\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, workers' ability to transition into more flexible jobs will hinge on multiple factors.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"If you're in this knowledge-worker class, I still see it as a pretty flexible time, and a pretty empowering time, to be in the economy right now,\" says Anicich, since we're currently in a tight labour market in which \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220412-what-upskilling-means-for-the-future-of-work\"\u003Emany companies will fight over \u003C\u002Fa\u003Ecandidates – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-the-top-talent-interns-taking-home-sky-high-wages\"\u003Eeven if they're as young as intern\u003C\u002Fa\u003Es. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fuk-61475720\"\u003Ewealth of choice for many workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – especially those in sectors like tech and finance – is enabling workers to act on leaving companies due to policies that don’t sit well.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It basically comes down to how quickly you believe you can find another position – Elise Freedman","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut despite workers having more power, not everyone is in the position like Goodfellow’s, with seniority, highly specific talent and a strong network. A worker considering leaving needs to have in-demand skills in a sector actively seeking workers as well as options on the table from companies offering more flexibility than their existing job. It can be a narrow needle to thread for some jobseekers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, Freedman believes \"quitting over return to office is less about your level and more about your personal situation\", pointing to the wide range of scenarios workers have found themselves in during the pandemic. “I think it basically comes down to how quickly you believe you can find another position,\" she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Let us decide’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf more workers really do quit, what happens next? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies may continue to waffle, says Woolley: to guard against this kind of attrition, \"many organisations held off on putting out formal policies over concern about this happening, and some may continue to keep things vague or 'flexible'\". Additionally, some firms who have released formal plans to bring back workers have since softened their stands, or even reversed course. Apple has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.techradar.com\u002Fnews\u002Fapple-shelves-its-plan-to-get-workers-back-into-the-office\"\u003Epaused its return to office scheme\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, citing rising Covid-19 cases; it’s not clear whether quits have quietly factored into this decision, too, but employees are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2022\u002F05\u002F17\u002Ftechnology\u002Fapple-delays-return-to-office.html\"\u003Ereportedly pleased with the delay\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c8hvb8"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut just as companies were forced to adapt to remote work when they had no other choice, they also might have to adapt to this new, potentially permanent, landscape of remote work. \"It can be a hard reality to grasp for many employers, but the old way of doing business is over,\" says Rich Deosingh, US-based district president for Robert Half. \"Retention is a huge issue for all employers right now, and if you take away flexible work options, your employees are going to consider other options.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd for workers at all levels of an organisation, companies allowing them to work remotely – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220127-location-based-salary\"\u003Ejust as long as they take a pay cut\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – isn't going to fly, experts say. \"I think it's starting to move in the direction where people are not even going to be willing to say, 'oh, I'll take a pay cut, or I'll take a lesser job',\" says Woolley.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFreedman agrees, pointing to firms like Spotify that are continuing to pay New York City-level salaries to workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Fspotify-unveils-new-remote-work-option-for-all-employees-2021-2\"\u003Eno matter where they're based\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. She says workers will continue to leave those that don’t accommodate them, and gravitate toward companies that say, \"'we're paying for the value of \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\u002Fem\u003E – live wherever you want'\". (That could explain why, after Airbnb announced it's never going back to the office, their careers site \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Fairbnbs-careers-page-viewed-800k-times-work-from-anywhere-benefit-2022-5\"\u003Ereportedly raked in more than 800,000 visits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E earlier this month.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, Freedman also says that big shiny firms like Apple in tech or Goldman Sachs in finance (a company that's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffortune.com\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F10\u002Fgoldman-sachs-office-hybrid-remote-work-david-solomon\u002F\"\u003Eforced many workers in five full days a week\u003C\u002Fa\u003E) have a prestige that may convince some workers to stay. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility\"\u003E\"Some folks are willing to trade off\" flexibility\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for having a big name on their résumé – as well a major pay cheque, especially as sectors such as these are boosting salaries and perks amid a talent war.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the allure of prestige could have its limits – especially if similarly notable competitors are offering better flexible arrangements. Ultimately, \"all indicators are pointing to the conclusion that we will see more churn occur as organisations announce their policies\", says Woolley. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's still unclear that Goodfellow's high-profile departure will be a signal more dominoes will fall. But many workers are growing restless. As thousands of Apple employees have said in an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fappletogether.org\u002Fhotnews\u002Fthoughts-on-office-bound-work\"\u003Eopen letter to management\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: \"there is no one-size-fits-all solution, let us decide how we work best, and let us do the best work of our lives\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-24T13:59:14Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The workers quitting over return-to-office policies","headlineShort":"Remote work is ending? 'I quit'","image":["p0c8hskt"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":["p0c8htwj"],"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Employees have long threatened to walk if employers call them back into the office. Now, the dominoes are starting to fall.","summaryShort":"Workers who've long threatened to leave are handing in their resignations","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-24T02:08:47.692017Z","entity":"article","guid":"e62fc496-bb50-4195-9bd2-267cf80e04a0","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-24T02:25:27.534693Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220523-the-workers-quitting-over-return-to-office-policies","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095696},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves","_id":"6267dfa51f4b7b3e722cc014","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"People who chronically brag and boast are grating – and, at times, repellent. But a surprising truth about narcissists might help us feel unexpected compassion for them.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a world where humility is valued, some of the most grating people are those who constantly name-drop, brag, claim credit and opine about their brilliance. These qualities set off loud alarm bells of a narcissist in our presence – the kind of person who makes us roll our eyes and gnash our teeth.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s hard to find compassion for a someone who’s full of themself – and, in many cases, it’s unclear why we’d \u003Cem\u003Ewant \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eto sympathise with the people who repel us most. However, research indicates that unlike Narcissus staring at himself reflecting in the pool, many narcissists actually aren’t in love with themselves after all.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EQuite the opposite, in fact.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMuch of the time, a narcissist’s behaviour isn’t driven by self-love – rather, self-hatred. New findings reinforce this idea, noting that narcissistic behaviour like flexing on social media might come from low self-esteem and a constant need for self-validation. The fact that some narcissists might actually dislike themselves not only debunks the common school of thought around braggarts, but also suggests that we might want to rethink the way we interact with narcissists.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E'They don't feel good'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Narcissists tend to be very charming and outgoing, and they can make very good first impressions,\" says Robin Edelstein, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, US. \"But they also tend to be somewhat disagreeable, lacking in empathy and manipulative.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn an employment setting, that can mean taking credit for other people's work, blaming colleagues for mistakes, taking advantage of others to get ahead or responding to feedback with hostility, explains Edelstein. Socially, this may manifest as showing off on social media, or usurping attention over brunch at the expense of someone else.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA common misconception is that this behaviour stems from intense self-love, self-obsession and self-centredness. But the cause could be just the opposite.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Narcissistic individuals are actually really hamstrung by insecurity and shame, and their entire life is an attempt to regulate their image,\" says Ramani Durvasula, a licenced clinical psychologist and professor at California State University, Los Angeles. \"Narcissism has never been about self-love – it is almost entirely about self-loathing.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's long been established that there are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002Frecord\u002F1992-03870-001\"\u003Etwo types of narcissists\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: \"vulnerable\" ones, who have low self-esteem and crave affirmation, and \"grandiose\" ones, who have a genuinely overinflated sense of self.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0191886921001550?via%3Dihub\"\u003EA new study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from New York University shows that grandiose narcissists might not be considered narcissists at all, because their behaviour could resemble psychopathy – a related condition in which people act with no empathy in self-serving ways. The research team suggests vulnerable types are the true narcissists, because they don't seek power or dominance, but rather affirmation and attention that elevate their status and image in the minds of others.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"They do not feel good about themselves at all,\" says Pascal Wallisch, clinical associate professor at New York University and senior author of the study. \"The paper is not to demonise narcissists at all – on the contrary, we need a lot more compassion.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Narcissism has never been about self-love – it is almost entirely about self-loathing – Ramani Durvasula","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe study involved nearly 300 undergraduate university students, who answered questionnaires that measured personality traits, like being insecure or unempathetic, with statements like \"I tend to lack remorse\" or \"It matters that I am seen at important events\". They found that unlike grandiose narcissists, vulnerable narcissists were the group who most manifested insecurity and other related traits.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, when you see someone name-dropping at work, plastering selfies on Instagram or being touchy to feedback that makes them look bad, they could very well be a vulnerable (or \"true\") narcissist. Their constant need for attention and apparent obsession with self comes from deep insecurities they're trying to cover up.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09dpkv7"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA vicious cycle\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, seeking positive reinforcement to make ourselves feel better is something everybody does from time to time – and doesn’t necessarily make someone a narcissist.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Seeking out self-enhancement is a normal aspect of personality. We all try to seek out experiences that boost our self-esteem,\" says Nicole Cain, associate professor of clinical psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US. But narcissism can lead to \"self-enhancement becomes the overriding goal in nearly all situations, and may be sought out in problematic and inappropriate ways\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn these cases, behaviours aimed at boosting external validation can backfire, because people end up liking the individual less. Wallisch calls the resulting cyclic, repetitive behaviour a \"maladaptive cascade\", a self-defeating cycle that comes in three phases. It starts off with a vulnerable narcissist fearing that others aren't perceiving them in a certain way – so then they self-aggrandise to alleviate that fear. But paradoxically, others are put off by the behaviour, leading the narcissist right back to square one – and, in fact, the other person might view them even less favourably than before. That's what interests Wallisch most: the narcissist clearly isn't being rewarded for this behaviour, but they do it anyway, because they mistakenly view it as a means of alleviating pain and fear.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Narcissistic people have an idea of how they want to be seen, and don't feel they measure up to that,\" says Durvasula. \"So, they have to portray themselves [in a certain way], and then because they behave badly to do that, they end up experiencing social rejection anyhow, and the cycle keeps happening.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"For narcissists, \"self-enhancement becomes the overriding goal in nearly all situations\" – Nicole Cain","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile this rarely ends in a good place, Wallisch suggests that \"we can't take these behaviours at face value, especially if someone is boasting and blustering\". He adds, \"It doesn't mean they actually feel good about themselves. Something is lacking in their life.\" He says these kinds of vulnerable narcissists might actually hate themselves. \"It's very sad and tragic. They feel like they are never going to be good enough. If they become a billionaire, that's not going to help with the [root] psychological issue.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMisunderstood and misnamed?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere's still a lot we don't know about narcissists in general, though. Some experts say the tug of war between self-love and self-loathing, and the idea they're self-promotional because they want to hide insecurities, doesn't fully explain the behaviour.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"This is a very hard question to test,\" says Edelstein. \"How do you really know what a person feels deep down but is either unwilling or unable to express?\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's also not clear how understanding what's driving narcissism will help curb the behaviour. Most narcissists don't realise that they are the problem, says Edelstein, something that makes tackling the issue hard. \"Narcissists tend to be resistant to change because they see the locus of most problems in others rather than themselves,\" she says. \"I think a person needs to be fairly self-motivated for any sort of intervention to be effective for any personality trait, but narcissism seems to be particularly sticky.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECain, who suggests intensive psychotherapy is the best way to treat narcissism, says workers dealing with narcissistic colleagues should recognise that they are unlikely to be able to change them, persuade them or win an argument with them. \"Set realistic expectations for your interactions with them. At work, clearly define roles. Don't get pulled into a competition with them,\" she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemembering that their actions may well come from a place of insecurity could also help you view them with more compassion. \"I think the best strategy for dealing with narcissists may be to try to understand where they're coming from,\" says Edelstein, \"and that much of their behaviour comes from deep-seated insecurities and attempts to minimise their own vulnerabilities – as opposed to a reflection of your own inadequacies.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"I think people cover up mental pain quite a bit – by posturing, and other things,\" says Wallisch. \"It's adds to the tragedy. They're misunderstood.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-04-16T20:27:15Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why some narcissists actually hate themselves","headlineShort":"The big misconception about narcissists","image":["p09dpkls"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"People who chronically brag and boast are grating – and, at times, repellent. But a surprising truth about narcissists might help us feel unexpected compassion for them.","summaryShort":"We think we know why people brag and boast, but we may be entirely wrong","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-think"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-04-15T19:56:11.370028Z","entity":"article","guid":"32f9b332-fcba-4ee2-8f44-0f9a6be893a7","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:06:48.522428Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095713},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement","_id":"6267dfa31f4b7b334d272116","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Traditionally, we view reaching a good work-life balance as hitting a goal. But it may be more of a moving target than we realise.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFew topics have been so endlessly analysed, glorified and dissected as work-life balance. The quest to attain this somewhat nebulous state has dominated discourse around careers for years – especially for working parents. The concept is often presented as something to achieve, or a goal to reach. And once you’ve reached it, congratulations: you’ve made it; you’re a successful human being of the 21st Century.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the problem is that we often tell ourselves: “’I’m going to put in eight hours’ worth of work, and then I’m going to put in eight hours’ worth of me time, which will include my family, my hobbies, my workout, my everything’,” says Anat Lechner, clinical associate professor of management at New York University. “I don’t think it’s such a simple formula.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd, according to new findings, it may not be. Some researchers are now encouraging us to stop thinking about work-life balance as an achievement that you either hit or don’t. Instead, they suggest it may be more of a lifelong process – a continuous, never-ending exercise that requires vigilance, self-awareness and timely tweaks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENot a one-time fix\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EForget reaching that golden goal: researchers Ioana Lupu of ESSEC Business School in France, and Mayra Ruiz-Castro of the University of Roehampton in the UK argue that work-life balance is a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2021\u002F01\u002Fwork-life-balance-is-a-cycle-not-an-achievement\"\u003Ea cycle, not an achievement\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1177\u002F0170840620934064\"\u003Etheir 2020 study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, the researchers interviewed nearly 80 employees at two London-based firms – an equal number of men and women between the ages of 30 and 50, all with at least one dependent child – who worked in middle or senior management roles.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it sounds like the respondents had a lot in common, here’s what separated them: about 30% of the men and 50% of the women reported resisting working long hours. The other respondents, meanwhile, all worked long hours because they thought that’s what successful professionals should do.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOnce Lupu and Ruiz-Castro looked at those who rejected the long hours, they found that those workers actually had strikingly similar strategies for maintaining their work-life balance. They employed more “reflexivity” – or the ability to reflect and question assumptions in the name of self-awareness – and regularly took steps to adjust the things standing in their way of coveted work-life balance.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers stopped and questioned their circumstances – reflecting on their emotions and situations, then pinpointed their specific roadblocks to work-life balance. Taking stock and “claiming this mental space to gain clarity of what they want for themselves is the first step toward identifying and implementing alternative ways of working and living,” says Ruiz-Castro.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELupu and Ruiz-Castro identified five steps that the respondents in the study who had better work-life balance used in their jobs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFirst, they paused, de-normalised beliefs such as “I’m a professional, so I should work, work, work”, and asked themselves questions like, “What’s currently causing me stress?”. Second, after identifying the cause, they zeroed in on their resultant emotions – did they feel angry, sad, energised? Third, they reprioritised, asking, “Is working long hours really worth cutting back on family time?”, for example. Fourth, they considered their alternatives: is there anything at work that could be changed to accommodate these new priorities? And finally, they implemented changes, like asking their supervisor for greater flexibility, or deciding not to take on every project that comes their way.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The discussion of ‘work-life balance’ actually masks something else – Anat Lechner","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis five-step process is something anyone can adopt. Going through the steps, and constantly checking in with yourself, can help you shift and adapt your professional life to something that will better harmonise with your personal one, their research suggests. “Awareness of your emotional state is essential in order to determine the changes you want to make in your work and in your life,” says Lupu.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew York University’s Lechner agrees that finding that balance is an ongoing pursuit. It’s not simply about divvying up the hours in your day between work, the gym, kids, chores and meditation. Because even if you \u003Cem\u003Edo\u003C\u002Fem\u003E make sure the hours are evenly split, if the underlying emotional sources of stress are still there – the kinds of stress that the five-step cycle could help identify – then the time you actually spend at home may not be enjoyable. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We come home and even though physically we are there, mentally we still may be processing things that happened at work. We’re not present,” she says. “I very often think the discussion of ‘work-life balance’ actually masks something else. What we call ‘work-life balance’ is actually just a proxy to having a sense of fulfilment and contentment.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOther steps to take\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, finding that balance probably shouldn’t be something you have to do by yourself.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch by Erin Kelly, professor of work and organisation studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shows companies and managers can play a key role in creating a better environment for workers. For her book, Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What to Do About It, she and co-author Phyllis Moen split more than 1,000 employees at a Fortune 500 company into two groups: one that worked under a management redesign and one that continued working within the existing management structure.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder the management redesign, many steps were taken to ensure better work-life balance for workers and prevent burnout. Managers were regularly reminded to explicitly support their employees, for example, and workers were allowed to make changes, like cancelling 0900 morning meetings.All of this was done in the name of increasing job satisfaction and giving workers greater flexibility, and to assure workers that it was something management was committed to.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnsurprisingly, Kelly and Moen found that employees in the redesign group reported less stress, less burnout, were less likely to quit their jobs and, over the next four years, were 40% less likely to quit than those who kept working under the old policies.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work-life balance is understood to be an individual’s response – so [people think] ‘it’s up to me to manage the craziness of my work life’,” says Kelly. But organisations need to examine the demands they’re placing on employees. “The root problem is not how the two pieces of work and life come together. It’s that we have unrealistic expectations of what we’re asked to do on the work side.”If your workplace isn’t an environment where work-life balance is possible in the first place, any strides you attempt to make toward it on a personal level will be in vain.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s a conversation that appears to be gathering pace since the pandemic ripped up the rule book for how we work as well as reshaped our working lives. The new prevalence of remote work, flexible work or even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid\"\u003E‘hybrid’ working models\u003C\u002Fa\u003E will likely all play important roles in how we balance our professional and personal lives going forward. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd if it seems like finding that perfect balance remains elusive, the experts say that keeping some perspective can help. We’re in an era of catastrophic job loss; the pandemic alone \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.un.org\u002Fen\u002Fstory\u002F2021\u002F01\u002F1082852\"\u003Ehas slashed 255 million jobs worldwide\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and more jobs could be lost in the next decade as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2020\u002F01\u002F30\u002Fbusiness\u002Fartificial-intelligence-robots-retail.html\"\u003EAI advances\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and more offices digitise. For millions of people, work is about being able to put food on the table. Talking about work-life balance “is a very privileged conversation”, says Lechner. “If we’re reflecting, maybe we should also reflect on that.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAdditional reporting by Lauren Brown\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-03-02T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why it's wrong to look at work-life balance as an achievement","headlineShort":"Why work-life balance isn't a goal","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Traditionally, we view reaching a good work-life balance as hitting a goal. But it may be more of a moving target than we realise.","summaryShort":"We may be approaching the endless quest for work-life balance all wrong","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-03-01T21:32:00.015898Z","entity":"article","guid":"12b8d7bc-63b6-4f7b-a44a-530d3b14e31c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:04:21.085232Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095698},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong","_id":"6267df921f4b7b33481ba636","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"The pandemic has pushed many to the brink. But although we're exhausted and overwhelmed, some experts say we're not actually as burned out as we may think.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOn lots of occasions, I’ve told myself – and my friends and colleagues – that I’m experiencing burnout. Making a living as a freelancer can often mean working long hours, and trying to keep a lot of very different plates spinning at once. A few times a year, I hit what feels like a creative wall: I’m fresh out of good ideas, and I just really need to nap. For a long time, I’ve been calling that burnout. But I’ve been wrong.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe tend to think of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20190610-how-to-tell-if-youve-got-pre-burnout\"\u003Eburnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as an intangible – one of those things we can’t define, and we just know when we feel it. Right now, more of us may be feeling it than ever. In this stage of the pandemic, after more than a year spent trying to navigate its challenges, the general feeling is that we’ve all hit the wall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there \u003Cem\u003Eis\u003C\u002Fem\u003E a scientific definition of burnout, and standards by which to measure it. And based on that criteria, a lot of folks who think they’re burnt out – myself included – really aren’t. That doesn’t mean we aren’t on the way there, though, and understanding how to really measure burnout can help individuals and organisations change course before it’s too late.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat burnout is – and isn’t\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1981, Christina Maslach, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, developed the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1002\u002Fjob.4030020205\"\u003EMaslach Burnout Inventory\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (MBI), to define and measure the condition.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The challenge is people use the term to mean different things,” says Maslach. “It’s a catchy term, so people apply it to all kinds of stuff. So, are we all speaking the same language?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe MBI attempts to clarify the subject by evaluating burnout based on three criteria: exhaustion or total lack of energy, feelings of cynicism or negativity toward a job and reduced efficacy or success at work. Respondents get scores in all three areas along a continuum, from more positive to more negative. A burnout profile requires a negative score in all three.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People use burnout as a synonym for tired, and they’re missing the point that there’s a world of difference between those two states – Michael Leiter","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“There’s a tendency to think if you score negatively on one measure, you’re burnt out,” says Maslach, but that’s an incorrect usage of the MBI. The biggest misconception about burnout, adds Michael Leiter, a Nova Scotia-based organisational psychologist and the co-author, with Maslach, of The Truth About Burnout, is that it’s the same as exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“People use burnout as a synonym for tired, and they’re missing the point that there’s a world of difference between those two states,” says Leiter. He gives the example of obstetricians, who often work chaotic schedules. “They’re delivering babies at all hours of the night, and they’re totally exhausted, but they’re bringing new life into the world, and making people’s lives better, and they care about that work. That’s overextended and exhausted, but it’s not burnout.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are plenty of others who meet one of the MBI criteria. “The second largest group, after people who are just exhausted, is people who aren’t fully engaged,” says Leiter. “They’re going to work and it’s not exciting, it just pays the bills. There’s another group that are just cynical. They don’t care about the clientele, or the work.” Still others may have low efficacy, with careers that are stalled for one reason or another.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut fewer people can report that all three conditions apply. I can’t. While I’ve definitely experienced exhaustion, and even some disengagement, I still love what I do and haven’t become cynical about my work. It takes all three – exhaustion, cynicism and lack of efficacy – to get what’s scientifically defined as burnout. The majority of us aren’t there.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s not an epidemic; it’s over-diagnosed,” says Leiter. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem, or that conversations around burnout aren’t increasing for a reason. “Qualities of burnout \u003Cem\u003Eare\u003C\u002Fem\u003E on the rise,” concedes Leiter. “Certainly, more people are heading in that direction.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBurnout isn’t black and white \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBurnout is a spectrum, and most of us are on it. Early this year, when job search site Indeed surveyed 1,500 US workers across ages and industries, more than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.indeed.com\u002Flead\u002Fpreventing-employee-burnout-report\"\u003Ehalf reported that they’re experiencing burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. And more than two-thirds said the pandemic had made burnout worse.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat survey did not use the MBI, and chances are most of those respondents were using the colloquial definition of burnout, not the scientific one. But while burnout – the kind defined by three negative MBI scores – is a profile that Maslach says typically applies to 10% to 15% of people, that doesn’t mean everyone else is all the way on the other end of the spectrum.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, Maslach and Leiter’s newer research identifies three profiles in between: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS2213058615300188\"\u003Eoverextended, ineffective and disengaged\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Evidence suggests more than half of employees fall into one of these profiles, with a strong negative score in exhaustion, efficacy or cynicism. They’re not yet burnt out – but they’re on the way.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor people in many professions, says Leiter, things have only got worse as a result of the pandemic, with efficacy issues especially becoming overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Schoolteachers have struggled to continue teaching, and haven’t felt accomplished,” he says. “They just know they’re not being the teacher they were before, and that’s discouraging. It’s the same for physicians. It’s improved, but early in the game there were no protocols for dealing with Covid, and everything they were doing was wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThose issues have shifted the data on burnout. A study conducted between March and June of 2020 administered a series of tests, including a burnout inventory similar to the MBI, to more than 3,500 healthcare workers in the UK, Poland and Singapore. Just under \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.plos.org\u002Fplosone\u002Farticle?id=10.1371\u002Fjournal.pone.0238666\"\u003E67% measured as burnt out\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile historically the true burnout profile for employees in all professions hovers just above 10%, Maslach says “that’s clearly gone up” in light of the pandemic. Now, she believes, it may be closer to 20%.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd that’s a huge problem, because true burnout can’t be fixed with a vacation or a wellness retreat.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When people really get to the extreme, the vast majority can’t go back to the same employer or the same kind of work,” says Leiter. “They have to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201112-has-the-meaning-of-work-changed-forever\"\u003Echange careers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Burnout runs so deep – just even the feel of going into that building, or that \u003Cem\u003Esort \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eof building can be a trigger. It very often prompts career change.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy measurement matters \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAvoiding true burnout on a wide scale is vital, especially because it could mean a drain of qualified people from skilled professions. That’s where the MBI, and tests like it, become invaluable tools.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELearning that I was not, in fact, experiencing real burnout was helpful. I was able to evaluate what I was actually feeling (overextension), and start thinking about what was causing that and what changes I could make. That is the point of a burnout inventory; it’s not really about diagnosing or ruling out burnout. In fact, says Maslach, “it’s not a diagnostic tool at all. People have misused it that way, but it’s a research measure.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s not an epidemic; it’s over-diagnosed – Michael Leiter","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThough it’s administered to individuals, what the MBI is really designed to measure is their environment. “If there are negative scores, it doesn’t mean the problem is the individual. It’s what they’re responding to,” says Maslach. “You’re not trying to figure out who it’s happening to, you’re trying to figure out whyit’s happening. You don’t use it by itself, you use it with other data to say \u003Cem\u003Ewhy \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eis the pattern of scores the way it is? Those scores should be used as warning signals.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn organisation seeing scores on the negative end of the spectrum should be acting quickly, says Maslach, and that doesn’t mean \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-can-companies-actually-help-workers-stay-happy-and-healthy\"\u003Eoffering yoga classes or mindfulness seminars\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work is getting tougher, longer and harder to do. People are working more hours because they’re scared they won’t get a promotion, or will lose their job. Doing more with less is at the heart of corporate culture, and that’s not how people do the best work,” she says. “There’s this gigantic self-care industry out there all focused on how to cope with that stress; but to prevent, or reduce, or eliminate burnout, it’s not about fixing the people. It’s about fixing the job.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s not actually about measuring how many workers are or are almost burnt out, says Maslach. It’s about identifying workplaces with unmanageable workloads, and using that information to give employees more control, better tools and the discretion to figure out how to do their jobs better – without burning out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“There’s that old saying, ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,’” says Maslach. “The thrust of our argument is, why don’t you change the heat? How about redesigning the kitchen?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-04-29T14:27:13Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why we may be measuring burnout all wrong","headlineShort":"The three components of burnout","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The pandemic has pushed many to the brink. But although we're exhausted and overwhelmed, some experts say we're not actually as burned out as we may think.","summaryShort":"There's a scientific definition for burnout – and most don't actually meet it","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-04-28T20:01:08.093072Z","entity":"article","guid":"e108dc11-1d63-4bab-bafc-ce192141729f","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:07:24.89869Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork","_id":"6267dfbb1f4b7b42d55aa785","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Overwork culture is thriving; we think of long hours and constant exhaustion as a marker of success. Given what we know about burnout, why do we do give in?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1987 Gordon Gekko, the unscrupulous cigar-smoking powerhouse in the film Wall Street, told the world: greed is good. The movie – ultimately a cautionary tale – depicted work and wealth-obsessed executives putting in long hours in sleek skyscrapers to seal deals and boost their pay packets, at the expense of whoever got in their way. If you live and breathe work (and toss in some moral flexibility), the message was, the rewards will be exciting – and immense.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough many of us associate overly ambitious workaholism with the 1980s and the finance industry, the tendency to devote ourselves to work and glamourise long-hours culture remains as pervasive as ever. In fact, it is expanding into more sectors and professions, in slightly different packaging.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew studies show that workers around the world are putting in an average of 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime per week – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fkristinstoller\u002F2021\u002F04\u002F28\u002Femployees-are-working-an-extra-day-in-unpaid-overtime-each-week\u002F?sh=3405571435cc\"\u003Eup from 7.3 hours just a year ago\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Co-working spaces are filled with posters urging us to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2019\u002F01\u002F26\u002Fbusiness\u002Fagainst-hustle-culture-rise-and-grind-tgim.html\"\u003E\"rise and grind\" or \"hustle harder\".\u003C\u002Fa\u003E Billionaire tech entrepreneurs advocate sacrificing sleep so that people can \"change the world\". And since the pandemic hit, our work weeks have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.economist.com\u002Fgraphic-detail\u002F2020\u002F11\u002F24\u002Fpeople-are-working-longer-hours-during-the-pandemic\"\u003Egotten longer\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; we send emails and Slack messages at midnight as boundaries between our personal and professional lives dissolve.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn spirit, we're not so far from the Gekko years as we think. Yet, one thing is different: we understand far more about the consequences of overwork, and the toll \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong\"\u003Eburnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E can take on our mental and physical health. Given how entrenched our admiration for high-stress work culture is, however, halting our overwork obsession will require cultural change. Could the post-pandemic world be our chance to try?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere it happens and why\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOverwork isn't a phenomenon exclusive to Silicon Valley or Wall Street. People work long hours all over the world, for many different reasons.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Japan, a culture of overwork can be traced back to the 1950s, when the government pushed hard for the country \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Fwhat-is-karoshi-japanese-word-for-death-by-overwork-2017-10\"\u003Eto be rebuilt quickly\u003C\u002Fa\u003E after World War Two. In \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com\u002Farticles\u002F10.1186\u002Fs12913-017-2319-8\"\u003EArab League countries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, burnout is high among medical professionals, possibly because its 22 members are developing nations with overburdened healthcare systems, studies suggest.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReasons for overwork also depend on industry. Some of the earliest researchers on burnout in the 1970s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fstudylib.net\u002Fdoc\u002F25474578\u002Fstaff-burnout\"\u003Easserted that many\u003C\u002Fa\u003E people in jobs geared toward helping others, like employees in clinics or crisis-intervention centres, tended to work long hours that led to emotional and physical exhaustion – a trend that's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.uab.edu\u002Fnews\u002Fresearch\u002Fitem\u002F11879-study-shows-high-risk-of-anxiety-burnout-in-emergency-department-health-care-workers-from-covid-19\"\u003Eshown up in the pandemic, too.\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut millions of us overwork because somehow we think it’s exciting – a status symbol that puts us on the path to success, whether we define that by wealth or an Instagram post that makes it seem like we're living a dream life with a dream job. Romanticisation of work seems to be an especially common practise among \"knowledge workers\" in the middle and upper classes. In 2014, the New Yorker \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.newyorker.com\u002Fmagazine\u002F2014\u002F01\u002F27\u002Fthe-cult-of-overwork\"\u003Ecalled this devotion to overwork\u003C\u002Fa\u003E \"a cult\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"We glorify the lifestyle, and the lifestyle is: you breathe something, you sleep with something, you wake up and work on it all day long, then you go to sleep,\" says Anat Lechner, clinical associate professor of management at New York University. \"Again and again and again.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09gzpf9"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIts origins\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, where did our tendency to glamourise overwork come from? Why, in rich, Western countries, like the UK and the US, is there a sense that working yourself ragged is something to brag about?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe roots of this phenomenon can be traced back to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Flifeandstyle\u002F2010\u002Fsep\u002F11\u002Fpain-gain-work-ethic-burkeman\"\u003E'Protestant work ethic'\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the 16th Century – a worldview held by white Protestants in Europe that made hard work and the quest for profit seem virtuous. Sally Maitlis, professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at the University of Oxford, says that \"later, the drive for efficiency that arose out of the Industrial Revolution\", as well as the way we prize productivity, have \"further embedded the value of consistent hard work, often at the cost of personal wellbeing\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFast forward to the yuppie age of Thatcher and Reagan, when spending long hours at the office to support the upwardly mobile lifestyle and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.history.com\u002Ftopics\u002F1980s\u002F1980s\"\u003Ethe rampant consumerism of the decade\u003C\u002Fa\u003E became more commonplace. Afterward, in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, workaholics started to be identified not by blazers but rather hoodies, as tech start-ups grew into giants like Google and Facebook, and power shifted to Silicon Valley. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESociety started to glorify the entrepreneurs who said they wanted to change the world, and told us how they structured their (very long) days for maximum greatness. Maitlis highlights a motivational shift between the Gordon Gekkos and the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world; the latter felt they were fueled by “passion for the product or service, or for a higher purpose\". (The joke was on us, though, because much of that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210208-why-relying-on-productivity-tools-can-backfire\"\u003Enew technology ended up enabling the kind of overwork and burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E we're dealing with today.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese days, many people work long hours to pay off debt, to simply keep their jobs or to make that crucial next step up the ladder (and in many cases, companies expect employees to work long hours and be constantly available). But for those who embrace the overwork culture, there’s also a performative element, whether that manifests as a new car to show off, a ‘dream career’ doing something meaningful or even exhaustion that can be displayed like a bizarre kind of trophy.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"We dehumanised the workplace a long time ago – Anat Lechner","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECenturies ago, \"guys had duels and they'd have a dueling scar, which is almost a kind of badge of honour. You fought and you survived\", says Christina Maslach, professor emerita of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. \"That's where you brag about, 'Yeah, I don't sleep'. It's that kind of thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFast track to burnout\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn parallel with this work-worship, however, came an unpleasant consequence – burnout. \"Burnout has cycles – like it gets rediscovered, then it dies down, and gets rediscovered again,\" says Maslach, who has studied burnout since the 1970s.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt that time, occupational burnout was being studied in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tandfonline.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.3109\u002F00952997609023952\"\u003Evolunteers at drug-rehab clinics\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and other workers in the human services industry, many of whom were on call throughout the night, and reported headaches, depression and irritability on the job. A decade later, when the economy was going great guns in places like the US and UK, capitalism-fixation skyrocketed and people worked long and hard. But while the overwork was revered, the burnout that followed hasn't been.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”, characterised by feelings of exhaustion, negative feelings about a job and reduced professional efficacy. In other words, it leaves you feeling dehumanised, physically and emotionally exhausted, and questioning why you took the job in the first place. The body \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.who.int\u002Fnews\u002Fitem\u002F28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases\"\u003Eformally recognised burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as an 'occupational phenomenon' in 2019.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Today, it's all hell broke loose,\" says Lechner. A few decades ago, \"the pervasiveness of this was nothing like what you see today”. While a lot of burnout \"culture came from Wall Street\", she says, it's even worse now, because we put tech entrepreneurs who barely sleep on a pedestal. (Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Felonmusk\u002Fstatus\u002F1067173497909141504?lang=en\"\u003Etweeted\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2018 that when it came to his companies, \"there are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week\".)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"The old distinction of day and night or, 'Let's work until five o'clock and then go have drinks and go to sleep at 10’ is for the 20th Century. The 21st Century is very different,\" says Lechner. \"We live in a culture that is 24\u002F7. Social media is 24\u002F7, communication is 24\u002F7, Amazon Prime is 24\u002F7, everything is 24\u002F7. We don't have those fixed boundaries.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09gzr4b"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe future\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet even though we’re working harder than ever, and young workers are faced with a potentially toxic combination of greater financial pressures (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fool.com\u002Fstudent-loans\u002Fheres-the-average-millennials-student-debt\u002F\"\u003Estudent debt\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, combined with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2019\u002F11\u002F05\u002Fmillennials-earn-20-percent-less-than-boomersdespite-being-better-educated.html\"\u003Elower salaries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Fapr\u002F21\u002Fuk-property-sales-at-16-year-high-as-house-prices-soar\"\u003Ehigher house prices\u003C\u002Fa\u003E), pressure to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzfeednews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fannehelenpetersen\u002Fmillennials-burnout-generation-debt-work\"\u003Efind ‘their passion’\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and pressure to find a stable job in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.oecd.org\u002Femployment-outlook\u002F2020\u002F\"\u003Ean increasingly insecure job market\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, there may be some small signs of change. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn March, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003Ea mock employee survey\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by 13 first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-56452494\"\u003Efound its way into the public eye\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Respondents said they averaged 95-hour workweeks and slept five hours a night. \"This is beyond the level of 'hard-working', this is inhumane\u002Fabuse,\" said one respondent to the survey, which the BBC has seen. Elsewhere, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210226-the-unlikely-place-young-workers-fight-mental-health-taboos\"\u003Eon TikTok\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, Gen Z users have been open about mental health struggles, and built communities discussing depression, panic attacks and burnout openly.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd as grueling as the pandemic has been, it's also forced us to see work-life balance \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201023-coronavirus-how-will-the-pandemic-change-the-way-we-work\"\u003Ein a whole new way\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Last month, LinkedIn \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002Fhow-pandemic-changed-us-our-fastest-rising-priority-job-george-anders\u002F\"\u003Econducted a survey\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of more than 5,000 users over two weeks: 50% and 45% of respondents say that hours or location flexibility and work-life balance respectively have become more important to them since the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Workplaces can be very unhealthy environments – if there was any time to change the way we work, now is the time to do it – Christina Maslach","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\"The pandemic has been powerful not only in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201230-how-the-pandemic-could-redefine-our-productivity-obsession\"\u003Emaking salient many of the things that matter most\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – health, family, relationships – and in disrupting some of the routines and systems that were keeping people on the treadmill,\" says Maitlis.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn response, some companies have begun talking about offering \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-can-companies-actually-help-workers-stay-happy-and-healthy\"\u003Emore robust mental-health programmes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for workers, including \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2020\u002F10\u002F10\u002Fcovid-stress-companies-turn-to-virtual-therapy-meditation-apps.html\"\u003Eperks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E like complimentary therapy sessions or free access to wellness apps.Yet, experts think it is highly unlikely that we’re entering a new era that prioritises wellbeing over overwork.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, while technology has made it possible for us to work from home indefinitely, it also ties us to work all day long. If there's a group call where workers dial in from London, Tokyo, New York and Dubai, some people will have to wake up at 0200 to dial in. If they don't, the company will find someone who will – because as long as we glamourise money, status and achievement, there will always be people who work hard to get them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd at the end of the day, companies want to make money. \"We dehumanised the workplace a long time ago, and I'm not saying it with any pride,\" says Lechner. For many companies, it's still: \"If you don't work, then someone else will come along and do it. And if that's not gonna help, we'll allocate it to the AI. And if the AI takes over, we'll put together a gig workforce.\" Overwork, or get left behind.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat's why she does not believe burnout will be solved anytime in the near future. \"It's not necessarily a message people like to hear. They think they enter a relationship with an employer where the relationship says, 'I work hard, you take care of me'. Again, this is a 20th Century mindset.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe're at a crossroads: we can prioritise our wellbeing, or prioritise sending an email at 0300 because it'll impress the boss. Letting people work from home can only go so far in easing the burden – it has to be up to the workers to stop making burnout somehow desirable, and up to the companies to stop making the workers feel like they should.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Workplaces can be very unhealthy environments – if there was any time to change the way we work, now is the time to do it,\" says Maslach. \"If you take a plant and put it in a pot and don’t water it and give it lousy soil and not enough sun, I don't care how gorgeous the plant was to begin with – it isn't going to thrive.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-05-10T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why do we buy into the 'cult' of overwork?","headlineShort":"Why we buy into the 'cult' of overwork","image":["p09gzpwz"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210302-why-work-life-balance-is-not-an-achievement","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Overwork culture is thriving; we think of long hours and constant exhaustion as a marker of success. Given what we know about burnout, why do we do give in?","summaryShort":"How were we duped into finding overwork glamorous?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-05-09T19:45:16.186091Z","entity":"article","guid":"061a2c4c-344e-4030-a7bc-a63e4d2eaead","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:08:06.687952Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095698},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress","_id":"6267dfa81f4b7b35476a4a28","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"All over the world, companies are adding spontaneous days off for employees who are burned out from overwork during the pandemic. Can these holidays help?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis spring, James Turbyville’s company announced they were adding two new long weekends to the calendar. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETurbyville, who works for a medical-information company in Georgia, US, says management at his job often sends out surveys to track worker wellbeing. After evaluating the responses, says Turbyville, “they said, you know what, this has been a big, hard year. We want to make sure we’re not putting too much stress and pressure on our teams. Let’s give them a couple of extra ‘wellness days’”. The company chose two Fridays – one in April and one in July – as extra days off for the whole staff. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn recent months, a swath of businesses, both large and small, have taken similar actions, offering employees ‘self-care’ days on top of regular paid time off. In April, LinkedIn shut down for a week, giving nearly all 16,000 of their global employees five days off. Since last summer, Google has given workers two impromptu paid holidays. And back in November 2020, Ryan Wuerch, CEO of cash-back app Dosh, started \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Fcompanies-offer-creative-solutions-to-worker-burnout-during-the-pandemic-11604836834?mod=e2tw\"\u003Egranting employees impromptu long weekends\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The Wall Street Journal reported, “On some Thursdays, during all-staff meetings, Mr. Wuerch now surprises the company with the news that the following day is a ‘Dosh Day,’ when no work is allowed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s a novel approach to tackling more than a year of taxing, remote work amid the pandemic, especially as employees are in need of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-can-companies-actually-help-workers-stay-happy-and-healthy\"\u003Epolicies that support mental and emotional health\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, perhaps more than ever. And many employees, like Turbyville, welcome the time off with open arms. But, however well intentioned, these approaches may not go quite far enough; a day – or even a week – away from work is probably not consequential enough on its own to curb burnout and solve issues of overworking. And these days don’t necessarily help employees equally.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, these policies can help – and maybe even set precedent for a more wellness-focused future of work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECaring for workers by having them work less\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompanies have been well aware for a while that their employees are exhausted from working in the pandemic (although, admittedly, some show more concern for the issue than others). These pop-up holidays have mostly entered the picture as a response to that burnout, often spurred by responses to company-wide wellness surveys, like the one Turbyville answered.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s how LinkedIn’s unexpected week off came to be, says Lisa Finnegan, the company’s vice-president of international human resources. Soon after the start of the pandemic, LinkedIn began sending employees quarterly surveys including basic questions about how they were holding up. “We could see basic wellbeing was trending down,” says Finnegan. “People were working longer hours, not taking their vacation time and just churning through. We had a successful, productive organisation, but we knew our employees were being burnt out.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"linkedin hq","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe company started a campaign of what Finnegan calls “surprise and delight moments”. Every so often, they surprised employees with a Friday off, or a day of no meetings. The reception was generally positive, and survey responses began to show slight improvement, which Finnegan says led the company to plan the full week’s shutdown.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe element of surprise can be valuable to workers, says Jamie Gruman, a professor of organisational behaviour at Ontario’s University of Guelph, and an expert on workplace wellness. “It’s unexpected because the company doesn’t \u003Cem\u003Ehave\u003C\u002Fem\u003E to do this, so it implies they really care. If people see that things like this are happening spontaneously, that’s an indication that the company is being responsive, and responsiveness is the key thing. It’s an indicator of care for their employees.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, along with providing time off in the short term, these gestures could potentially mark the start of healthier long-term relationships between employer and employee, at least in terms of wellbeing maintenance. Gruman says these pop-up holidays could be early steps toward a major shift to new norms: more flexible work schedules as well as company cultures that acknowledge time away from your desk is just as important as the hours you spend there.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“In a post-pandemic age, what employees want is to be taken care of not as just employees, but as people,” says Gruman. “They want their employers to be truly concerned about them. The era of thinking about performance and productivity divorced from the rest of life is over. We now have to consider those things in the context of people’s lives.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUnplanned vacation, unintended consequences\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDespite the benefits of these impromptu holidays, however, there are a handful of ways even the most well-meaning initiative can go sideways, if not executed thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, Turbyville’s company announced their “wellness days” well in advance, but that hasn’t been the case with many companies, who’ve given employees little notice about the surprise time off.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"A pop-up holiday meant to reduce stress could actually do just the opposite","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor people who balance very regimented schedules, such as parents, the spontaneity of the holidays could be a potential drawback, says Samantha Ettus, author of work-life balance guide The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success and Satisfaction. This short notice may even cause caretakers undue stress, as they potentially scramble to take advantage of the rare time off. Instead, says Ettus, surprise time off is far more geared to “someone who’s single and has a spontaneous lifestyle”. So, although any holiday is theoretically welcome, the way in which some companies deploy it isn’t necessarily helpful to workers in the same way.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, workers can’t necessarily put urgent work on hold, even when they’re permitted – or told – to step away. For example, jobs that require workers to create every day are tough to pause without advance planning; similarly, workers who have important client meetings or crucial pending sales may find a pop-up day off a novelty no-one wants or asked for. For others, work may simply pile up, and workers return to an anxiety-inducing mound to sift through.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, says Ettus, a pop-up holiday meant to reduce stress could actually do just the opposite. “I don’t know a lot of situations where it wouldn’t have some ripple effect.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFinnegan says LinkedIn workers offered some similar feedback about the earlier surprise and delight days off, which came with little advance warning. “They were telling us, basically, it would be great if you could give us some notice, so we can make plans and use that time more effectively.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, however, any kind of time off is massively needed on the whole, since \u003Ca href=\"C:\\Users\\kmorgan\\Downloads\\Home%20workers%20putting%20in%20more%20hours%20since%20Covid,%20research%20...https:\\www.theguardian.com%20›%20business%20›%20feb%20›%20home-\"\u003Eemployees are working longer hours during the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and letting their vacation days lapse as they’ve become reluctant to step away due fear of layoffs in a weakened economy. That’s a substantial problem, since time off is so vital to the health of a workforce.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"man working late","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“We really do need to get away from the things that stress us in order to refresh and recharge and get back to our best,” says Gruman, who is also the author of Boost: The Science of Recharging Yourself in an Age of Unrelenting Demands. “Drained employees are like drained iPhones. If the battery’s not charged, it doesn’t work.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMultiple studies bear out a simple fact: taking time away from your job makes you better at it. Research finds that a vacation both \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nature.com\u002Farticles\u002Ftp2016164\"\u003Eimproves our ability\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to respond to stress, and helps us \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1177\u002F0047287514546223\"\u003Eshake off the stressors\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of our work so we can return refreshed. Additional data shows that time off, especially if we can use it to totally unplug, can leave us \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedaily.com\u002Freleases\u002F2012\u002F12\u002F121212204826.htm\"\u003Emore creative\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and productive.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA genuine gesture?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt stands to reason, then, that more impromptu time off would help workers reap those benefits. But it really only works, says Gruman, if employees can trust the company’s motives.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGruman says research shows that HR departments like to provide flexible time and time off to workers. But he adds that this time off “seems to be most effective when the organisation has… a climate of human resourcefulness. In other words, the workforce believes the company has their best interest at heart”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOtherwise, being given a day off now might be interpreted as a way to, for instance, discourage employees from taking more time later. Gruman continues, “If employees think, ‘they’re really giving us these days off in order to squeeze as much out of us as possible’, those policies don’t work. Employees have to believe management cares. If they don’t, even something like surprise extra vacation days can feel manipulative.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFinnegan says LinkedIn recognises the need for companies to incorporate more everyday policies aimed at wellness – making them holistic initiatives, versus scattershot gestures. “Little things, like no meetings after 3pm on Fridays,” she says, “or one-on-ones that happen over the phone instead of on a screen, so you can take a walk at the same time”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is just the beginning of a search for solutions, adds Finnegan. The problem of an overworked, stressed out workforce persists, not just at LinkedIn, but at companies around the world. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Let’s be honest, one week off will not solve everything, and we have to be realistic about that,” she says. “It helped. I think it was massively appreciated, but that doesn’t mean we can take our eyes off this. There’s still a lot of work to do on employee wellness, and we’re going to need to keep coming up with creative ideas.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-06-10T16:22:58Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Can pop-up work holidays help workers de-stress?","headlineShort":"The new culture of surprise days off","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"man in pool","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"All over the world, companies are adding spontaneous days off for employees who are burned out from overwork during the pandemic. Can these holidays help?","summaryShort":"Many companies are giving workers pop-up holidays. Can they help?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-06-09T19:43:44.42294Z","entity":"article","guid":"e50b1bed-749d-4cf1-80dc-43ebdec17e10","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:11:59.71099Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think","_id":"6267dfa21f4b7b3e5f1cbfe4","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Instead of struggling to create a hard barrier between work and life, maybe it’s time to combine them. Especially if the goal is to think big.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOut in the mountains of Harper’s Ferry, in the US state of West Virginia, Alexis Grant has spent the past few months getting ready. In mid-May, before the COVID-19 outbreak, she was planning to host a group of 10 women from across the US in her town, an hour outside of Washington D.C., for five days of residency in an historic inn, with guided hikes on the Appalachian Trail, catered local meals and even a hot-stone massage.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut Grant’s programme isn’t about escaping work. It’s about getting deeper into it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGrant, the founder of Retreat & Create, is a former media executive turned consultant who’s among a growing group of people trying to foster productivity and big-picture thinking with ‘workcations’.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThink of it as the much more intense, alluring relative of the one-day company offsite, when a team goes down the street to a dismal hotel lobby. And different still from a regimented \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.glassdoor.com\u002Fblog\u002Fcompanies-amazing-retreats\u002F\"\u003Ewhole-company retreat\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with large group work. Instead, workcations deliberately include warm weather or lots of nature, taking you somewhere you want to be mostly isolated. In different, more congenial surroundings, the theory goes, you’ll be better able to think.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBlurring the line\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWork-life balance is often about the struggle to create clear delineation between our careers and our personal lives.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s becoming increasingly difficult, however, to draw a hard line – especially with emails rolling in and Slack messages constantly popping up. No matter what we promise ourselves, many of us are guilty of pencilling in at least a little work while we’re away. And while uninstalling messaging from your phone while on holiday is one possible solution, it’s a pretty drastic measure for a little peace and quiet.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThat’s where workcations come in. Instead of trying to build a wall between work and personal life, workcations lean into the idea that they’re not separate at all. It’s not quite the same as digital nomadism, in which you work where you please but still focus on your day-to-day tasks. Workcations are instead conscious efforts to separate yourself from your permanent environment, and get extremely focused on one element of your job. You step away with the explicit intention to ignore the daily churn.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome workcations focus on certain activities with a schedule – say, yoga classes or skiing – while others are more freeform, mainly about getting into different physical environments. The integration of nature is often a big part; not only is it relaxing, but it’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS0272494415000328\"\u003Eshown to boost productivity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0272494418304092\"\u003Emind-wandering creativity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and promote \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fresearch.bond.edu.au\u002Fen\u002Fpublications\u002Fpsychological-perceptions-matter-developing-the-reactions-to-the-\"\u003Emental restoration lost to distraction\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"‘We know that putting people in different environments, such as being close to nature, can make you more creative’ – Libby Sander","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“We know that putting people in different environments, such as being close to nature, can make you more creative. It makes you less stressed. It can give you a different perspective in terms of your brain thinking out of the box,” says Libby Sander, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Bond Business School in Australia. “There’s even research that shows that high ceilings and different types of buildings can change our thinking.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EApart from guided hikes and some meals, Grant’s Retreat & Create programme is unstructured, which means that attendees can blend – or separate – their work and personal time as they like, and can choose to stay isolated from other attendees or brainstorm with them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the most part, the workcation attendees don’t know each other. Grant is hosting one pair, but most are singles in leadership positions who’ve come to get space from their teams. Attendees generally come with the intention to hack away at something the day to day doesn’t enable them to get deep into.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea, however saccharine, is to walk away with some sort of epiphany. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThinking big\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJules Taggart, owner of San Diego, California-based marketing agency Wayward Kind, takes a workcation every four to six months. Among other places, she’s been to Orlando in the state of Florida, and Phoenix in the state of Arizona, and integrates activities such as swimming or running and getting spa treatments. Workcations have been a major source of creativity, she says: On one trip, she rearranged her entire client workflow and project management as a result. “It allows me to do a little more dreaming about the trajectory of the whole business.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt’s like a tab on your browser you’ve been meaning to get to forever, says Megan Flatt, a California-based consultant. On one workcation she addressed “something I’d been thinking about for a long time, and just having a conversation with somebody else and actually coming to a conclusion – it was like being able to close down that tab.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe physical distance promotes free-flowing thought, too, says Simon Knox, emeritus professor of brand management at Cranfield School of Management in the UK. He says that your office environment can link you to the churn of everyday tasks, so changing your scenery can temporarily put a psychological fence around the things that stress you, freeing up mental bandwidth.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESander agrees: There’s a lot of “anchoring” in the office with structure and routine, she says. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fresearch.bond.edu.au\u002Fen\u002Fpublications\u002Fpsychological-perceptions-matter-developing-the-reactions-to-the-\"\u003EHer research shows\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that if you want to think differently, it’s essential to be freed from your office environment and have a chance to focus without distraction or interruption.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe inextricable link\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s a major privilege, however, to be able to remove yourself from an office or structured obligations for a week, and pay a fee to do it, too. Grant’s programme costs approximately $1,800 (£1,430), for example, which may be out of reach to many. Plus, if you’re not the boss making his or her own rules, taking a workcation will be on your dime – and cost you vacation days during which you should be shutting off.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe fact that something like a workcation even exists is, in some ways, problematic: it encourages an even blurrier line between work and life, Sander says, and can make you feel that you shouldn’t disconnect even during a holiday that’s meant strictly for pleasure.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Workcations can give you justification or even create a compulsion to work while sipping a cocktail poolside","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EEven workcation-creator Grant acknowledges that workcations create the psychological permission to blend work and holiday. Part of the stress of working while you’re on holiday is feeling wrong dipping into work. But Sander says that workcations can give you justification or even create a compulsion to work while sipping a cocktail poolside ­– which, no matter how you position it, is still \u003Cem\u003Ework\u003C\u002Fem\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat we even needworkcations reflects how work has become stifling, says Sander: it’s impossible to get focused, creative thinking done, especially in poorly designed offices and on hyper-collaborative teams.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s a really bad situation we’ve gotten into,” she adds. “You need to have time to not only switch off, but even get bored and empty your brain out.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMake your own adventure\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EForking over vacation days and cash doesn’t work for most. But you may be able to replicate some of the benefits of a little retreat without the investment.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou can try to make a workcation in your own home; the removal from the office environment alone can create that break from the tasks you obsess about daily. Even in a coffee shop may work, too. Though there may not be relaxing, sweeping vistas, you still may be able to achieve deep focus or creative thinking.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When you’re outside of the office, your brain isn’t consciously attending to the conversations. They’re unlikely to be about you,” says Sander. “In the office, your brain is constantly switched on because you think ‘that’s something I need to know’ or ‘this might be about me’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether you embark on a huge workcation or make your own mini version, Flatt says that its success depends on turning off the multitasking and separating yourself from a regimen. Unlike highly scheduled office offsites, which often programme hourly activities, the key to unlocking just may be in letting yourself dream.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-03-20T18:44:23Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Could a ‘workcation’ change how you think?","headlineShort":"Do you need a ‘workcation’?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":null,"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Instead of struggling to create a hard barrier between work and life, maybe it’s time to combine them. Especially if the goal is to think big.","summaryShort":"You next holiday could be for the explicit purpose of working","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-03-19T19:56:03.564066Z","entity":"article","guid":"3383e030-77ac-4167-be48-9889319d109c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:44:57.240466Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming","_id":"6267dfa51f4b7b2c094a5dda","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Are we actually on the brink of remote workers scattering across the globe en masse – or are predictions of the new, great digital-nomad movement overblown?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe words “digital nomad” generally conjure the image of a millennial expat in Costa Rica, peppering Instagram with selfies in a hammock, a computer in one hand and piña colada in the other. The caption: \u003Cem\u003Eoffice for the day\u003C\u002Fem\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, however, with vaccines rolling out and workers beginning to make decisions in a post-pandemic reality, an increasing number of people may be embracing the digital-nomad lifestyle – and not just young workers posing under palm trees. Globally, the rise of a large, new group of travelling, remote workers is one of the prevailing narratives about a Covid-19-reformed work world.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome moves by major travel-industry players add fuel to this prediction. Looking towards a post-pandemic future, Airbnb has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.protocol.com\u002Fairbnb-future-of-travel\"\u003Eshifted its focus\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from short-stay accommodation to long-term rentals – a month or more, for example – for getaways and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think\"\u003Eworkcations\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, even after the age of ‘social distancing retreats’ has ended. The company believes many people might not just continue to work from home – they’ll work from beach cottages, forest cabins and suburban houses outside expensive city centres. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut is this an overblown prediction? Possibly not. The remote-work genie is out of the bottle: workers desire room to roam more than ever, and have more resources to do so than before. However, some experts say that we shouldn’t expect everyone we know to pick up and go: only some groups of workers at specific types of jobs will really be able to embrace a digitally nomadic lifestyle, leaving others behind. It’s also unclear how many people will actually take the jump if afforded the opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is, however, certainly confidence that the digitally remote workforce is growing in some form – here, there and everywhere. But who exactly will be able to partake likely comes down to who’s privileged enough to do so. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA nomadic future?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.japantimes.co.jp\u002Fnews\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F10\u002Fworld\u002Fdigital-nomad-coronavirus\u002F\"\u003Enever been more interest\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fs29814.pcdn.co\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F10\u002FMBO-Digital-Nomad-Report-2020-Revised.pdf\"\u003Edigital nomadism\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – “people who choose to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the Internet-connected world\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd not all digital nomads are stereotypical beach-dwelling backpackers with laptops, stringing together creative freelance gigs. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftechmonitor.ai\u002Fleadership\u002Fworkforce\u002Fdigital-nomads-capitalising-rise-remote-work\"\u003EAs interest in digital nomadism has spiked during the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, the term is increasingly becoming more expansive – a sort of new, updated, modified digital nomad. These workers may feel far more familiar: people who work a standard, full-time 9-to-5 at a large corporation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThroughout the pandemic, many ‘conventional’ workers have already begun to move towards digitally nomadic set-ups. From \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200813-the-swedish-staycation-obsession\"\u003ESweden\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.chicagotribune.com\u002Ftravel\u002Fct-trav-cottagecore-cabins-winter-travel-20201019-wvevl5kxdbddpbdofrx74ylsvy-story.html\"\u003Ethe US\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, workers have flocked to wi-fi-equipped cottages and cabins to work remotely for lockdown-friendly, manager-approved staycations. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2020\u002F04\u002F16\u002Frealestate\u002Fcoronavirus-short-term-rentals.html\"\u003E'Quarantine apartments' and 'social distancing retreats'\u003C\u002Fa\u003E lured remote workers from miles away seeking more space for a few weeks – or a few months. In the first quarter of 2021, Airbnb reported the amount of long-term stays (at least 28 nights) \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.airbnb.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F4\u002F2021\u002F05\u002FAirbnb-Report-on-Travel-Living.pdf\"\u003Enearly doubled year-on-year\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOne study shows that in mid-2020, the digital-nomad population in the US \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fs29814.pcdn.co\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F10\u002FMBO-Digital-Nomad-Report-2020-Revised.pdf\"\u003Eexploded 50% from 2019\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, up to 10.9 million from 7.3 million. And, as more workers turn nomadic, the lifestyle has mainstreamed: telling your family or company you want to move around while you work might have drawn sceptical looks in the past, but the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched now – especially as some companies are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Ftechnology-57425636\"\u003Eincreasingly allowing their staff to work remotely indefinitely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EData on worker desires chimes with this increased interest in digitally nomadic lifestyles. Surveys around the world \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbdaily.co.uk\u002Farticles\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F15\u002Fnew-yougov-report-shows-that-two-thirds-of-brits-want-remote-working-to-continue-post-lockdown\"\u003Ehave shown\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that most workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mckinsey.com\u002Ffeatured-insights\u002Ffuture-of-work\u002Fwhats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries\"\u003Ewant to continue to work remotely in some way\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – be that at home, at a seaside cottage, at a ranch house in a far less pricy suburb than the city they were living in before or in a different country altogether.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I don’t see any reason why that wouldn't continue to be the case in the future,” says Robert Litchfield, associate professor of economics and business at Washington & Jefferson College, US. He is the co-author of a book about digital nomads with Rachael Woldoff, professor of sociology at West Virginia University, US. They point out that any shift towards nomadism would be in line with trends that emerged long before the pandemic: a survey of 15,000 Americans back in 2017 showed that 43% \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2017\u002F02\u002F15\u002Fus\u002Fremote-workers-work-from-home.html\"\u003Ewere already working remotely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at least some of the time, a number that ticked up 4% from 2012.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“People don't live where their work is, but work where they live – that was the idea” that was reinforced during the pandemic, adds Olga Hannonen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Finland who studies digital nomads.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, although interest is skyrocketing, and some workers are actually trying on nomadism, some experts are sceptical that the workforce will suddenly be filled with permanent digital nomads, as daily life in many countries starts to stabilise. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Even if there is a mass shift towards digital nomadism, the move won’t be demographically equal","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“This idea that people are going to be long-term nomads is very unrealistic,” says Erin Kelly, professor of work and organisation studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I think most people want to have homes and know their neighbours, and be based in a certain place.” While she expects that some industries will welcome nomadism among staff – sectors like IT that already have a global labour chain, she says – “I don't think we're going to see that writ large”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUnequal playing field\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven if there is a mass shift towards digital nomadism, however, the move won’t be demographically equal. The opportunity and ability to slip into an on-the-go working lifestyle simply isn’t available to everyone.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“To be a digital nomad, you need to have tremendous freedom – you need to have a good passport, you can’t have a criminal record, you can’t have too much debt,” says Beverly Yuen Thompson, associate professor of sociology at Siena College, New York, who studies digital nomads. She says this has been the case for traditional digital nomads all along, even if they don’t make much money, or moved abroad because they couldn't afford their home country.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“These people don't think that they're rich, but if your family can send you a plane ticket to bail you out if you're in Thailand and you’re in a tough place, that's a huge privilege.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“With every study about digital nomads, this question [of inequality] is raised,” says Hannonen. “At the moment, being a digital nomad is a very Western phenomenon of people who can travel the world,”; becoming one is a symbol of a “privileged lifestyle”.It's easier for some people to become digital nomads, and harder for others, domestically or internationally, pre- or post-Covid-19.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThompson also points out that most digital nomads are white. That tracks with new research from the Economic Policy Institute, which shows that in the US, one in four white workers are able to work from home – that's compared to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.epi.org\u002Fblog\u002Fonly-one-in-five-workers-are-working-from-home-due-to-covid-black-and-hispanic-workers-are-less-likely-to-be-able-to-telework\u002F\"\u003Eone in five black workers, and one in six Hispanic workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The organisation found disparity across education levels, too: one in three workers with a bachelor's degree were able to work from home during the pandemic, compared to about one in 20 workers with only a secondary-school education.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThompson believes that if more of the workforce became nomads, this would reinforce inequality. Because of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnewsround\u002F56591022\"\u003Edeep systemic inequalities\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that have existed for decades that have led to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.americanprogress.org\u002Fissues\u002Frace\u002Freports\u002F2018\u002F02\u002F21\u002F447051\u002Fsystematic-inequality\u002F\"\u003Epoorer people and people of colour\u003C\u002Fa\u003E being put on a track the leads to worse education levels and worse-paying jobs, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fkinder.rice.edu\u002Furbanedge\u002F2020\u002F08\u002F03\u002Fracism-economics-hurting-american-gdp-and-prosperity-white-people\"\u003Ethey’re less likely to find a job\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that allows remote work in the first place, let alone allow them to work long-term in a different location. A full-scale nomad workforce could just keep that cycle going, giving more privileges and perks to already privileged people. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAnd even among the well-paid, white, knowledge-economy workers that make up the majority of teleworkers, the only people who could \u003Cem\u003Etruly\u003C\u002Fem\u003E become digital nomads – who maybe live in a far-flung locale and then come into the office once or twice a quarter – are senior-level executives, explains Susan Lund, a partner at Washington, DC-based McKinsey & Company who researches labour, economic development and remote work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompanies will be more willing to accommodate the powerful, high-earning top brass, she says. That may depend on the situation, though – Litchfield and Woldoff say they interviewed more junior workers for their book who were surprised to get retention offers from their bosses when they said they’d quit if they couldn’t work remotely long term.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, digital nomadism aside, Lund says that based on McKinsey research, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mckinsey.com\u002Ffeatured-insights\u002Ffuture-of-work\u002Fwhat-800-executives-envision-for-the-postpandemic-workforce\"\u003E“60-70% of the workforce has zero opportunity” to work remotely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at all. Most people are “cutting hair, they're caring for patients, they're in a manufacturing setting where you're working machinery or in a laboratory working with specialised equipment”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Definitely, there is an issue of equity,\" says Lund. \"It is college-educated, office-based, white-collar workers predominately that can do this.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe more realistic outcome\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExperts say that some industries definitely will have more digital nomads among their staff after the pandemic. But they add that a huge shift towards digital nomadism across the board probably won't happen. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA more likely outcome is that more workers might end up in situations where their organisations implement a hybrid work schedule that forces them to come into the office at least sometimes, and workers might relocate based on that requirement. If people do want to relocate, Lund believes it’ll just be a bit further away from the office, but still in commuting distance. “I think there is this [trend of people] spreading out to smaller towns and rural areas – but still not, ‘I want to go to Croatia’ or ‘I want to live in Aspen’,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven if the number of people who can live indefinitely in a Lisbon Airbnb for months on end increases after the pandemic, the privilege to do so still remains only with tiny group.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOverall, says Kelly, “I would say 100% remote work is a possibility for some employees, and maybe feasible in some industries, but it’s not going to become the new normal.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-06-15T14:47:56.637Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Is the great digital-nomad workforce actually coming?","headlineShort":"Is new digital nomadism a myth?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":false,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Are we actually on the brink of remote workers scattering across the globe en masse – or are predictions of the new, great digital-nomad movement overblown?","summaryShort":"If people will work nomadically – and who can actually do it – is complicated","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-06-15T19:40:45.942829Z","entity":"article","guid":"8f628cce-df0e-48e9-a1cb-69109a5a2517","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:09:55.718478Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play","_id":"6267e0141f4b7b7638311737","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"We’ve been taught to keep work and play apart. Yet more of us are still taking workcations, years into the pandemic – and reaping the benefits. The trend could be here to stay.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“After working from home for over a year, I needed a change in atmosphere,” says Vedika Bhaia, a Kolkata-based marketing entrepreneur and content creator. Last summer, she and a friend went on a 15-day backpacking trip through India’s Parvati Valley, trekking between hostels, exploring the natural environment and paragliding – all while balancing a full workload on a laptop.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThough she was used to working remotely, Bhaia says the ‘work-from-anywhere’ mentality created by the pandemic pushed her to take a trip that combined work and leisure. “I knew travelling would do wonders for my mental health and help me overcome the creative block I was having,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBhaia is not alone; ‘workcations’ are becoming entrenched in many nations. Workcations combine work and vacation – booking a mountain cabin for a week while working a full-time job remotely, for example – and became popular early in the pandemic, as many knowledge workers fled cramped apartments during lockdowns. Workcations are an evolution of ‘bleisure’: travel that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2017\u002F03\u002F14\u002Ftravel\u002Fhow-to-combine-a-business-trip-with-a-vacation.html\"\u003Ecombines business trips with leisure trips\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; think of the familiar practice of hanging around a city for an extra weekend after a conference, or tacking on some PTO days while you’re away on a business trip.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ENow, in the third year of the pandemic, even as Covid cases fall globally, there’s no sign of workcations slowing down as companies continue to offer remote work policies. Last year, a whopping 85% of 3,000 Indian workers said in a poll \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Feconomictimes.indiatimes.com\u002Findustry\u002Fservices\u002Ftravel\u002Findian-travellers-indulged-in-workcation-mode-this-year-oyo-report\u002Farticleshow\u002F88565504.cms?from=mdr\"\u003Ethat they took a workcation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2021. Over a quarter of Canadian workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnewsofcanada.net\u002Fkayak-reveals-38-of-employed-gen-zs-in-canada-plan-to-take-a-workcation-for-a-change-of-scenery-in-2022\u002F\"\u003Esay they want to take one\u003C\u002Fa\u003E this year; in a global study of eight countries, 65% of 5,500 respondents say they plan to extend a work trip into a leisure one, or vice versa, in 2022.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWorkcations may seem counter-intuitive – after all, better awareness of work-related mental health stressors has left us more conscious than ever of the importance of maintaining boundaries between our professional and personal lives. Yet experts argue that the adaptability we’ve developed during the pandemic has positioned us well to enjoy a break that combines work and play. And given the benefits workers see in them – like more chances to explore new places while fulfilling our day-to-day obligations – workcations look likely to become a permanent practice lasting well beyond the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0btdd63"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Recharged and re-enthused’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBefore Covid-19, some white-collar workers were already taking advantage of bleisure travel. “I’m actually all for bleisure. I think it’s awesome. It gives people a chance to experience things they might not normally get a chance to experience,” says Martha Maznevski, professor of organisational behaviour at Western University, Canada. She regularly adds extra days to business trips, combining travel and relaxation with networking or developmental activities, like a cooking or language class.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWhat’s different now is that far more people can dip their toe into bleisure and workcations. Even if you don’t travel for business (and few of us are; business travel plummeted during the pandemic and isn’t expected to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gbta.org\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-setback-to-surge-business-travel-expected-to-fully-recover-by-2024\u002F\"\u003Emake a full recovery until 2024\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, partially due to companies avoiding health risks for employees), the fact that remote and flexible work is so much more entrenched means that people who used to spend all their time at their desks now have more scope to explore other options while fulfilling their professional responsibilities.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I think after the past two years, we can switch from one thing to the next very effectively – Rachel Fu","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAndy Drane, a senior equity partner at an Edinburgh-based corporate and communications law firm, said he “wouldn’t have considered [a workcation] possible” before the pandemic. “Colleagues, clients and intermediaries would have expected me to be in the office 24\u002F7 or visiting their places of work.” Now, he says, that’s been turned on its head. “The business has proven itself to be much more flexible than I’d anticipated.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EDrane went on a workcation last month to England’s Lake District. He was there to care for elderly family members but was also able to enjoy the location as he worked remotely. “I was able to have some downtime in a glorious environment and also to fit into a different pattern of days; taking longer over lunch, breaking earlier and cooking dinner for family, taking them on a couple of day trips,” he says. “I certainly came back recharged and re-enthused.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EResearch released last month by a US travel services company suggest Drane’s experience is common. In a survey of 1,000 people who had taken a workcation, more than four-fifths of them \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpassport-photo.online\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-workations-are-all-the-rave\u002F\"\u003Efelt the trip had boosted their productivity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and creativity, and helped them cope with work-related stress. More than two-thirds said the purpose had been to recharge their mental and emotional batteries, while exploring new places also scored highly as a motivating factor.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe’ve all been trained to switch’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe apparent popularity of workcations may seem at odds with the deeply entrenched idea that we should keep work and play apart – and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210622-why-its-so-hard-to-put-boundaries-on-our-time\"\u003Ecarefully ringfence time for each\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. After all, attempts by companies to bring ‘fun’ into the office – think ping pong tables, foosball, bean bags – have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tlnt.com\u002Fno-one-accepts-your-offer-because-of-your-foosball-table\u002F\"\u003Elong been dismissed\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as gimmicky. But the key attraction with workcations is that workers are capitalising on new-found flexibility to combine work and play in a way that’s meaningful to them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EMaznevski and other experts see bleisure and workcations as an example of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhaas.berkeley.edu\u002Fhuman-resources\u002Fwork-life-integration\u002F\"\u003Ework-life integration\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a concept they suggest is more realistic than striving for ‘work-life balance’, where work and play are positioned in competition. Opting to work from a cabin for a week means you’re deciding how, where and when you want to incorporate your leisure time into your work, rather than trying to keep the two realms separate. Maznevski points out that for centuries people lived and worked out of the home; only recently have we “been able to even conceive of something called ‘balancing’ those things”. Workcations, she suggests, could be our way of recognising “there are elements of work and life that integrate with each other”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0btdk6q"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EOf course, there may well be some people who prefer to commit fully to either work or play, rather than combine the two activities. Rachel Fu, professor of tourism, hospitality and event management at the University of Florida, US, says that whether people enjoy the workcation experience will depend on “a variety of individual personalities and behavioural choices”; some may feel they are only on holiday if they are totally unplugged from work, for example.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBut Fu suspects that many white-collar workers have developed the skills needed to pull off workcations during the pandemic. “Our behaviours have been forced to change,” she says. “Home is school, home is where we work. We have all been trained to switch: ‘OK, now we have a Zoom meeting’. I think after the past two years, we can switch from one thing to the next very effectively.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThat doesn’t mean that workcations should replace actual holidays, however. People need time away from work; workcations should complement paid time off, rather than serving as a substitute – otherwise, risk of work-related stress and burnout could increase. An Expedia survey released in February showed that while 78% of Americans aim to feel ‘unproductive’ during holiday, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.travelpulse.com\u002Fnews\u002Ffeatures\u002Fturns-out-workcations-dont-solve-vacation-deprivation.html\"\u003Ehalf bring their laptops\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and 41% dial into Zoom calls. Many are not happy about it: 61% of respondents said they didn’t consider trips which combined work and play to be proper holidays. This suggests that many people still value work-free vacations, but struggle to pull them off.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWorkcations also raise equity issues, even after the pandemic further recedes; not everyone can work remotely or afford a week in rented accommodation. Increased workcations or bleisure “could actually create more of a divide in organisations between people who have location-specific jobs, and people who don’t”, warns Maznevski.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBut she says the trend could also give people opportunities they might otherwise not get; whether that’s adding an extra day to a business trip to explore a city you never imagined visiting or boosting mental wellbeing through a week in a natural environment even though you’ve used all your paid holiday allocation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EManage your expectations\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EGiven the level of interest from workers now accustomed to staying productive in multiple environments, workcations look like a practice that’s here to stay. “As long as you deliver, many companies don’t care [where you’re working from],” says Fu. Accommodating workers will be in companies’ interests; it’s already clear that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting\"\u003Eflexibility will be key\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to worker retention moving forwards, especially as the new generation of workers, in particular, value the ability to work from anywhere. According to a January 2022 survey conducted by Kayak and YouGov, 38% of Canadian Gen Z workers plan to take a workcation in 2022, Kayak tells BBC Worklife; a higher percentage than older cohorts.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EBoth Bhaia and Drane are planning on taking more workcations. In fact, Bhaia has already been on another 20-day workcation and has a new one planned for March. She points out that would-be workcationers need to go into their trip with realistic ambitions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“You can’t go into a workcation expecting the rest and relaxation you get from a regular getaway,” she says. “Expect to be busy if you want to explore your surroundings while managing work at the same time.” She recommends planning ahead, taking longer stays to accommodate enough time for both work and play, and if you’re going with travelling partners, pick people who have the same goals as you. “Vacationers and workcationers don’t mix,” she cautions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EDrane says he used to think that the professional and the personal should be kept separate. But when changes to how we worked during the pandemic allowed him to combine doing his job with spending important time with his family in a rural environment, he became a workcation believer. “The beauty for me of the workcation,” he says, was that he was able to fulfil professional duties “whilst allowing me to spend meaningful time with my family”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EHe’s booked his next workcation back to the Lake District for October, and says both he and his staff will continue to benefit from this new flexibility. “In the past, people often had to wait until retirement to do the things they’d dreamed of,” he says. “That’s no longer necessarily true, and I plan to take advantage of that.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-10T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Workcations: The travel trend mixing work and play","headlineShort":"Why 'workcations' are here to stay","image":["p0btdbvr"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":["p0btdk6q"],"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-can-pop-up-work-holidays-help-workers-de-stress","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200318-could-a-workcation-change-how-you-think","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"We’ve been taught to keep work and play apart. Yet more of us are still taking workcations, years into the pandemic – and reaping the benefits. The trend could be here to stay.","summaryShort":"The lockdown escapes that morphed into a new travel trend","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-09T21:02:47.177605Z","entity":"article","guid":"721acdaa-13b7-4f72-ba7b-67640f5835aa","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-10T13:59:26.509839Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity","_id":"6267dfa51f4b7b2bf1613bc2","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"If the pandemic has taught us anything about work, it's that we don't need to be pulling long hours in an office to be productive. So, why is presenteeism still so important?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's almost hard to imagine a time in which people spent at least 40 hours a week in a physical office (and often even longer to impress the boss). But in the pre-pandemic workforce, this kind of ‘presenteeism’ – being physically in your seat at work just to look dedicated, no matter how unproductive – was just another fact of office life. Before the pandemic, data from one UK survey showed that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-47911210\"\u003E80% of workers said presenteeism existed in their workplace\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, with a quarter of the respondents saying it had got worse since the prior year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut now, remote work has provided bosses and workers alike with an overdue opportunity to re-evaluate this ingrained presenteeism. We've long known presenteeism is problematic: it can \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2016-04-12\u002Fpresenteeism-costing-the-economy-billions\u002F7318832\"\u003Ecost a nation's economy tens of billions of dollars\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as sick people drag themselves into the office and infect others; it \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.telegraph.co.uk\u002Fbusiness\u002F2018\u002F11\u002F23\u002Fjapan-battles-slay-presenteeism-work-culture-takes-toll\u002F\"\u003Ecreates toxic environments that lead to overwork\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, as people putting in long hours piles pressure on everyone else to do the same. We know it's productivity that matters, not being chained to your desk or computer – and it's a conversation we've been having \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2004\u002F10\u002Fpresenteeism-at-work-but-out-of-it\"\u003Efor years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, despite a golden chance to ditch the practise amid a new work world, the emphasis on presenteeism is alive and kicking. Now, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210423-is-there-an-antidote-to-digital-intensity\"\u003Epresenteeism has simply gone digital\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: people are working longer than ever, responding to emails and messages at all hours of the day to show how 'engaged' they are. And, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210323-the-bosses-who-want-us-back-in-the-office\"\u003Eas bosses call workers back into the office\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, evidence is mounting that we perhaps haven’t moved the dial on presenteeism at all.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, despite what we know, why is presenteeism still so emphasised? It’s not simply that bosses are hungering to hover over workers as they toil. Rather, subconscious biases keep the practise intact – and unless we do a better job acknowledging its harm, and set up workplaces to discourage it, we’re likely to be slaves to presenteeism forever.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy managers still fall for presenteeism\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EClinging to a presenteeism culture just favours those “who have the time to show up early and leave late”, says Brandy Aven, associate professor of organisational theory, strategy and entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, US. Aven also points out that this can unfairly favour some workers over others – parents may have no choice but to leave early, for example.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet as bad as presenteeism is, there are some indications that people who don't put in face time may actually get penalised. For example, although almost unfathomable now, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nbcnews.com\u002Fnews\u002Fus-news\u002Fcoronavirus-has-lifted-work-home-stigma-how-will-shape-future-n1205376\"\u003Etelecommuting has generally been stigmatised\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as irresponsible, and has subsequently held some workers back. A 2019 study, for example, found that telecommuting workers who worked at companies in which remote work was unusual \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F336681767_Is_there_a_price_telecommuters_pay_Examining_the_relationship_between_telecommuting_and_objective_career_success\"\u003Eexperienced slower salary growth\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThese factors can alarm workers, many of whom have come to fear that a lack of physical office presence will stunt success. And the normalisation of remote work amid the pandemic hasn’t necessarily changed this; in 2020, researchers from human-resources software company ADP found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fuk.adp.com\u002Fabout-adp\u002Fpress-centre\u002F2020-11-03-workers-feel-the-pressure-of-presenteeism-post-covid-19.aspx\"\u003E54% of British workers felt obliged to physically come into the office at some point during the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, especially those in their early-and mid-careers, despite the rise in flexible working.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELeigh Thompson, professor of management and organisations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, US, says there are two key psychological phenomena that fuel presenteeism.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe first is the ‘mere-exposure effect’, which holds that the more a person is exposed to someone or something, the more they start to grow affinity. “If I've seen one person 10 times for every one time I’ve seen somebody else, I'm just naturally going to like them more,” explains Thompson. If a particular worker makes themselves more visible, they may naturally ingratiate themselves to others just by being there – even if the others don't realise it, or can’t pinpoint what is it they like about the ‘presentee’. “[You might say],'I don't know, I like their smile, I like their attitude – they're leadership material’,” says Thompson. And, before you know it, the presentee might get a raise or promotion.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis bias exists alongside another psychological concept called the ‘halo effect’: associating positive impressions of someone with their actual character. “You start to think of the person who's bringing you coffee or asking about your weekend as maybe ‘a sweet guy’ – but then I take the mental step of thinking you're a productive worker, too,” says Thompson. “You're nice, and then I immediately bloom that out to, ‘the guy must be a hard worker as well’ – even though you've given me no evidence in this coffee-cup situation to make me think that you're a hard worker.” This can lead to promotions or other benefits going to in-person workers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShowing up for the sake of it\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIronically, despite the potential rewards of showing your face at the office, workers aren’t actually necessarily more productive when they’re putting in that face time or working overtime. Still, workers feel the need to perform – both in person and now digitally – since managers don’t necessarily \u003Cem\u003Eknow \u003C\u002Fem\u003Etheir workers aren’t actually accomplishing anything extra.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, during the pandemic, the number of hours worked around the world have gone \u003Cem\u003Eup\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, not down. In 2020, over the course of the year, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.economist.com\u002Fgraphic-detail\u002F2020\u002F11\u002F24\u002Fpeople-are-working-longer-hours-during-the-pandemic\"\u003Eaverage daily working hours\u003C\u002Fa\u003E increased by more than a half hour on average. The idea is, \u003Cem\u003Eif everyone else is online, I need to be, too\u003C\u002Fem\u003E. Many bosses only see the most visible people, so they assume those are the most productive employees.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"As bad as presenteeism is, there are some indications that people who don't put in face time may actually get penalised","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis is a relatively new problem. Back when the economy was more manufacturing-centric, it was easier to measure tangible outcomes: this gets built, this doesn’t. But “as we've shifted to a knowledge economy, it's much squishier to measure what output actually looks like”, says Scott Sonenshein, professor of organisational behaviour at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston, Texas. So, in lieu of something measurable, managers tend to think workers are producing as long as they’re at their desks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers know managers value this visibly – and so they fall into the presenteeism trap, especially as they see their peers doing the same. This is especially true in times of economic instability – such as we’re experiencing right now, due to Covid-19 – when workers fear the stability of their jobs. They work because they \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fig.ft.com\u002Fspecial-reports\u002Fhealth-work\u002F2019\u002F\"\u003Ewant to prove they can tough out stress and excel, as well as be reliable\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, this ultimately backfires, since the quality of workers’ output suffers as a result of this rush to perform. In the UK, for instance, 35 workdays are lost per worker per year in the UK due to presenteeism, and research also shows that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2019\u002F03\u002F20\u002Fstanford-study-longer-hours-doesnt-make-you-more-productive-heres-how-to-get-more-done-by-doing-less.html\"\u003Eproductivity plummets after working more than 50 hours a week\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow to stamp out presenteeism\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, in an era in which work practices have undergone seismic transformations, and have triggered unprecedented scrutiny, there’s an urgent need to reduce the emphasis on presenteeism, both physically and digitally. Even though more workers don't have a place to physically be present, many still feel like they need to be virtually present at all times.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork\"\u003Elike burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which also fundamentally threatens the way we work, fixing huge, existential issues including presenteeism requires a big, top-down overhaul of what’s valued in the workplace and why.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESonenshein says a great place to start is for workers, especially leaders, to model healthier behaviour. Once people are finished for the day, leave. Log off. Workers who hang around just to be performative can pressure other workers to do the same, which creates a vicious, toxic cycle.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s easier said than done, of course. This is why the impetus is also on managers to be more aware of why presenteeism happens – by learning about their own biases, and about phenomena like the mere-exposure and halo effects. Experts also advocate for better, clearer metrics teams can use to measure productivity beyond “who leaves the office last” or “who's responding to emails at daybreak”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThompson says a great place to start is simply by looking at raw performance: “I think bosses and supervisors need to ask themselves a priori; ‘Here's what my team’s going to be working on next month, or next quarter. What are my baseline expectations, and who is going above and beyond them’?\" \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe sad truth is, though, that the hallmarks of presenteeism still exist in this new world of work. ”That's not sustainable. People are going to eventually burn out – this has been a big struggle for people for the last 15 months,” says Sonenshein. “It’s this arms race for who seems to work the most.” That the behaviour has transferred from physical desks to online shows how deeply it's ingrained in our work lives.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“You would hope that during a pandemic, there would be a switch.” But, without a good hard look at our ingrained biases, transformation may be tough. “Unfortunately,” says Sonenshein, “I'm not sure things are really going to change.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-06-07T15:50:17Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why presenteeism wins out over productivity","headlineShort":"Why bosses still want us in the office","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"If the pandemic has taught us anything about work, it's that we don't need to be pulling long hours in an office to be productive. So, why is presenteeism still so important?","summaryShort":"Bosses still cling to outdated notions of presenteeism – why?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-06-06T20:09:41.711785Z","entity":"article","guid":"35da7269-4b4d-48c0-a85e-9e0a97ab162d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:09:25.14567Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job","_id":"6267dfb81f4b7b4b00281165","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"We're working more hours than ever, whether a late-night email or an early call. How did all these unpaid hours become part of the job?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Erik took his first job as a junior associate at an international law firm, he knew the normal rules of nine-to-five didn’t apply. Based in Hong Kong, his employer was as prestigious as it was notorious for running new recruits into the ground. Monstrous workloads and late nights were non-negotiable. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s simply a given in the legal industry,” explains Erik. “Generally, lawyers don’t get paid overtime. Very occasionally, I’d have to pull an all-nighter.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow working in Beijing, Erik has moved up the corporate ladder. Further into his career, there are fewer workdays that bleed into the following morning. A conventional working week, however, remains elusive. “Working towards 40 hours a week would be a light week for me,” he says. “My hours depend on my clients’ needs – I don’t have the option of working fewer.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDrawn-out days at the desk quickly rack up. In the UK, pre-pandemic, more than five million workers averaged an extra 7.6 hours a week, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tuc.org.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fworkers-uk-put-more-ps35-billion-worth-unpaid-overtime-last-year-tuc-analysis\"\u003Econtributing to £35bn in unpaid overtime\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Now, according to global figures from the ADP Research Institute, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.adpri.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F04\u002F23084556\u002FWFV-Global_2021_US_Screen_697691_162389_FV.pdf\"\u003Eone in 10 people say they work at least 20 hours a week for free\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. On average, workers are posting 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime every week. Across the world, overwork figures have sharply risen in the wake of Covid-19 – with free hours more than doubling in North America, particularly. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemote working has intensified the problem. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Ffeb\u002F04\u002Fhome-workers-putting-in-more-hours-since-covid-research\"\u003Eaverage global workday has lengthened by nearly two hours\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and research has shown that most UK employers acknowledge \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fworkplaceinsight.net\u002Fover-half-of-uk-employers-say-their-staff-work-additional-unpaid-hours-every-day\u002F\"\u003Estaff work additional, unpaid hours every day\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Workers can attribute the uptick in overtime to a loss of work-life boundaries; as commutes, offices and lunch breaks have disappeared for many knowledge workers, so too has the hard line between signing on and off. Inboxes fill over breakfast. Deadlines spill into the evenings. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.motherjones.com\u002Fpolitics\u002F2021\u002F09\u002Fmy-bosses-at-mckinsey-made-us-get-on-2-a-m-zoom-calls\u002F\"\u003EZoom meetings\u003C\u002Fa\u003E run into the early hours. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor many workers, keeping switched on beyond closing time has become the expectation rather than an exception. But it’s rarely explicitly spelled out verbally, let alone in writing. Rather, it’s a tacit understanding between employer and employee: forget contracted hours, you can only log off once you’re done for the day. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut how did it get this way – and what happens next?\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe root of the problem\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECovid-19 may have exacerbated the problem, but unpaid overtime has been part of many jobs for decades. In industrial times, employees had weekly fixed hours; working beyond closing time meant reimbursement. But by the mid-20th Century, office culture boomed, swelling ranks of salaried, middle-class professionals. The number of jobs measured by tangible output shrank. In the modern workplace, tasks could no longer be neatly delineated like on the factory floor; ambiguity over when work was ‘finished’ gave rise to unpaid overtime. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Fundamentally, it comes down to a mix-up of signals that longer hours are linked to productivity – Grace Lordan","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe fact that businesses based their office hours on industry’s eight-hour workday meant that knowledge workers were already spending too long at their desks. “The type of labour many of us do today, intensive work in front of a computer, can’t cognitively be done for more than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS0927537116302445\"\u003Efive hours\u003C\u002Fa\u003E a day,” says Abigail Marks, professor of the future of work at Newcastle University Business School, UK. Yet despite this, workdays gradually got longer and longer. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGrace Lordan, associate professor in behavioural science at the London School of Economics, highlights the 1980s as a turning point. In the UK and the US, Thatcherism and Wall Street popularised the idea of increasingly long hours. If you wanted that big promotion, you had to devote yourself to the workplace – working overtime became a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork\"\u003Estatus symbol\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Fundamentally, it comes down to a mix-up of signals that longer hours are linked to productivity,” explains Lordan. “In the 1950s, office workers would see their families for dinner. By the 1990s, they’d \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211007-the-parents-who-dont-want-to-go-back-to-the-office\"\u003Ebe lucky to see them on weekends\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs economies globalised, working hours were only going one way. But then technology hit the accelerator. By the 2010s, everyone had a digital tether that connected them to their work morning, noon and night. Inboxes were ever-present; work-related calls and messages invaded the same communication tools people used for socialising. “The smartphone was the death knell for working hours,” says Marks. “As soon as you put work email on your phone, people will take advantage. Then, you get into the habit of always being available.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow we normalised overwork\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the pandemic hit, office \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity\"\u003Epresenteeism\u003C\u002Fa\u003E has become even more digitised. Remote work has created an environment in which managers can call on staff around the clock. “I’m expected to respond to clients’ requests,” explains Erik. Although that may no longer necessitate all-nighters, working into the early hours continues. “Most of the time, I manage to coordinate with clients in different time zones. But if we’re closing a transaction, I may need to stay late.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman working late at home","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn some countries, cultural expectations feed into excessive office hours. In Japan, for instance, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20190718-karoshi\"\u003Eoverwork is important professional currency\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “Here, hard work demonstrates that you’re a loyal employee,” explains Jeff Kingston, director of the Asian Studies major at Temple University’s Tokyo campus. “And it means your boss is more likely to accelerate your climb up the corporate ladder. Working hard, and spending long hours to impress your boss, is seen as a real virtue.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElsewhere working long hours can be the product of peer pressure, a desire to get ahead or reacting to our environment. “We like to follow others,” says Lordan. “On your first day at your new job, you look for non-verbal social cues to fit in. If there are people working late or into the weekend, you’re more likely to copy that behaviour.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe also hate saying no. If the boss emails after hours, we reply. If there’s a 0600 Zoom call, we dial in. If we need to work late, we’d rather do it than kick up a fuss – even if such commitment isn’t reflected in our salary. “It’s embedded in employees,” says Marks. “People are always scared of losing their jobs, and that someone will do a better job than them. If everyone else is doing it, you have to do it as well.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are sector-specific pressures, too. Employees in some creative jobs are meant to feel ‘lucky’, so \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fuqua.duke.edu\u002Fduke-fuqua-insights\u002Fkay-passion-exploitation\"\u003Eworking a few extra hours is assumed\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In finance, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003Epulling an all-nighter is a rite of passage\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on the way to becoming a partner. Challenging such social norms in the workplace is seen as taboo. “As humans, we want to be seen as being nice and amenable,” says Lordan. “It all fits into our narrative that we’re hard workers and collaborative. Long hours traditionally measure hard work and productivity – and so we work unpaid overtime.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy change isn’t so easy\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet there are signs that the workforce has had enough of long working weeks and midnight calls. Millions of people around the world are quitting their jobs as part of what’s being called the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003EGreat Resignation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Optimists might suggest that, with the labour market thriving, employees can finally call the shots and demand an end to unpaid overtime. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"If everyone else is doing it, you have to do it as well - Abigail Marks","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe reality, however, is different. “The group voting with their feet are typically those in their later career – the ones who can afford to go,” says Lordan. “Younger generations don’t have that luxury. Competition for jobs at firms which demand long hours remains fierce. It comes down to people wanting to fit in with a working culture established long before they walked through the office doors – it’s very difficult to break that.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking extended hours is also so baked into office culture that many businesses rely on overtime. It’s why, even amid a pandemic, familiar practices have returned: big financial firms notorious for long-hours working culture \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210323-the-bosses-who-want-us-back-in-the-office\"\u003Ehave already demanded staff return\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to the office five days a week. If bosses mandate long office-based days and unpaid overtime, it’s hard for employees to take a stand and say no. “It’s those at the top who are the gatekeepers for opportunities and promotion,” says Lordan. “If they believe in presenteeism, those beneath them will find it hard to not work that extra hour.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobust government legislation could help bring change, says Marks. The current trend is for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210819-the-case-for-a-shorter-workweek\"\u003Efour-day working weeks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, with trials in the likes of Iceland, Spain and Ireland. She has doubts on whether the idea will succeed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Organisations do very well out of free labour. But many employers aren’t in a place to suddenly reduce workloads, so employees will probably have to cram five days’ worth of work into four.” And even when governments issue directives on working hours, it’s bosses – not ministers – who ultimately set the tone. In Japan and South Korea, for example, it’s clear that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.insider.com\u002Fjapanese-probe-reveals-37-percent-investigated-offices-illegal-overtime-2021-8\"\u003Ecultural pressures still override legislative efforts\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at many firms. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is, of course, a body of research showing that working fewer hours boosts \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210819-the-case-for-a-shorter-workweek\"\u003Eproductivity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But for knowledge work, the difficulty lies with how we measure output. Clearly, that marker shouldn’t be time. Lordan says it has to be task-based – it’s the only way of keeping unpaid overtime in check. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut this will require a new perspective from senior leaders. “Ultimately, managers need to define what has to be done and allow their employees to do it. If you want positive change, you need to get more managers, who aren’t as controlling, in key roles.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven if overtime is hard to eradicate, the pandemic has magnified conversations around working culture. It’s increasingly leading to employee activism. Lordan cites the recent case of Goldman Sachs: young bankers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-58054983\"\u003Ewere given a pay rise\u003C\u002Fa\u003E following their complaints of working 95-hour weeks. It could, perhaps, be the start of a shift. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As long as there are high-paying companies with senior management that hold the belief that hours equal productivity, you will always have professional workers sacrificing self and wellbeing to make the cut,” says Lordan. “Over time, those who care more about their work-life balance will choose the companies that offer greater flexibility.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-10-19T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How working unpaid hours became part of the job","headlineShort":"How unpaid hours became part of the job","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman working late","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"We're working more hours than ever, whether a late-night email or an early call. How did all these unpaid hours become part of the job?","summaryShort":"Why we accept unpaid overtime as a given when we take a job","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-10-18T20:06:41.19725Z","entity":"article","guid":"10610c84-d925-43ba-8d1a-6c347ab71fd8","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:16:19.587313Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out","_id":"6267dfac1f4b7b42ef2192ac","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Middle management has always been tough. But the young workers filling these roles today face a unique set of circumstances that make burnout more likely. What next?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen she applied for a promotion at work last year, Lea, a 25-year-old from Pennsylvania, US, was confident she could do the job. “It was a middle management role at a non-profit media organisation, essentially managing the team I was already on,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe got the promotion and a pay rise, but things went rapidly downhill. Lea, who is withholding her surname because she still works at the same company, was soon feeling overworked. This led to physical and mental exhaustion. Every day became a struggle.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Everyone has their work woes, but I really liked my job before I was promoted, and suddenly I really didn’t anymore.” After just nine months, Lea resigned from the position. “I didn’t realise until I stepped away just how much I’d really taken on,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMiddle management can be a tough job, constantly toggling between supervisors above and supervisees below. It can be isolating and taxing; research from Columbia University in 2015 found 18% of middle managers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1111\u002F1467-9566.12315\"\u003Ereported symptoms of depression\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, compared to 12% for blue-collar workers and 11% for owners and executives. Research during the pandemic has shown middle managers are finding it harder than senior leaders to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffutureforum.com\u002F2021\u002F01\u002F28\u002Fhybrid-rules-the-emerging-playbook-for-flexible-work\u002F\"\u003Emaintain workplaces relationships\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – and only half feel they can rely on their colleagues.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMiddle managers who are millennials are particularly likely to be feeling the squeeze. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.metlife.com\u002Fabout-us\u002Fnewsroom\u002F2021\u002Fseptember\u002Fthe-squeezed-middle--millennial-managers-worse-off-while-supporting-a-burnt-out-workforce\u002F\"\u003EMetLife study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.metlife.com\u002Fabout-us\u002Fnewsroom\u002F2021\u002Fseptember\u002Fthe-squeezed-middle--millennial-managers-worse-off-while-supporting-a-burnt-out-workforce\u002F\"\u003Emillennial managers are far more likely than managers of any other generation to report burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. That’s partly due to growing up in a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork\"\u003Eculture that glorifies overwork\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, plus being a generation saddled with care responsibilities for both parents and children. And with the pandemic nearing the two-year mark, it’s no wonder that millennial middle managers are finding themselves exhausted, demoralised and stressed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EAlong with millennial managers, nearly all workers are feeling some form of work stress during the pandemic. But statistics show \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210928-why-women-are-more-burned-out-than-men\"\u003Ewomen are the most burnt out group\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; according to a survey by LinkedIn of almost 5,000 Americans, 74% of women said they were very or somewhat stressed for work-related reasons, compared with just 61% of employed male respondents.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Breaking Point","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Pressure to perform’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMiddle management has always been tricky.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn many cases, these positions go to younger employees who are stepping up for the first time. Young managers, wanting to prove themselves, often struggle with finding their place in the work dynamic. And middle management, by definition, requires them to play dual roles, taking responsibility for employees working under them while still reporting to those above them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a new, young manager, Lea says she felt she had something to prove. “I think there’s a lot of pressure to perform, being young and in management,” she says. “Once I moved up in the organisation, I was sometimes confused about where my position lined up with other managers’. It wasn’t always clear what those relationships were. Most of the people I was working with were much older than me, and it made it more difficult.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe challenges extended to her direct reports, too. “I was managing people who were the same age as me,” she says. “I had only a couple months extra experience than the people I was in charge of. I’d gotten the role because I established good leadership skills, but I was also afraid of being too assertive or dominant.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is the “squeeze” of middle management, says Jacob Hirsh, associate professor of organisational behaviour at the University of Toronto. And while it’s stressful to figure out how to handle the issues of employees while simultaneously enforcing the policies of upper management, it’s also pivotal to a healthy work environment. “It’s a necessary position,” he says, “but it’s a structurally difficult position.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I don’t feel passionate about managing people, and I think I had to learn that the hard way – Lea","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ELea says she was surprised at how isolating it felt to be in the middle. “I didn’t have a management team I worked alongside. I just reported up and then down. My direct reports had each other to complain with or talk through whatever they were going through, and I didn’t have that. I got along with everyone I worked with, but it just wasn’t the same.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s also tough to be the person handing down policies or assigning tasks that can draw employees’ ire. It can be difficult, says Hirsh, to find a balance between compassion and accountability.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“On the one hand, upper management is saying, ‘here’s what we need to do’,” he says. “But middle managers see what’s happening to their employees, and of course they have to take some level of responsibility. If you ignore them, you’re going to have a burnt-out workforce, and that’ll hurt the bottom line. It’s not just about managing the work, but the wellbeing of employees as well.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBurnout generation?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESimply because of their age – 25 to about 40 – most middle managers are millennials. Being members of that generation may predispose them to worse burnout; their time in the workforce has coincided with the rise of a “hustle culture”: the idea that the more time and energy a person spends at work, the more deserving they are of success. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShilpa Panchmatia, a London-based business growth coach, says millennials have also seen the rise of a technology-driven culture where “work follows us everywhere at all times”, as well as “the absolute collapse of boundaries between work and life”. And even before the pandemic added extra stress, she notes, millennials may have been more susceptible to burnout than other generations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“They started entering the workforce at the height of the 2008 recession, which made them work-obsessed, with an emphasis on success, which perhaps older generations and the generations following millennials haven’t got,” she says. “For them, it’s been harder to get on the ladder and harder to forge a career, because while they’ve been trying, the world was putting itself together.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother primary contributor may be the fact that millennials are, as Hirsh says, “a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210128-why-the-sandwich-generation-is-so-stressed-out\"\u003Esandwich generation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. “I’m a millennial. I have two young kids at home, and my mother lives with us; there’s dependence on either side,” he says. “It’s almost like the millennial age cohort has the same structure as middle management. You’re always being pulled in two directions.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELea, who’s a caregiver for one of her parents, says work very quickly began to bleed into her personal life. “I found I was frequently answering emails and chats in the hospital, and I started to really resent that,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe pandemic wellbeing toll\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pandemic intensified work-related stressors of all kinds, and millennial middle managers caught some of the worst of it. The transition to remote work made the most basic aspect of their job – the day-to-day management of employees – much more difficult. At the same time, responsibilities for employees’ mental and emotional wellbeing soared, and many middle managers found themselves struggling to keep their direct reports from burning out.\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, as Lea found, reducing team members’ stress can mean placing more stress on yourself. She says she ended up taking on work from her direct reports.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“They’d say, ‘we’re overloaded, we’re burnt out’, and I knew it was on me. I’d take on extra work so my team wouldn’t burn out, because that’s a bad reflection on me. I had to have one-on-ones with everyone on a regular basis and they’d be like, ‘Someone in my family is sick, someone just died, I just went through a break-up’. Even though I was going through a lot too, knowing that they all had too much on their plate made me reluctant to ask anyone else to pick up slack.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Being responsible for alleviating other people’s burnout is a good way for middle managers to end up the burnt-out ones, and that starts a vicious cycle","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut being responsible for alleviating other people’s burnout is a good way for middle managers to end up the burnt-out ones, says Hirsch, and that starts a vicious cycle.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When you yourself are burnt out, it makes it harder to support other people’s wellbeing,” he says. “An overworked, overburdened, stressed-out manager just lets the burnout continue. Once the middle managers go down, there’s no support network there.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDifferent avenues for development?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe deck may be stacked against millennial middle managers, but there are ways to reduce the stresses of the position.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBoundaries are vital, says Panchmatia; middle managers, more than perhaps any other demographic, need to be monitoring and avoiding over-work. “We should be enforcing reasonable work hours,” she says, an example that’s best set by the bosses of those middle managers. “It’s about establishing a culture within the company that says, ‘hey, it’s not cool to work until six or seven’,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThose in senior management can also help by ensuring middle managers have the freedom to manage their teams as they see fit, which can help them forge their own identity as a manager.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Setting clear expectations is important, but that can be done without micromanagement,” she says. “If we move from being task-driven to being productivity-driven, with managers encouraging and enhancing productivity and allowing it to happen wherever, I feel that all employees are happier as people.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHirsh says minor adjustments can help reduce stress. “If you’re being asked to simultaneously adopt the identities you portray to upper management and your staff, that’s a powerful trigger of stress, conflict and anxiety.” Instead, he says, millennial managers should take care to schedule meetings with upper management and underlings separately. “Simple things like that, on the surface seem like no big deal, but psychologically, having that distance between identities can make it possible to perform both without them interfering with each other.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat kind of boundary can help keep middle managers from constantly feeling like the rope in a bout of tug-of-war. Yet it’s also healthy to acknowledge sometimes management is not for everyone. Companies can better serve their employees by finding ways to create paths for development and promotion that don’t require people to become middle managers, or to be responsible for other employees at all. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I felt pretty torn up about leaving [the position], but at the same time, I think I knew it was the right thing for me,” says Lea. “I don’t feel passionate about managing people, and I think I had to learn that the hard way. I wanted – and still want – my career to move forward, obviously. I do wish there were clearer avenues for people who want to advance their career but don’t want to be managers.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out-9"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-11-10T14:12:44Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why millennial managers are burned out","headlineShort":"Why millennial managers are burned out","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Middle management has always been tough. But the young workers filling these roles today face a unique set of circumstances that make burnout more likely. What next?","summaryShort":"Managers who are stuck in the middle ranks are at the end of their ropes","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-11-09T20:59:57.936179Z","entity":"article","guid":"2303cc08-cf2c-48eb-bb57-b2cbf6918c7d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:17:37.744176Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off","_id":"6267dfe51f4b7b6848794d34","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fjoanna-york"],"bodyIntro":"US workers want more holiday – yet they still don’t take all of their paid leave. What’s keeping them at their desks?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETaking paid days off has never been more important. Amid the pandemic, concerns for mental health and burnout have peaked; many workers are reassessing their work-life balance, and trying to take a break to regroup. Yet somehow, many still struggle to ask for time off work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe amount of paid holiday workers use around the world varies, but US workers seem to be some of the most reluctant to take paid leave. American workers generally get less paid leave than their European counterparts (there’s no national statutory minimum in the US). Yet according to one \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.glassdoor.com\u002Fblog\u002Fvacation-realities-2017\u002F\"\u003E2017 survey\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, the average US worker said they had taken just about half (54%) of their paid time off in the past 12 months. Things appear to be getting worse, not better; in 2018, one \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ustravel.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fmedia_root\u002Fdocument\u002FPaid%20Time%20Off%20Trends%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=8%2E15%2E19%2DPress%2DVacation%20Days%20Release&utm_campaign=pr\"\u003Ereport\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showed, American workers failed to use 768 million days of paid time off – a 9% increase from 2017.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s clear US workers do want more time off, however; a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.allianzworldwidepartners.com\u002Fusa\u002Fmedia-room\u002Fvacation-confidence-index-19\"\u003E2019 study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showed one in three Americans would take a pay cut to get unlimited vacation days. Employers have been responding to this: according to jobs site Indeed, job postings with unlimited time off rose \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hiringlab.org\u002F2019\u002F06\u002F18\u002Funlimited-pto\u002F\"\u003Eby 178%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from May 2015 to May 2019. Yet research shows that even in cases where workers can take as much paid holiday as they want, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.namely.com\u002Funlimited-vacation-policy\"\u003Ethey tend take less holiday\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than employees with a fixed number of days.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf all signs are pointing towards paid time off being needed and encouraged, why are so many US workers still failing to take all their leave? The answer lies in a complex mix of professional pressures and cultural mores that combine to keep US workers pinned to their desks – even if they’d really rather not be there. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe role of corporate culture\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAround the world, a key determinant in whether employees feel confident taking all their paid leave is corporate culture. Managers modelling healthy behaviours will empower workers to take leave, while managers rewarding presenteeism will deter them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn very competitive workplaces, employees who take leave fear being treated badly or losing out on future opportunities. A 2018 study showed one of the biggest reasons US workers didn’t take time off was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ustravel.org\u002Fsystem\u002Ffiles\u002Fmedia_root\u002Fdocument\u002FStateofAmericanVacation2018.pdf\"\u003Efear of being seen as replaceable\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b8zhvk"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EChristie Engler, director of HR for Consolidated Employer Services, an HR solutions firm based in Powell, Ohio, says, “they may be snubbed or may be looked down upon by their boss and the others in the office as well. I have seen leaders make other people feel terrible about taking time off.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEngler points out this culture is markedly different in the public sector, where teachers for example, have fixed holidays and strong unions. Yet in the private sector, the threat is real. The US travel association found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.q13fox.com\u002Fnews\u002Famericans-taking-fewest-vacation-days-in-four-decades\"\u003E28% of people didn't take vacation days\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2014 purely to demonstrate dedication to their job and not be seen as a “slacker”. “Culturally in America, we equate taking time off as quitting or not having high work ethic,” says Joey Price, CEO of an HR consultancy based in Baltimore, US. “There is stigma around the idea of not working.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis fear of bosses perceiving workers as inadequately committed to the job is so prevalent it can even lead employees to mislead their employers rather than ask for time off directly. In 2019, one study of US workers showed that more than one in three respondents admitted \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businesswire.com\u002Fnews\u002Fhome\u002F20191022005166\u002Fen\u002F2019-Priceline-Work-Life-Balance-Report-44-Million\"\u003Epretending to be sick to get a day off\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and 27% opted for “making up a random story” rather than asking for the time in advance.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘You have to hustle’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven if a company doesn’t deter taking leave, there are many workplaces where “working as much as possible is worn as a badge of honour”, says Engler.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA 2019 study showed that US conservatives and liberals alike both believed equally in the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F1948550619862261\"\u003Eimportance of working hard to achieve success\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Pressure to perform is not just a moral expectation; overwhelmingly, workers in the US believe that turning in an “excellent performance” is the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.magnifymoney.com\u002Fblog\u002Fnews\u002Fpay-cuts-raises-survey\u002F\"\u003Ebest way to get a raise\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. This can easily lead to overwork – something Michael Komie, a psychoanalyst and professor in clinical psychology in Chicago, describes as a “public health issue” in the US. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"28% of people didn't take vacation days in 2014 purely to demonstrate dedication to their job and not be seen as a ‘slacker’","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn some workplaces, clocking up your mandated hours is just the start. Research shows being a constant presence in the workplace and spending “passive face time” with colleagues during and outside regular work hours can make workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fpdf\u002F10.1177\u002F0018726709353139\"\u003Emore likely to be seen\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as dependable and committed. Price says this creates a dynamic where “you have to hustle, you have to work late hours, you have to be in the building so your boss can see that you're working”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn this context, the number of vacation days a worker has in their contract may not matter. In fact, studies have showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn2.hubspot.net\u002Fhubfs\u002F228948\u002FNamely%20HR%20Mythbusters%20Report.pdf\"\u003EAmerican workers on unlimited holiday plans sometimes take fewer days than those on traditional plans\u003C\u002Fa\u003E if the company does not facilitate a culture that encourages or requires employees to take vacation time. Some critics believe that unlimited PTO actually \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200108-is-minimum-leave-a-better-alternative-to-unlimited-time-off\"\u003Edeters workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from taking leave, because the lack of formal rules around how many days to take can leave a vacuum that is easily filled by pressure to stay at work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EToo lean, too mean?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers may also be up against entrenched work practices that don’t easily allow for time off.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompanies can be leanly staffed, meaning colleagues can’t cover a worker’s absence due to their own workload or don’t have the knowledge to do so. In this case, taking time off means returning to a mound of tasks left undone or burdening colleagues with extra work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis kind of lean model is a hangover from a traditional American work ideal, says Price. “We are still attempting to apply the management principles that were effective in the era of industry and assembly lines in the age of the knowledge worker. The work system is not designed for people to take days off, and the end result that people see when a worker takes time off is that their department is behind.” This leads some to feel that taking time off will reflect so badly on them or their team that it just isn’t worth it. “The stress, the guilt or the shame people feel around time off is very real. So, they typically suck it up and power through,” says Price. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b8zhqh"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFeeling tied to your desk can even lead some workers to feel indispensable. “The employee has the fantasy that they are so important to what they do that they'll be letting the employer down if they are not there,” explains Komie. Few workers are so uniquely talented or knowledgeable that only they can perform their role, but this fantasy can intersect with reality when poor work design means that workflow stops when a particular employee is absent because no one can cover their tasks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne knock-on effect is, if they do manage to take leave, work follows most Americans out of the office. A 2017 study showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.glassdoor.com\u002Fblog\u002Fvacation-realities-2017\u002F\"\u003E66% of US workers reported working on vacation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, with 29% responding to requests from colleagues, and 25% to requests from their boss.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo wonder, then, that rather than helping relieve stress, “in America, being away from work can produce anxiety”, says Komie.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Healthier conversations’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, the Great Resignation is forcing companies to rethink how they retain workers – but workers still do not seem to be prioritising paid time off (PTO). A 2021 study into worker satisfaction showed while some workers were dissatisfied with the amount of PTO they received, they were \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.gallup.com\u002Fpoll\u002F354593\u002Fworkers-satisfaction-job-safety-rebounds.aspx\"\u003Eunhappier about stress at work, pay, retirement and health benefits, and promotion chances\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrice believes companies are responding to some worker demands – flexible work, for example – because workplace changes enforced during the health crisis have made them feel like a realistic prospect. Meanwhile, the conversation about paid time off hasn’t gained so much traction, even though demand is starting to grow.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The stress, the guilt or the shame people feel around time off is very real. So, they typically suck it up and power through – Joey Price","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPrice has recently introduced unlimited PTO in his company, along with a “work system to support absence” in order to retain and attract top talent. On a practical level, this means making sure at least two staff members have knowledge of every project, forward planning to accommodate absence, and making clients aware that time off is factored into project deadlines. But more than anything, he says employees need to feel supported in taking time off instead of worried they will be penalised.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The first step is to have healthier conversations around days off so that people don't feel the stigma,” he says. This starts with employers sending a clear message: “It is OK to take a day off. We will not judge you negatively for it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is also hope that potential legislation around paid time off and increased awareness of the mental health risks of overwork could catalyse change. “There's plenty of research to show that we need time off, we need good mental health and work systems that are more empathetic lead to a more productive workplace culture,” adds Price.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUntil this message becomes widespread, employees in the US who want to spend less time at work may have to seek out workplaces in which taking time off doesn’t feel like such a big ask. It’s a lesson workers all over the world may as well be conscious of, too, even if there’s less pressure to forego holiday in some places – after all, everyone needs a break.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-12-13T15:04:30Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why it's so hard for US workers to ask for time off","headlineShort":"Why taking leave is so hard in the US","image":["p0b8zhnm"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":["p0b8zhvk"],"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211109-why-millennial-managers-are-burned-out"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"US workers want more holiday – yet they still don’t take all of their paid leave. What’s keeping them at their desks?","summaryShort":"The pressures keeping US workers at their desks instead of on holiday","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-12-12T20:34:31.152496Z","entity":"article","guid":"580bfd50-2a4a-4dc1-ba2f-da8c100329eb","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:19:30.290183Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095699},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off","_id":"628a93411f4b7b55d375717c","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Having as much holiday as you want? Sounds great – until it’s not.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EInvestment-banking firm Goldman Sachs made an eye-catching move last week: it granted \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-61465605\"\u003Eunlimited paid holiday to its senior staff\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2022-05-15\u002Fgoldman-sachs-gives-senior-staff-unlimited-vacation-ft-says?sref=lgADY7dy\"\u003Ememo seen by a number of media organisations\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, partners and managing directors will be able to “take time off when needed without a fixed vacation day entitlement”. Junior staff were given two more annual days off, and the company said all workers had to take a minimum of 15 days holiday each year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt first glance, this looks like a positive initiative from a company \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003Eknown for gruelling work hours and demanding culture\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Unlimited paid time off (UPTO), after all, could allow overworked staff more time to rest and improve their mental health and overall work-life balance. Plus, a generous holiday policy at the top could trickle down into the wider workforce, potentially making for happier and more productive staff on the whole.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet what sounds like an amazing benefit comes with major caveats. Workers will likely only take a decent amount of holiday if firms create an environment that encourages them to do so. In some firms with UPTO, workers end up taking less holiday – not more – because of peer pressure and perceived expectations around ‘acceptable’ amounts of holiday.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe latest data, meanwhile, shows UPTO isn’t the benefit that workers covet the most; rather than an unlimited amount of holiday, most \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.flexjobs.com\u002Fblog\u002Fpost\u002Fremote-work-flexible-schedules-key-factors-compensation-packages\u002F\"\u003Epeople prize flexibility\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, including \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F18\u002Fflexible-hours-let-this-companys-workers-fit-work-around-their-lives.html\"\u003Ethe option to work from home\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIs this recently introduced perk the shiny new toy workers have wanted all along – or is it the gift no one asked for?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETrust and freedom?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is simple: instead of a fixed number of paid vacation days each year, workers are granted an infinite number of days so long as they agree periods of leave with their boss. The policy is meant to hand workers more autonomy to manage both their workloads and personal lives, potentially leading to an uptick in wellbeing that benefits worker and company alike.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnlimited holiday has become much more common \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2015\u002F12\u002F18\u002Ftake-all-the-time-you-need-the-rise-of-unlimited-vacations.html\"\u003Ein recent years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Originating at small Silicon Valley start-ups, it's since spread to big companies like LinkedIn, Netflix and Bumble – and now, to Wall Street. It's still quite rare, though; data from a 2021 survey approximates \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.xperthr.com\u002Fforms\u002Fleave-trends\u002F?DMDcode=HUXTR&fcid=%7B73c20e4d-d941-4a40-ab4c-f78b179e6250%7D_FC0306_XHR_202105_Leave_Trends_2021&fcfileext=pdf&title=Building%20the%20Best%20Paid%20Leave%20Policy&cmpid=EMP%7CUSAG%7CHUGMN-2021-05-Leave_Trends&sfid=7014L000000kfhIQAQ&viewdesktop=true\"\u003Ejust 4% of US companies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E offer it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPresident and CEO of the US-based Society for Human Resource Management (Shrm) Johnny C Taylor Jr says he and his colleagues prefer the term 'open leave', because it more accurately captures the benefits of UPTO. It \"doesn’t necessarily mean unlimited weeks on the beach\", he says. \"Sometimes it’s about navigating parenting needs, recurring check-ups or even time for mental health\", allowing workers to take time off however and whenever they see fit.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"If a company introduces unlimited PTO but the culture still thrives on overwork, putting a new policy in place isn’t going to change that overnight – Johnny C Taylor Jr","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESome companies have reaped \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.namely.com\u002Funlimited-vacation-policy\"\u003Ethe benefits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of UPTO; many workers at manufacturing giant General Electric have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.glassdoor.com\u002FBenefits\u002FGE-Vacation-and-Paid-Time-Off-US-BNFT29_E277_N1.htm\"\u003Eresponded positively to the perk\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings detailed in his 2020 book that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inc.com\u002Fjustin-bariso\u002Fnetflixs-unlimited-vacation-policy-took-years-to-get-right-its-a-lesson-in-emotional-intelligence.html\"\u003Ewhile nailing down UPTO took years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, he eventually found that \"the freedom signals to employees that we trust them to do the right thing, which in turn encourages them to behave responsibly\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet there are also a number of companies that have experimented with UPTO only to end the policy and pronounce it a failure. Workers often end up taking less time off than they did with a fixed policy. A 2018 survey showed workers with UPTO \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.namely.com\u002Funlimited-vacation-policy\"\u003Etook fewer holidays\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than those with a fixed allocation; according to another poll, one-third of US workers with UPTO \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.insider.com\u002Fpeople-with-unlimited-pto-policies-spend-every-vacation-working-2019-6\"\u003Ealways work on holiday\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUS-based networking company Facet is one company that abandoned UPTO after it found its \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facet.net\u002Fposts\u002Fwhy-we-ditched-our-unlimited-vacation-plan\"\u003Eworkers were taking fewer holidays\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The CEO of London-based recruiting company Unknown, meanwhile, went viral in a LinkedIn post that explained the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Follie-scott-6b6b9b42_were-sacking-off-our-unlimited-holiday-at-activity-6932251711067598848-2SYp\u002F?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app\"\u003Efirm cancelled its UPTO scheme\u003C\u002Fa\u003E after people felt guilty and never took time off. (They’ve instead transitioned to giving 32 paid days off, universally across the ranks.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPart of the problem is that in some companies, taking leave is something many workers don't do often enough – a phenomenon particularly pronounced \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off\"\u003Ein the US\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \"People don't take vacations now, even when they're accrued,\" says Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, US, and director of its Center for Human Resources. “The reason is there's pressure on them not to do it.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c8396y"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EGranting unlimited paid holiday doesn’t make these problems go away – in fact, it can make them worse. With UPTO, workers are not technically owed \u003Cem\u003Eany\u003C\u002Fem\u003E vacation days, since there's no fixed number, and everything must be cleared by the boss on a case-by-case basis. For workers, establishing what the ‘right’ amount of paid time off to ask for often depends on observing the behaviour of colleagues and bosses. If colleagues are only taking 10 days per year, asking for more could feel inappropriate.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompanies that adopt UPTO, says Cappelli, have “moved from a model where you accrue it – so you're actually owed the vacation – to one where you kind of [have to] ask. And there's nothing stopping your boss from yelling at you if you want to take additional time off – or punishing you if you do\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlus, UPTO removes the safeguards that protect workers’ interests if they can’t take time off – there are no leftover days workers are legally required to take by year's end, or carry over to the next year. There's also nothing for workers to cash out if they quit and have days left over, which Cappelli says \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inc.com\u002Fmagazine\u002F201606\u002Fminda-zetlin\u002Funlimited-vacation-benefits.html\"\u003Esaves companies money\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChange is slow\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll this means that it's crucial for a company to have a work culture that promotes balance if it tries to roll out unlimited holiday – something that Goldman Sachs, like other companies in the finance industry, has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-56452494\"\u003Enot traditionally been known for\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"If a company introduces unlimited PTO but the culture still thrives on overwork, putting a new policy in place isn’t going to change that overnight. The company has to encourage downtime – and the managers must model it in their own lives,” says Taylor, of Shrm.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat could take time, though, considering most senior staff at many big Wall Street firms cut their teeth on the exhausting, long-hours finance culture. Plus, many executives still work while on holiday, so it's unclear how realistic it is that bosses will actually take time off, and model that behaviour for junior employees.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it's also significant that, for those lower-level staffers, Goldman Sachs has given them more set PTO days, and has also mandated staff to take at least one cluster of five days off in a row each year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESuch moves could be \"sincere\" ones to address Goldman's work culture issues, even though it may not exactly be the type of flexibility some of those junior workers want, says Sonia Marciano, clinical professor of management and organisations at Stern Business School, New York University. She says the firm is \"going to get lower quality, fresh-out-of-business-school [candidates] if other attractive employers figure out how to hybrid their day\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile additional leave benefits, like UPTO, are a start, experts caveat that the conversation of how to change gruelling work cultures is far from over.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"This is a story about work-life balance,\" says Alec Levenson, senior research scientist at Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, US. “Throwing some additional benefits at people without addressing some of the fundamental issues around how hard and long people have to work … doesn't change the situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off-4"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-23T17:27:25Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The smoke and mirrors of unlimited paid time off","headlineShort":"The trap of unlimited paid time off","image":["p0c839m2"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Having as much holiday as you want? Sounds great – until it’s not.","summaryShort":"Having as much paid holiday as you want? Sounds great – until it's not","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-22T19:46:55.413808Z","entity":"article","guid":"cfc3f882-0dd6-405e-ba47-ad992fdc6fa7","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-23T13:39:34.624733Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220520-the-smoke-and-mirrors-of-unlimited-paid-time-off","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095698},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter","_id":"6267dfba1f4b7b44d0021479","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Office friendships are atrophying amid remote work. But you can reap tangible benefits by putting in the effort to keep up intimacy with your office mates.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThere was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when going out to lunch, day after day, with the same group of colleagues was as mundane a part of daily life as the morning meeting or evening commute. But after six months of eating sad desk salads alone, the idea of lunch with our work clique has never felt so exciting.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs we’ve been working from our kitchen tables, many of our relationships with colleagues have been atrophying.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s a phenomenon that has positives: the break-up of work cliques means the formerly left-out may have more opportunities to join the ‘in-crowd’ – or maybe there’s no longer an in-crowd at all. But there are drawbacks to drifting away from your work buddies, too. Experts suggest that, while our work-based friendships are generally our most delicate ones, they’re also some of the most impactful on our overall happiness.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemote work has changed the dynamic of our work relationships. We can – and, in many cases, should – be trying to keep those friendships going, or even spark new ones. But as our offices operate online, that’s easier said than done.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Friendships of convenience’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work is the number one place where people make friends,” says Shasta Nelson, author of The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of Our Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time. “It’s also the place where most friendships \u003Cem\u003Eend,\u003C\u002Fem\u003E because people change jobs.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECompared to friendships that begin outside work – which are often stronger and more sustainable, thanks to a foundation of common interests and deep personal knowledge – work friendships are often tenuous, because they tend to be built almost exclusively on shared circumstances and casual interactions. These relationships with colleagues are usually what Ho Kwan Cheung, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Albany in New York, calls “friendships of convenience, for lack of a better term. It’s the person you talk to when you take a coffee break, or go to the pantry. The person who’s readily available when you have a problem because their desk is next to yours”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd now, without those opportunities for interaction while we’ve been working from home, many have found work friendships fading; for many, finding other ways to maintain them virtually has not been a major priority while navigating the upheaval of recent months.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work friendships die pretty quickly with a lack of shared experiences,” says Nelson. “Unless you work to create a new pattern and way of being together. Even six months in, a lot of people feel like the shift to remote work is temporary, so we’re not treating it with intention. I think a lot of people’s brains haven’t made that adjustment of, ‘OK, I have to be intentional if I want this friendship to continue’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPleasure and productivity \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere’s good reason to invest in your work friendships, especially now, according to Cheung, whose research centres on workplace discrimination and employee wellbeing. “They’re not a distraction,” she says. “A lot of us derive most of our social needs from those work relationships. They’re what give people a sense of belonging in their job. Sometimes, there’s an idea that when you’re spending time with friends at work you won’t get anything done, but the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Frepository.upenn.edu\u002Fcgi\u002Fviewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=mapp_capstone\"\u003Eresearch\u003C\u002Fa\u003E says that employee happiness depends on social interactions.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Without opportunities for office interaction while we’ve been working from home, many have found work friendships fading","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, too, does productivity. In a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bcg.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fpublications\u002F2020\u002Fvaluable-productivity-gains-covid-19\"\u003Esurvey of more than 12,000 workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the US, Germany and India, management-consulting firm Boston Consulting Group found that more than half the respondents who transitioned to working remotely during the pandemic reported a drop in productivity when it came to collaborative tasks – things like working in teams and interacting with clients. The analysis showed a direct link between productivity and social connection. Among those who said they felt less connected to their colleagues since transitioning to remote work, 80% said they were also less productive.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing a member of a work clique can also contribute to professional fulfilment. Results from a Gallup survey of US employees showed that more than half of respondents who said they had a work best friend \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscholarworks.umass.edu\u002Fcgi\u002Fviewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=gradconf_hospitality\"\u003Ealso reported\u003C\u002Fa\u003E feeling passionate about their job, with a strong connection to their company. Only 10% of people who didn’t have a close friend at work could say the same.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work friendships are very important to job satisfaction,” says Cheung. And while “job satisfaction doesn’t always predict performance, the more relational-oriented your work is, the more it does. One example is creative work, or anything that involves creative problem-solving. When you’re satisfied with your work and you enjoy being with your co-workers, it makes you more creative and a better collaborator”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a 2016 study published in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1111\u002Fpeps.12109\"\u003EPersonnel Psychology\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a group of professors headed by Jessica Methot of Rutgers University showed that groups of colleagues who thought of one another as friends scored higher on performance reviews. The researchers offered a number of possible explanations: people were more likely to ask for help and seek advice from colleagues they considered to be friends, informal networks made information-sharing more efficient and morale was high overall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn short, a sense of belonging among your colleagues makes you better at your job, and letting those friendships lapse during the pandemic could make your work suffer.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKilling the clique isn’t all bad\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere’s a reason the word “clique” summons memories of secondary-school mean girls, however. While the benefits of being a member of a group of work friends are well documented, such friendships can have downsides. After all, for a clique to exist, some people need to belong while others have to be left out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a 2018 study entitled \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F323220675_Friends_Without_Benefits_Understanding_the_Dark_Sides_of_Workplace_Friendship\"\u003EFriends Without Benefits: Understanding the Dark Sides of Workplace Friendship\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business wrote that, “anyone who has endured the social complexities of a school cafeteria can attest that close and exclusive friendship groups can lead to perceptions of exclusion. This awareness of others’ friendships can be detrimental to outsiders and can have negative consequences for organizational functioning.” So, while cliques are good for the people in them, those who are excluded or feel ostracised by them don’t experience the same benefits.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is even more problematic when you consider the people who are most often left out. Cheung explains that cliques are often quicker to form between people of shared racial and cultural backgrounds, and if an office isn’t very diverse, that means people get marginalised. “We know that a lot of the relationship formation opportunities single out women and minorities, because you’re not invited to lunch or happy hour,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Remote work may be killing the clique, but that could also mean more opportunity for those who’ve been more socially isolated in the past to make in-roads","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ERemote work may be killing the clique, but that could also mean more opportunity for those who’ve been more socially isolated in the past to make in-roads. “Now, it’s interesting because [lunches and happy hours] aren’t a thing anymore. Everyone’s at home and that has levelled the playing field.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, building those bridges from a home office isn’t simple, either. In transitioning to a remote work environment, we’ve lost many of the informal interactions and casual moments that lead to friendships, and while that means “no one is being ostracised, it’s also harder for relationships to form or continue”, adds Cheung.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘It’s going to feel a little awkward’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis doesn’t mean that your work friendships are doomed, or that you’ll never be one of the most popular colleagues. But, like most things in a post-pandemic world, bonding with your colleagues now requires a slightly different approach.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFriendships have a formula, says Nelson, based on three main factors: consistency, vulnerability and positivity. “You need all three to create a friendship,” she explains. “The workplace gave us the consistency piece. We didn’t have to invite each other to come to work, so the consistency of seeing each other every day was built-in. As long as we got to know people – that’s the vulnerability piece – and enjoyed it, which gave us the positivity, friendships formed.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s still possible to have a solid social life among your colleagues, adds Nelson, “but you have to be waymore intentional about it.” That means establishing consistency on your own, maybe by committing to daily lunchtime phone calls with your work buddy, or planning Monday morning Zoom catch-ups as a chance to chat about the weekend.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt can also be helpful, Cheung says, to look for the remote version of a casual moment by the office coffee pot. “Sometimes when you’re waiting for the rest of the people to sign onto a Zoom meeting, you can chit-chat a little,” she says. “It’s possible to find and create those kinds of informal situations, even when you’re working from home, like starting a separate Slack chat.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd as for taking the opportunity to join a clique, she adds, simply putting in the effort to connect with a colleague on an informal level can go a long way. “It’s a matter of creating new bonds, when people aren’t strictly on the clock,” she says. Interaction that feels personal – just striking up a conversation about pandemic baking or sharing links to funny TikToks, for instance – “makes people feel a sense of belonging”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It might feel forced, but that’s fine,” she says. “When we start to open up, it helps people feel seen, increases our appreciation for one another and helps us enjoy each other. We have to realise friendships don’t just happen to us. You can’t just focus on work and expect to feel close to people down the road. Yes, it’s going to feel a little awkward, but relational health, work productivity and happiness comes on the other side of that awkwardness.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter-10"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-09-30T16:05:47Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why your in-office friendships still matter","headlineShort":"How remote work has changed the clique","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Office friendships are atrophying amid remote work. But you can reap tangible benefits by putting in the effort to keep up intimacy with your office mates.","summaryShort":"Staying close with your colleagues matters – and here’s why","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-09-29T21:03:30.860522Z","entity":"article","guid":"6cbca206-24f8-4b2e-969a-4a149cb86e22","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:56:13.577017Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks","_id":"6267dff81f4b7b714f3e580b","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"New research suggests lockdowns are re-shaping our social networks. What does that mean for our post-Covid relationships?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EKaren Lamb, by her own admission, was a bit of a social butterfly before a coronavirus spike prompted a second, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2020-08-05\u002Fmelbourne-stage-4-coronavirus-restrictions-vs-world\u002F12518376\"\u003Esevere lockdown in \u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2020-08-05\u002Fmelbourne-stage-4-coronavirus-restrictions-vs-world\u002F12518376\"\u003Ethe Australian city of \u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2020-08-05\u002Fmelbourne-stage-4-coronavirus-restrictions-vs-world\u002F12518376\"\u003EMelbourne\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, where she lives. The 35-year-old statistician would go to the theatre, weekly choir and go-go dancing classes and spend lots of time with friends. Lockdown has disrupted Lamb’s social behaviour and networks. Her world has shifted online, and sometimes Lamb can feel lonely. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe’s not alone: huge volumes of people reported feeling lonely in the first wave of coronavirus lockdowns earlier this year. According to\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.swinburne.edu.au\u002Fmedia\u002Fswinburneeduau\u002Fresearch-institutes\u002Fiverson-health\u002FLoneliness-in-COVID-19-15-07-20_final.pdf\"\u003E research \u003C\u002Fa\u003Eby loneliness expert Dr Michelle Lim, of Swinburne University of Technology, one in two Australians reported feeling lonely during the first lockdown. In Britain and the US, the ratio was two out of three. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, researchers in Australia are examining how these enforced periods of isolation are changing our social interactions. Although the pandemic is playing out differently in nations around the world – European nations are moving back toward tighter restrictions while Australia is emerging out of them – we share a question: if lockdowns are changing the way we socialise, what does that mean for how long our loneliness will last? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EConsolidating friendship networks\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research is a joint project between two academics, Dr Marlee Bower, a loneliness researcher at the University of Sydney, and sociologist Dr Roger Patulny of the University of Wollongong. Initial results of a tracking survey they sent to almost 2,000 Australians have showed some significant pandemic-linked behavioural changes are underway. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBower says that in open-ended responses to the survey, many people indicated that they had begun to shrink their social networks. “They would socialise with not as many people as before, but rather a very particular sub-group,” she says. “For people who have connections to draw on and are able to leverage their existing friendships online, they’re doing pretty well. In many instances, they’re closer to the friends they had.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I’ve found that over the last six months I’ve become much more detached from my day-to-day pals - Karen Lamb","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThat’s been the case for Lamb, who is Scottish but has lived in Melbourne for eight years. Before the lockdown, she would speak to Amy, one of her oldest friends, about four or five times a year. Now they chat every Thursday, at a fixed time, and both wonder why they haven’t always done so. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome of her other friendships, however, have not fared so well. “I’ve found it easier to keep in touch with my Scottish folk than with my Australian folk,” says Lamb. “I’ve just not had that online relationship with my Australians. I’ve found that over the last six months I’ve become much more detached from my day-to-day pals.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When social interactions moved online, only certain kinds of relationships seemed to survive,” explains Bower. Once the local or community context of a relationship was taken away, it was relationships where those in it had something in common besides their shared work or hobby interest, where everyone felt comfortable with digital technology, that managed to hold together or become stronger. Many wanted to share their pandemic stress with those to whom they felt closest; old friends from home towns and very close local friends. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Because the majority of social interaction occurred online, it meant that socialising with people who live locally was just as easy as socialising with people who live on the other side of the world. This meant that people could socialise and reconnect with people who they were closer to, regardless of location,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"You’re not necessarily close to those who you share a neighbourhood with - Covid is really showing this up - Roger Patulny","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EContemporary society is often defined by the movement of people away from their place of origin, adds Patulny. “You’re closer to the people who live on the other side of the planet, because they are the ones you grew up with. You’re not necessarily close to those who you share a neighbourhood with. Covid is really showing this up.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Missing out on the chat’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet it is also clear that when it comes to people in our lives with whom we don’t have enough of a foundation of friendship to build an online relationship during the pandemic, we miss our interactions with them. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELamb misses Di, a fellow choir member. The two women aren’t close friends, but always used to chat during rehearsal breaks. Zoom has enabled choir to continue; Lamb now finds herself singing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac to her computer with the microphone on mute, but the casual chats with Di are no longer possible. Lamb also misses the group of male friends she and her partner had made; the men are maintaining their ties through online gaming during lockdown, but Lamb does not take part, so there’s no avenue to continue those friendships. “That’s one of the things that has made me the most lonely,” she says. “I’m missing out on the chat.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Three women, pushing babies in prams on the street (file image)","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPatulny and Bower found many people reported missing these micro-interactions with people in their communities, which are nearly impossible to facilitate via digital communication. “The ability to just stop, gossip, laugh, joke and all the things that you do outside the meetings – that doesn’t happen when you are meeting online,” says Patulny. “The extra peripheral contact has been lost, and that’s an important loss.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is a risk of decay of social networks without these little interactions, he says, as they help to really connect to people. As for whether we can pick these friendships back up post-pandemic, Bower points to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwhatworkswellbeing.org\u002Fresources\u002Floneliness-lockdown-and-covid\u002F?mc_cid=42ca3d8e6a\"\u003Erecent evidence from the UK \u003C\u002Fa\u003Esuggesting that people who were lonely before Covid were likely to be slightly lonelier afterwards, but others did not experience long-term changes. She expresses some concern, however, that an extended period of loneliness for some people could make little interactions feel more challenging in the longer term. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We know that people who experience loneliness for extended periods of time start to experience negative persistent impacts on the way they think and act in social situations – they are more hypervigilant of rejection, they are more socially anxious – and these can make those simple interactions more difficult and less likely to go smoothly,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReverting or changing\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBower and Patulny’s research will follow their cohort as Australia continues its march out of Covid restrictions. They will survey the same cohort every three months to determine how behaviour is changing and why, and feed into a think tank that is considering the mental health impacts of the pandemic. It is too early for any estimates of what, if any, long term social changes may set in, but the researchers suggest that it could be a little while before interactions return to normal. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I wonder if the fact that you’re not used to socialising, and that now there is a risk associated with socialising, whether those things together will lead to long-term impacts on the way we feel and how we are able to overcome loneliness,” Bower says. Patuly says she wouldn’t be surprised by a slight increase in loneliness which lasts for a few years. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever Michelle Lim, the loneliness expert, believes that for most people, both the loss of micro-interactions and the narrowing of their social networks are temporary, tied directly to the public health emergency, and are unlikely to outlast it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Whether [lockdown isolation] will be significantly detrimental to your relationships will be up to many factors – whether the individual is resilient, whether they have robust social networks, whether they make the efforts to maintain their friendships despite these barriers,” says Lim. It is also still not clear, she adds, whether longer lockdowns – both government-mandated or due to peoples’ need to shield for pre-existing health conditions – will lead to different or more pronounced outcomes.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Those who were not lonely before Covid-19 are unlikely to be very lonely in the long term once it is all over","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ELim says it is possible that, for the immediate future, face-to-face interactions may change as we remain mindful of public health. But she says it is human nature to revert to social groups; most people who have broken lockdown regulations have done so in order to see friends and family.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter we recover from the shock of these altered behaviours, she believes things will likely return to a previous normal. The main determinants of loneliness are pretty stable, she adds. Those who were not lonely before Covid-19 are unlikely to be very lonely in the long term once it is all over. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I think for a short period there will be change,” she says. “But we are creatures of habit. Unless these behaviours are very, very long term, I think we will revert back to our social groups.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-10-09T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How lockdowns are changing our friendship groups","headlineShort":"The friends you lose in lockdown","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Friends talk via video chat (file image)","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":[],"summaryLong":"New research suggests lockdowns are re-shaping our social networks. What does that mean for our post-Covid relationships?","summaryShort":"Lockdowns are changing our social networks – but is it permanent?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-10-09T01:18:54.843435Z","entity":"article","guid":"fb9ef1df-acfc-4dbb-80c9-f781fd36cf2b","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:10:13.699713Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting","_id":"6267dfa61f4b7b2bf1613bc9","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Video chat is helping us stay employed and connected. But what makes it so tiring - and how can we reduce ‘Zoom fatigue’?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYour screen freezes. There’s a weird echo. A dozen heads stare at you. There are the work huddles, the one-on-one meetings and then, once you’re done for the day, the hangouts with friends and family.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we’re on video calls more than ever before – and many are finding it exhausting.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut what, exactly, is tiring us out? BBC Worklife spoke to Gianpiero Petriglieri, an associate professor at Insead, who explores sustainable learning and development in the workplace, and Marissa Shuffler, an associate professor at Clemson University, who studies workplace wellbeing and teamwork effectiveness, to hear their views.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs video chat harder? What’s different compared to face-to-face communication?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing on a video call requires more focus than a face-to-face chat, says Petriglieri. Video chats mean we need to work harder to process non-verbal cues like facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language; paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy. “Our minds are together when our bodies feel we're not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Delays on phone or conferencing systems of 1.2 seconds made people perceive the responder as less friendly or focused","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESilence is another challenge, he adds. “Silence creates a natural rhythm in a real-life conversation. However, when it happens in a video call, you became anxious about the technology.” It also makes people uncomfortable. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS1071581914000287\"\u003EOne 2014 study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by German academics showed that delays on phone or conferencing systems shaped our views of people negatively: even delays of 1.2 seconds made people perceive the responder as less friendly or focused.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EYou might also like:\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E• \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200401-covid-19-why-we-wont-run-out-of-food-during-coronavirus\"\u003EWhy grocery shelves won't be empty for long\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E• \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200406-coronavirus-isolation-is-creating-new-love-under-lockdown\"\u003ECoronavirus isolation is creating new couples\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E•\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic\"\u003E How to work from home, the right way\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn added factor, says Shuffler, is that if we are physically on camera, we are very aware of being watched. “When you're on a video conference, you know everybody's looking at you; you are on stage, so there comes the social pressure and feeling like you need to perform. Being performative is nerve-wracking and more stressful.” It’s also very hard for people not to look at their own face if they can see it on screen, or not to be conscious of how they behave in front of the camera.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow are the current circumstances contributing? \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet if video chats come with extra stressors, our Zoom fatigue can’t be attributed solely to that. Our current circumstances – whether lockdown, quarantine, working from home or otherwise – are also feeding in.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPetriglieri believes that fact we feel forced into these calls may be a contributory factor. “The video call is our reminder of the people we have lost temporarily. It is the distress that every time you see someone online, such as your colleagues, that reminds you we should really be in the workplace together,” he says. “What I'm finding is, we’re all exhausted; It doesn't matter whether they are introverts or extroverts. We are experiencing the same disruption of the familiar context during the pandemic.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen there’s the fact that aspects of our lives that used to be separate – work, friends, family – are all now happening in the same space. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002Frecord\u002F1986-03748-001\"\u003Eself-complexity theory\u003C\u002Fa\u003E posits that individuals have multiple aspects – context-dependent social roles, relationships, activities and goals – and we find the variety healthy, says Petriglieri. When these aspects are reduced, we become more vulnerable to negative feelings.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Imagine if you go to a bar, and in the same bar you talk with your professors, meet your parents or date someone, isn’t it weird? That’s what we’re doing now – Gianpiero Petriglieri","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Most of our social roles happen in different places, but now the context has collapsed,” says Petriglieri. “Imagine if you go to a bar, and in the same bar you talk with your professors, meet your parents or date someone, isn’t it weird? That's what we're doing now… We are confined in our own space, in the context of a very anxiety-provoking crisis, and our only space for interaction is a computer window.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShuffler says a lack of downtime after we’ve fulfilled work and family commitments may be another factor in our tiredness, while some of us may be putting higher expectations on ourselves due to worries over the economy, furloughs and job losses. “There's also that heightened sense of ‘I need to be performing at my top level in a situation’… Some of us are kind of over-performing to secure our jobs.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBut when I’m Zooming my friends, for example, shouldn’t that relax me? \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELots of us are doing big group chats for the first time, whether it’s cooking and eating a virtual Easter dinner, attending a university catch-up or holding a birthday party for a friend. If the call is meant to be fun, why might it feel tiring?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPart of it, says Shuffler, is whether you’re joining in because you want to or because you feel you ought to – like a virtual happy hour with colleagues from work. If you see it as an obligation, that means more time that you’re ‘on’ as opposed to getting a break. A proper chat with friends will feel more social and there will be less ‘Zoom fatigue’ from conversations where you’ve had a chance to be yourself.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It doesn't matter whether you call it a virtual happy hour, it's a meeting, because mostly we are used to using these tools for work – Gianpiero Petriglieri","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBig group calls can feel particularly performative, Petriglieri warns. People like watching television because you can allow your mind to wander – but a large video call “is like you're watching television and television is watching you”. Large group chats can also feel depersonalising, he adds, because your power as an individual is diminished. And despite the branding, it may not feel like leisure time. “It doesn't matter whether you call it a virtual happy hour, it's a meeting, because mostly we are used to using these tools for work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo how can we alleviate Zoom fatigue? \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBoth experts suggest limiting video calls to those that are necessary. Turning on the camera should be optional and in general there should be more understanding that cameras do not always have to be on throughout each meeting. Having your screen off to the side, instead of straight ahead, could also help your concentration, particularly in group meetings, says Petriglieri. It makes you feel like you’re in an adjoining room, so may be less tiring.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn some cases it’s worth considering if video chats are really the most efficient option. When it comes to work, Shuffler suggests shared files with clear notes can be a better option that avoids information overload. She also suggests taking time during meetings to catch up before diving into business. “Spend some time to actually check into people's wellbeing,” she urges. “It’s a way to reconnect us with the world, and to maintain trust and reduce fatigue and concern.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBuilding transition periods in between video meetings can also help refresh us – try stretching, having a drink or doing a bit of exercise, our experts say. Boundaries and transitions are important; we need to create buffers which allow us to put one identity aside and then go to another as we move between work and private personas.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd maybe, says Petriglieri, if you want to reach out, go old-school. “Write a letter to someone instead of meeting them on Zoom. Tell them you really care about them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-04-22T18:25:32Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The reason Zoom calls drain your energy","headlineShort":"Why Zoom calls are so exhausting","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":null,"relatedTag":[],"summaryLong":"Video chat is helping us stay employed and connected. But what makes it so tiring - and how can we reduce ‘Zoom fatigue’?","summaryShort":"Video chat is great at keeping us connected - but why is it so tiring?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-04-21T19:44:32.538418Z","entity":"article","guid":"a6be2a40-33bd-4f9b-8f7f-a6bfa9f979d1","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:46:54.97714Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095701},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing","_id":"6267e0101f4b7b763831172a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fzaria-gorvett"],"bodyIntro":"The words ‘team building’ may stoke fear in our hearts at the best of times, but during a pandemic, they often mean several extra hours on Zoom – something we could all live without.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of colleagues is standing in two rows, arms outstretched, waiting to catch their co-worker. They’re playing a trust game, and the man in question is currently dithering at the edge of a raised wooden platform. “I’ll go first,” he says, rather more confidently than he seems. Nothing happens. “Can I ask you… Are you going to catch me?” he half-jokes, half pleads. \u003Cem\u003EOh yeah\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, they murmur together.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFinally, he throws caution to the wind. His rigid body plunges onto their arms. As he falls, it’s already clear that this is not going to plan. There’s an unnerving amount of shouting. Their tight-knit structure is beginning to break up. One woman, positioned at the front, leaps away, apparently realising she doesn’t want to be the sole person to break his fall. He \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=tAmlqAxCC-0\"\u003Ehits the ground, headfirst\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Great teamwork, folks!\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is something of a 'team-building' worst-case scenario, of course. But, nevertheless, these two words stoke fear and loathing in the hearts of many – the wholesome outdoor activities, the games that require you to physically touch your colleagues, the cruel flashbacks to the most embarrassing aspects of childhood, from school sports days to rounds of “two truths and a lie” that inevitably end up \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmoney.howstuffworks.com\u002Fbusiness-communications\u002Fworst-ice-breaker.htm#pt8\"\u003Eoffending someone\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArguably the most heinous team-building events involve 90s clichés such as trust falls, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Frecruitingblogs.com\u002Fprofiles\u002Fblogs\u002Fwhat-no-one-tells-you-about-psychometric-testing\"\u003Epseudoscientific personality tests\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and brain teasers. One example is the famous chicken-and-fox puzzle, which actually \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fjnsilva.ludicum.org\u002FHMR13_14\u002FAlcuinStA.pdf\"\u003Edates back to medieval times\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and was immortalised by the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt0664508\u002F\"\u003EBritish TV series The Office\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: a farmer needs to get a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain from one side of a river to the other, but his boat can only carry one at a time. How can he achieve this, without ending up with a feathery bloodbath or an empty sack? Answers on a postcard, please.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p092ntw7"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut modern equivalents can be just as unappealing. There are the bizarre: luges have become popular team-building events, and one man reportedly attended a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FJMRittenberry\u002Fstatus\u002F880242157185097728?s=20\"\u003Eforklift truck derby\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for his. Next are the awkward: some Russian ‘banyas’ – nude bathhouses – are advertising themselves as suitable for groups of colleagues. And some are downright perilous: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.coburgbanks.co.uk\u002Fblog\u002Ffriday-funnies\u002F8-unusual-team-building-exercises\u002F\"\u003Eblindfolded driving\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, anyone? If you’re really unlucky, team building can provide a rare opportunity for your most extroverted co-workers to showcase their \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.prnewswire.com\u002Fnews-releases\u002Fsurvey-reveals-25-unusual-team-building-activities-300087984.html\"\u003Eimprov skills\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECould anything be less fun? Yes, as it turns out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAmid the pandemic, companies are increasingly in need of ways to keep their teams \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fnicolebendaly\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F20\u002Fyour-team-is-now-working-remotely5-ways-to-strengthen-communication-and-team-cohesion-in-the-covid-19-world\u002F?sh=f9c43a25b70d\"\u003Efocused and maintain a sense of cohesion; \u003C\u002Fa\u003E as of March, many will have spent almost a whole year working remotely. So as everything else has moved online, including \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.travelandleisure.com\u002Ftrip-ideas\u002Fnature-travel\u002Fvirtual-walking-trails-around-the-world\"\u003Ehiking trips\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=qQBsMRMZOEo\"\u003Ehaircuts\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, team building has followed suit. But this has brought its own problems.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhereas at least before the activities involved might have included a day ‘off’ work or a weekend away, now they entail yet more time at your desk, glued to your computer screen. As millions battle \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting\"\u003EZoom fatigue\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and – oddly – even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.economist.com\u002Fgraphic-detail\u002F2020\u002F11\u002F24\u002Fpeople-are-working-longer-hours-during-the-pandemic\"\u003Elonger working hours\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than before, virtual team building is arguably even more agonising than the real thing. It’s also inherently flawed.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhysical experiences are more bonding\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKieron Bowen, sales director at Eventurous, a team-building and corporate-events company based in the UK, says the pandemic has had a radical impact on the activities they can provide. Ordinarily, the business relies on providing experiences such as GPS treasure hunts, crystal-maze challenges and soap-box derbies (a kind of gravity-powered car race popular in the US).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Whereas at least before the activities involved might have included a day ‘off’ work or a weekend away, now they entail yet more time at your desk, glued to your computer","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“They’re challenges that the teams take on together in a physical sense,” he says. Some of their activities are more obviously aimed at bonding colleagues together, like classic psychometric testing, but others use more organic, less structured methods, such as encouraging teams to work together in a competitive environment against the clock.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince Covid-19, the company has been forced to focus more on events that can be done via video calls, like virtual escape rooms. During these live-hosted events, companies start with a background story – “so that there’s a bit of emotion and a bit of theatre”, says Bowen – and then task contestants with a series of puzzles that need to be solved within a set time frame.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it’s much harder to achieve the same level of bonding when you’re not physically together; in the virtual world, there’s less scope for the unexpected or unpleasant to happen – things that you can recall later and giggle about. And this means it’s unlikely to be as good at forging a sense of solidarity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyg.2018.02309\u002Ffull\"\u003E2018 study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, groups who consumed raw chillies or did upright wall squats – painful experiences – had more supportive interactions among team-members and heightened collective creativity, versus those who were just asked to eat hard-boiled sweets or balance on one leg. So, as infantilising as organised fun seems, it can provide the opportunity for teams to experience mutual hardships that could strengthen connections, such as struggling through bad weather together, or even experiencing team-building #fails like dropping a colleague on their head (though not recommended).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p092nv5g"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen ‘fun’ feels like work\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEffective team building is thought to require two things. The first is a change of scenery, which makes the activity seem more like a break and less like a continuation of your normal day. The second is a demonstration that your employer genuinely cares about your wellbeing – and perhaps the feeling that this is the purpose of the task. These principals were discovered by the researcher who is often credited with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teambuilding.co.za\u002Fthe-hawthorne-effect\u002F\"\u003Einventing the very concept\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElton Mayo was an Australian psychologist based in Illinois, who conducted his research at the Western Electric Company in the 1920s and 30s. He suspected \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbooks.google.co.uk\u002Fbooks?hl=en&lr=&id=lOTrBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA134&dq=elton+mayo+western+electric&ots=wSFJljWIK0&sig=lfKjlbXA4tSsgCB-65kP8QfJiik&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=elton%20mayo%20western%20electric&f=false\"\u003Efatigue and monotony\u003C\u002Fa\u003E was affecting the efficiency of the workers, and wondered what could be changed to relieve it. To find out, he set up an experimental room at the factory, and spent years siphoning employees off in small groups to investigate the impact of different conditions, from lighting to breaks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Mayo analysed his results, he found something surprising: no matter what he did, the productivity of the workers improved. Crucially, Mayo realised that the participants were responding to the fact that he was changing their environment full stop – what those alterations were was relatively unimportant.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, the benefits that he was seeing were down to the fact that they were revelling in being studied, which made them feel special, like their employer was making these adjustments for their own benefit – though in reality, they were aimed at maximising productivity. And most importantly, the experiments provided colleagues with a shared identity and opportunity to interact\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s nearly impossible to provide specialised attention on a group video call to make people feel like they matter","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut virtual team-building fails spectacularly at both of Mayo’s central tenets. First, it’s nearly impossible to provide specialised attention on a group video call, to make people feel like they matter. And if you’re attending a team-building video chat from the same place as your regular meetings, it’s hardly going to feel like a change of environment.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBowen agrees that it’s important that team-building activities don’t feel like work – and even he concedes that “it’s very difficult to replicate that in a virtual medium”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe whole concept is controversial \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother school of thought is that virtual team building isn’t the issue – it’s the entire concept of these activities that’s fatally flawed.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome experts are sceptical about the efficacy of any kind of ‘fun’ team building that’s not strictly relevant to a team’s set of job descriptions. Bill Critchley, an organisational psychologist based in London, says the evidence shows that ‘simulated development’, such as outdoor trust falls, doesn’t actually transfer from that forest back to your meeting room.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p092nv0t"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, attending a forklift truck derby with your colleagues or watching your teammates mix cocktails in front of their cameras might help you to forge new connections in the moment – but unless you happen to work on an industrial site or at a bar, these experiences won’t necessarily help you later. Critchley explains that team bonding is inherently tied to the context it occurs in. When you arrive back at your desk the next day, the inherently political and complex nature of the workplace means people “revert to their normal way of behaving”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECritchley gives the example of a “major retailer” he once worked with. “They had a number of away days and they really improved dramatically,” he says, citing their ability to work together, communicate and address big issues. “I thought we'd done the job. I then went and then attended one of their normal everyday meetings...” In their usual context, they had returned to the dynamic they had before. “They all kind of raised their eyebrows and said, ‘yes, we know, Bill, we're doing it again.’”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn place of doing activities, Critchley usually works by taking to each member of a team to find out what their issues are and where they came from. Then, he’ll meet them for a day to observe their realities first hand, and develop ways for them to do things differently. Finally, he follows up to make sure everyone is sticking to their promises.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, the delicate choreography involved in even this brand of team building is – like every other kind – harder to achieve in a virtual environment. “It’s to be avoided,” says Critchley, speaking of all such online activity. “Because human beings resonate with each other physically in the room, that’s how empathy works – at least they can feel how they're going to impact on each other. That important dimension is missing, virtually.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA break from trust falls\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, is all online team building pointless?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBowen argues these activities have their place, as long as businesses feel like they’re fulfilling their goals, and they can find a way to make them genuinely enjoyable. “We know virtual events aren’t quite the same as in-person events, and so do clients,” says Bowen. “I think when the circumstances and restrictions allow, the majority of clients will revert to in-person away days and events.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Not many people will tell you this, but the unpalatable truth is that not many team development exercises actually work – Bill Critchley","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the meantime, the challenge is to simulate the tactile, physical experience of a team-building day trip, from the comfort of a home office. “We organise virtual cocktail-making masterclasses and cookery classes,” says Bowen, “we send out a load of equipment and consumables in a box to the delegates pre-event, and then we set up a studio and stream an experience with a baker or chocolatier or mixologist.” This may be the reason why those Zoom birthday parties and lectures spent sitting in the same desk chair you do all day fall short. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Critchley is not quite so confident. “Not many people will tell you this, but the unpalatable truth is that not many team development exercises actually work,” says Critchley. “A lot of facilitators love developing really complicated exercises, and everyone quite enjoys them because they feel they're doing something, but I'm afraid they don't work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo matter which side you’re on, there be may be one upside we can all agree on: no one is going to be expected to trust fall into their colleagues any time soon.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing-12"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Fremote-control"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-01-11T14:26:51Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why virtual team-building activities feel agonising","headlineShort":"Why you hate virtual happy hours","image":["p092ntp4"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200925-why-your-in-office-friendships-still-matter","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201005-how-covid-19-is-changing-our-social-networks","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The words ‘team building’ may stoke fear in our hearts at the best of times, but during a pandemic, they often mean several extra hours on Zoom – something we could all live without.","summaryShort":"The reasons why online team-building activities feel excruciating","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work","tag\u002Fworkplace"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-01-10T23:04:01.585979Z","entity":"article","guid":"a2bc43cf-9d84-44dd-8427-b720c257448d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:01:09.92295Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards","_id":"6267dff01f4b7b6a6319ad43","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Aspiring young workers in top-tier jobs know they’re signing up for gruelling, startlingly long hours. Are the rewards in jobs like these worth the \"crushing\" toil?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAcross entry-level positions at many top-tier global financial institutions and consulting firms, there are no illusions of nine-to-five schedules or summer holidays with phones left back at the hotel room. From the start, junior employees are aware that they’re entering a trial-by-fire – and it’s up to them to survive the flames.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, just because these entry-level workers have some sense of what they’re going to be up against, it doesn’t always mean they’re adequately prepared, or that their expectations match their eventual reality.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn March, 13 first-year Goldman Sachs analysts – the group lowest on the corporate totem pole – put together a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-56452494\"\u003E‘survey’ on their working conditions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at the esteemed, multi-national bank, in a document seen by the BBC. The survey, mocked up on Goldman Sachs’s official pitchbook template, detailed the group’s more than 95-hour workweeks, precarious mental and physical health, deteriorating personal relationships and conditions one respondent called “inhumane”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe contents of the survey were, in some ways, shocking. But, in others, some of the results weren’t wholly unexpected. For many name-brand jobs, this is how things can operate for the those at the most junior levels – and have for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe prevailing narrative: that’s just the price you pay for a longer-term reward of power and prestige in big-name, big pay-cheque institutions. But for young people just jumping into the workforce, is the toil worth the epic reward, even if it may come with some worrying side effects? Some say maybe so.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘A boot-camp mentality’ \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EThis nose-to-the-grindstone culture within these types of jobs has existed in some form for years, says William D Cohan, author of a best-selling book on the history of Goldman Sachs, Money and Power, and who also worked on Wall Street for 17 years.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EFor example, in finance, when major banks went public, the amount of work employees had to do “increased exponentially”, says Cohan. “Demand for what they did skyrocketed, and the demand on the employees then skyrocketed.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Wall Street New York","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EIn general, he believes “senior people don’t really want to do that much work. They do the important work of bringing in clients, but once the client is brought in, they push that work down to junior people”. And, often, there aren’t enough lower-level workers; compensation is the biggest expense for financial institutions, so generating profits means hiring fewer people, which can compound the amount of work that trickles down, adds Cohan.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EHe thinks many prospective employees have a sense of the workload they have to take on if they’re able to land one of these competitive jobs. Cohan cites motivating factors that make some workers accept the conditions: a substantial pay cheque as well as prestige, “bragging rights” of working at a household-name company and opportunities for advancement if minted by one of these institutions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s a boot-camp mentality – William D Cohan","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003E“It’s a boot-camp mentality,” says Cohan – simply part of the process of succeeding at a high level.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EThese prospective employees do mostly understand the impending workload, agrees Christopher R Di Fronzo, associate director of the Tufts Finance Initiative at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US, which helps place students in finance, consulting and entrepreneurial jobs. However, as graduates across these fields reconnect as alumni, he’s noticed some have underestimated the hours. “Once you live it,” says De Fronzo, “some find out it’s a really hard life to live.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJumping through hoops\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EBill Keenan joined Deutsche Bank, a major international investment bank in New York City, straight out of business school, following a professional ice-hockey career. He says he pursued the job due to his own “insecurity”. “I wanted to prove to myself I could do it, because all I had heard was how this is the hardest thing in the world,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EKeenan, who got a job as an associate in 2016, did have a sense that he’d be heading into a difficult situation. “You know what you're getting into, and like most jobs, if you want to reap rewards you’re probably going to have to jump through hoops and do some stuff that’s painful along the way.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EKeenan says he pulled many anxious late nights feeling “crushed”, and some of his experiences do chime with the current points cited in the Goldman Sachs survey. (“There were a lot of sweaty shirts, crying and not knowing what I was doing.”). However, he caveats that the conditions outlined by the 13 analysts who put together the notes aren’t necessarily representative of every experience – it’s a small sample size.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EYes, says Keenan, the environment was hard. No, he adds, “I was never abused. I would never use that word”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Bill Keenan","imageOrientation":"square","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ERegardless, Keenan believes there’s opportunity to take the stress off younger workers; he says the long hours and the feeling that “your life is over for six months” if you get staffed on a project isn’t necessary. He suggests part of ameliorating conditions may be better time management on the part of those higher up the chain: condensing project timelines, for instance, since there’s actually a lot of “sitting in your cube”, waiting for your email to ping. Another element boils down to respect. “I certainly think that being more in touch with the human side of these people [will help]… You get more out of people if you treat them better.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003E“I don’t think there’s a silver bullet to this,” continues Keenan. He’s quick to add, however, that “the answer \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2021-03-18\u002Fjefferies-offers-junior-bankers-a-peloton-bike-apple-perks?sref=lgADY7dy\"\u003Eisn’t giving junior bankers a Peloton\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”, a reward Jefferies Financial Group recently offered to hard-working junior bankers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMoving the needle?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s not necessarily a coincidence that this group of Goldman Sachs analysts chose the current moment in which to speak up, bucking the grin-and-bear-it culture.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EThere are a mix of factors at play: the ubiquity of social media, where the survey initially appeared; the rise of a generation more\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210226-the-unlikely-place-young-workers-fight-mental-health-taboos\"\u003E conscious of workplace toxicity and mental health\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; and a general sentiment of activism for equity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"xmsolistparagraph\"\u003EThe pandemic may have become a factor, too. Keenan notes that, from his experience, office camaraderie was one of the things that buoyed him through the worst days. In isolation during forced remote work, many of these tough experiences may be made even tougher, exacerbating their effects.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"There were a lot of sweaty shirts, crying and not knowing what I was doing – Bill Keenan","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, could this uncharacteristic boldness – even if led by only a few employees, all protected by anonymity – mark the start of meaningful transformation? Perhaps a new cohort of values-centric workers could pressure a seemingly ingrained culture to budge – something that Di Fronzo says his graduates increasingly desire.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, it may not be that simple. Despite an environment that may be riper for status-quo disruption than ever, change driven by this most junior tier of the workforce may not be on the horizon anytime soon – or, perhaps, even realistic to expect.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDeloitte researchers suggest that these \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww2.deloitte.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fdam\u002FDeloitte\u002Flu\u002FDocuments\u002Ffinancial-services\u002Flu-culture-financial-services.pdf\"\u003Edeeply ingrained work cultures may be difficult to shift\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, in part due to how many years they’ve spent taking root. And in order for meaningful change to take place, one-off initiatives or reactive responses may not help; rather, long-term programmes, grounded in “realistic expectations” and supported by senior staff are required to move the needle. These changes also depend on communication from more junior members of staff – but when cut-throat environments traditionally don’t encourage pushback or feedback, bad culture easily perpetuates. That may make it particularly hard for a new class of workers to revolutionise much of anything – no matter how much their values diverge from those who came before them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"finance graduates at london financial district","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom his vantage point, Keenan also remains sceptical that change is possible. It’s simple economics, he says: supply and demand. As long as there more are driven, hungry graduates than there are positions for them, Keenan believes there may not be enough incentive to change culture, no matter how public complaints become.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECohan agrees. Even though Goldman Sachs responded quickly, including \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2021\u002F03\u002F18\u002Fgoldman-sachs-junior-bankers-complain-of-crushing-work-load-amid-spac-fueled-boom-in-wall-street-deals.html\"\u003Erolling out some changes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, he doesn’t see these actions as a bellwether for progress in these organisations. “I think [these banks] view the grievances like the Goldman presentation as the price of doing business… But the reality is it’s harder to get a job at Goldman Sachs [in the US] than it is to get into Harvard.” (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-56452494\"\u003EGoldman Sachs provided an earlier statement\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, but did not respond to BBC Worklife requests for additional comment by time of going to press.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd it’s likely that some young workers will continue to willingly put themselves into these environments because they want the validation Keenan craved – the ability to say, \u003Cem\u003EI got out alive. \u003C\u002Fem\u003EOf course, the career springboard and promise of increasingly voluminous compensation in an upwardly mobile environment doesn’t hurt, either. If you survive the right of passage, the pot of gold on the other side is, indeed, substantial.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKeenan stuck around in his job for about two years, but no longer works in investment banking. His finance-career coup de grâce was a memoir, 2020’s Discussion Materials, detailing his experiences. Instead, Keenan now works in media – a far cry from 0300 mornings at a cube in a Financial District skyscraper.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, knowing what he knows now, and having ended up somewhere he’s happy to be, would Keenan have taken the same path? “I would,” he says. “I think I would do it again.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards-10"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-04-27T11:13:18Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Is extreme working culture worth the big rewards?","headlineShort":"The jobs 'crushing' young workers","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Aspiring young workers in top-tier jobs know they’re signing up for gruelling, startlingly long hours. Are the rewards in jobs like these worth the crushing toil?","summaryShort":"\"There were a lot of sweaty shirts, crying and not knowing what I was doing\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-04-26T19:58:11.30861Z","entity":"article","guid":"32cc8401-be3e-459d-81ae-e793087a93ef","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:07:19.55601Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095701},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life","_id":"6267dfbf1f4b7b4b0f20959c","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"We should think more about whom we'll be in the future – because doing so has profound consequences for our health, happiness and financial security.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETake a moment to imagine yourself in 10 years. Depending on your age, you might have a few more grey hairs and wrinkles, and you might hope for some changes to your material circumstances, too. But does the person you imagine feel, fundamentally, very close to the person you are today? Or do they feel like a stranger?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a wealth of psychological studies from the past decade, people’s responses often vary widely – and their answers reveal surprising things about their behavioural tendencies.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome people have a vivid sense of their future self, which feels very close to their current identity. These people tend to be more responsible with their money and more ethical in their treatment of others; they are keen to act in a way that will make life easier in the years ahead.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany other people struggle to imagine their future self as a continuation of the person that they are today, and they tend to be far less responsible in their behaviours. It’s almost as if they see their future self as a separate person that has little connection to their present identity – and, as a result, they are far less worried about the long-term consequences of their actions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou could almost think about your future self as a relationship that needs to be nurtured and cultivated. Fortunately, there are some simple strategies to strengthen your empathy and compassion for the person you will become – with some profound consequences for your health, happiness and financial security. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhilosophical origins\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe inspiration for the recent psychological research on the future self can be found in the writings of philosophers such as Joseph Butler, in the 18th Century. “If the self or person of today, and that of tomorrow, are not the same, but only like persons, the person of today is really no more interested in what will befall the person of tomorrow, than in what will befall any other person,” Butler wrote in 1736.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe theory was later expanded and championed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.edge.org\u002Fresponse-detail\u002F27208\"\u003Eby the British philosopher Derek Parfit\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, whose work caught the attention of a young researcher called Hal Hershfield. “It was just such a compelling idea,” says Hershfield, who is an associate professor of marketing, behavioural decision making and psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He suspected that a disconnection from our future selves might explain many irrational elements of human behaviour – including our reluctance to set aside savings for our retirement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo find out, Hershfield first had to find a way to measure someone’s “future self-continuity”. He settled on a simple graphic that presented pairs of circles representing the current self, and a future self (see below). The circles overlapped to varying degrees, and the participants had to identify which pair best described how similar and how connected they felt to a future self 10 years from now.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EHe then compared \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpmc\u002Farticles\u002FPMC2747683\u002F\"\u003Ethese responses to various measures of financial planning\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In one experiment, the participants were presented with various scenarios in which they could either receive a smaller reward soon or a larger reward later. As expected, participants who felt a greater connection to the future were much more willing to delay their gratification and wait for the bigger sum.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo check whether this tendency for sound financial planning corresponded with real-life behaviour, Hershfield next looked at his participants’ real-life savings. Sure enough, he found that the more the participant felt connected to their future self, the more money they had already squirrelled away.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBack to the future\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHershfield’s later research has examined the phenomenon in many other areas of life. In 2018, for instance, he found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1037\u002Fxap0000153\"\u003Epeople’s future self-continuity could predict their exercise behaviours and overall fitness\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. It seems if you identify strongly with your future self, you are more willing to look after your body to make sure that it experiences better health in the years ahead.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOther experiments suggest that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS0749597811001294\"\u003Epeople who score highly on the future self-continuity measure have higher moral standards\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than the people who struggle to identify with their future selves. They were less likely to cheat in tests, for example. “If people are better connected to their future selves, then they're going to have an enhanced ability to recognise the consequences of their present-day decisions on their future selves,” says Hershfield. “And that's going help them put the brakes on these behaviours.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, Hershfield confirmed that someone’s (in)ability to identify with their future self can have long-term consequences for their overall wellbeing. The longitudinal study, which tracked more than 4,000 participants for a decade, found someone’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1177\u002F1948550619843931\"\u003Efuture self-continuity at the beginning of the study could predict their life satisfaction 10 years later\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EImportantly, this was true even when he controlled for their initial wellbeing. This helped to eliminate the possibility that the people who felt connected with their future selves had simply started the study with higher life satisfaction, and then remained that way. Instead, it seems likely that the greater satisfaction at the end of the study was the result of all those positive behaviours – like financial saving and increased exercise – that together resulted in a more comfortable life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFuture vision\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the back of these results, neuroscientists have started to take a closer look at the brain processing behind these phenomena – and the reason that so many people find it hard to identify with their future selves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeghan Meyer, an assistant professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, US, recently asked participants to estimate the future-self continuity overlap at various time points. In one of these tests, participants had to estimate the similarity in their current and future selves by controlling the overlap of two circles – much like Hershfield’s experiments. They repeated the task multiple times, while imagining themselves in three months, six months, nine months and a year into the future.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"If you identify strongly with your future self, you are more willing to look after your body to make sure that it experiences better health in the years ahead","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn line with Hershfield’s results, Meyer found that the average participant’s concept of their future self diverged from their concept of the current self fairly rapidly – with a large sense of disconnection already appearing at the three-month point. Interestingly, however, this change started to plateau as they considered the later time points. As such, there was little difference between the nine-month and year time points – and we can guess that the same would have been true if they’d considered even later dates. Meyer suggests that their \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pnas.org\u002Fcontent\u002F118\u002F49\u002Fe2101403118\"\u003Evision of their future self was becoming “blurrier” and less nuanced\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis was also reflected in results from functional MRI scans, which offered some intriguing evidence that, at the neural level, we really do start to think of our future selves as a different person. Besides considering themselves at various points in the future, the participants were also asked to think about a stranger, such as the politician Angela Merkel. As the participants moved further along the timeline – imagining themselves from around six months onwards – the brain activity concerning themselves started to resemble the response to thoughts of the politician. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As you move farther out into the future, the way you represent yourself isn't so different from the way you represent Angela Merkel,” says Meyer. “It’s consistent with this philosophical idea that you treat your distant future self like a stranger.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe things I wish I’d known\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGiven the many benefits for our financial security, health and overall happiness, it’s natural to wonder whether we can strengthen our sense of connection to our future selves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHershfield’s research offers a couple of suggestions. In \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1509\u002Fjmkr.48.SPL.S23\"\u003Eone series of experiments\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, his participants entered a virtual reality environment with personalised avatars that simulated how they may look aged 70. As hoped, they reported feeling a greater connection to their future self, and in subsequent measures of decision making, they showed more financial responsibility. They reported being more likely to set aside money for retirement, for example. Many photo editing apps already allow you to prematurely age your selfies, and this kind of technology could be incorporated into educational programs that encourage people to think more carefully about their future wellbeing. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor a low-tech intervention, you might consider a simple imaginative exercise – in which you write a letter to yourself 20 years from now, describing what is most important for you now and your plans for the coming decades. Like the sight of the aged avatars, this encourages people to feel a greater sense of connection with their future self – and, as a result, primes them for positive behavioural change. Hershfield’s studies have shown that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1037\u002Fxap0000153\"\u003Ethe task increased the amount of time that people spent exercising\u003C\u002Fa\u003E over the following week – a sign that they had started to take their long-term health seriously. (If you are keen to try this out, he suggests that you could amplify the effects by writing a reply \u003Cem\u003Efrom\u003C\u002Fem\u003E the future, since that will force you to adopt a long-term perspective.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs you might expect, Hershfield applies his research to his own life. When dealing with the stresses and frustration of parenting, for example, he tries to put himself in the shoes of his future self to imagine how he might look back on his own behaviour. “I try to think whether he would be proud of the way that I handled myself,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt might seem eccentric to start a “conversation” with an imagined entity – but once your future self becomes alive in your mind, you may find it much easier to make the small personal sacrifices that are essential to preserve your wellbeing. And in the years ahead, you’ll thank yourself for that forethought. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDavid Robson is a science writer and author based in London, UK. His latest book, \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdavidrobson.me\u002Fthe-expectation-effect\u002F\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E, is published on 6 January 2022 in the UK and 15 February 2022 in the US. He is \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002Fd_a_robson\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E@d_a_robson\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E on Twitter.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-02-02T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How thinking about 'future you' can build a happier life","headlineShort":"The brain quirk that ruins future plans","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"We should think more about whom we'll be in the future – because doing so has profound consequences for our health, happiness and financial security.","summaryShort":"How imagining who we'll be in 10 years builds happiness, health and wealth","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-01T21:38:36.712661Z","entity":"article","guid":"6aca3391-e66b-4a67-85ab-70884516d243","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:21:42.755359Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220201-how-thinking-about-future-you-can-build-a-happier-life","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095701},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement","_id":"6267dfb91f4b7b357d59cd84","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Many employees are frustrated with the nature of employment. But some fed-up workers are asking a bigger question: what’s the purpose of work?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EChris, a US-based IT professional, says he’s experienced terrible working conditions in his recent roles. He says two separate employers, one offering no sick pay and the other only a week’s worth of paid time off, forced him back to work despite illness. At other labour-intensive jobs, he says he’s ended up having to treat his own wounds.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it was a role in customer support that pushed him too far. His job, which paid less than $13 (£9.40) an hour, involved verifying whether peoples’ dependents qualified for health-care insurance. He says he would have been fired if he had given callers certain helpful information he was not authorised to disclose, like how much time they had to submit their paperwork. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“There were people literally begging for their lives on the phone, and I couldn’t do anything about it,” he says. “That broke me to a point where I realised that absolutely nothing in this system is working… It’s the lack of empathy and human kindness. I’m not sure how that went missing.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETwo years into the pandemic, employees across the globe are tired. Poor mental health and burnout are common, particularly among low-wage and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.apa.org\u002Fnews\u002Fpress\u002Freleases\u002Fstress\u002F2021\u002Fone-year-pandemic-stress-essential\"\u003Eessential workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. This prolonged period of uncertainty has made many re-examine the role their employers play in making matters worse; record numbers of workers are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003Eleaving jobs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in search of better options.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut some people are going further, wondering aloud if there’s purpose to their work – or the economic system itself. These people are part of the ‘anti-work’ movement, which seeks to do away with the economic order that underpins the modern workplace. Anti-work, which has roots in anarchist and socialist economic critique, argues that the bulk of today’s jobs aren’t necessary; instead, they enforce wage slavery and deprive workers of the full value of their output.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat doesn’t mean there would be no work, however. Supporters of the anti-work movement believe people should self-organise and labour only as much as needed, rather than working longer hours to create excess capital or goods.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The pandemic incarnation of this movement has grown faster and become more well known outside these political circles","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA few years ago, anti-work was a radical, fringe idea, but the pandemic incarnation of this movement has grown faster and become more well known outside these political circles. It’s centred on the r\u002Fantiwork subreddit, a community still rooted in direct action, but whose focus has both softened and broadened into a wider dialogue on working conditions as its popularity has grown. Today, it contains a mix of personal narratives about quitting, creating change in hostile workplaces, advocacy for ongoing labour strikes, labour organising and ways people can try to advocate for themselves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe community has grown rapidly. At a time when worker dissatisfaction and labour rights are under intense scrutiny, how significant is the growing interest in this movement – and could it help play a part in effecting change?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E'Visceral rejection of work'?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChris helps moderate the r\u002Fantiwork subreddit, which currently has 1.7 million subscribers as of this writing (up from 100,000 before March 2020). “We have a steady growing membership of between 20,000 and 60,000 followers a week. We have a ton of growth and a tonne of engaged members. We get hundreds of posts and thousands of comments every single day,” adds Doreen Ford, another moderator.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe subreddit’s name and philosophy draw from multiple sources. Ford says one is Bob Black, an anarchist philosopher, whose 1985 essay The Abolition of Work built upon preceding thoughts on labour – a history Black asserts goes back to ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Xenophon. “Many workers are fed up with work … There may be some movement toward a conscious and not just visceral rejection of work,” writes Black, suggesting people do only necessary work and devote the rest of their time to family and personal passions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBelievers in anti-work are not necessarily against all forms of labour. Rather, the overarching sentiment is hostility towards “jobs as they are structured under capitalism and the state”, according to the subreddit’s FAQ. “The point of r\u002Fantiwork is to start a conversation, to problematise work as we know it today,” it continues.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EToday, while these ideals remain central to the movement, the subreddit’s focus has widened to encompass more general labour rights. Users share stories of employer abuse, ask for advice on how to negotiate better pay, contribute memes or post news updates about ongoing labour strikes. Participants also offer tips on how users can support strike efforts. In December 2021, members of the subreddit helped efforts to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.npr.org\u002F2021\u002F12\u002F10\u002F1063112624\u002Fredditors-spam-kelloggs-job-portal-striking-workers-union\"\u003Eflood Kellogg’s job application portal\u003C\u002Fa\u003E when the company broke off negotiations with striking unionised workers and said it would hire new, non-union workers. Although it's unclear how much r\u002Fantiwork's members directly influenced the company's actions, later that month, Kellogg’s and the union reached a deal.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe community also provides links to literature and podcasts about the anti-work movement beyond Reddit. The majority of posts come from US workers across all genders and occupations, although there is a global presence as well.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘An interruption of work as we knew it’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the anti-work movement itself isn’t novel, it has garnered newfound attention.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“With Covid there was an interruption of work as we knew it,” says Tom Juravitch, a professor of labour studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, US. “In moments like this, people have time to reflect. Working has been degraded for so many people. The authority structures that we’re in have gotten more draconian and more controlling than ever. People really felt that in a new way.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor blue-collar workers, Covid-19 brutally exposed deep inequalities; low wages, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.healthaffairs.org\u002Fdo\u002F10.1377\u002Fhpb20210428.863621\u002Ffull\u002F\"\u003Ea lack of paid sick leave\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, requirements to be in customer-facing environments with inadequate \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shrm.org\u002Fresourcesandtools\u002Flegal-and-compliance\u002Femployment-law\u002Fpages\u002Fosha-cites-employer-for-covid-19-safety-violations.aspx\"\u003Eworkplace safety measures\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that left people vulnerable to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-55705798\"\u003Econtracting Covid on the job\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Workers at all income levels, meanwhile, have struggled to juggle work pressures with family responsibilities caused by shuttered schools, leading to increased burnout, mental health issues – and, for some, existential questioning.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labour education research and a senior lecturer at Cornell University, US, notes that while Covid-19 has been a major propellant, the current anti-work movement has deeper roots that predate the last two years. “Workers have had an amazing threshold for tolerating the abuse that employers have put on them,” says Bronfenbrenner. “But when that abuse went so far as to risk their lives, that crossed the line; in the context of Covid, where employers were asking them to work harder than ever and employers were making huge profits.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, not every disillusioned worker will embrace anti-work. It’s clear swaths of workers are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle\"\u003Eseeking out new roles\u003C\u002Fa\u003E aimed at securing better conditions. Others are quitting or choosing to work for themselves. But some are trying to advocate for change. “People aren’t all quitting,” says Bronfenbrenner. “Some are saying they’re going to fix it by organising, striking or standing up.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In moments like this, people have time to reflect. Working has been degraded for so many people – Tom Juravitch","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘It feels like a big moment for us’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s still too early to tell whether this online community might have measurable impacts on labour rights, whether through louder, more impassioned conversations or other disruptions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFundamentally changing work overnight is unlikely, but we are experiencing an unprecedented shake-up in terms of how workers do their jobs and the kinds of conditions they are expecting from employers in return. It’s clear many workers are at their breaking points – and there are already signs that employers who fear widescale employee attrition are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapnews.com\u002Farticle\u002Fbusiness-wages-salaries-increase-8ce98ea3bcc14c4810eb5a1111e1df49\"\u003Estarting to respond\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with incremental improvements. If anti-work and its ideological cousins continue to gain numbers, this may give employers – and perhaps even politicians – further pause for thought.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, it’s important to look at how the anti-work movement has played out in the past. One parallel is the “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F291060765_The_long_seventies\"\u003Elong seventies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”, a period of inflation and economic recession in the US, which compelled many labour leaders – and in many cases, wildcat strikers – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Freuther.wayne.edu\u002Fnode\u002F10756\"\u003Eto walk off the job and ask for more than just pay rises from employers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Their demands also included better working conditions from bosses as well as changes in union leadership. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, this movement didn’t gain widespread traction. An energy shortage and worsening unemployment took the steam out of efforts to radically alter the state of work, particularly as employers asked unions for deeper concessions to contend with lost profits amid a dramatic recession. The power of labour petered out as “the fear of loss of security at work” undermined the movement of the time, says Leon Fink, professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People aren’t all quitting. Some are saying they’re going to fix it by organising, striking or standing up – Kate Bronfenbrenner","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFink adds economic shifts and the decline of the boom economy ultimately eroded the increased leverage workers had to sustain longer-lasting change. Similarly, future economic conditions as well as how power evolves in the workplace will affect the direction of today’s anti-work movement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, past labour movements suggest moments of opportunity can lead to some change, even if that change may be short-lived or incremental. “I think that there’s a real possibility for some traction” with the current anti-work movement, says Juravitch. He points towards the implications of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which “continue to reverberate through all other kinds of grassroots movements”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFord is optimistic. “It’s starting a lot of conversations. It feels like a big moment for us.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChris looks at the anti-work movement as a small part of what he hopes will be a bigger effort to dismantle the state of work entirely – even if he doesn’t see this happening in his lifetime. “Hopefully I can make it easier for the people who come after me.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEd note: Shortly after the publication of this story on 26 Jan 2022, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2022-01-26\u002Fantiwork-subreddit-goes-private-after-brigading-follows-mod-s-fox-news-interview\"\u003Er\u002Fantiwork subbredit went private\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in response to comments made on Reddit. Writing and reporting was completed prior to this.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-01-27T12:57:29Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The rise of the anti-work movement","headlineShort":"The rise of the anti-work movement","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many employees are frustrated with the nature of employment. But some fed-up workers are asking a bigger question: what’s the purpose of work?","summaryShort":"Fed up workers are asking a big question: what's the purpose of work?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-01-26T21:01:14.750224Z","entity":"article","guid":"011bd354-5c28-40a6-acd5-920cc5f0f068","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:21:26.638046Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220126-the-rise-of-the-anti-work-movement","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095705},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b3b9f256007","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"While the Great Resignation implies people are leaving the workforce, a large swath of workers are simply reconfiguring what their careers look like.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Great Resignation of the past year appears to still be in full swing: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fjolts.nr0.htm\"\u003Enearly 3% of the US workforce resigned in October\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, following a record-high in September. As often discussed, some resignations are people taking sabbaticals, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Fcovid-19-pushed-many-americans-to-retire-the-economy-needs-them-back-11635691340?utm_source=Charter&utm_campaign=f2a506a034-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_28_04_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8de2b7fe0d-f2a506a034-1370387344\"\u003Eearly retirement\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or dropping out of the workforce for caring responsibilities. But that only tells part of the story.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorkers – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.smh.com.au\u002Fbusiness\u002Fworkplace\u002Faustralia-s-version-of-the-great-resignation-revealed-as-staff-swap-jobs-20211111-p5984f.html\"\u003Eglobally\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, in many instances – aren’t just leaving the workforce; millions of people are reconfiguring their careers. Some are leveraging the current hiring crisis to get into \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly\"\u003Ebetter positions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Others have decided to work for themselves – with the number of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Fworkers-quit-jobs-in-droves-to-become-their-own-bosses-11638199199?mod=business_lead_pos5\"\u003Eself-employed workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the US rising by 500,000 since the pandemic. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany more, however, are simply shifting into new industries and careers that offer higher wages or align more with their values. “For talented individuals, in high-demand industries like tech, we’re seeing a lot of movement,” says Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, US, and the originator of the term ‘Great Resignation’. “People are finding jobs that give them the right pay, benefits and work arrangements in the longer term.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERather than merely being a ‘Great Resignation’ in which people simply quit and walk away, the current disruption is seeing a large swath of employees move around the job market. Workers have agency: they’re fine-tuning a better work-life balance and making deliberate choices as to where their careers are heading next. “There’s now a greater ability for people to fit work into their lives, instead of having lives that squeeze into their work,” says Klotz.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese “pandemic epiphanies”, as Klotz calls them, have helped many people find more of what they want out of work – and get it. But is this job shuffling just a lockdown-induced phenomenon, or is large-scale swapping the way of the future? If so, this could have longer-term implications for the global labour force writ large.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Great Reshuffle\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile there have been huge shifts in the labour market before – be it new job opportunities with the post-war economic boom, or job losses with the Great Depression or Great Recession – the mass movement we’re seeing today comes with a big difference.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“What’s unique here is people in professional work now have choice,” says Grace Lordan, associate professor in behavioural science at the London School of Economics. “Previously, with the likes of the Industrial Revolution, most people weren’t skilled enough to get the high-income jobs. Now, knowledge workers are in such high demand that there’s a skill shortage.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOpportunities opened up by remote work mean millions of workers can now access thousands of new roles previously geographically off-limits. As a means of attracting talent, many employers are either adapting their working models to hybrid or fully remote, or offering higher wages in response.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELordan believes that much of the movement in the job market is a reshuffling: workers shifting their career path, gradually making their way to companies offering work arrangements and perks that match their preferences. “For a while, you’ll see job hopping simply because employees who care about flexible and hybrid working will end up at businesses offering that,” she says. “On the other hand, people who prefer the office full-time will move to those companies, where they’ll likely be paid a compensating differential: a higher wage.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne such worker who has switched careers is Emily. Working as a personal trainer for a corporate gym in the heart of London’s financial district, she’s since become a digital project manager. “I was working long, unsociable hours and made to feel undervalued because I was in a service job,” explains Emily, whose surname is being withheld for job-security concerns. “The fitness industry was also one of the last sectors to reopen after lockdown. So, I moved into something more stable and transferable across multiple industries, while offering remote work for more money in return for fewer hours.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"We could see an unsettled labour market as people move around and companies try to provide solutions that bring out the best from their employees – and that takes a while – Anthony Klotz","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe emerging data is supporting the anecdotal evidence. Many workers are moving to the in-demand sectors more likely to offer hybrid work. According to LinkedIn UK figures, from August to October 2021, the net flow of workers moving to software and IT services \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fpulse\u002Fgreat-reshuffle-only-getting-started-uk-heres-whats-happening-morrin\u002F\"\u003Emore than doubled year-over-year\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Conversely, education experienced a net outflow over the same period, with retail being the hardest hit in terms of quits.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany companies are still to refine their long-term working policies – meaning more shuffling is on the way. “Much of the current movement is based on extrinsic rewards: more pay and status,” says Lordan. “Once businesses settle on whether they’ll be hybrid, in-person or fully remote going forward, we’ll see more people moving based on their work-life balance.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome workers, however, have already struck a better work-life balance. “Lockdown forced me to stop,” explains David, a corporate lawyer, whose surname is also being withheld. “I spent time with my wife, rediscovered healthy living and slept well. It took this halt to realise just how destructive life at one of the world’s largest law firms was: always on call and under pressure to deliver, regularly working 60-plus-hour weeks. So, I quit.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDavid has since moved from London to a law firm in the north of England. Although he’s had to take a sizeable pay cut, the rewards have been priceless. “I’ve been able to reclaim a degree of autonomy,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking long term\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the benefits of the Great Resignation is that workers will eventually be able to craft careers that better fit with their lives. “We’re going to see more individuals have bespoke work arrangements,” says Klotz. “People earlier in their working lives often don’t mind being in the office as they want early career development, but then they could move to hybrid or digital nomadism later in their career.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEmployees who have already built career capital are reshuffling. But many \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fjasonwingard\u002F2021\u002F09\u002F02\u002Fthe-great-resignation-why-gen-z-is-leaving-the-workforce-in-drovesand-what-to-do-about-it\u002F?sh=73d50dc75f87\"\u003Eyounger workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in entry-level jobs, who have been a large part of the Great Resignation in pandemic-ravaged sectors such as hospitality and retail, are also finding the careers that work best for them. “Currently, we’re seeing that young people are changing jobs every 18 months on average,” says Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe, an educational provider based in Brussels.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, these trends don't necessarily represent a permanent shift to endless job swapping. “It’s a transition,” says Lordan. “Over time, workers will know which big company offers what in terms of hybrid. But currently, businesses are still figuring out policies and if they need to adapt their working models to the demands of the job market.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKlotz agrees the current reshuffling will take years before eventually settling down. “As organisations make changes, employees are migrating to the work arrangements they want at this stage of their lives. We could see an unsettled labour market as people move around and companies try to provide solutions that bring out the best from their employees – and that takes a while.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn this new ‘Great Reshuffle’, workers are taking deliberate next steps down the career paths that best match their needs. Ultimately, this could mean improved, more fulfilling working lives for millions of people. As Klotz says, “If the pandemic has a silver lining, it’s that it hopefully led to a permanent improvement in the world of work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-12-14T15:50:37Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How the Great Resignation is turning into the Great Reshuffle","headlineShort":"Great Resignation? Try Great Reshuffle","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"While the Great Resignation implies people are leaving the workforce, a large swath of workers are simply reconfiguring what their careers look like.","summaryShort":"Workers are having 'pandemic epiphanies' and trading up for better jobs","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-12-13T23:09:08.123347Z","entity":"article","guid":"1e4228e5-5383-4f09-a1b3-8ea2240eb037","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:19:50.607489Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095705},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly","_id":"6267dfcf1f4b7b4aea622b37","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Following the Great Resignation, the job market is hot. Should workers constantly keep a wandering eye for their next opportunity, even if they’re not necessarily itching to leave?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the past six months, Beth has increased her salary by nearly £10,000. She has gradually negotiated her way from full-time office hours to a permanent remote-working contract. Her day-to-day opportunities have swelled. Compared to the start of the year, she has struck a better work-life balance. And she’s done it with practically zero haggling or demands. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, her career upgrade has been achieved by swiftly changing jobs. “Whenever I’ve felt as though the role hasn’t been exactly as promised, I’ve looked for the next opportunity,” explains Beth. “If it’s something that’s closer to my ideal work set-up, a company that looks appealing, then I apply.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBased in Yorkshire, UK, Beth is soon to begin her third account-manager role this year. She says she’s only been able to finally command a fair wage and flexible working by adopting this job-seeking mindset. “Unfortunately, my experience is that I’ll only receive a pay rise if I go to my boss with another job offer,” adds Beth. “My end goal has always been remote working. It felt unachievable – until I found my new role.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince the start of the pandemic, swathes of workers across industries have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210903-why-rage-quitting-is-all-the-rage-this-year\"\u003Eleft their jobs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – and millions more are contemplating quitting, too. It’s helping to cause a worldwide hiring crisis. However, it’s not just recent \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.forbes.com\u002Fsites\u002Fjackkelly\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F13\u002Fa-worker-shortage-and-companies-refusing-to-offer-job-candidates-remote-and-flexible-options-lead-to-stressed-recruiters-and-hiring-gridlock\u002F?sh=1ea62d03ea6b\"\u003Evacancies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E companies are struggling to fill. As many global economies are growing, businesses are struggling to keep up as they expand. The demand for talent is, therefore, skyrocketing. It’s created a sellers’ market: workers have more leverage than ever, and many can afford to cherry pick a role that aligns more with their values and desires.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERather than begin searching for a new position when they’re unhappy or burned out – typically years into a role – some workers are opting to seek a better opportunity from day one. This mindset is a kind of ‘Great Flirtation’ with new jobs: a constantly wandering eye to other openings, regardless of how long a worker has been in a role, and how content they are in their current job.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a labour market that favours workers, is constantly flirting with other openings the right approach to help workers stay happy, get into better positions – or even achieve more in their career?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Irrational, aimless wandering’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, the prevailing narrative has been to stay in a role for as long as possible, build résumé clout and make a lasting contribution to an organisation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrematurely switching roles was stigmatised as ‘job hopping’ – not just by bosses, but also wider society. In 1974, American industrial psychologist Edwin Ghiselli likened it to vagrancy, coining the term ‘\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gwern.net\u002Fdocs\u002Fpsychology\u002F1974-ghiselli.pdf\"\u003EHobo Syndrome\u003C\u002Fa\u003E’ to describe workers who frequently changed roles. His approach essentially re-framed the complexities of frequent quitting to irrational, aimless wandering – driven by internal impulses absent from “organised or logical thought”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Workers can take advantage of the current labour shortage and secure their dream role – Simon Wingate","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn this framework, employers held power over employees, which kept them in their roles. “The idea was if the employer takes care of you, you do the same and stick with them,” explains Mark Bolino, director of management and international business at the University of Oklahoma, US. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe global recession of the 1980s shook loose some of this thinking. As companies had to cut costs, they laid off workers, says Bolino, whose research has focused on employees’ dedication to their organisations and why they quit. Instead of employers expecting workers to stay in roles indefinitely, he says “the relationship subsequently became more transactional: ‘if we have layoffs, we have them. If you find a better job opportunity, we understand’.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERather than climbing a career ladder with one company, then, the onus fell to the employee to forge their own path. Yet, ‘sticking’ at a job for the long-term was ingrained. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, American workers’ median job tenure steadily \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fopub\u002Fted\u002F2020\u002Fmedian-tenure-with-current-employer-was-4-point-1-years-in-january-2020.htm\"\u003Erose from 3.5 years in the 1980s to 4.4 years in the 2000s\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, before slightly dipping at the end of the past decade. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking for the next opportunity has, typically, been a reactive process. Often, it’s to the employee’s detriment: waiting until frustration, a lack of progression or workplace conflict kicks in before bailing.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the pandemic seems to have changed this thinking; as workers report long stretches of stress and introspection, many are re-evaluating their lives and careers – and are more open to making moves. Workers have begun looking for jobs that better match the work set-ups they want – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F12\u002Fwhy-50percent-of-workers-want-to-make-a-career-change-new-survey.html\"\u003Eparticularly the option for remote- and flexible work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “In August, we found that the number of applications for jobs with remote working outpaced the number of vacancies offering a hybrid work set-up,” says Simon Wingate, managing director at UK recruitment firm Reed.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, job adverts have continued in their droves. Wingate says 120,000 vacancies were added to Reed in the first 10 days of November, meaning it’s on track to have its highest number of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reed.co.uk\u002Frecruiter-advice\u002Fmay-job-market-review\u002F\"\u003Emonthly postings since 2008\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. A higher number of vacancies, coupled with an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vox.com\u002Frecode\u002F22543409\u002Fremote-work-from-home-jobs-supply-demand-hiring-platforms\"\u003Eincrease in employers offering better options\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to fill those roles, has created an embarrassment of riches for new job options. “Workers can take advantage of the current labour shortage and secure their dream role,” adds Wingate.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFurthermore, employees can seek job opportunities, even if they’re not necessarily itching to leave their company immediately, and leverage the hot job market to their advantage. This is particularly the case as companies create remote-first roles, opening access to thousands of new roles for millions of workers once geographically excluded. “The power is currently in the workforce’s hands, meaning they can make more demands – including a higher wage, more perks and flexible working arrangements,” says Wingate.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHolding the cards\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere can be an upside to workers constantly flirting with new opportunities, even when they’re not necessarily dissatisfied with their current positions. This is especially the case now that bosses around the world are more than aware that workers now hold the cards. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Germany, Europe’s largest economy, employers like Sebastian Funke, who owns Berlin-based Stryze, are struggling to recruit talent. As online shopping has surged, so too has demand for his ecommerce start-up’s services, which develops brands for platforms including Amazon. But there’s a problem: he needs to hire more skilled workers to grow; he currently has 40 positions open. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo appeal to workers who are passively weighing options and selecting their ideal match as it comes along, Funke has to pull out all the stops. On top of paying relatively high wages, he’s offering a four-figure relocation bonus to those moving to Berlin from across Europe. “My advantage is that the average salary in Germany is 30% higher than somewhere like Italy,” says Funke. “They get paid more for the same knowledge work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven the employees who aren’t necessarily looking for new jobs have benefited from workers who are willing to leave their current roles. “I’m paying €10,000 to my employees if we hire someone based on their referral,” says Funke.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd because candidates are in such dire demand, workers who are casually applying to other positions are finding employers are responding to them quickly and eagerly (a significant benefit in a world where \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews\"\u003Einterviews can drag on\u003C\u002Fa\u003E). “You have to be rapid. If you don’t reply to a candidate within 24 hours to nail down an interview, you're too late,” says Funke. “People can have several job offers to choose from. There has always been a shortage of programmers, but hiring digital marketers, designers and content writers wasn’t as hard as it is now,” he adds. “Your hiring process has to be as short as a week – it’s insane.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"You build up social capital in an organisation – changing jobs means beginning that all over again and learning a new workplace culture from scratch – Mark Bolino","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECompetition for workers is at its most ferocious in Silicon Valley. Big Tech may have announced a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-58171716\"\u003Epay cut\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for employees relocating from San Francisco, but the reality for growing start-ups is they have to offer a flat salary irrespective of where someone is based – be it the high rents of the Bay Area or the prairies of Montana. “People want to be paid their worth based on the value they create for an organisation, not on the cost of living,” says Will Hunsinger, CEO of tech recruiting firm Riviera Partners. And, given the current state of the job market, they’re getting it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGetting it right\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut while workers can take advantage of businesses that are scrambling for talent, there are still limits to the Great Flirtation and the constant churn of new roles. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile switching jobs is easier than ever, stigma remains. “You can see managers’ concerns with job hopping, that someone isn’t committed or likely to stick around,” says Bolino. “They still have a bias against it, because past behaviour is a good predictor of future behaviour.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEndlessly flitting between positions can also warp employees’ relationship with work. “When it centres on extrinsic rewards and money, it means you’re not focusing on enjoying work or doing your job,” says Bolino. “And starting over all the time isn’t easy. You build up social capital in an organisation – changing jobs means beginning that all over again and learning a new workplace culture from scratch.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Beth, though, her job switching has been a means to an end. “You need to have a goal in mind or it doesn’t work – you’ll never be satisfied,” she says. “It’s not something you can do forever. It’s about being strategic, and looking for the best job that ticks the most boxes.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile there may be pressure for workers to take advantage now, there are few signs that the demand for their services will subside any time soon. “[Employer demand] will remain at a higher level than before because it’s not just start-ups who are looking to hire,” explains Funke. “Blue chip companies are needing to digitise, so they have to hire more workers with digital skills.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConsequently, workers may have time on their side. They don’t have to constantly look for their next role. However, they do have the chance to carefully assess their options, exploit the hot job market and maximise the opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBolino acknowledges that it’s hard to argue against workers taking advantage of the current climate. “Usually, seeing someone’s résumé with many jobs over a short period of time prompts you to ask why,” he says. “But the pandemic and the whole Great Resignation period offers an explanation to prospective managers. Previously, it didn’t matter if you had the desire to change jobs if a better alternative didn’t exist. But now, you have the ability to act on it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-11-30T14:39:12Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"'Great Flirtation': Should workers constantly job hunt?","headlineShort":"Should you constantly be job hunting?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Following the Great Resignation, the job market is hot. Should workers constantly keep a wandering eye for their next opportunity, even if they’re not necessarily itching to leave?","summaryShort":"Why you may want to flirt with new opportunities, even if you're happy at work","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-11-29T21:00:47.10793Z","entity":"article","guid":"baa7a685-7acb-402f-8af4-a3822e78c29d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:18:36.91534Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095705},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office","_id":"628582771f4b7b04642932a9","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fkate-morgan"],"bodyIntro":"The pandemic put an end to required birthday cupcakes, team happy hours and forced ‘fun’ activities. Many workers are deeply relieved.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EIt is a truth universally acknowledged that there’s nothing better than a pizza party, except maybe an ice cream social. Field trips are super fun, too. And you can’t beat a good extra-curricular activity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EThey’re the best, that is, if you’re in the third grade. If you’re an adult being forced to attend a team-building exercise, go to a post-work happy hour or celebrate in a conference room with your colleagues lest you be seen as ‘not a team player’, they’re mostly the worst.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EFor more than two years, a complete shake-up of office culture has effectively banished the forced fun of the pre-pandemic era. Many people have attended some kind of virtual team-building activity or Zoom happy hour, of course. But workers have by and large been spared the mandatory monthly birthday celebrations, afterhours drinks and outings to obstacle courses. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EAnd now, even as some companies call employees back to the office, ‘fun’ at work isn’t what it used to be. In a hybrid environment, it’s tough to get everyone together. Plus, a pandemic-driven priority realignment means many people want to be home with their families as quickly as possible after work – morale-boosting laser tag be damned.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EBut while the compulsory office party may have had its last gasp, a new kind of work fun is more important than ever. Events that people actually \u003Cem\u003Ewant \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eto attend are a helpful way to facilitate team bonding, and to give those who’d prefer to remain mostly remote a good reason to re-join their colleagues. Smart companies are working to identify the types of ‘fun’ workers actually like: the things they’ll show up for because they want to, not because their arm’s twisted. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENo patience for parties\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EFor decades, companies have – for better or worse – been working to make their offices fun places to be, says Paul Lopushinsky, founder of Vancouver, British Columbia-based consultancy Playficient.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E“Over the last 20, 25 years, we’ve seen the rise of these perks no one was considering before,” says Lopushinsky. Think bean bag chairs, colourful lounges, arcade games and ping-pong tables as well as common areas with beer and cold brew taps. “We call it ‘the Kindergarten office’, where it looks more like a kindergarten classroom than a workplace. It started with the major tech companies, and that’s the culture people started to copy.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c7b52y"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EBut there’s always been something a bit insidious about those perks, adds Lopushinsky. “That culture isn’t \u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\u002Fem\u003E about fun; it’s about getting people to stay longer. That’s when you get the ping-pong table, the beer on tap. Now you’re expected to stay after work for happy hour. It was never mandatory, but if people didn’t, it was used against them, like, ‘you’re not a team player’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EEven in offices without things like \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnn.com\u002Fvideos\u002Fworld\u002F2015\u002F02\u002F24\u002Fpkg-soares-office-ball-pit.cnn#:~:text=The%20team%20at%20design%20company,CNN's%20Isa%20Soares%20has%20more.\"\u003Egiant ball pits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a culture of forced fun has long persisted. And while some extroverts and expert networkers may genuinely enjoy it, many others have long chafed against it. “Nobody wants to be told, ‘it’s Hawaiian shirt day!’, and then you’re a pariah if you don’t participate,” says Adrian Gostick, an executive-leadership coach and co-author of a number of books on employee engagement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EParticipation out of obligation creates a “corporate cult”, according to Lopushinsky, “where it’s almost indoctrination. You end up with fake smiles. ‘Oh yeah, of course, it’s great here, I just \u003Cem\u003Elove \u003C\u002Fem\u003Ethese activities.’ It’s a culture of harmony with a lot of disharmony just below the surface.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EBy stripping away the trappings around work – the desk-mates, conference room meetings and working lunches – the pandemic helped many realise that working effectively doesn’t necessarily require bells and whistles. It also brought the question of work-life balance to the fore, prompting workers to demand new levels of flexibility from their employers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EAnd just as it changed everything else, the pandemic has forced a shift in office fun, too. In short, says Gostick, it’s made people a lot less likely to do things they don’t want to do. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E“I think the pandemic has made us a little angrier, a little more cynical overall, and people just aren’t putting up with things they consider annoying as much anymore,” he says. Thus, many were \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing\"\u003Edisillusioned by virtual team-building activities\u003C\u002Fa\u003E organised by managers desperate to keep people engaged. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EBut that doesn’t mean that colleagues stopped connecting altogether, says Lopushinsky. They just started doing it in ways they actually found enjoyable. “On the flip side, the pandemic also led to the rise of more employee-led initiatives,” he says. Team-building events and ‘fun’ ceased to be top-down. “Employees would lead a Zoom yoga class, or a cooking class for their colleagues. It’s an interesting shift, away from ‘you have to do this,’ and toward, ‘what do you guys really want to do?’”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The pandemic has made us a little angrier, a little more cynical overall, and people just aren’t putting up with things they consider annoying as much anymore – Adrian Gostick","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EGostick saw a similar trend emerge among his clients as the pandemic wore on. One, a major American corporation, started holding weekly “wine-and-whine” parties on Zoom. “It’s like four o’clock on a Friday. If you want to have a drink you could, or not, whatever. But you come and whine about the week,” says Gostick. “It’s an hour, and everybody complains and talks about their terrible clients and aggravating bosses.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003ERather than creating a toxic or negative environment, adds Gostick, the wine-and-whine events allow workers to blow off steam, let go of any frustrations from the week, prepare to enjoy the weekend and ultimately feel more refreshed on Monday morning. It’s an authentic kind of fun employees have continued to embrace as they return to the office. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E“Companies know they need to be looking for ways to bring people together that feels more authentic,” he says. “It’s not about just planning a party. It’s about making it meaningful, and making people actually want to be there.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGiving workers a good reason to go back\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EToday, after more than two years of remote work, a large number of people no longer want to return to a physical office. In the US, according to a February 2022 Pew Research study, close to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pewresearch.org\u002Fsocial-trends\u002F2022\u002F02\u002F16\u002Fcovid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america\u002F\"\u003E60% of those who’ve been working from home would prefer to continue\u003C\u002Fa\u003E doing so. In the UK, that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Forca.cardiff.ac.uk\u002Fid\u002Feprint\u002F133394\u002F1\u002FThe%20Effect%20of%20the%20Great%20Lockdown%20on%20Homeworking%20in%20the%20United%20Kingdom_0.pdf\"\u003Estatistic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E is even more stark. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EEmployees that are ordered back, says Gostick, are likely to simply quit. So, he says, companies need ways to “lure people back”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EAnd they are certainly trying. Companies are offering everything from food trucks and free T-shirts to, in the case of Google, a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2022\u002F04\u002F12\u002Ftechnology\u002Frto-return-office-technology.html\"\u003Eprivate performance by Lizzo\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But while such celebrations might draw a crowd, that enthusiasm wanes when it’s time to go back to their desks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003E“One of my clients built a big new office during the pandemic, and they finally opened it up a few months ago and had a big party,” says Gostick. “They had like 90% of people show up. Everybody had a great time, and they were so excited to see each other. But then Monday, maybe 10% of people came in. People are desperate to see each other, but they still prefer to \u003Cem\u003Ework \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eremotely.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c7b561"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EThe flashy parties may work at first, but companies need a longer-term fun strategy, says Gostick; ways to create fun that are meaningful enough for people to want to participate and compelling enough to keep them coming back. “It’s a shift from, ‘Everyone gather around, it’s Stan’s birthday and there are cupcakes’, to getting together in a meaningful way,” says Gostick. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EThat means continuing events – like a wine-and-whine Friday – that were popular and useful during the pandemic, and planning others that don’t require people to stay after working hours, or invest time and energy they might like to spend somewhere else. It also means understanding that there are some people who simply won’t come, and not holding it against them. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EThe other half of that equation, of course, is that it can’t be forced. “It’s got to be no guilt, no obligation,” says Gostick. “You have to give people the option to opt out.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EThat’s a benefit to management, too, adds Lopushinsky. If the ultimate goal of office fun is to facilitate team bonding, it’ll work a lot better if nobody feels obliged to attend. “That kind of get-together has the most positive impact anyway. It’s team bonding that would happen naturally, as opposed to forcing it.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m1610742441308497767xmsonormal\"\u003EPost-pandemic, people are craving a good time and each other’s company more than ever, says Gostick, “and yet the inane office ‘fun’ of yesteryear has wholly passed. We realise, maybe more than before, that every minute of our time is precious. If our bosses want it, they’ve got to use it wisely.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-19T14:39:49Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The death of 'mandatory fun' in the office","headlineShort":"The end of 'mandatory office fun'","image":["p0c7b57j"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201229-why-virtual-team-building-activities-feel-agonizing","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220215-the-taboo-of-selling-out-for-a-better-paying-job","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220210-can-newfound-worker-power-change-the-workplace-for-good"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The pandemic put an end to required birthday cupcakes, team happy hours and forced ‘fun’ activities. Many workers are deeply relieved.","summaryShort":"Why \"the inane office 'fun' of yesteryear has wholly passed\"","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-18T23:33:57.716816Z","entity":"article","guid":"180f0ae4-3da9-484f-a2f9-4290db8b260e","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-19T05:43:16.429663Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point","_id":"6267dfe51f4b7b6848794d33","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"People are no longer prepared to return to pre-pandemic ways of working. If pressed to do so, many may choose to quit instead.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn early July, after more than a decade working for a French bank, Marie could see no other option but to resign from her Paris-based role. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe mother of two, whose surname is being withheld for professional reasons, enjoyed her job in the firm’s wealth-management division. But in June, her bosses determined that, given the global pandemic continued to show signs of easing, everyone in the team would soon be ordered back to the office full time. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMarie’s husband had recently been offered a lucrative job in London. When he accepted, the prospect of the young parents holding down careers in two different countries looked unproblematic, because of the workplace changes that Covid-19 had triggered. Marie had been enthusiastic about the prospect of moving to London and catching the Eurostar train to Paris a few times a month for work, but as her employer started to insist on a return to in-person working, it became obvious that something would have to give. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I’d just spent well over 12 months proving that I was able to do my job entirely remotely, so being told that there was no longer any flexibility at all in terms of my physical location was extremely frustrating,” she says. “I tried for several weeks to come up with a solution, but in the end, I could see no other option than to quit. I loved working in finance, but my priority now is to find a new job that works for me and my family,” she adds. “And that may well be in a different industry.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fworld-56025355\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Evaccination rates around the world\u003C\u002Fa\u003E tick up, giving employers like Marie’s the impetus to recall people to the office, businesses are confronting an uncomfortable reality: employees’ needs and preferences have changed. Many are no longer prepared to return to the way of working that was conventional before the pandemic. If pressed to do exactly that, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Fquit-job-flexible-remote-working-from-home-return-to-office-2021-6\"\u003Emillions are choosing to quit instead\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Being told that there was no longer any flexibility at all in terms of my physical location was extremely frustrating – Marie","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis trend has gathered so much momentum that academics are now speaking of a fundamental shift in power dynamics away from employers and toward workers. If businesses want to retain the loyal talent they need to stay competitive, experts argue they must listen to the needs of the labour market and adapt quickly. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe lessons from loss\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlmuth McDowall, professor and assistant dean of the department of organisational psychology at London’s Birkbeck University, explains that losses during the last 18 months have proven transformational. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We’ve all experienced loss... losing loved ones, losing our freedom, losing human contact,” she says. “Many of us also had to juggle home-working with full-time caring, as children were off school.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese life events felt so significant, says McDowall, that they caused us to revisit our priorities and sent many of us on a quest for work that feels purposeful – for a job that comes with some greater form of meaning.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A busy office","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESimultaneously, having seen what is possible under extreme circumstances, many workers feel more prepared now than ever before to challenge assumptions around what an ideal worker looks like, and what the parameters and norms of the working world should be. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe effects of this momentous rethink are starting to show. In a survey of more than 2,000 people in the UK and Ireland conducted in March, more than a third of respondents said \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhr.personio.de\u002Fhubfs\u002FEN_Downloads\u002F202104_HRStudy_UKI.pdf\"\u003Ethey were looking to change roles in the next six to 12 months\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, or once the economy had strengthened. The researchers concluded businesses not actively catering to the evolving needs and demands of employees risked “sleepwalking towards a talent exodus”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the US, meanwhile, data indicate that such an exodus is already under way. A record \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cnbc.com\u002F2021\u002F06\u002F09\u002F4-million-people-quit-their-jobs-in-april-to-find-better-work.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E4 million people quit their jobs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in April alone. Since then, the resignation rate has eased, but remains elevated. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA loyalty inflection point\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, coined the term “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2021-05-10\u002Fquit-your-job-how-to-resign-after-covid-pandemic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003EGreat Resignation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” in May. Observing that there were close to 6 million fewer resignations in the US during 2020 than there were in 2019, Klotz correctly predicted that, as the pandemic subsides, the “would-be quitters” who “sheltered in place” in 2020 were likely to act on their plans to leave their employers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“What we’re seeing now is a clear decrease in organisational commitment due to a confluence of factors,” he says. Echoing McDowall, he says that employees have gained a new perspective on what’s truly important to them – “the pandemic brought death to our doorstep and that causes people to reflect” — but there are also other important reasons why loyalties have wavered. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s quite possible that many people no longer define themselves as much through their jobs as they used to – Anthony Klotz","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Work takes up a huge part of who we are. During the pandemic, identities changed. People spent more time with their families, some might’ve thought more about entrepreneurial ventures, side hustles or other pastimes away from their day job,” he says. “It’s quite possible that many people no longer \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210409-why-we-define-ourselves-by-our-jobs\"\u003Edefine themselves as much through their jobs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as they used to.” That, Klotz elaborates, “means that they are less emotionally attached to their employer”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlexibility over finance?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother element contributing to employees’ dwindling commitment is the decision by some companies to require workers to return to the office in person, as in Marie’s case. In particular, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003Efinance sector\u003C\u002Fa\u003E has come under fire for ordering workers back. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn May, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is America’s largest bank, sparked a backlash when he said that working from home simply does not work for those \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reuters.com\u002Farticle\u002Fus-jp-morgan-ceo\u002Fworking-from-home-doesnt-work-for-those-who-want-to-hustle-jpmorgan-ceo-idUSKBN2CL1HQ\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewho want “to hustle”\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. And in June, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said that if most employees were not back to work at the bank's Manhattan headquarters in September, he \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reuters.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Farchegos-capital-management-blowup-prompted-review-morgan-stanley-2021-06-14\u002F\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ewould be \"very disappointed\"\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGlobally, the culture of banking is still rooted in face time and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Epresenteeism\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Most financial organisations champion the value of in-person meetings to pitch for business and hash out deals, meaning that remote arrangements were always only going to be temporary. But in light of employees becoming more discerning, this might have to change too. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman works from home as her son plays in the background","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ERegardless of the sectors, explains Klotz, companies that are ordering staff back into the office full time with no exceptions are going to have to find a way to “pitch that in an appealing way”. To stay competitive, businesses like banks and tech companies – some of which have adopted a remote culture indefinitely but \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.washingtonpost.com\u002Ftechnology\u002F2021\u002F06\u002F04\u002Fbig-tech-office-openings\u002F\"\u003Emany of which have not\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – must understand that, while digital nomadism and remote work were not widely available before the pandemic, they will be from now on. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENeither Klotz nor Almuth McDowall necessarily anticipate an industry-wide talent drain to materialise – mostly because there is such a broad spectrum of how individual organisations look to be structuring their post-pandemic workplaces in any given sector – but they both agree that businesses will lose good employees if they are not careful. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Work arrangements is a brand new and important criteria that [employees] will care about going forward,” says Klotz. “People will want to choose the work arrangement that is best for whatever stage of life they’re in, and companies will have to take that into account when determining how they operate.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA recent PwC survey found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pwc.com\u002Fus\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Fconsulting\u002Fworkforce-of-the-future\u002Flibrary\u002Fworkforce-pulse-survey.html\"\u003Eemployees increasingly want to be compensated for their work not just with money, but with flexibility\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “[We’ve also] found that younger workers are more likely than older employees to accept smaller pay increases for non-monetary benefits, including extensive \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-can-companies-actually-help-workers-stay-happy-and-healthy\"\u003Emental health benefits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, unlimited sick time, flexible work hours and remote work options,” says Bhushan Sethi, who jointly leads PwC's global people and organisation practice. In the wake of the pandemic, he adds, “these incentives can be the difference between a candidate accepting the job or not”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe empowered employee \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStories like Marie’s cast a grim light on the process of readjusting to a post-pandemic work world, but there is overarching evidence that Covid-19 has been a catalyst for good when it comes to the power that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office\"\u003Eemployees in the labour market can yield\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, Klotz argues that we are actually in the process of witnessing the dawn of the “era of the empowered employee”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Honestly, I can hardly recall a time when the job market was so much in the employee’s favour and that’s definitely a good thing,” says Klotz. “Wages have to go up. Companies have to adapt. But it may well be a slow period of experimentation.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As an organisation, you don’t just want to capture people’s bodies, but you want to capture their hearts too. And it’s that bit that’s going to prove tough.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-07-26T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why worker loyalty is at a breaking point","headlineShort":"Is worker loyalty at a breaking point?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman who has resigned sits looking at her phone","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"People are no longer prepared to return to pre-pandemic ways of working. If pressed to do so, many may choose to quit instead.","summaryShort":"Why workers aren’t hesitating to leave companies they were loyal to","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-07-25T19:49:28.658806Z","entity":"article","guid":"7711a184-0d7f-4935-97c8-f7c27b7254d1","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:11:52.666262Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095707},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home","_id":"6267dfd21f4b7b44ba78caea","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Remote work offered 'quiet deliverers' who flew under the radar in the office a chance to really stand out.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the pandemic closed her office and forced Veronica Wortman Ploetz and her whole team to work from home, she became more productive, almost right away. Wortman Ploetz, a senior manager in a leadership training organisation, considers herself an introvert.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I get my energy from being alone and recharging,” she says. In the early morning hours, when her house was quiet, she was suddenly able to accomplish more than she typically could in a busy – and for her, draining – office environment.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I’d get up at 5 a.m. and instead of having to go through the rigamarole of getting ready, feeding the dogs, the laundry list of things to get out the door and do the 45-minute commute, I was just in the zone,” says Wortman Ploetz. “I got everything done when I felt energised in that quiet time.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile the transition to remote work in early 2020 was abrupt for everyone, some found themselves thriving more than others – in many cases, thanks to their personality type. Many introverted workers found working from a distraction-free environment preferable. Client needs also changed in ways that benefited introverts’ skillsets, while virtual communication offered introverts more opportunities to share their thoughts. For ‘quiet deliverers’ who may once have flown under the radar, remote work offered not only a less taxing day-to-day, but also an opportunity to combine that extra energy with new ways of working – and really stand out. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn introvert’s moment to shine\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the uncertain days at the outset of the pandemic, the needs of companies and their clients experienced a shift, and workers who could meet them stood out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“While extroverts are celebrated for being outgoing, action-oriented and enthusiastic, introverts bring analytical thought and empathy,” says Richard Etienne, a Surrey-based branding expert who lectures on introverts at work. “During the pandemic, those skills immediately became incredibly sought after. Introverts are reliable; people who take one project at a time and do it thoroughly. They’re good at deep thought and forming personal connection. That was really important during the period when companies were trying to hold onto clients.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"While extroverts are celebrated for being outgoing, action-oriented and enthusiastic, introverts bring analytical thought and empathy – Richard Etienne","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a recent \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fopinion\u002Farticles\u002F2021-06-13\u002Fthe-big-question-as-pandemic-subsides-is-remote-work-here-to-stay\"\u003EBloomberg interview\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, Patty McCord, former head of HR at Netflix, said it was clear managers were newly aware of the skills of employees who didn’t command attention before. She referenced a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company who had a “matrix of skills” she once used to identify a great salesperson: “able to control a room, a lot of energy and charisma, confident, blah, blah, blah. And it completely flipped during the pandemic,” said McCord. Suddenly, that company’s best employees were “the quiet ones who would just get on a call with a client and listen”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEmpathy and a propensity toward more thoughtful communication made introverts shine, adds Beth Buelow, a career coach and author of The Introvert Entrepreneur. “That tendency to put others in the spotlight, to hold up the team and be that silent partner, is a strength,” she says. “That is part of what managers and leaders witnessed coming through. They needed the empathetic listener. The person who was willing to step back and be like, ‘I hope you’re doing OK; how can we help?’”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA refreshing change of pace\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn top of having the right innate skill set, many introverts benefited from the move away from a physical office environment. That because the traditional office, in many ways, really did not suit workers with more introverted personalities.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The workplace was created by extroverts, for extroverts,” says Etienne. Open-concept offices are the worst offenders, he explains. “The ease with which people can access your space without invitation can be intense.” In one role, Etienne recalls, “I had a desk by the lifts – the elevators. I couldn’t get 15 minutes of peace.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s tough on someone with an introverted personality, since constant conversation can be draining. While extroverts, in contrast, are energised by social interaction, says Etienne, “at the end of the day, the introvert is spent”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"left","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWortman Ploetz says many who know her might be surprised that she describes herself as an introvert. She spends a lot of time in meetings and hands-on training sessions, but ultimately, she says, “where I draw my energy from is being in a quiet place, alone”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENeuroscience helps back up the theory. Studies show \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.medicaldaily.com\u002Fbrain-introvert-compared-extrovert-are-they-really-different-299064\"\u003Eextroverts are less sensitive to dopamine\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and thus require a lot of stimulation to be sufficiently energised. Introverts are far more sensitive to the brain chemical, and over-stimulation can quickly become tiring.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn general, adds Buelow, introverts pay a price for each social interaction throughout the day. That cost dipped considerably with the shift to remote work. “They’re not recharging when they’re in the office and stimulated all the time,” she says. “Just by virtue of having the solitude at home, you have more opportunities, more balance. Your alone to social time ratio is much healthier.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEtienne considers himself a more introverted person. Like Wortman Ploetz, he says he’s ultimately become more productive while working from home.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I felt more in control of the management of my time,” he says. “For example, I think we’ve all been through this: you finish a meeting and you’re walking back to your desk and someone spots you and you have a conversation. And you lose the time to process the meeting you’ve just finished, and reset. That doesn’t happen anymore. Now, I can have my moment of reflection in silence, without disturbance. With things like Zoom and Teams there are even ‘do not disturb’ settings; you literally \u003Cem\u003Ecan’t \u003C\u002Fem\u003Emessage me.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlaying to an introvert’s strengths\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond providing more peace and quiet, the new, introvert-friendly work environment made space for those personalities to stand out in other ways.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The physical meeting table disappeared, and with it went the hierarchical structure of the loud people gathered together at the centre and the introverts on the fringes,” says Etienne. And, he adds, those who might have been hesitant to jump into the fray in a conference room were empowered by virtual meeting spaces.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If one has a fear of public speaking, working remotely allowed that person to speak to their expertise, maybe even to thousands of people, but they’re just seeing a green light at the top of their laptop screen,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The workplace was created by extroverts, for extroverts – Richard Etienne","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EVirtual meetings also tend to have fewer interruptions and overlapping speakers. “The etiquette of the platform is different,” says Buelow. “You’re much more aware of if you’re interrupting or talking on top of someone.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA slightly slower conversational pace gives introverts the time they need to collect their thoughts. “They have more time to reflect, and then when they offer something, it’s meaningful,” she says. Plus, virtually, “there are more tools at your disposal to contribute to the conversation. It’s not just whoever can get a word in edgewise; there’s the chat, ‘raising your hand’, reactions you can send”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlus, extroverted, louder colleagues are less likely to dominate a virtual space than a physical one. “Around the table, some people take up more energy; they occupy more space,” says Buelow. “Virtually, everyone’s occupying the same space. It evens out the energy.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe lasting impact\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the return to the office – and all its costly stimulation – Buelow is optimistic that lessons learned from remote work will make leaders and workplaces more accommodating to introverts. The definition of the “star employee”, she says, has changed. “Traditionally, we considered ‘contribution’ to mean talking,” she says. “I think we’ve learned that contribution can take many forms, and it’s not necessarily about the person that talks the most.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are tactics leaders can use to make sure more introverted employees can continue to contribute, even if the team is transitioning back to in-person work. Simple solutions, like having brain-storming sessions or small-group chats prior to discussion with the full group, can go a long way, says Buelow.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“It’s a consideration about how to honour those who would like a few minutes to think quietly before sharing their thoughts,” she says. “As we go back to the office, leaders need to be asking, ‘are we offering a diversity of ways to contribute?’. There’s a ton of ways of doing that – it just requires some creativity.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWortman Ploetz says the lessons learned about how different personality types can best perform is “something we’re bringing back to the office. There’s a couple people on my team who need that quiet time. So, maybe they’ll book a conference room, or put up some visual indicator on their desk or door that says ‘please come back another time’. And it’s not offensive. It’s just that this person doesn’t want to be distracted. I don’t know if we would have understood that before, but we do now.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWortman Ploetz says she’s also maintaining some of the habits that made her so productive at home. “I’m much more diligent about when I will accept meetings on the calendar,” she says, “and I make sure there’s space between them, even if it’s 15 minutes. I think that’s a healthy boundary I wouldn’t have had without the pandemic.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-07-16T14:35:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why introverts excelled at working from home","headlineShort":"The workers who excelled from home","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Remote work offered 'quiet deliverers' who flew under the radar in the office a chance to really stand out.","summaryShort":"Why the office's 'quiet deliverers' ended up as the biggest remote-work stars","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-07-15T20:41:52.062723Z","entity":"article","guid":"2c52821a-c1fc-4b17-9b87-62515b7d8278","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:11:27.088302Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095707},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed","_id":"6267dfa31f4b7b3562143223","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Companies are increasingly using automated video interviews to assess candidates. How do you get through this potentially uncomfortable experience?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt may not feel remotely natural to sit in front of a computer screen and talk about yourself to an artificial prompt – but that’s exactly what many people could find themselves doing at their next job interview. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince Covid-19 struck, hiring managers have had to think creatively about how to streamline their interview processes. With traditional face-to-face meetings on hold, the solution for some has come in the form of asynchronous video interviews, or AVIs, in which applicants film themselves answering a predetermined set of questions, with no human interviewer present. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn some cases, these recordings are then evaluated by a hiring manager, in others artificial intelligence and facial analysis software are used to assess candidates. Companies report that this type of interviewing can make the hiring process more efficient, but for applicants this job screening method − which may feel like a one-way Zoom conversation – can be uncomfortable. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the pandemic continues to prevent in-person meetings, job seekers in manufacturing, retail and other industries are more likely to find themselves chatting with a bot at their next interview. Adapting to this format and understanding how to maximise the chance of a positive interview could be key to a successful job hunt. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESaving time\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven before the pandemic, AVIs were being used as the first stage of recruitment in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, tech, business and finance sectors, according to Carlos Flores, a career management specialist at Rutgers University in the US state of New Jersey. While exact statistics are hard to come by (AVIs have been adopted relatively recently by major companies and market reports don’t distinguish between them and face-to-face video interviews), experts say that for larger organisations with a national workforce of lower-skilled positions, AVIs have become a convenient way to skim through hundreds or thousands of applicants at a faster rate. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHireVue, one of the leading interview technology companies, says it is used today by more than 700 businesses, including a third of Fortune 500 companies, who collectively have conducted over \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hirevue.com\u002Fpress-release\u002Fhirevue-surpasses-ten-million-video-interviews-completed-worldwide\"\u003E10 million interviews\u003C\u002Fa\u003E through its platform. Modern Hire, another interview technology platform, supported over 20 million assessments and interviews, and saw \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmodernhire.com\u002Fnewsroom-article\u002Fmodern-hires-banner-year-in-2019\u002F\"\u003Ea 40% increase in users\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2019.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"File image of Walmart","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet it wasn’t long ago that the idea was unpopular. Around 2012, only about 10% of top-positioned businesses had adopted any form of video interviewing; the majority preferred an initial telephone assessment and an in-person interview to follow, says Janine Woodworth, director of strategic service at recruitment software provider Jobvite. But as technology matured and smartphone usage expanded – making it easier for candidates to use the software no matter their location − many companies are taking a second look at video interviewing as a whole, including the use of AVIs for initial screenings, Woodworth says. “They’re able to get the assessments out more quickly to a wider range of candidates like that.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA leading grocer in the southern United States, for instance, streamlined its hiring process during the pandemic by conducting as many as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mytotalretail.com\u002Farticle\u002Fone-retailer-is-hiring-amid-covid-19-and-hiring-fast-heres-how\u002F\" target=\"_blank\"\u003E15,000 AVIs per day\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, according to HireVue CEO Kevin Parker. The grocer realised that its previous method of setting up in-person interviews was wasting too much time; arranging appointments, exchanging emails and rescheduling could take weeks. Allowing candidates to apply on their own time, and skip the hassle of meeting a hiring manager in person, has made it possible for regional chains and even giants like Walmart to fill new roles in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcorporate.walmart.com\u002Ffacing-the-outbreak\u002Fnew-hires\" target=\"_blank\"\u003Ea matter of days\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOne-way interviews\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHiring managers using this software may see multiple benefits, but for applicants using an AVI for the first time, the transition may feel strange.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne major difference is the timing of the interview itself. Rather than scheduling an appointment, the applicant can sit in front of their computer or phone to record their answers whenever they are free. If their day is filled with work, childcare or other duties, they can schedule the interview during a suitable break.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen they begin, they are prompted with a series of questions, often displayed in plain text on the screen, such as: “Introduce yourself, and tell us a bit about your background and experience” or “Describe your most recent holiday, and what made it special”. Depending on the platform and the position they’re applying for, they might also be asked to perform small exercises or play a game – activities that can test their ability to multitask or brainstorm on the fly.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"File image of candidates waiting for a job interview","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen candidates submit their interviews, their recordings are processed in one of two ways. The hiring manager can opt to receive the videos directly and evaluate them without the use of any further technology, or they can be run through a complex AI system which assesses facial and linguistic information to determine how well candidates compare to previous successful hires.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are challenges; AVIs can vary in the amount of time allotted for each answer, and not every programme will give candidates unlimited preparation time or allow them to re-record a section if they are unhappy with their first attempt. Applicants also won’t be able to ask any questions about the company they’re applying to, unlike a standard interview, and poor internet connections or blurry webcams can cause trouble for applicants wanting to make a good impression. Then there’s the fact that candidates don’t know exactly how their interviews will be evaluated. “I think it makes them lose confidence as a result of the experience because . . . there’s too much unknown,” says Kyra Sutton, professor of human resource management at Rutgers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecording a video monologue can be particularly hard for some candidates who are not speaking in their native language. Sutton’s international students have told her that, when preparing for an AVI, they worry they could be penalised for mispronouncing a word or bungling their grammar. And when it comes to how the interview is assessed, there is the issue of AI algorithms tainted with the same \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.upturn.org\u002Fstatic\u002Freports\u002F2018\u002Fhiring-algorithms\u002Ffiles\u002FUpturn%20--%20Help%20Wanted%20-%20An%20Exploration%20of%20Hiring%20Algorithms,%20Equity%20and%20Bias.pdf\"\u003Epre-existing hiring biases\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as their \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180806-how-hidden-bias-can-stop-you-getting-a-job\"\u003Ehuman counterparts\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShowing your best self\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet if this kind of recruitment method becomes more widespread, understanding how to speak well into the void could become a key element of a successful job hunt.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"You have to be more prepared and comfortable before you start - Cristoph Hohenberger","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EExperts say that before pressing the record button, it’s important to plan for questions that could come your way. There’s no room for improvisation or pleasantries during an AVI, and answers need to be efficient and to the point.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“You have to be more prepared and comfortable before you start,” says Cristoph Hohenberger, co-founder of AI-driven recruitment platform Retorio. Just like in a standard interview, being confused by a question or not having much to say can reflect poorly on a candidate. And because of the highly structured nature of AVIs, candidates won’t be able to ask for clarifications.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking at a slow and even pace into a camera can be difficult, Hohenberger says. The best way to sound natural is to imagine someone sitting across from you; smile often and make steady eye contact. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS0278431917307521?via%3Dihub\"\u003EProper aesthetics matter\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in AVI assessments, and anything distracting in the background may catch the eye of a human evaluator. “I would try to be in front of a neutral background,” he says. “And I would wear something that’s appropriate for the job.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps most importantly, Hohenberger says, candidates should be themselves. Trying to squeeze in too many references to your qualifications or keywords that applicants think might win favour with an AI can appear insincere and harm your overall performance. Applicants should assume their recordings will be judged by a fellow human, he says, and apply the same courtesy as in a normal conversation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy staying calm in front of the camera and embracing the one-sided nature of the format, job seekers give themselves the best chance of success. “It’s a monologue rather than a dialogue,” says Hohenberger.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-11-06T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Asynchronous video interviews: The tools you need to succeed","headlineShort":"The rise of the ‘monologue’ interview","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"File image of a woman talking into a laptop","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Companies are increasingly using automated video interviews to assess candidates. How do you get through this potentially uncomfortable experience?","summaryShort":"The job interview that's like a one-way Zoom","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-11-05T20:47:18.521258Z","entity":"article","guid":"78f6fd82-0215-49ce-ada6-d32a1f376ed8","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:58:00.757554Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095707},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews","_id":"6267dfa91f4b7b3e5f1cc007","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmark-johanson"],"bodyIntro":"Some companies are asking candidates to attend multiple interviews. But too many rounds could be a red flag – and even drive candidates away.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery jobseeker welcomes an invitation to a second interview, because it signals a company’s interest. A third interview might feel even more positive, or even be the precursor to an offer. But what happens when the process drags on to a fourth, fifth or sixth round – and it’s not even clear how close you are to the ‘final’ interview? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s a question Mike Conley, 49, grappled with earlier this year. The software engineering manager, based in Indiana, US, had been seeking a new role after losing his job during the pandemic. Five companies told him they had to delay hiring because of Covid-19 – but only after he’d done the final round of interviews. Another three invited him for several rounds of interviews until it was time to make an offer, at which point they decided to promote internally. Then, he made it through three rounds of interviews for a director-level position at a company he really liked, only to receive an email to co-ordinate six more rounds. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When I responded to the internal HR, I even asked, ‘Are these the final rounds?’,” he says. “The answer I got back was: ‘We don’t know yet’.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s when Conley made the tough decision to pull out. He \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Fmike-t-conley_jobhunt2021-leadership-servantleadership-activity-6812003946253705217-VF5t\u002F\"\u003Eshared his experience in a LinkedIn post\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that’s touched a nerve with fellow job-seekers, who’ve viewed it 2.6 million times as of this writing. Conley says he’s received about 4,000 public comments of support, and “four times that in private comments” from those who feared being tracked by current or prospective employers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“So many people told me that, when they found out it was going to be six or seven interviews, they pulled out, so it was a bigger thing than I ever thought it was,” he says. Of course, Conley never expected his post would go viral, “but I thought that for people who had been on similar paths, it was good to put it out there and let them know that they’re not alone”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, the internet is awash with similar stories jobseekers who’ve become frustrated with companies – particularly in the tech, finance and energy sectors – turning the interview process into a marathon. That poses the question: how many rounds of interviews should it take for an employer to reasonably assess a candidate before the process veers into excess? And how long should candidates stick it out if there’s no clear information on exactly how many hoops they’ll have to jump through to stay in the running for a role? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe importance of streamlined hiring\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETrial and error is bad and costly for companies who are hiring, so they often compensate by making the recruitment process more and more forensic. This means conducting multiple interviews to gather valuable information to help them more clearly determine which candidate has the most potential. In the best-case scenario, this is a great investment for all involved: it ensures that the candidate won’t struggle in the job, and that the company won’t have to repeat the process all over again.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09qkgll"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Mike Conley","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECompanies tend to build in several interviews and assessments to check credentials, determine job capabilities, get additional opinions and learn about a candidate’s personality. Jenny Ho, who runs the Singapore-based recruiting agency International Workplace Consulting, says the number of required interviews should always be in line with the level of the position. “Preferably, it’s three to four rounds, maximum,” she says. “For positions below director level, it’s a maximum of three; preferably two.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA streamlined hiring process gives a company an edge in a competitive employment market. Google, for example, recently examined its past interview data and determined that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Frework.withgoogle.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgoogle-rule-of-four\u002F\"\u003Efour interviews was enough to make a hiring decision with 86% confidence\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, noting that there was a diminishing return on interviewer feedback thereafter. Previously, candidates applying for a job at Google could be subjected to more than a dozen interviews. The number of people involved in the process has also been reduced, because Google found that four interviewers could make the same hiring decisions that a larger number of interviewers had in the past. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHo says the key people who should be involved in the hiring process include the person who would be the employee’s direct manager, their supervisor and human resources. If it’s a C-suite position, it may include other C-suite executives and, possibly, some tenured employees. Yet, it’s important not to get too many people involved. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“There is this concept that there must be a better candidate out there, so [companies] get more interviewers involved and, sometimes, they just end up more confused,” Ho says, noting that too many interviewers can create a lack of focus in the questioning as well as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.seek.com.au\u002Femployer\u002Fhiring-advice\u002Fhow-many-interviews-are-too-many-we-reveal-the-ideal-interview-process\"\u003Eunease for the candidate\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHire – or risk losing candidates\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJohn Sullivan, a Silicon Valley-based HR thought leader, says companies should nail down \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ere.net\u002Ftop-candidates-are-gone-within-10-days-so-assign-each-a-hire-by-date\u002F\"\u003Ea hire-by date\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from the start of the recruitment process, because the best candidates only transition the job market briefly. And, as Conley’s experience shows, drawn-out interview processes can impact negatively on candidates’ interest in the role.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09qkgtn"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Knees, at a job interview","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a survey from global staffing firm Robert Half, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Frh-us.mediaroom.com\u002F2021-02-10-How-To-Lose-A-Candidate-In-10-Business-Days\"\u003E62% of US professionals say they lose interest in a job\u003C\u002Fa\u003E if they don’t hear back from the employer within two weeks – or 10 business days – after the initial interview. That number jumps to 77% if there is no status update within three weeks. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPaul McDonald, a Los Angeles-based senior executive director at Robert Half, says that the average time-to-hire in the US has ebbed and flowed in recent months. It was elongated for much of 2020 and early 2021 due to the pandemic when companies were often “breadcrumbing” – or stringing along – candidates. Now, he says, it’s become more consolidated: If anyone is still breadcrumbing today, “they’re risking losing candidates because there are so many opportunities [for them]”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENot only that, they may also be tarnishing their reputation. Some 26% of respondents to the Robert Half survey said they would leave a negative comment anonymously on review sites if they felt like they were being strung along, potentially harming the chances for the company to attract top talent down the road. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, companies may not be stringing candidates along on purpose. Final approval for recruitment may be delayed because of shifting bottom lines or unforeseen circumstances beyond the company’s control – potentially moving the recruitment goalposts. If valid reasons aren’t communicated clearly, however, that may be a red flag for jobseekers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald says that if a company is indecisive, it can provide a candidate with crucial insight into its culture. “If the decision-making process is this difficult for the organisation – if they’re not able to pull the trigger after three or four interviews and you’ve done everything asked of you and they’re still unsure – then that’s a key indicator of what it might be like to work for that organisation and those managers,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"These complicated processes are actually making quality candidates go elsewhere – Mike Conley","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EInterview fatigue affects both candidates and managers, so McDonald says candidates shouldn’t be afraid to ask for more details about the motivation for additional rounds, especially if it will be tricky for them to take more time off from their current job. “If you have to bow out, bow out gracefully,” he adds. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Building bad processes’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat’s exactly what Conley, the job-seeker in Indiana, did. He never published the name of the company on his LinkedIn post, and his considerate commentary ultimately paved the way for a silver lining. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA LinkedIn user who saw the post referred him to the CEO of a start-up helping students enter the workforce. After four interviews, he landed a job in early July as its VP of Software Engineering (both a higher position and pay grade than he’d targeted just a few weeks prior). Thanks to the attention, Conley is also making a podcast about hiring practices and has been offered some consulting gigs to help companies avoid interview processes like the ones he experienced.\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConley says he wishes he had been bold enough to take a stand earlier in his job search, “but it took me a while to value myself to get to the point I’m at now”. After all the hoops he’s jumped through in recent months, however, he still believes companies are trying their best. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“They’re really worried about picking the right candidates, but in building in that worry, they’re building a process that doesn’t allow them to get to the candidates they thought they were going after,” he says. “These complicated processes are actually making quality candidates go elsewhere.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-08-02T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The rise of never-ending job interviews","headlineShort":"The rise of extreme job interviews","image":["p09qkg2l"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Job interview","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210721-why-worker-loyalty-is-at-a-breaking-point","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-why-introverts-excelled-at-working-from-home","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201102-asynchronous-video-interviews-the-tools-you-need-to-succeed"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Some companies are asking candidates to attend multiple interviews. But too many rounds could be a red flag – and even drive candidates away.","summaryShort":"Seven? Eight? Nine? How many interviews is too many for a job?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-08-01T20:00:57.452084Z","entity":"article","guid":"15fc6d53-7508-4c42-8bae-e91372e3db63","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:12:08.734849Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095706},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job","_id":"6267dfbe1f4b7b4b0f209598","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"You apply for a job – only for it to go to an internal candidate. Were you wasting your time all along?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYou’ve found a job advert that excites you, and you’re already readying yourself to send off an application. Yet, with a little closer examination, the advert seems somehow… off. Maybe the information about the day-to-day role is surprisingly brief, or the application window is very short. Congratulations: you’ve identified a position that’s probably aimed squarely at an internal candidate – one who’s already been picked.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EApplying for jobs internal candidates will almost certainly fill can be hugely demoralising. The applications and cover letters – even the emotional energy you spend on the process – end up feeling like a complete waste of your time. Is there a way you can spot these postings in advance to save yourself time and effort – and if you suspect there’s an internal candidate in play, is it even worth applying for a role?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Sketchy’ processes\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhy post a position when it’s barely open in the first place?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether they have a preferred internal candidate or not, some organisations are required to post jobs openly. “This is usually the case in the public sector, but may also be a governance requirement in the private sector,” says Lauri Vaisto, a former recruiter who’s now the strategy and employer brand consultant for the Swedish job-search engine Jobbland.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind requiring organisations to open hiring to all applicants is recruitment should be meritocratic, adds Daphne Lok, an HR manager in Sydney. “So, if it’s going to be based on merit, how do you determine what that merit is unless you have comparison candidates?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESometimes the requirement exists for immigration purposes, to ensure that a foreign resident is only hired for a job that a local can’t fill. For instance, in Australia, companies generally need to have an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fimmi.homeaffairs.gov.au\u002Fvisas\u002Femploying-and-sponsoring-someone\u002Fsponsoring-workers\u002Fnominating-a-position\u002Flabour-market-testing\"\u003Eopen recruitment process\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, even if they already know the overseas worker they want to hire.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIdeally, all these postings are genuinely competitive, rather than a tick-box obligation before an employer is finally allowed to hire the intended candidate. Yet, all too many job seekers have shared stories of applying for a job, seeing that an internal hire was made and suspecting – or being told – the company’s intention was to hire that current employee all along.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExternal candidates are not the only ones who notice how unfair this process can be; internal employees can also see the problems – even if they are the ones who theoretically benefit. Last year, Jake, a worker at a meat processing factory in the Southern US, was on the internal side of the equation. The 24-year-old was overqualified, and many employees had taken early retirement due to Covid-19, so Jake soon moved from manual work on the floor to computer-based work in the packaging warehouse. Eventually, he was offered a supervisory position.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe way it came about was strange, though. The department head came into the office where Jake and a colleague were working, saying that he wanted those in the room to know that the job had been posted, and that he couldn’t promote the person he wanted to unless they applied formally through the website. It was clear that he was talking about Jake.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I remember that part well, because it stuck out to me as a little sketchy that he wouldn’t say it directly for whatever reason,” recounts Jake. He assumed this was a breach of equal-opportunity laws. “I found the job posted listed only as ‘WAREHOUSE’ with almost no description, no title or real requirements.” Once he applied, he was quickly offered the post, even without knowing the job title.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I found the job posted listed only as ‘WAREHOUSE’ with almost no description, no title or real requirements – Jake","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOf course, for Jake and his department head, this ‘sketchy’ experience had a positive outcome: Jake got a promotion and a pay rise, while the manager got his preferred candidate in the post. But for anyone else applying to the role, this ‘search’ for a fitting candidate became a demoralising waste of time.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWarning signs\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Jake’s case, the nearly blank job ad was clearly not designed to attract many applicants. But internally geared job ads aren’t always so obvious.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVaisto, the Jobbland consultant, offers some clues as to whether a position is likely to be filled from within:\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe job is advertised only on the employer’s website\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003C\u002Fli\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe vacancy seems challenging to fill, but the application time is remarkably short\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003C\u002Fli\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe job ad doesn’t provide contact information or a timescale, or is unusually concise\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003C\u002Fli\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe job description is vague, or is written in a way that assumes the applicant has more information about the job than would realistically be expected of an external applicant\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003C\u002Fli\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe experience and skills required are described with unusual precision, or require an atypical combination of skills that can only reasonably be expected to be met in-house\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003C\u002Fli\u003E\n\u003C\u002Ful\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese can be tell-tale signs – but it’s still important to note list isn’t gospel. “Then again,” cautions Vaisto, “we have to remember that sometimes there are just badly\u002Fhastily written job postings. Even if all of the above were to happen, it is not automatically a case of deliberately trying to be misleading.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd not all job postings aimed at internal candidates are sketchy. Some companies do explicitly state an internal candidate exists for a given role, but that external applications are still welcome. One such company is the Washington Post. According to managing editor Tracy Grant, “Stating that an internal candidate has been identified is a long-standing practice and applies to only a small share of our job postings. We aim to be as transparent as possible when we have someone in mind for a role, and often times other candidates emerge and we may interview them for that role or future opportunities.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, if you know there’s an internal candidate for a role that’s been advertised – or suspect from the job advertisement that there is one – it’s likely still worth applying.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJed DeVaro, a management professor at California State University, East Bay, believes an external applicant has the best chance of getting a foot in the door at a new company if they set their sights slightly lower. Especially at higher levels of seniority, companies often hold \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwol.iza.org\u002Farticles\u002Finternal-hiring-or-external-recruitment\u002Flong\"\u003E‘biased promotion contests’\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in which an external applicant has to be far stronger than an internal applicant in order to have a chance.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Where it becomes really challenging for the external hires is if the move involves not just an external move, but also a promotion at the same time,” says DeVaro, who’s also the author of Strategic Compensation and Talent Management: Lessons for Managers. “So, where the external hire is in a much better spot is if he or she is competing with an internal candidate who’s one level down.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs dispiriting as it can be to get passed over for jobs, the best strategy may ultimately be to obtain as much information as possible about the role and the company, and chalk up the process to experience if you don’t secure a position after all. Even if a recruiter is just filling a quota for interviews, going through the process might reap benefits for the applicant later on.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s an investment in building a relationship,” according to Michele Aguilar Carlin, the executive vice president of the US-based HR Policy Association. “Especially now, with how scarce talent is, the right job may come up,” and the hiring manager may remember an applicant for a previous position.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEventually, the external may become the internal.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-12-08T14:34:09Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Can you ever beat an internal candidate for a job?","headlineShort":"The job candidates you can't beat?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"You apply for a job – only for it to go to an internal candidate. Were you wasting your time all along?","summaryShort":"When there’s an internal candiate in play for a job, is it even worth applying?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-12-07T23:52:57.22128Z","entity":"article","guid":"2b6243cf-00fa-433a-80db-1c9869054e6e","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:19:03.235459Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211206-can-you-ever-beat-an-internal-candidate-for-a-job","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095709},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b354a7c15f5","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Rather than quit, more and more employees are happy to just get by and collect their salaries. Is it necessarily a problem?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EEdward’s usual workday begins at 0830. He showers, makes breakfast and grabs a coffee – all on company time. During the rest of his morning, the sales employee, who works remotely for a firm based in the north-east of England, periodically checks his inbox, attends the occasional meeting and watches YouTube. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs lunch approaches, Edward cycles to the shop, selects ingredients and cooks a gourmet meal for one. His break soon bleeds into the afternoon: 15-minute bursts of work are interspersed with prolonged bouts of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200206-cyberloafing-the-line-between-rejuvenating-and-wasting-time\"\u003Ecyberloafing\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, listening to comedy podcasts and reading (most recently, Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber – a book that explores the modern phenomenon of pointless work). By 1600, he’s typically done for the day. “I’ve completely mentally checked out,” says Edward, whose surname is being withheld for job-security concerns. “Now, I’m just turning my focus to other things and putting myself before work.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat doesn’t mean Edward is failing at his job or ignoring work; he does whatever his manager needs and, because he always replies to emails and attends scheduled calls, he’s never seen to be late. Rather, he’s decided simply to coast along, on a comfortable salary and in a remote set-up that suits his work-life balance. “Work has been getting on my nerves for a while,” he adds. “So, I’ve been happy to just collect the pay cheque.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince Covid-19, employees have quit en masse and sought \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete\"\u003Epandemic-era perks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at different companies. In the shake-up, some have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211214-great-resignation-into-great-reshuffle\"\u003Eswitched into careers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that align more with their \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220223-are-workers-really-quitting-over-company-values\"\u003Evalues\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or offer better pay. But there’s also a subset of the workforce content to just get by without doing much work. Often working remotely without the watchful eyes of bosses, these employees are now putting in 30-hour workweeks on a 40-hour salary. Data suggests the pandemic has made such coasting widespread: a recent survey of 11,000 US workers found \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.surveymonkey.com\u002Fcuriosity\u002Fcnbc-workforce-survey-oct-2021\u002F\"\u003E39% were doing it\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, while a January 2022 study by US analytics firm Gallup shows half of employees say they’re \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gallup.com\u002Fworkplace\u002F388481\u002Femployee-engagement-drops-first-year-decade.aspx\"\u003Eneither engaged nor disengaged\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn many cases, employees who coast don’t want to join the Great Resignation – they prefer enjoying the comforts of being a modern-day knowledge worker. Some are also deciding to prioritise other aspects of their life over their career, such as family or wellbeing. But is slacking at work every day really a viable long-term strategy? Or can clocking in-and-out while getting the bare minimum done come with hidden costs?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A worker doing online shopping","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe rise of coasting\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoasting has always existed in the workplace. But anecdotal evidence suggests it’s become easier, more common and more desirable since 2020. “The pandemic has forced people to think about life, work and family differently,” explains Mark Bolino, director of management and international business at the University of Oklahoma, US. “Much of the workforce has also reassessed how their careers fit into their lives.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor employees \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Foverachievers-leaning-back-hustle-culture-coasting-employees-work?r=US&IR=T\"\u003Eburned out\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from stress and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork\"\u003Eoverwork\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, coasting has allowed them to slowly recharge while still getting their work done at a more gradual pace. “There’s a limit to how many extra miles you can keep giving at work,” says Bolino. “Otherwise, people get worn out. So, coasting allows people to take a break, recover and then be able to feel ready to go again.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile Edward is an example of a worker intentionally taking their foot off the gas, others can coast without even realising. “Various pandemic restrictions have placed pressure on many people’s mental health,” says Noelle Murphy, of UK HR resourcing provider XpertHR. “That can have an impact upon their work lives. Many people who coast will be unaware of any negative changes in their behaviour or performance at work.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoasting may not even be a case of workers placing less importance on their career, or issues around mental wellbeing, however. Sometimes, employees take it slightly easier at work because of the natural wax and wane of schedules, projects and deadlines. “There’s a natural ebb and flow to work,” says Bolino. “When people feel like they’ve worked hard and achieved a goal, there’s a natural tendency to sort of coast a little to almost recover. Coasting isn’t always necessarily something to be alarmed about.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"You may not always be punished for coasting, but you're unlikely to ever be rewarded for it – Mark Bolino","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhatever the reason, the current combination of remote work and the tight labour market have made coasting easier than ever before. “It’ll be harder to know what people are doing when they’re working from home,” says Bolino. “And the hiring crisis means organisations may find it tough to replace an employee who is coasting with someone else at the same cost.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEdward believes his lack of effort has, so far, gone unnoticed. “In sales, it’s quite hard to tell how much work someone is putting in, so I’m kind of just riding off the work I put in previously,” he says. “Who knows if anyone is paying enough attention to realise I haven’t brought in anything new in for a while? My boss hasn’t even got ‘round to setting me targets.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAddressing the coasting problem\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile coasting can easily be dismissed as employee laziness, it often arises out of deeper underlying issues at a company: from a missed promotion, to feeling their contribution isn’t being met with adequate reward. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, Edward began coasting after feeling undermined by his boss. “A project I was managing was scrapped without warning,” he explains. “It was something I was proud to work on – it felt like a great career opportunity. I tried to keep my motivation up, but it made me think what I was doing was pointless and a waste of time. I’d say half of the team were already slacking, so I decided to join the gang.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile engaged employees are highly enthusiastic about their work, and disengaged workers actively pull against their organisation, coasters lie somewhere in between. “Not engaged employees [like coasters] are psychologically unattached to their work and company,” explains Ben Wigert, director of research and strategy for workplace management at Gallup, based in Nebraska, US. “Because their engagement needs are not being fully met, they put their time, but not energy or passion, into their work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A man cooking in his kitchen","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor Edward, his decision to coast means he’s not failing, but he’s not hustling either. While he gets the minimum done, he allocates more of his schedule to new hobbies and improving his mental and physical health. “Taking it easy at work has meant I’ve been able to focus more on myself: the gym, nutrition and reading,” he says. “Since I stopped caring, it’s as though a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet doing the bare minimum at work, without expending any more emotional or mental energy than required, can come at a cost. “If you spend most of your day doing things you don’t really enjoy doing, that’s not a great long-term strategy,” says Bolino. Studies have long shown that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.apa.org\u002Fnews\u002Fpress\u002Freleases\u002F2012\u002F03\u002Fwell-being\"\u003Efeeling valued at work is linked to wellbeing and performance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; therefore, coasting and a lack of engagement imply a psychological hit. “You ultimately can’t separate wellbeing from your career,” says Wigert. “We find career wellbeing is actually the factor that most strongly affects overall personal wellbeing.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoasting can also come with more immediate risks. If a supervisor notices a worker always slacking, that could create long-term implications – especially for an early-career employee. “You may not always be punished for coasting, but you're unlikely to ever be rewarded for it,” says Bolino. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf an employee feels that their needs aren’t being met at work, Bolino suggests they raise the issue instead of slacking off. “The employer should work with the employee to job-craft and identify the right roles and motivations,” he says. Otherwise, quitting may be better than drifting. “It’s better to find a better fit than find yourself stuck in a role where you’re not demanding the best from yourself.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoasting may perhaps be an acceptable short-term move in order for a worker to recharge, step back and plan their next energy burst. But it’s arguably not viable for the long-haul – because of the potential professional and wellbeing impacts on the individual. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEdward only plans to coast a little while longer. After months of taking it easy at his job, he’s recently begun interviewing for new roles. “I’ve given myself more time to think about what I actually want from my career,” he says. “I could sit tight and collect a healthy sum of money. Instead, I’m now actively seeking work again – I can only coast at my job for so long.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-30T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The ‘coasting’ workers who’ve checked out of their jobs","headlineShort":"The workers 'coasting' in their jobs","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman sits with her dog on the sofa","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Rather than quit, more and more employees are happy to just get by and collect their salaries. Is it necessarily a problem?","summaryShort":"\"Half the team were slacking – so I decided to join the gang\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-29T19:56:03.51709Z","entity":"article","guid":"d7e1ee80-34f5-4c77-84d7-5e67a3776360","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-30T11:07:31.776793Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095709},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork","_id":"6267dfa61f4b7b2bf1613bc8","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fjoanna-york"],"bodyIntro":"Many managers fill up employees’ plates with inane tasks, just to keep them working. Why are higher-ups so afraid of downtime?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen employees are on the clock, most managers expect them to keep busy through the workday. This may mean either completing tasks within their remits, or finding ways to make sure their hands are in some work-related project. Even when workflows deliver some downtime, the message from management is generally clear: find a way to keep working. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf workers appear to twiddle their thumbs, some managers step in with ‘busywork’ to keep their employees occupied. “Busywork is something that doesn't have a purpose,” says leadership and development trainer Randy Clarke, based in Indiana, US. “It doesn't lead towards reaching any goals, it doesn't improve the person, the operation or the culture.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExamples of busywork might include compiling a pointless report, colour-coding a spreadsheet or proofreading a presentation that has already been checked. One 2016 study of 600 knowledge workers showed they spent just \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inc.com\u002Fjessica-stillman\u002Fnew-study-your-employees-are-probably-spending-less-and-less-time-doing-their-ac.html\"\u003E39% of their workdays\u003C\u002Fa\u003E doing their actual jobs, with the rest dedicated to meetings, emails and busywork such as writing status reports for managers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the office, managers might assign busywork based on a quick visual check of what employees are doing. But the switch to remote work during the pandemic has changed that, as many managers can no longer easily monitor their employees. While studies suggest many remote employees are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.greatplacetowork.com\u002Fresources\u002Fblog\u002Fremote-work-productivity-study-finds-surprising-reality-2-year-study#:~:text=Working%20from%20home%20is%20just,employees%20started%20working%20from%20home.\"\u003Esignificantly more productive\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, they are also working \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Ffeb\u002F04\u002Fhome-workers-putting-in-more-hours-since-covid-research\"\u003Esignificantly longer hours\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Does this mean that managers are assigning more busywork? And would it really be so bad if employees took a break when there was nothing to do? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKeeping control\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPart of the busywork problem is some managers equate business with productivity. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe perception is not just that a busy worker \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffnagi.2016.00098\u002Ffull\"\u003Eis engaged and making an effort\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, but even that their industriousness gives them a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com\u002Fsites.coecis.cornell.edu\u002Fdist\u002F1\u002F6\u002Ffiles\u002F2015\u002F12\u002Fp905-leshed-29uma94.pdf\"\u003Ehigher moral value\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than their less busy colleagues. This sets up a dynamic in which two office workers completing identical tasks can be judged on their busyness, rather than their results. Who appears to be more engaged: the busy worker who skips lunch to get things finished, or the efficient worker who finishes early and uses the time saved to buy groceries online?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Managers are saying, ‘I need my employees to keep generating work so that I know they’re earning their salary’ – Susan Vroman","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom the bosses’ perspective, the busy worker is often a more reassuring sight. “People feel like they're paying you for a reason if they see you’re busy doing work,’ says Susan Vroman, lecturer in management at Bentley University, Massachusetts. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is heightened in organisations where work culture dictates that managers operate in a more traditional, authoritative style, discouraging autonomy among employees. In these organisations, managers may also feel under pressure from their own superiors to prove that their team is busy and productive. “Managers are saying, ‘I need my employees to keep generating work so that I know they’re earning their salary, because somebody is watching me to make sure that I'm managing them well’,” says Vroman. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemote work has, in some cases, exacerbated this pressure. When employees first switched to remote work, many managers found the inability to visually monitor their employees unsettling. “In the immediacy of Covid, bosses felt that if they couldn’t see employees working, then they weren’t working,” adds Vroman. “They didn’t think employees were being productive, even if they were still delivering results.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, managers reported a widespread loss of trust in their employees. July 2020 research in the Harvard Business Review showed 41% of managers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2020\u002F07\u002Fremote-managers-are-having-trust-issues\"\u003Equestioned their employees’ motivation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and almost a third doubted that their employees had the right knowledge or essential skills to make remote work successful. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen higher-ups doubt employees’ work ethic, one solution is to micromanage their time with an endless list of tasks to keep them chained to their desks – even if some of those tasks are pointless. “Managers may not even know if an employee has finished their core work, but they are giving additional busywork to ensure that they don't finish [for the day],” says Barbara Larson, an executive professor of management at D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University, Massachusetts. “It’s work that is literally just being given to ensure that employees are working, so the manager has a sense that they are still in control.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c0m33v"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A worker on his phone at work","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘We definitely make ourselves look busy’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is not just managers who equate industriousness with good performance, however. One study showed knowledge workers spend an average of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2013\u002F09\u002Fmake-time-for-the-work-that-matters\"\u003E41% of their time at work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on self-assigned busywork that could be delegated to others, in order to appear busier and more important at work. “We definitely make ourselves look busy, because we know people are watching,” says Vroman. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnline, the pressure to look busy remains, even if that means adding extra tasks to the workday, like sending messages to prove we are logged on. And even though many workers are able to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnbloom.people.stanford.edu\u002Fsites\u002Fg\u002Ffiles\u002Fsbiybj4746\u002Ff\u002Fwfh.pdf\"\u003Ecomplete their work in less time\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in remote-work environments, many still feel the pressure to assign themselves busywork. “We feel bad about [not working] because we know we're being paid to work all day,” says Vroman. Indeed, a 2021 study showed that guilt around taking breaks is so high that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fswnsdigital.com\u002Fus\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Famericans-working-from-home-have-taken-on-these-new-roles-on-top-of-their-9-to-5\u002F\"\u003E60% of US remote workers don’t take any\u003C\u002Fa\u003E time to themselves during the workday. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETemptation to self-assign busywork can be even higher among employees who fear being assigned busywork from their bosses instead. Vroman says people will start doing things to make themselves look busy, “so that the bosses will lay off”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome managers report lulls in work during remote set-ups have made employees uneasy. “When some of our staff were working from home, I noticed that they felt a bit guilty when there was downtime,” says Niall John Lynchehaun, the managing director of building-supplies company Midland Stone, based in Ireland. He started assigning busywork so his employees still felt useful in these quiet periods. “It's simply the easiest way to deal with the situation.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut assigning too much busywork to mitigate guilt might mean swapping one set of negative feelings for another. A 2018 study showed 42% of workers were spending half of their time on busywork, and 71% said that doing too much busywork “made them feel \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hrdive.com\u002Fnews\u002Fstudy-majority-of-white-collar-workers-perform-soul-crushing-busy-work\u002F541698\u002F\"\u003Eas though their lives were being wasted\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe ripple effect of pointless tasks\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the long-term, frequently assigning tasks designed primarily to keep workers occupied can damage the relationship between managers and their workers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It can be very demotivating to the remote employee,” says Larson. “It's a sign of lack of trust and lack of care. The real tragedy of busywork is in the opportunity that is lost. There’s so much that could be done within that time that would be beneficial to both the employee and the firm.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"42% of workers were spending half of their time on busywork, and 71% said that doing too much busywork “made them feel as though their lives were being wasted”","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESuch opportunities could include assigning the worker meaningful tasks or opportunities for growth that often get put on the backburner, such as training. It could also mean letting employees take a breather. Numerous studies have proven the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fpdf\u002F10.1177\u002F2165079916653416\"\u003Ebenefits of taking regular breaks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E during the workday. Among them are reduced stress and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedaily.com\u002Freleases\u002F2011\u002F02\u002F110208131529.htm\"\u003Eimproved focus\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, creativity and productivity – all positives for employees and their organisations. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut especially when remote workers are putting in increasingly long hours, piling on endless busywork will have the opposite effect. “The primary risk is that employees burn out and their mental wellness is impacted,” says Vroman. “This Great Resignation is the result, in part, of exhausted people who are not managed effectively in their remote work because it wasn't flexible enough.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBreaking the cycle\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, not all managers are proponents of busywork. Larson believes in “outcome-based” tasks instead of time-based ones. If her employees finish early or have time to take a break, she says, “then, frankly, that flexibility is part of the reward for their performance”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis approach relies on giving teams autonomy, something Larson describes as “extremely motivating”. “Typically, what happens is that creates a virtuous cycle, where people want to do a good job.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERandy Clarke suggests that managers need to think harder about the kind of tasks they are handing out. When he trains managers and leaders, he advises they keep employees busy during work hours, but avoid busywork. Instead, they should plan for slow periods, and “look for tasks they can give that will add value\". \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, managers who feel caught in a cycle of assigning busywork should take a step back and think more broadly about what their managers want from them – rather than scrambling to keep people busy. “They're probably looking for you to generate good results and, hopefully, retain people who are happy working for you,” suggests Vroman. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemote work may not have finished off the idea that workers on the clock have to be kept busy, but changing attitudes towards management offer some hope. If the flexible schedules now in demand swap work hours for outcomes, they could take busywork with them, and leave healthier, happier workers in their wake.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-13T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The managerial obsession with 'busywork'","headlineShort":"Why jobs are full of inane 'busywork'","image":["p0c0m1kj"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Worker carrying files","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220329-the-coasting-workers-whove-checked-out-of-their-jobs","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many managers fill up employees’ plates with inane tasks, just to keep them working. Why are higher-ups so afraid of downtime?","summaryShort":"Workers get stuck with pointless tasks – why?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-12T20:58:52.847684Z","entity":"article","guid":"eb1e7358-c373-4e9f-a1b2-a471215fc21e","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-12T23:35:59.810958Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095709},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far","_id":"628156d01f4b7b4ea72b60b3","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmegan-carnegie"],"bodyIntro":"To prove jobseekers' worth, some employers are asking candidates to work before they’re even hired – sometimes, on tasks that take hours, even days.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETahlia was tentatively hopeful when she saw the ad for a senior role at a major trend-forecasting company. Her freelance design career had been curtailed by post-Brexit trading restrictions, so she was working in a minimum-wage job, while seeking avenues more aligned with her skillset.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I thought it was worthwhile giving it a go, because the salary was £55,000 ($67,600) a year, and similar to my earnings before,” says Tahlia. “They told me I would have five interviews, and if I made it through the first three, I would be required to do a lengthy research project.” Tahlia reached the task stage, and took a week off work to focus on it wholeheartedly. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs requested, she says she submitted a 25-page document with extensive annotations and full graphic-design elements. The next step was a face-to-face interview with two senior managers at the company, although Tahlia felt uneasy when she arrived to find only one was available. “I answered lots of searching questions about my research methods and work,” she says. “When I asked about the role, it was very vague – but it was clear I was down to three candidates, and would hear the final verdict in a week.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company never responded to Tahlia, despite her best efforts to make contact. “I heard about someone who’d been through the exact same thing, so it’s clear the company is garnering research for free by pretending jobs are available, and not actually following through,” says Tahlia.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFactoring some form of working task into the recruitment process has long been a way to assess a candidate’s suitability for a role. Along with being a chance for employers to see how their potential hire would approach aspects of the job, these ‘working interviews’ also enable the candidate to flex their skills, especially if they don’t thrive in the interview hotseat.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the take-home assignment is growing to mammoth proportions. Some candidates are expected to put in days – sometimes even weeks – towards ‘proving themselves’ fit for the job. And it’s a problem, in more ways than one.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c64jz1"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA sour taste\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether it’s journalists pitching reams of daily story ideas; accountants taking part in two-day ‘assessment’ centres of psychometric tests, role-play tasks and presentations; or designers delivering a complex prototype, the extraction of free labour during the recruitment process can be insidious. There are very few industries absent of the practice, and it’s certainly not limited by a candidate’s level of seniority.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are many reasons jobseekers bristle at these intensive interviews. For one, loss of time – and sometimes earnings, as in Tahlia’s case – is perhaps the most pervasive problem. Even for roles without prolonged test projects, candidates must set aside time to prepare for an interview (and if doing it face-to-face, factor in a commute). Then, piling intensive interview work on top eats up more bandwidth. And although some candidates can meet these time requirements pre- or post-work, others don’t have the same flexibility; for some, these tasks could require unpaid time off from a current job, or special childcare arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother major issue is candidates are ostensibly doing paid work without the compensation. “Asking people to complete a test project or having them come in for a working interview isn’t unethical in itself – the problem lies in not paying candidates,” says Latesha Byrd, CEO of talent-development agency Perfeqta, based in North Carolina, US. “No matter what term you use, asking candidates to complete working interviews without pay is simply unpaid labour.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, beyond time and pay, proceedings can take an even darker turn when candidates discover companies are using the ideas they submit, free of charge, without permission.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOlivia, who is based in the UK, wasn’t looking to move from her company, but a former colleague invited her to apply for a role at an agency. “I met the strategy director, and was assigned a task to write a year-long social strategy, with campaign activation tactics, for one of their new clients,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter spending three days on the project, she presented it to a rapt audience, and was soon offered the job. While reflecting on whether to accept the role, the company requested Olivia send over her deck so the company’s CEO could see it. Uncomfortable with this, she offered to present it herself, to which the company declined.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Asking people to complete a test project or having them come in for a working interview isn’t unethical in itself – the problem lies in not paying candidates – Latesha Byrd","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA few months later, after ultimately declining the role for other reasons, Olivia spotted a piece of influencer content on TikTok she says was based on the idea she had proposed. “Then I saw a follow-up campaign on the exact same idea,” she says. “I thought, hang on – that’s my strategy.” Although she’s glad she refused to send the entire body of work, she says she will never share any work at all with a potential employer again.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003E‘Thoughtless and indefensible’?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s difficult to know what kind of timeframe and asks are both standard and reasonable when entering a new industry or level. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome experts believe information gathering within professional communities can help determine typical expectations. “If you feel the process of assignment is too much, ask someone in your network what their process was like, and if what [you’re] being asked to do is out of scope,” recommends Chad Leibundguth, who works for the global HR consulting firm Robert Half.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Nick Corcodilos, host of the advice-platform Ask the Headhunter, is more resolute. He believes the working interview as a whole takes advantage of people, and falls under the same umbrella as the “thoughtless and indefensible demand to divulge your private salary history”. He coaches candidates to “offer an honest alternative when employers ask for an over-the-top ‘show us what you can do by completing this two-week assignment’”. He adds: “Suggest you’ll do the work on a daily fee basis until the employer decides to hire you or someone else.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EByrd agrees candidates “shouldn’t be afraid to put a contract in front of [an employer], or ask them to draw up a contract before starting a project to protect your intellectual property.” She says it’s important to get a clear idea from the company how long the activity should take as well as the overall steps to the hiring process. The inability to provide these details – or asking for an inordinate amount of free labour – can serve as huge red flags for candidates, offering a view into how it might feel to be on their payroll. After all, says Bryd, interviews are a chance for jobseekers to take the temperature of the company as much as the company is doing the same of them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c64jm6"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet it’s not always as simple as saying no outright to these projects. Jobseekers, many of whom are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211129-should-you-job-hunt-constantly\"\u003Ejuggling multiple applications\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, ultimately face a Catch-22: slave over the take-home assignment, without any guarantee of feedback or even a response; or refuse to work for free, and risk taking themselves out of the running. While some candidates are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-what-the-war-for-worker-talent-really-looks-like\"\u003Espoilt for choice\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in certain sectors, and can easily choose the latter path, not every employee has the breadth of options – or financial security – to jeopardise their candidacy. Realistically, this means some workers may find themselves with no choice other than to take the taxing working interviews, even against their best instincts.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore than a goodwill gesture\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn an ideal world, the onus would not be on the potential employee to request payment for their work – it would be a regulated, paid process, spearheaded by the company. While still a fringe practice, some companies are redressing the power balance by remunerating candidates for working interviews.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, applying for a developer role at San Francisco-based Automattic, the parent company of Wordpress and Tumblr, starts with a text-based interview on Slack, before moving to a code test and then a contracted 40-hour task. Candidates are paid $25 (£20) an hour, and there’s no deadline for completion. It’s not just happening in tech; in March, the Toronto-based non-profit FoodShare began paying $75 an hour for each candidate’s interview as well as the rate of the job they’re applying for, if they complete any presentations or assignments.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECandidates find this to be a much more egalitarian approach. After a global software company recruited her on Linkedin, Ruth did an initial interview, and was paid a flat rate of $250 to complete a five-hour test project, before another interview and a second test project, for which she was paid $500. “It was estimated to take ten hours, but I really wanted to do a good job on the slide deck, so it took me about 12 hours,” says Ruth, who lives in Berlin.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter several more interviews and months of back and forth, she was offered the job. “It was one of my most positive hiring experiences, because they were very professional and always transparent about the next steps,” says Ruth. “To be given the payment (almost instantly after doing the tasks as well) was really appreciated, and made me want to engage in the process.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENapala Pratini, co-founder of the London-based health-tech start-up Habitual, points out that along with strengthening an employer brand, paying candidates directly can be more cost effective than paying for placement agencies, recruiters or social media posts. Shortly after launching in 2019, her company started paying all candidates a flat fee of £25 per hour for up to four hours of task work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s more about the gesture of compensating somebody for their time,” explains Pratini. “As a candidate, it can be easy to feel you don’t have power in the situation and although you’re not risking your life, you are making a life bet on a company, and they should value that, too.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs prospective employees navigate wildly different – and sometimes exploitative – hurdles in the recruitment process, safeguarding their time and honouring their value remains a balancing act. Thalia has been getting by doing odd jobs, and although has nothing contracted on the horizon, knows how she would approach a working interview, if asked again. “A small project, or a design or two would be fine, but for a substantial project, I think I’m within my rights to refuse,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETahlia, Olivia and Ruth’s surnames are being held for privacy concerns\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-16T14:33:12Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The 'working' job interviews that go too far","headlineShort":"The job interviews that go too far","image":["p0c64jcl"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220411-the-managerial-obsession-with-busywork"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"To prove jobseekers' worth, some employers are asking candidates to work before they’re even hired – sometimes, on tasks that take hours, even days.","summaryShort":"Some employers are making candidates work before they're hired","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-15T19:38:38.385326Z","entity":"article","guid":"6f469bc7-41d2-4f16-bfbf-dc075cf4bf05","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-15T19:38:38.385326Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-working-job-interviews-that-go-too-far","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095706},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish","_id":"6267dfe51f4b7b651f543d9a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Mindfulness may have many benefits – but the latest research shows it can also make some people more selfish.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMindfulness is said to do \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.apa.org\u002Fmonitor\u002F2012\u002F07-08\u002Fce-corner\"\u003Emany things for our psyche\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: it can increase our self-control, sharpen our concentration, extend our working memory and boost our mental flexibility. With practice, we should become less emotionally reactive – allowing us to deal with our problems more calmly. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne ‘benefit’ that you might not expect to gain, however, is heightened egotism. Yet a recent study suggests that, in some contexts, practicing mindfulness really can exaggerate some people’s selfish tendencies. With their increased inward focus, they seem to forget about others, and are less willing to help those in need. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis finding, alone, should not be a cause for you to cease meditating, if you do find it useful in other ways. But it adds to a growing body of research suggesting that mindfulness training can have undesirable side effects as well as potential benefits – and many psychologists now believe that the potentially negative consequences of certain meditative practices should be advertised alongside the hype. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe ‘me’ in meditation\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsyarxiv.com\u002Fxhyua\u002F\"\u003Estudy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E comes from Michael Poulin, an associate professor in psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, who wanted to investigate whether the effects of mindfulness might depend on its cultural context and the existing values of the people who are practicing it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe was particularly interested in the ways people think about themselves – their “self-construal”. Some people take a more independent viewpoint, focused on personal characteristics. If they are asked to describe themselves, they might emphasise their intelligence or their sense of humour. People with an interdependent view, on the other hand, tend to think of themselves in terms of their relations to others. If they are asked to describe themselves, they might say that they are a “daughter” or “father” or “college freshman” – things that emphasise social roles or group membership.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWithin any population, there will be a mix of both attitudes, but on average interdependence is higher in Asian countries like China and India – where Buddhism originated – whereas \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cambridge.org\u002Fcore\u002Fjournals\u002Fbehavioral-and-brain-sciences\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fweirdest-people-inthe-world\u002FBF84F7517D56AFF7B7EB58411A554C17\"\u003Epeople in the US, UK and Europe tend to be more independent-minded\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Man meditating","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETo see whether this would influence the effects of mindfulness in the West, Poulin invited 366 college students into the lab and first gave them a questionnaire measuring their independence or interdependence. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHalf were then asked to perform a meditation focused on the sensation of breathing. The control group were given a “sham” meditation that involved sitting and letting their mind wander for 15 minutes. The exercise may have been relaxing, but it wasn’t designed to increase their mindfulness. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENext came a test of pro-social behaviour, in which the students were told about a new project to help fund a charity for the homeless. They were then given the opportunity to stuff envelopes with marketing material advertising the scheme, which would be sent to the university’s alumni – but they were told there was no obligation to do so, if they wished to leave early. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESure enough, Poulin found that the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsyarxiv.com\u002Fxhyua\u002F\"\u003Eeffects of the meditation depended on people’s existing attitudes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. If they were already interdependent, then the people who took the mindfulness exercise were willing to spend much more time on the charitable task; overall, they stuffed about 17% more envelopes than the control group. If they were independent-minded, however, the exact opposite occurred – the mindfulness had made them even more self-centred, so they were less willing to help the homeless. Overall, they stuffed around 15% fewer envelopes than the control group. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo be sure the finding was robust, Poulin’s team conducted a second experiment, in which the participants were first given a short text written either in the first-person singular \u003Cem\u003E(I)\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, or first-person plural \u003Cem\u003E(we). \u003C\u002Fem\u003EAs they read the text, they had to click on all the pronouns – a simple task \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1111\u002F1467-9280.00162\"\u003Eknown to prime either independent or interdependent thinking\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. They then completed the meditation tasks and, to test their pro-sociality, were asked whether they wanted to devote time to chat online with potential donors for the homelessness charity. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnce again, the mindfulness exercise exaggerated the effects of their self-perception, driving increased altruism among the interdependent-minded, and decreased altruism among the more independent-minded. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGiven that many Americans \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1037\u002F0033-295X.98.2.224\"\u003Escore highly on measures of the independent self-construal\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, that’s a lot of mindfulness practitioners who may be affected. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘McMindfulness’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe finding provides new material for critics of the mindfulness movement. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERonald Purser, a professor of management at San Francisco State University, has been chief among them. In his book McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality, published in 2019, he described the ways that the ancient practices have become divorced from the original Buddhist teachings.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Mindfulness has become a stripped-down, DIY, self-help technique – Ronald Purser","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Mindfulness practice was intended to lead to the clear insight that despite appearing separate, all phenomena – including our sense of self – are, in their true nature, relative and interdependent,” he tells me. In many of its new incarnations in the West, however, it is marketed as a tool to boost productivity and performance. “Mindfulness has become a stripped-down, DIY, self-help technique,” says Purser – another tool to get ahead of others. He was not surprised by Poulin’s findings – anecdotally, he had heard of similar effects. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThomas Joiner, a professor of psychology at Florida State University and author of Mindlessness: The Corruption of Mindfulness in a Culture of Narcissism, is similarly emphatic. He says that the Buddhist practices have been “perverted” into “a self-focused, self-glorification mechanism”. Like Purser, he believes that Poulin’s paper helps to show the consequences of this. “I think it makes my case that when you take genuine mindfulness and drop it into certain context, a monstrosity can result.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Middle Way\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt is fair to say that Purser’s and Joiner’s views on mindfulness fall at the more extreme end of the spectrum; in general, psychologists studying mindfulness remain optimistic about the practice’s potential to improve wellbeing in many areas of life. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.psychologicalscience.org\u002Fnews\u002Freleases\u002Fmindfulness-and-meditation-need-more-rigorous-study.html\"\u003EThere does, however, seem to be increasing concern that some the benefits have been overhyped\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and that the potential downsides have been under-investigated. Some studies suggest that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210202-how-mindfulness-can-blunt-your-feelings-and-spike-anxiety\"\u003Emindfulness can heighten anxiety and trigger panic attacks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in certain people, for example – a danger that is not often mentioned in the many books, apps and courses promoting the practice. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe need much more transparency about these less-desirable side-effects – including its potential to increase selfish behaviour. “I absolutely think that those who promote or practise mindfulness should be aware of this potential issue,” says Poulin.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Woman meditating","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWe also need greater research into the many kinds of mindfulness techniques. Mindful breathing, which Poulin used in his experiment, is the most popular mindfulness exercise, and if you have only a superficial interest in the field, it may be the only technique you know. But there are many others, each of which may help to develop a particular set of skills. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETania Singer, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, has provided some of the strongest evidence for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flink.springer.com\u002Farticle\u002F10.1007\u002Fs12671-017-0716-z\"\u003Ethe diverse effects of the different techniques with a detailed nine-month trial\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Over many sessions, the participants completed exercises aimed at improving “presence”, such as mindful breathing, as well as techniques such as “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fggia.berkeley.edu\u002Fpractice\u002Floving_kindness_meditation\"\u003Eloving kindness meditation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”, which involved deliberately thinking about our sense of connection with others – including close friends and complete strangers. They also took part in pair work aimed at “mindful listening”, in which each person had to pay particular attention to another’s descriptions of emotional situations. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll the while, Singer tracked the effects with detailed questionnaires, including measures of compassion – which increased significantly following the loving-kindness meditation and pair work. Intriguingly, these exercises also seemed to produce the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fadvances.sciencemag.org\u002Fcontent\u002Fadvances\u002F3\u002F10\u002Fe1700495.full.pdf\"\u003Ebiggest reduction in people’s stress responses\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “You learn not just to listen empathically; you learn to open up your own vulnerability.” This allowed the participants to recognise the “shared humanity” of positive and negative feelings, she says – a mindset that subsequently helped them to better cope with stressful situations in the rest of their life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPoulin agrees that these other mindfulness techniques may counteract the effects he had observed, for people who follow a comprehensive programme. He is more concerned about overly simplistic courses that market mindfulness as a simple way to gain a brain boost. “With the rise of apps and the use of mindfulness within corporations to increase productivity, for example, sometimes the moral dimension of mindfulness is lacking,” he says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAny time we try to change our mental function, it has the potential to create widespread consequences for our behaviour – and we should be cautious of any product or service that claims to offer a “quick fix”. It is time, in other words, to be a bit more mindful about the way we use mindfulness.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.davidrobson.me\u002Fthe-intelligence-trap\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDavid Robson\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E is the author of The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. His next book is The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, to be published in early 2022. He is \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002Fd_a_robson\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@d_a_robson\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E on Twitter.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-08-17T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How mindfulness could make you selfish","headlineShort":"Can mindfulness make you selfish?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Woman meditating","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Mindfulness may have many benefits – but the latest research shows it can also make some people more selfish.","summaryShort":"How mindfulness could backfire and inflate your ego","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-08-16T20:50:40.264529Z","entity":"article","guid":"e68b5676-2c8a-4898-b520-f960c1626ea7","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:12:43.743689Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095711},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders","_id":"6267df921f4b7b29900b5c7a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Blending both extrovert and introvert personality types can make you indispensable in the office – and finding that balance is a skill we can all master.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt's like asking someone if they're a cat person or a dog person – so basic, almost tribal: are you an extrovert or an introvert?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEach of these identities has its own strengths and weaknesses, yet it seems there's constant debate about which it is better to be. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fslate.com\u002Fhuman-interest\u002F2013\u002F08\u002Fintroverts-on-the-internet-a-match-made-in-heaven.html\"\u003ESome say\u003C\u002Fa\u003E the internet has a \"love affair\" with introverts, and that being an introvert is, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.huffpost.com\u002Fentry\u002Fintrovert_b_3790923\"\u003Eat long last, cool\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, particularly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.huffpost.com\u002Fentry\u002Fintrovert-tweets-march_l_5e855fc7c5b60bbd734efe5b\"\u003Eduring the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. That's likely a reaction to a culture that has long seemed to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ftechnology\u002F2012\u002Fapr\u002F01\u002Fsusan-cain-extrovert-introvert-interview\"\u003Ecelebrate and reward extroverts\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, especially \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.huffpost.com\u002Fentry\u002Fwhy-does-america-love-its_b_4456437\"\u003Ein many Western countries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com.au\u002Fextrovert-career-success-advantages-psychology-study-2019-5\"\u003Eparticularly in the workforce\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, where they're able to use their natural people skills. Complicating things further, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2010\u002F12\u002Fthe-hidden-advantages-of-quiet-bosses\"\u003Esome research\u003C\u002Fa\u003E has shown that introverts can \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.washingtonpost.com\u002Fnews\u002Fon-leadership\u002Fwp\u002F2017\u002F04\u002F17\u002Fintroverts-tend-to-be-better-ceos-and-other-surprising-traits-of-top-performing-executives\u002F\"\u003Eoutshine extroverts as leaders\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, despite the fact that the confident demeanour of an extrovert fits many people's image of a typical CEO.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, which is it? Who has more of an edge, and who's more successful at work: bubbly, outgoing workers; or reserved, restrained ones? The answer, it turns out, is those who can be both: the chameleon-like ambivert.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBlending the best of both personality types can make you indispensable in the office, experts say. And although acting like both extrovert and introvert might feel tricky at times, it’s a skill we can all master, with a little practice.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09b8z79"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe 'ambivert advantage'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdam Grant, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, coined the term 'the ambivert advantage' in a 2013 study that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffaculty.wharton.upenn.edu\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2013\u002F06\u002FGrant_PsychScience2013.pdf\"\u003Echallenged notions of extroverts being more successful and productive\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in a sales environment. After studying 340 call-centre employees, Grant found that the workers who made the most sales revenue were those who fell in the middle of the extroversion scale. In fact, the results made a bell curve: the worst performers were the workers who were either extremely introverted, or extremely extroverted.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Because they naturally engage in a flexible pattern of talking and listening, ambiverts are likely to express sufficient assertiveness and enthusiasm to persuade and close a sale,\" Grant writes in the study. But ambiverts are also \"more inclined to listen to customers' interests and less vulnerable to appearing too excited or overconfident\".\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKarl Moore, an associate professor of management at McGill University and associate fellow at Oxford University, who has studied ambiverts for years, estimates that 40% of top business leaders are extroverts, 40% are introverts and 20% are \"true ambiverts\", based on interviews with 350 C-suite executives. But he believes that the unprecedented circumstances created by the pandemic have forced leaders of all stripes to try and act more like ambiverts.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his upcoming book, We Are All Ambiverts Now, Moore says that the situation we were all thrust into required more leaders to call upon the strengths of both extroversion and introversion. For example, bosses needed to listen and take feedback in order to provide flexible and empathetic work environments for staff, but they also needed to broadcast clear and demonstrative enthusiasm to rally and guide the team into the unknown.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"What [the pandemic] means is that the CEO needs to listen a lot – a great leader is a great listener,\" says Moore. \"But [they] also need to be able to give the inspiring 'guys, I am confident we can make it through this crisis'.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E'Adapt to what's necessary'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, whether it's sales figures or muddling through a once-in-a-century catastrophe, it's good to be an ambivert. But how do you become one?Actually, say the experts, it’s very doable. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20191030-the-helpful-upside-of-office-personality-tests\"\u003EMost of the popular personality tests\u003C\u002Fa\u003E will place you on a sliding scale of extroversion anyway, so ambiversion is likely within your grasp.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"It's more about adaptive leadership style\" than about thinking you need to re-haul your entire personality, says Alisa Cohn, a start-up and CEO coach based in New York City. \"I think it's less about working on your [perceived] weaknesses than it is about building up your ability to push yourself outside your comfort zone.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's not just CEOs who benefit from ambiversion either, she says. In fact, the earlier in your career you build these skills, the better, since \"the benefits will improve over time”. For people who identify as extroverts, this may mean being consciously quieter in meetings; for introverts, it may mean contributing more in meetings.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"It might be a specific behaviour: to listen longer or to ask another question and listen to the answer. To be more extroverted, it might be to initiate conversation or make small talk,\" says Cohn. \"I like the idea of practising the behaviour three, four, five times a day in little micro doses so you can do that a lot more easily without getting exhausted. And then score yourself.\" Keep track of how often you do these things each day, and if you met your goal.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe also recommends spotting a role model you admire in your office who has the introvert or extrovert qualities you're looking to emulate, so you can watch their behaviour and model yours on them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09b8z3l"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMoore talks about working with an introverted CEO, Claude Mongeau, the former chief executive of Canadian National Railway, for his research. He says Mongeau worked with a leadership coach who gave him a clicker – like the one a bouncer outside a nightclub uses to count patrons – to keep track of every extroverted skill he practised each day. These were small things, like saying hello to someone or commenting on the weather. Moore says he was still very much an introvert, but realised to be an effective CEO, he had to channel his extroverted side.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMoore, an extrovert himself, says that channelling his inner ambivert has helped him in his own career, both as a researcher and for his radio show, in which he interviews CEOs. “On my radio show, 98% of the time I'm quiet, because I'm asking [the guest] a question, 'Where are you from, what does your family do?'.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing an ambivert means being aware of your own natural social style, and knowing when the situation may call for just the opposite: \"The most successful leaders are the ones who can recognise a situation and adapt their style as necessary,\" says Cohn.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAvoiding the mental toll\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe only downside is that this adaptation can wear you down. \"You need to act like both. The problem is, it's exhausting,\" says Moore.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut remember, being an extrovert or an introvert comes down to how you are energised – either from the outside world or your internal one. So, when you try to go against natural preferences, it uses more \"mental calories\", says Cohn, and it's important to refill that mental energy tank.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor introverts, that might mean a solitary afternoon at home with a book or if you're at work, a 15-minute break outside alone on a bench. For extroverts, it might mean surrounding yourself with people. Moore says his preferred ‘extrovert break’ when he's on business is to find a restaurant and sit at the bar for dinner, so he can talk to other patrons. \"It stimulates me. It gets my dopamine levels going, because I'm with people.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's important to reiterate that few people are 100% one or the other. But becoming an ambivert is something more active; it's deciding which switch to flip, and when. Sharpening that skill could mean all the difference – not just for you, but for the people you work with, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECohn says one of her clients, an introverted manager, worked hard to strengthen his extroverted side by talking more in meetings, and responding more enthusiastically with confirming gestures like nodding. The result? His team \"felt like there was more harmony in the meeting\", says Cohn. \"It made them feel more important and empowered.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"It wasn't about him,\" she says. \"It was about other people feeling heard, feeling met.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders-4"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-03-23T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why ambiverts are better leaders","headlineShort":"Why ambiverts are better leaders","image":["p09b8z14"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Blending both extrovert and introvert personality types can make you indispensable in the office – and finding that balance is a skill we can all master.","summaryShort":"The hybrid personality type that can help you succeed and excel","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-think"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-03-22T21:28:04.19992Z","entity":"article","guid":"6f2ddcf4-607d-41f4-af72-540b5141e467","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:05:39.410596Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095712},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly","_id":"6267dfce1f4b7b42ef2192f2","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fdavid-robson"],"bodyIntro":"People with a high degree of narcissism get promoted faster, new research shows. Why?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMuch ink has been spilled on the dangers of the narcissistic CEO. They tend to instil an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnewsroom.haas.berkeley.edu\u002Fresearch\u002Fhow-narcissistic-leaders-infect-their-organizations-culture\u002F\"\u003Eindividualistic culture throughout the corporation, which reduces collaboration and integrity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. They are known make \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.emerald.com\u002Finsight\u002Fcontent\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1108\u002FJMP-01-2019-0042\u002Ffull\u002Fhtml\"\u003Erash\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1177\u002F0149206317699521\"\u003Erisky decisions that can weaken a company’s long-term resilience\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and they are more likely to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmeridian.allenpress.com\u002Fjata\u002Farticle-abstract\u002F38\u002F1\u002F1\u002F60619\u002FCEO-Narcissism-and-Corporate-Tax-Sheltering?redirectedFrom=fulltext\"\u003Eengage in aggressive tax avoidance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jstor.org\u002Fstable\u002F42001858\"\u003Ecommit managerial fraud\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Some management scientists have even speculated that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flink.springer.com\u002Farticle\u002F10.1007\u002Fs11301-020-00194-6\"\u003Enarcissism can bring down entire companies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, as may have been the case with the fall of Enron in 2001.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDespite these serious concerns about narcissistic leadership, surprisingly little is known about the way ways that these self-centred and over-confident people arrive at their positions of power in the first place. Does the ambition and hubris of narcissism actively help someone to be promoted, so that they are \u003Cem\u003Emore\u003C\u002Fem\u003E likely to reach the top than the average person? Or are narcissistic leaders a toxic, but rather uncommon, phenomenon in the average workplace?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA new paper by Italian researchers attempts to close that gap in our knowledge – and it has some serious implications for the ways that companies select and reward their employees. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow ‘stars’ are born\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are many good reasons for suspecting that narcissists might get ahead more quickly than their colleagues. Without the humility that would prevent others from tooting their own horn, narcissists may be \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1177\u002F0149206318785240\"\u003Eespecially good at self-promotion\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and ensuring that their contributions are recognised – even if they do not deserve to be held in such high esteem. (A 2017 study found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fabs\u002Fpii\u002FS0191886916312181\"\u003Enarcissists’ high appraisal of their own performance does not match objective measures of their actual achievements\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – which are no more remarkable than those of the people around them.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThanks to their inflated view of themselves, narcissists may also present more ambitious plans for the future, which could impress their bosses or recruitment panels until they eventually reach the top job.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Without the humility that would prevent others from tooting their own horn, narcissists may be especially good at self-promotion","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ENone of these points are inevitable, though. You could just as easily argue that a narcissist’s constant vying for attention would alienate the people around them. In a just world, their unfounded arrogance would become apparent, while more modest colleagues would be recognised for their genuine hard work. (In Aesop’s fable, after all, it is the slow-and-steady tortoise who manages to beat the boastful but lazy hare.) \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUntil now, it has been unclear which of these two scenarios is more common – a fact that inspired Paola Rovelli, assistant professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and Camilla Curnis, a PhD student at the Milan Polytechnic University, to investigate the issue themselves, with a large survey of Italy’s top management. “When we started developing our interest towards CEO narcissism, we noticed that the literature had mainly focused on the consequences of this trait on the firm,” the pair told BBC Worklife in an email. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir study is based on data from a former survey of around 200 Italian CEOs, who had previously answered in-depth questions about the management of their firms. As a follow-up, Rovelli and Curnis asked the CEOs to complete the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fopenpsychometrics.org\u002Fprintable\u002Fnarcissistic-personality-inventory.pdf\"\u003ENarcissistic Personality Inventory\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, in which they had to choose between 40 pairs of statements, such as:\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E1:\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ea) I have a natural talent for influencing people\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eb) I am no good at influencing people\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2:\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E a) When people compliment me I sometimes get embarrassed\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eb) I know I am good because everyone keeps telling me so\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E3:\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ea) The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out of me\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eb) If I ruled the world it would be a better place\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E4:\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ea) I insist on getting the respect that is due to me\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eb) I usually get the respect I deserve\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn each case, one option is assumed to be more self-aggrandising than the other. (In these sample items, that would be 1a, 2b, 3b, 4a.) By counting how many times a person picks the narcissistic alternative, the scientist arrives at their NPI score, which appears to predict many real-life behaviours associated with the trait.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERovelli and Curnis compared these scores to data from their CVs, including information about their education and professional experience, and their positions and promotions within their organisations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p09tlfqq"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOverall, they found that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS1048984320301168\"\u003Esomeone with a high degree of narcissism was around 29% faster in their career progression to the position of CEO\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, compared to the average candidate of similar qualifications. Sadly, for all the hardworking-but-humble workers out there, it seems that narcissists’ constant self-promotion really does pay off in the long-term.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInterestingly, this was the true for family and non-family businesses. As viewers of TV shows such as Succession might already suspect, loyalty to someone’s relatives cannot stand in the way of an egotistical schemer who is determined to get ahead.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s worth noting that the effects of narcissism on someone’s career trajectory may depend on someone’s gender. Thanks to implicit or explicit sexism, recruiters may generally be more forgiving of ambition in men than in women, for example. Rovelli and Curnis did note that women tended to have slightly lower narcissism scores, but the generally small number of female CEOs in their sample meant that they were unable to come to any firm conclusions – though they hope to investigate the question in the future. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpotting the narcissist\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERovelli and Curnis believe that their results have serious implications for the workplace, since they show that narcissistic people are still favoured despite the well-known problems they present to their companies. “Our results are somewhat worrying,” say Rovelli and Curnis. They point out that the narcissists’ rapid promotion could mean they lack the necessary experience to carry out their responsibilities – which could exacerbate the effects of their rash and dishonest decision making.\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFortunately, there are some practical steps that any organisation could take to minimise narcissists’ impact on the workplace.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Thanks to implicit or explicit sexism, recruiters may generally be more forgiving of ambition in men than in women","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIdeally, this should begin with smarter recruitment – to identify someone with problematic tendencies before they ever reach a position where they could wreak damage. And simply practicing due diligence with references and background checks would be an excellent start, says Ian MacRae, a psychologist and author of the forthcoming book Dark Social: Understanding the Dark Side of Work, Personality and Social Media. “I'm still astonished at how often people skip over this for senior positions – especially when the candidate is very charming.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMacRae’s second suggestion is to use a diverse hiring panel and to note how the candidate responds to people of different status within the organisation. “Narcissists are very good at 'managing up', but then tend to treat people they perceive as lower status very differently. But if you don't have any diversity of evaluators in the hiring process, you're unlikely to pick this up.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMore generally, MacRae argues that organisations can curb narcissists’ tendencies by overtly rewarding ethical behaviour, creating a system that will naturally appeal to narcissists’ sense of competition. “If the system rewards prosocial behaviour and does not tolerate antisocial behaviour, such as bullying or malicious gossip, then narcissists will use the strategies they see to be effective to climb the ladder.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf these findings have led you to recognise narcissistic tendencies in your own boss or colleagues, there may be little you can do to curb their more excessive displays of self-interest. But you can try to use your understanding of their personality to limit their effects on your career.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003ENarcissists tend to respond badly to direct challenges to their authority, for instance. So if you do need to question their actions or to suggest a new strategy, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2016\u002F04\u002Fhow-to-work-for-a-narcissistic-boss\"\u003Etry to frame it in a way that might appeal to their ego\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Once you have made it clear how your plans might benefit them and their reputation, as well as yourself, they will be far more likely to agree.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou should also try to make sure that your own talents are clearly visible to other members of management – otherwise, there’s the risk that the narcissist will simply piggyback off your achievements to further their own career. When you are up against a narcissist, you may need to sacrifice some of your usual modesty. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoping with others’ narcissism may be an unfortunate fact of working life – but with a greater awareness of their behaviours and the risks they pose, we can all try to ensure that they are not unfairly rewarded for their hubris.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.davidrobson.me\u002Fthe-intelligence-trap\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDavid Robson\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E is the author of The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes. His next book is The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World, to be published in early 2022. He is \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.twitter.com\u002Fd_a_robson\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@d_a_robson\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E on Twitter\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-09-01T14:42:57Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How narcissists climb the career ladder quickly","headlineShort":"How narcissists climb the ladder","image":["p09tlfmz"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210813-how-mindfulness-could-make-you-selfish","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"People with a high degree of narcissism get promoted faster, new research shows. Why?","summaryShort":"Why self-centred workers keep getting promoted","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-think"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-08-31T21:50:09.716572Z","entity":"article","guid":"74af1d8e-af49-4bde-b886-7c277e4be61d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:13:39.055739Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095710},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo","_id":"6267dfe11f4b7b56332f5862","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Many of us instinctively hate the idea of blowing our own trumpets. Yet it's important to understand how best to highlight our skills – especially now.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe mere idea of self-promotion makes many people wince. Trumpet-blowing is something a lot of us aren’t good at and that’s no surprise, given we’re taught as children that ‘boasting’ isn’t an attractive quality. “We get hung up on self-promotion coming across as arrogant,” explains Stefanie Sword-Williams, author of F*ck Being Humble: Why Self Promotion Isn’t a Dirty Word. “But if you’re not an arrogant person, you won’t deliver it in that way.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, taking pride in your professional accomplishments should be considered a normal part of life, not a taboo, experts say. Highlighting your skills well can feed into workplace success, and whether you’re changing jobs, want to move up at work or show your boss what you’ve been achieving, being able to self-promote effectively is an advantage. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, the need to ‘self-sell’ has arguably never been greater, as pandemic-hit businesses weigh up what they do – and don’t – need going forward. It’s particularly true for some groups; women, who traditionally struggle to promote themselves, have been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201021-why-this-recession-disproportionately-affects-women\"\u003Eparticularly affected\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by the Covid-19 recession, for example. Home workers could also benefit; research shows that they suffer from a lack of face-to-face time with managers, which \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210305-why-in-person-workers-may-be-more-likely-to-get-promoted\"\u003Enegatively impacts career progression\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If we don’t invest the time in demonstrating our value, we run the risk of not being considered as ‘needed’,” explains Sword-Williams. “The content you put out about yourself is what you will be known for – so it’s essential that you control that narrative.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPost-pandemic, how we promote ourselves could help determine whether we thrive in the workplace or linger, overlooked, on the side lines. That means overcoming squeamishness and learning how to explain our skillset properly. Fortunately, it’s something we can all master. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe self-promotion gender gap\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn its simplest form, self-promotion is the act of drawing attention to your work and achievements. Whether it’s a post shared on your LinkedIn, an email check-in with your boss or a conversation with an important contact, self-promotion shines a spotlight on your successes with a view to developing a personal brand, furthering a career or asserting yourself in your field. It’s a skill that’s as important for someone trying to get on the employment ladder as it is for a CEO.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"If we don’t invest the time in demonstrating our value, we run the risk of not being considered as ‘needed’ – Stefanie Sword-Williams","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps unsurprisingly, evidence shows that men engage in it more than women. Indeed, a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nber.org\u002Fsystem\u002Ffiles\u002Fworking_papers\u002Fw26345\u002Fw26345.pdf\"\u003E2019 study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by two US-based academics identified a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fwhy-dont-women-self-promote-as-much-as-men\"\u003Elarge gender gap\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” in this area. The researchers asked participants to take a maths and science test, and then to rate their performance. Participants were told that how they rated themselves would be communicated to an employer, who would use just that information to decide who to hire and what to pay them. Although men and women performed equally well, men gave themselves an average of 61 out of 100, while women gave themselves 46.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Lots of separate studies show that men tend to ‘boast’ about their achievements when asked, while women tend to under-report their achievements and abilities,” says Annabelle Williams, author of Why Women Are Poorer Than Men (And What We Can Do About It). “When they’re growing up, girls are penalised socially for boasting or behaving assertively. There are words like ‘diva’, ‘feisty’ and ‘bossy’ that are only really used to describe females, while the same behaviour in men is seen as showing confidence and leadership abilities.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Young worker talking to a colleague via video chat","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPart of the problem, explains Sword-Williams, is that we lack female role models in senior positions to tell us that it’s OK to celebrate our successes. “As a result, women feel the need to be highly competent in something before they can shout it from the rooftops. Women also have the ‘disease to please’, so rather than overestimating and under-delivering, they’d rather underestimate and hope they can reach the standard required.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, some women are naturals at promoting their achievements, while some men struggle with it; one recent survey also \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.selfpromotiongap.com\u002Fhome\"\u003Eshowed younger women are more comfortable\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with it than older women. Self-promotion can also come with a downside; get your delivery or your platform wrong and it can be considered \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0956797615573516\"\u003Eannoying bragging\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, eliminating scope for benefits. It may also not impress your employer, depending on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1177\u002F0149206318785240\"\u003Ehis or her personality type\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Make it a habit’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet given that judicious self-promotion can pay dividends, it’s worth putting in some practise, particularly now that many of us are working in relative isolation from home. Reaching out to a major client or approaching your boss about a promotion might seem alien when you’re preparing to do it from behind your computer screen rather than in person, but there are risks inherent in doing nothing. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We have to build time for self-promotion into our working schedule,” explains Harriet Minter, author of Working From Home: How To Build A Career You Love When You’re Not In The Office. “If we don’t, we risk becoming out of sight and out of mind. If it makes it easier, just think of it as keeping people up to date with what you’re doing. If you were managing someone, you’d want to know what they were doing, right?” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESword-Williams agrees, adding: “Speak to your bosses about how they’d like to be updated on your progress. Being proactive and providing this information saves them time and also gives you a paper-trail to refer back to for things like performance reviews. The worst thing is sitting around and hoping they’ll have noticed your hard work – so at a time where they can’t physically see it, it’s up to you to remind them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"If it makes it easier, just think of it as keeping people up to date with what you’re doing – Harriet Minter","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMuch like any new skill, you need to learn, develop and practise flexing your self-promotion muscles until using them feels comfortable. “Make a habit of talking to your boss about your long-term career aspirations,” advises Minter. “Don’t be put off by the idea that ‘now isn’t a good time’. Instead, look at the value you’ve brought to the company and put your request in those terms.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMinter suggests that email is the go-to mode for sharing successes with your employers, noting: “You can take the time to word it in the best possible way and make sure you include all the detail you want to. See if you can get into the habit of sending at least one a week – the more you do it, the easier it will become.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you’d prefer something more subtle, consider putting yourself forward as a mentor, whether for younger colleagues or for industry peers. Sharing your expertise and acting as a sounding board for those just starting out is a great way to show the skills and experience you’ve accumulated. It’s also worth keeping a note of your achievements; not only will it remind you of your talents, but it will also give you quick reference points if an opportunity to discuss them in the workplace crops up. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEnsuring any digital presence reflects your up-to-date skills and expertise is a must, while keeping an eye out for other people’s ‘achievement announcements’ on LinkedIn and Twitter can help you ascertain the style of ‘sharing’ you do or don’t like. (“Just avoid the ‘#humblebrag’ route,” says Sword-Williams. “It immediately undermines the purpose of self-promotion.”) \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf the thought of self-promotion still makes you want to curl up into a ball, reframing it in your mind could help you get past that initial hesitation. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I explain to a lot of people that it’s just a form of storytelling,” says Sword-Williams. “You just have to decide how you want to tell your story. When we explain how we achieved something, it allows other people to either feel part of the process – or like they could achieve something similar.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-03-19T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why self-promotion doesn't have to be taboo","headlineShort":"The core work skill many of us shun","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Young woman shaking hands with a colleague","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many of us instinctively hate the idea of blowing our own trumpets. Yet it's important to understand how best to highlight our skills – especially now.","summaryShort":"Learning how to explain our skillset properly matters, despite our squeamishness","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-03-18T20:00:03.004095Z","entity":"article","guid":"38775b20-e623-4c41-b5ad-9e1fa09f8dee","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:05:24.287646Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210317-why-self-promotion-doesnt-have-to-be-taboo","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095712},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming","_id":"6267df881f4b7b2c0857ae23","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"From the first moment you walk into a room people are making judgements about how much they like you. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMost of us have come across them at some point - the kind of people who can walk into a room full of strangers but then leave with 10 new friends, a lunch date for the next day, and the promise of an introduction to an industry insider. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECharmers. What makes these lucky individuals so effortlessly likeable when many of us have to work so hard at it? While many would have you believe social grace or winning people over is something of an artform, there is a surprising amount of science behind it too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe factors that determine our success with other people, and the impressions we make upon them, can start even before we meet them. Research has proven the people we meet often make judgements about us based purely on the way we look. Alexander Todorov, a professor of psychology at Princeton, has shown that people can make judgements about someone’s likeability, trustworthiness and competence after seeing their \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1111\u002Fj.1467-9280.2006.01750.x\"\u003Eface for less than a tenth of a second\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“While some things, like dominance, are highly related to morphological features, there are things like trustworthiness and even attractiveness which are highly dependent on facial expressions,” says Todorov, whose book Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions explores this phenomenon.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaking a snap judgement on something so superficial might seem rash, but we do it all the time without even realising. And it can have serious implications. For example, it might influnce who you vote for. \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fscience.sciencemag.org\u002Fcontent\u002F308\u002F5728\u002F1623\"\u003EOne study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showed that facial appearance can be used to predict the outcome of elections to the US Senate. Similarly, facial characteristics associated with competence have also been successful in predicting the outcomes of elections involving \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0022103113000310\"\u003EBulgarian\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fscience.sciencemag.org\u002Fcontent\u002F323\u002F5918\u002F1183\"\u003EFrench\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cambridge.org\u002Fcore\u002Fjournals\u002Fworld-politics\u002Farticle\u002Flooking-like-a-winner-candidate-appearance-and-electoral-success-in-new-democracies\u002FB9FE18A2FDE35B2600D835AA2C38AC2C\"\u003EMexican\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and Brazilian politicians.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe judgements we make about someone’s face can influence our financial decisions too. In one \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Facademic.oup.com\u002Frfs\u002Farticle-abstract\u002F25\u002F8\u002F2455\u002F1570804\u002FTrust-and-Credit-The-Role-of-Appearance-in-Peer-to\"\u003Eexperiment\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, borrowers who were perceived as looking less trustworthy were less likely to get loans on a peer-to-peer lending site. Lenders were making these judgements based on appearance in spite of having information about the borrowers employment status and credit history at their fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPut on a happy face\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf course, while you may not be able to control the physical features of your face, it is possible to alter your expressions and smile. Todorov has used data-driven statistical models to build algorithms that can manipulate faces to look more or less trustworthy, allowing him to tease out the features that we trust the most.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to his work, as a face becomes happier, it also becomes more trustworthy.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":" People will perceive a smiling face as more trustworthy, warmer and sociable","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“People will perceive a smiling face as more trustworthy, warmer and sociable,” explains Todorov. “One of the major inputs to these impressions is emotional expression. If you look at our models and and manipulate the faces to become more trustworthy or extroverted, you see the emotional expression emerge—the face becomes happy.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor those situations where our first impression has not been as good as we might have hoped, there is also hope – we can still win people over so they forget that initial snap judgement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“The good news is that we can very quickly override our first impression made based on appearance,” says Todorov. “If you have the opportunity to meet someone, the moment you have good information about them, you will change the way you perceive them.” If you can impress someone, they will often forget about what they thought when they first saw us, even if it was negative.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChannel your charm\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is where charm can come in. Olivia Fox Cabane, an executive coach and author of The Charisma Myth, defines charm as likability and “how delightful it is to interact with someone.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContrary to popular depictions, being likeable can have its benefits in business. Entrepreneurs with better social skills are \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Famp.aom.org\u002Fcontent\u002F14\u002F1\u002F106.short\"\u003Emore likely to be successful\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and workers who are well liked are better at getting their way at work. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpapers.ssrn.com\u002Fsol3\u002FPapers.cfm?abstract_id=1476399\"\u003Estudy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by the University of Massachusetts, for example, found that internal auditors who were well liked and provided an organised argument were more likely to have managers agree with their proposals, even if manager would otherwise tend to disagree with the auditors position if they had not met them.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuzanne de Janasz, an affiliated professor of management at Seattle University, says interpersonal skills are becoming increasingly important in the workplace as organisations have done away with older, hierarchical structures in recent years.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“It’s become more germane, more critical, to have the ability to work in teams and influence with or without an actual title,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBest of all, it’s possible to train yourself to be charming. Jack Schafer, a psychologist and retired FBI special agent who is a likeability coach and author of The Like Switch, points to Johnny Carson as a quintessential example of someone who preferred being alone, but who learned how to be extremely sociable for the camera. The late host of The Tonight Show would go years without giving interviews and once told the LA Times that 98% of the time \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Farticles.latimes.com\u002F1986-07-06\u002Fentertainment\u002Fca-22846_1_johnny-carson\"\u003Ehe went home after the show\u003C\u002Fa\u003E rather than choosing to socialise with the glitterati.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“Carson was an extreme introvert who trained himself to be an extrovert,” says Schafer. “As soon as the show was over he curled up and went home, but on TV he was famous for smiling and laughing and making jokes.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERaising eyebrows\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo what can the rest of us do to be more charming? Schafer says charm starts with a simple flash of the eyebrows.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The three major things we do when we approach somebody that signals we are not a threat is an eyebrow flash, a slight head tilt, and a smile","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Our brains are always surveying the environment for friend or foe signals,” he says. “The three major things we do when we approach somebody that signal we are not a threat are: an eyebrow flash - a quick up and down movement of the eyebrow that lasts about a sixthof a second - a slight head tilt, and a smile.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo now you have made your entrance – hopefully without gurning like a maniac – experts agree that the next key to likability is to make your interaction about the other person. That means not talking about yourself.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“The golden rule of friendship is if you make people feel good about themselves, they’re going to like you,” says Schafer. Cabane agrees, but says it can only work if you show a geninue interest in what they are saying.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“Imagine the other person is a character in an indie flick,” she suggests. “Those characters become more fascinating the more you learn about them. You’ll find yourself observing and showing genuine interest in their mannerisms and personality.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Focus on the different colours in their irises. By maintaining that level of eye contact, it will give the impression of interest","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIf that fails, she says interest can also be faked. “Focus on the different colors in their irises,” she says. “By maintaining that level of eye contact, it will give the impression of interest.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchafer suggests making empathic statements that might reflect some of what the other person is feeling.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“I once saw a student in an elevator who looked pleased with himself,” he explains. “I said ‘It looks like you’re having a good day.’ He went on to tell me about how he just aced a test he had spent weeks studying for. That entire exchange made him feel good about himself.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf you know more about the person you’re speaking with, you can be even more effective.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“Instead of direct flattery, you want to allow people to flatter themselves,” he says. “Once I find out your age I can say something like, ‘you’re in your 30s and write for the BBC? Not many people can do that so young’. Now you’re giving yourself a psychological pat on the back.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a networking situation – something many people dread - you may have heard something about the person you’re speaking with, allowing you to bring up specific topics that are relevant to them. “You can say, ‘I heard that this great thing happened for you, I’d love to hear the story,’” suggests de Janasz.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFind common ground\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Janasz also suggests emphasising common ground, even when your opinions diverge. Charming people are often skilled at finding common ground with the people they interact with, even when there’s not much to go on.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-12"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-13"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“When you disagree, try to really listen to the other person rather than setting up your response, which research shows smart people tend to do,” she says. “It might seem like you totally disagree but on closer examination you might agree on a few things, at least in principle.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe adds that it’s always a good idea to keep up with current events, and industry news, since those are the things most people have in common. Schafer also advises looking for common ground contemporaneously (You’re from California? I’m from California), temporally (I’m hoping to visit California next year) or vicariously (My daughter works for a firm in Silicon Valley).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWatch their body\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother key to likeability is to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpubmed\u002F10402679\"\u003Emirror\u003C\u002Fa\u003E the body language of the other person. When people are conversing and they begin to mirror one another, it is a signal that have a good rapport, says Schafer.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“So you can use that and mirror them so you can signal to them that you have good rapport,” he says. It is also a good way to test how the conversation is going – if you change your own position and the other person copies you, it is probably going well. Anyone working in sales might want to use that moment to start their pitch.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-14"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Schafer recommends revealing details about yourself little by little – like bread crumbs - so each new piece of information acts as “curiosity hooks” to keep their interest going","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-15"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you are looking to give your relationship with your new best friend some longevity, it might also be worth using something Schafer refers to as the Hansel and Gretel technique. A common mistake that many of us make is to overwhelm new people with too much information about ourselves, which can put them off. Instead, Schafer recommends revealing details about yourself little by little – like bread crumbs - so each new piece of information acts as “curiosity hooks” to keep their interest going.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“You gradually release information about yourself to keep the relationship alive,” he explains.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-16"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-17"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThere will be, however, situations where you will need to get someone to like you unnaturally fast. If that’s the case, Schafer, whose 20 years at the FBI included getting people to divulge secret information, has strategies for getting people to answer personal questions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPresumptive statements like “You sound as if you’re 25 to 30”, will often lead the other person to respond with a confirmation like, “Yes, I’m 30”, or a correction, “I’m 35”\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E Another approach might be to use \u003Cem\u003Equid pro quo\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, where offering personal details of your own life usually results in reciprocation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-18"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Research has found that the quicker I can get someone to answer personal questions, the quicker that relationship is going to advance","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-19"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002Fpsycinfo\u002F1995-09363-001\"\u003EResearch\u003C\u002Fa\u003E has found that the quicker I can get someone to answer personal questions, the quicker that relationship is going to advance,” says Schafer. “So if I’m selling something, the more quickly I develop rapport and get you to say all sorts of intimate details about your life, the faster you will treat me as a friend and the faster I can get to my sell.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf all else fails, simply spending time near someone can make him or her like you, even in extreme circumstances. Schafer opens his book with an anecdote from the FBI about a foreign spy who was in American custody. Everyday Schafer sat in his cell quietly reading the newspaper until eventually fear gave way to curiosity and the spy wanted to start a conversation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“So initially it was proximity and duration,” says Schafer. “And then I gradually introduced intensity, leaning toward him, increasing eye contact, \u003Cem\u003Eet cetera\u003C\u002Fem\u003E.” It took months, but Schafer ultimately got what he wanted.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo next time you walk into a room filled with new faces, with a bit of effort it might be you that everybody wants to get to know.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming-20"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2017-06-28T00:30:07Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"","headlineLong":"The tricks to make yourself effortlessly charming","headlineShort":"The science of being charming","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":[],"summaryLong":"From the first moment you walk into a room people are making judgements about how much they like you. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances","summaryShort":"Can these tricks help you win people over?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2019-07-18T14:46:04.249699Z","entity":"article","guid":"c2949b08-313b-483b-a0ea-e68389e3af13","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T05:41:07.932276Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170627-the-tricks-to-make-yourself-effortlessly-charming","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095712},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year","_id":"6267df921f4b7b335c409d16","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"The allure of working from bed is strong – but turning your mattress into your office can trigger a slew of health problems, both psychological and physical.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor many people, working from home, or ‘WFH’, has also come to mean ‘WFB’ – working from bed. Getting dressed and commuting to an office has been replaced by splashing water on your face and cracking open a computer as you settle back under your blanket.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA staggering number of people are setting up shop on their mattresses; according to a November 2020 study, 72% of 1,000 Americans surveyed said \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tuck.com\u002Fsleep-work-covid-19-study\u002F\"\u003Ethey had worked remotely from their bed during the pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – a 50% increase since the start of the crisis. One in 10 reported they spent “most or all of their workweek” – 24-to-40 hours or more – in bed. This is especially true of young workers; in the UK, workers aged 18 to 34 are the least likely to have a proper desk and chair, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bupa.com\u002Fnewsroom\u002Fnews\u002Fhurting-from-home\"\u003Eare twice as likely to work from bed than older workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut WFB isn’t just for lack of a proper chair – many simply \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2020\u002F12\u002F31\u002Fstyle\u002Fworking-from-bed.html\"\u003Elove the cosiness and ease\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of the set-up. On Instagram, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-55775292\"\u003E#WorkFromBed hashtag\u003C\u002Fa\u003E pulls up thousands of photos, many of them featuring smiling people snuggled up in their pyjamas with cups of coffee, maybe even breakfast on a tray.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the reality is that turning your bed into your office can trigger a slew of health problems, both psychological and physical. And even if you don’t notice them now, adverse effects – possibly permanent – could emerge later on in life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EErgonomic nightmare\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s important to acknowledge that working from home is a privilege that isn’t afforded to hundreds of millions of people. Plus, for some remote workers, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200617-the-luxury-and-privilege-of-a-balcony-or-yard-during-covid\"\u003Espace for a full workstation just isn’t available\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, meaning working from bed may be their only choice.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, for others, it’s the easiest option and the path of least resistance. (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210209-how-to-escape-your-motivational-trough-when-youre-flagging\"\u003EMotivation is an all-time low during the pandemic, after all\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.) People may have a desk or a kitchen table to place their computer on – they just choose not to.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Young people are particularly likely to fall victim to these bad habits, because they may not feel the strain of them right away","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut experts say that regardless of whether working from bed is avoidable or not, the ergonomic advice is the same: it’s not good for your body, so it’s very important to vary your posture and support different parts of your body wherever possible.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYour neck, back, hips and more are all strained when you’re on a soft surface that encourages you to slump or sprawl. “None of it is optimal,” says Susan Hallbeck, director of health-care-system engineering at the Mayo Clinic, one of the largest medical research institutions in the US. “You’re really not supported in a way that’s conducive to work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYoung people, she points out, are particularly likely to fall victim to these bad habits, because they may not feel the strain of them right away. But the pain will flare up down the road. And depending on how bad your habits have been over this last year, the damage may already be done. It depends on the person, but it may be too late to undo the ergonomic problems you’ll face when you get older.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese ailments could include simple headaches, and could also extend to permanent stiffness in your back, arthritis and what’s known as cervical pain – that’s pain in the bones, ligaments and muscles in your neck that allow motion. “Anything is better than continuing the bad habit. Whenever you can stop, stop,” says Hallbeck.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you must continue working from bed (“there are grades of bad,” says Hallbeck), try recreating the experience of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200508-how-to-work-from-home-comfortably-ergonomic-tips-covid-19\"\u003Esitting in an upright chair\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as much as you can, and aim for “neutral posture” – that is, avoid putting strain on any one part of your body.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERoll up a pillow and stick it under your lower back for lumbar support, put pillows under your knees, try to separate the display from your keyboard (if you’re able) and put the display at eye level or higher. Whatever you do, avoid lying on your stomach to type; it really strains your neck and elbows.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen in doubt, get creative, like using an ironing board as a makeshift standing desk. But if you possibly can, it’s worth splashing out on some comfort. “If you’re going to be working from home for a long time” – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201023-coronavirus-how-will-the-pandemic-change-the-way-we-work\"\u003Eand most experts predict that we will\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – “it really does pay to invest in a good workstation, even if it’s a very small workstation,” adds Hallbeck.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBreaking your brain\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you work from bed for a year, it doesn’t just potentially wreck your body. It’s possibly bad for your productivity and sleep habits, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As sleep specialists, we tend to recommend that the bed should be for the three Ss: sleeping, for sex or for when you’re sick. That’s it,” says Rachel Salas, associate professor of neurology and sleep expert at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The more you watch TV in bed, play video games in bed and not sleep in bed, your brain starts learning, ‘oh, OK, we can do any one of these activities in bed’. It starts building these associations, which eventually evolve into conditioned behaviours.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis is what experts call ‘sleep hygiene’ – essentially, best practice as it relates to being in bed. Putting on your pyjamas at night is good sleep hygiene because it tells your body it’s time to start shutting down. Doomscrolling or sending emails in bed is bad sleep hygiene.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, when you set up shop in bed with your laptop, phone, Slack and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedaily.com\u002Freleases\u002F2017\u002F08\u002F170822103434.htm\"\u003Eall the glowing\u003C\u002Fa\u003E screens your job requires every day, your brain and body eventually stop associating bed with rest. That’s a big reason why the pandemic has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210121-the-coronasomnia-phenomenon-keeping-us-from-getting-sleep\"\u003Eled to ‘coronasomnia’\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, says Salas, referring to the global spike in insomnia and sleep disorders that has accompanied Covid-19.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“You’re really training your brain to be alert, and [telling it] this is where your ideas come and this is where it’s full work mode” when you WFB, adds Salas. “When you’re trying to wind down and go to sleep, your brain is like – ‘wait a minute, what are we doing? This is work time’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDoing this for a year, or any extended period of time, could lead to insomnia, or to something called circadian rhythm disorder. That’s when our bodies’ natural clocks, that tell us when it’s time to sleep, get thrown out of whack in the long term. Salas says it can also aggravate non-sleep-related issues you may have, like restless leg syndrome, in which case the affected body parts need rest to avoid the symptoms associated with the condition.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd disturbed nights, body pain or both mean that work-wise, you’re less likely to be productive, creative or focused, the experts say, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2020\u002F07\u002Fhow-much-is-bad-sleep-hurting-your-career\"\u003Emaking it likely your work could suffer\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA problem for everyone?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most pernicious issue, however, is that all those potential problems may show up in some WFB workers, but not in others.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Some people will swear that it’s not an issue for them: they can work in bed, they can sleep in bed,” says Salas. “They can do whatever they want in bed and it doesn’t negatively affect their sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGenetics, environmental factors, how bad the habits are and how long you do them, your age: all of these play a role in whether working from bed for a year or longer is actually going to be bad for you. “It’s not a dose-response relationship,” says Hallbeck.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd although working from bed may not necessarily be something you can change – or \u003Cem\u003Ewant\u003C\u002Fem\u003E to change – it’s important to keep in mind that your body and brain may not feel the fallout at the moment. But they could, someday. “They won’t feel it right \u003Cem\u003Enow\u003C\u002Fem\u003E,” says Hallbeck, especially of younger workers who WFB. “But as they age, it will pop up.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt may feel like one more thing \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200330-covid-19-how-to-learn-a-new-skill-in-coronavirus-quarantine\"\u003Eto worry about\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the Covid-19 era. But if this period has taught us anything, it’s that, as far as health goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. “If you don’t have any of the negative effects, great,”says Salas. “But that might not always be the case.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-02-18T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"What happens when you work from bed for a year","headlineShort":"The dangers of working from bed","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The allure of working from bed is strong – but turning your mattress into your office can trigger a slew of health problems, both psychological and physical.","summaryShort":"Why using your mattress as an office is a ticking time bomb for your health","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-02-17T21:03:38.64207Z","entity":"article","guid":"c4795816-588f-4e2f-b6f6-724f769b34a8","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:03:33.608758Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210217-is-it-bad-to-you-work-from-your-bed-for-a-year","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095712},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions","_id":"6267df921f4b7b33481ba635","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"There are two main types of decision-makers, experts say. Understanding which you are could help improve your choices.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EI've recently moved into a new flat in New York City – not the easiest of feats in the middle of a global pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMoving is never simple; choosing a neighbourhood and setting your budget can be stressful. But right now it feels especially complicated, raising questions like, which moving companies are the best value – but also have the best Covid-19 guidelines? Do I get a bigger space in case social distancing drags on even longer? Is all hassle even worth it right now?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen there are the more fun decisions. What kind of furniture do I get – Mid-century modern? Is it worth buying an expensive mixer to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210128-why-cooking-and-baking-fills-a-void\"\u003Eperfect that pandemic-era sourdough\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, or \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fav\u002Fhealth-56034429\"\u003Eis it too late for all that\u003C\u002Fa\u003E?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese are decisions will shape my daily life for the next few years, so it’s imperative to get them right. Yet, making choices can feel paralysing. It’s easy to stress over the ‘right’ choice – and, in some cases, put off the decision altogether.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the different ways people make decisions has helped put things in perspective. People tend to lean toward one of two categories: 'maximisers', who want to ensure they get the most out of the choices they make; and 'satisficers', who tend to adopt a ‘this is good enough’ approach. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEach comes with benefits and drawbacks – including impacting how happy you are. Fortunately, there are also ways to ‘hack’ your decision-making process, allowing you to match the right approach to the importance of the choice. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaximisers: 'make it perfect'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you’re a maximiser, you’re likely to weigh choices carefully to assess which is the best one. This can, of course, lead to a great outcome – when maximisers make decisions, they're likely very informed. On paper, their decisions may look like the most logical or efficient, since they've spent so much time deliberating possibilities and potential results.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there are also drawbacks. These are people who \"have trouble making decisions because they're trying to get it perfectly right\", says Stephanie Preston, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. \"They want to maximise the outcome, so they lose a lot of time in the process.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, say you're picking out a new television. If you're a maximiser, you might take a very long time assessing five different models, trying to decide which one will maximise your benefit. Do you get the one with the biggest screen, or save by choosing the cheapest? Going back and forth in your head over which one is the ‘correct’ one can lead to decision paralysis, leaving the person feeling like they still don't have enough information to make the best choice, and maybe never will.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnce you finally decide, however, the maximiser mentality can also trigger decision regret.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"The process of deliberating and choosing one option after seriously considering others is not only very time-consuming, but also associated with post-decision regret and counterfactual thinking,\" says Sally Maitlis, professor of organisational behaviour and leadership at Oxford University's Saïd Business School. \"How would it have been to have chosen the other thing?\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat means once you buy that TV and you’re sitting there watching it, you may start second-guessing yourself: \"I'm spending so much time at home these days. Shouldn't I have just bought the more expensive one with the bigger screen?\" In fact, a series of studies showed that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wisebrain.org\u002Fmedia\u002FPapers\u002Fmaximizing.pdf\"\u003Emaximisers were more likely to be depressed, overly perfectionistic and prone to regret\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or self-blame.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESatisficers: 'it's good enough'\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the other end of the spectrum, you have ‘satisficers’: people who would rather make decisions quickly. Instead of the ‘best’ choice, they're fine with what's acceptable. The term combines the words 'satisfy' and 'suffice' and was first coined back in the 1950s by American psychologist Herbert Simon.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"The opposite of maximising is satisficing – someone who realises there are constraints, and you can't solve all of them, and you definitely can't solve all of them quickly,\" says Preston. \"So, 'good enough' is the characteristic of decision-making for satisficers.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnlike maximisers, satisficers don't need a lot of options or information. They also rely less on outside sources, meaning they’re less likely to scour online reviews, or get as much information as possible when making decisions. They make decisions faster, weigh fewer choices and go with their gut.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"At restaurants, for example, I almost never look at the full menu,\" says Ellen Peters, director of the University of Oregon's Center for Science Communication Research, whose work focuses on decision-making. \"I look around and see what other people have ordered. I listen to what people at my table are ordering. And then I choose among those entrées and appetisers. I satisfice, and I always end up with a good dinner.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe drawback here is that satisficers may reach a decision quickly, but it may not necessarily be the ‘best’ outcome that gives them the maximum return. A 2006 study, for example, showed that recent university graduates with high \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F7308831_Doing_Better_but_Feeling_Worse_Looking_for_the_Best_Job_Undermines_Satisfaction\"\u003Emaximising tendencies found jobs that paid starting salaries that were 20% higher than those of their satisficing peers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. (That being said, maximisers reported being less satisfied with those jobs.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich is best?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"As a general rule, maximisers do better, but feel worse,\" says Barry Schwartz, professor emeritus of psychology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, who's researched and written extensively about maximisers and satisficers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"[Maximisers] get better jobs, for example, but are less satisfied with the jobs they get. So the question to be asked is whether what is more important to you is the objective result or the subjective result.\"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother thing to keep in mind is that, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders\"\u003Elike extroversion and introversion\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, most people lie somewhere between the two types. Which is good, because the best way to make decisions may be by combining maximiser and satisficer tendencies.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"In theory, the perfect mix would be to satisfice most of the time, and only maximise the decision process when the stakes are high,\" says Preston. In other words, look at all the options and study decisions that will greatly impact your life. \"But then after making a careful choice, you have to return right away to thinking like a satisficer, because otherwise you will still be unhappy with your decision, however good.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPeters agrees. \"With important choices – buying a house, even choosing a job – it's better to veer towards more maximising,\" she says. \"For unimportant choices – buying a breakfast cereal, where to go for coffee – satisficing generally works quite well.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"I think the best general advice is to avoid impulsive decisions \u003Cem\u003Eand\u003C\u002Fem\u003E to avoid feeling the need to look at every option,\" says Schwartz. \"Aristotle wrote of 'the golden mean' – in this case, the right amount of deliberation. People who are too impulsive should be less so, and people who are too deliberative should be less so. This is, of course, easier said than done.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there are ways: if you find yourself maximising too much, try eliminating some of the options. If you're satisficing too much, spend more time meditating on the decision, and the pros and cons of each possible outcome.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn my case, I need to figure out which moving-related decisions are really worth worrying about. I’ve already made the big, existential choices – like choosing a neighbourhood and flat – so it's time to move on and enjoy the smaller decisions. Now to satisfice my way to some decent wall art.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions-4"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":true,"displayDate":"2021-03-30T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Do 'maximisers' or 'satisficers' make better decisions?","headlineShort":"Why 'good enough' is OK","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"There are two main types of decision-makers, experts say. Understanding which you are could help improve your choices.","summaryShort":"Understanding your thought process can help you make better decisions","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-03-29T20:04:37.432152Z","entity":"article","guid":"ac0f2701-3535-49ea-b94f-0b1093250465","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:05:59.454699Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210329-do-maximisers-or-satisficers-make-better-decisions","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095713},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist","_id":"6267dfce1f4b7b4af0616abb","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":null,"bodyIntro":"Most workplaces have at least one person whose self-belief far outweighs their abilities. But while they make terrible colleagues, these traits do have surprising upsides.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis story is from \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fprogrammes\u002Fw3cswgkr?ns_mchannel=email&#38;ns_source=worldservice_ps_newsletter&\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EHow to spot a narcissist\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E,\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Cem\u003E an episode of Business Daily presented by Vishala Sri-Pathma. To listen to more episodes of Business Daily from the BBC World Service, \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fprogrammes\u002Fp002vsxs\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eplease click here\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E. Adapted by Sarah Keating.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlmost every office has one. The person whose self-belief exceeds their abilities, who belittles their colleagues, and considers themselves so special and unique they are infuriated when others fail to recognise their talents.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe’re talking about the office narcissist.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe term stems from Greek mythology when a hunter named Narcissus fell in love with himself when he saw his own image reflected in a pool of water. Sadly, self-obsessed narcissists are no myth in the modern workplace. Identifying their behaviour early can save you a lot of stress.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EEarlier in her career Karlyn Borysenko, author of Zen Your Work, found herself working for a narcissist.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“I absolutely loved her, I thought she was charismatic, I thought she was smart, I was really excited to go and work for her,” says Borysenko. “It took about three months on the job of seeing her day-to-day to realise that something was very wrong with the situation. And to come to grips with the fact that I was working for a narcissist.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBorysenko says she found that it became a huge part of her job to flatter her boss, to make her feel good and to promote her in the organisation. “If you didn’t do those things there was a massive retribution.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s more about how they are perceiving the world than it is about what you’re doing – Karlyn Borysenko","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it happens consistently over time, it can make you feel like you’re going crazy, she says. “What does this person see that I don’t see? What do they understand that I don’t understand? And you have to come to grips with the fact that it’s more about how they are perceiving the world than it is about what you’re doing.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBorysenko wasn’t the only person in the office that felt the wrath of their boss’s narcissism. But instead of uniting in recognition of a shared situation, her workmates began to turn against each other because of the stress of feeling powerless to change the dynamic. “It became a competition to see who was going to be in her good graces,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“It all comes down to their ability to literally invent their own reality around them, regardless of objective fact or evidence or data. Everything has to go in support of maintaining their self-image.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003ECountless studies have shown narcissists can do very well in their careers – and can even sometimes be good for business\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe bad news is that although narcissists are clearly unpleasant to work with, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.psychologytoday.com\u002Fus\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-mentally-strong-people-dont-do\u002F201610\u002Fdo-narcissists-make-better-leaders\"\u003Ecountless studies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have shown they can do very well in their careers – and can even sometimes be good for business. The lack of empathy, the tunnel vision to achieve, the lies and manipulation are all prevalent qualities of people drawn to positions of power.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDr Tim Judge is an organisational and leadership psychologist at Ohio State University. His research analyses the effects narcissists have on business.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJudge says that narcissists often have certain characteristics that make them more suited to leadership. “We know narcissists tend to be more charismatic, he says, “they are more likely to take charge of situations which sometimes is needed… and they are more willing and able to take risks when that’s required and there are situations for organisations in crisis where those qualities are desired.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd so, to the age-old question of nature versus nurture – is narcissism something you are born with or can it develop over time?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Parental practices, income level and things that happen in the workplace also contribute to narcissism","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EJudge says it’s both. While there are some studies which point to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedaily.com\u002Freleases\u002F2013\u002F06\u002F130619101434.htm\"\u003Einnate characteristics\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of narcissism, there are others that show parental practices, income level and things that happen in the workplace also contribute to narcissism.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“Individuals born into \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0146167213501699\"\u003Ehigh socio-economic status\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or high income households tend to have higher scores,” he says, “also a parental style that tends to encourage a child’s self-esteem to an excessive degree” can lead to narcissism.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIs this all sounding very familiar? Well, not surprisingly, many prominent people potentially fall under this personality type.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“I think it’s often a common characteristic of political leaders when they are in crises and change-oriented leadership,” says Judge, “it’s not hard to think of a lot of the charismatic US presidents as narcissistic,” he says, mentioning John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan as potential examples.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, what about the perception that narcissists tend to do quite well in their careers, despite not necessarily performing particularly well? Dr Judge says it comes down to the fact that they are ‘squarely agentic focused’ which means they are wholly focused on their own needs rather than the needs of others. “In terms of extra career success,” he says, “we know this agentic focus tends to be helpful, so earnings, occupational prestige and – it’s a bit strong to say this but it’s true – that’s mostly what narcissists care about.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, could a little bit of narcissism be a helpful boost for your career? If you need to convince investors or customers to give you money, self-belief is crucial. But at what point does that confidence tip into delusion?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt’s a risky business, says Don Moore, a professor in leadership at the Haas Business School in California.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“There are lots of circumstances in life in which it pays to be well-calibrated and faking it – or fooling yourself about how good you are – can lead to a number of predictable and unfortunate errors,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"When you misattribute good fortune to ability, you’re going to think that you’re better than you actually are","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EInterestingly, in business, there are often circumstances when over-confident people appear to rise to the top. “When we take their claims of confidence at face value, we are the poorer for it,” warns Moore, “we will wind up adulating, promoting and voting for over-confident jerks who cannot actually deliver on what they say they can do.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“To get promoted to a job of leadership you have to be good and you have to be lucky,” Moore says, “there will always be the temptation to misattribute one’s good fortune to one’s ability and when you do that, you’re going to think that you’re better than you actually are.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut despite this, there is still some merit to the motto “fake it till you make it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“Don’t fall victim to the imposter syndrome,” says Moore, referring to a mindset in which you believe you are inadequate and not up to a particular job or task. “Imposter syndrome is a real issue,” he says, “and underconfidence happens in predictable circumstances… on hard tasks where we’re more aware of our own shortcomings, so taking a little bit of courage and overcoming that imposter syndrome, believing in yourself enough to gain mastery of the task is pretty good advice.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-12"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-13"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, we could actually learn a valuable lesson in self-belief from narcissists. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKarlyn Borysenko points to the ability of narcissists to create the reality they want as sometimes being the catalyst to getting them to where they want to go.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“That’s is because they are acting as though that reality is true and oftentimes that’s what propels them to their level of success,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E“We see this with Donald Trump in the United States. Absolutely he believed he could be president and so he became president. And that would not have happened if he didn’t believe it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E--\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETo comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, please head over to our\u003C\u002Fem\u003E \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002FBBCCapital\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFacebook\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E \u003Cem\u003Epage or message us on \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002FBBC_Capital\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETwitter\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fpages.emails.bbc.com\u002Fsubscribe\u002F\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003Enewsletter\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Cem\u003E called \"If You Only Read 6 Things This Week\". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-14"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist-15"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2018-08-11T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"","headlineLong":"The warning signs you’re working for a narcissist","headlineShort":"How to spot a narcissist","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":null,"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Most workplaces have at least one person whose self-belief far outweighs their abilities. But while they make terrible colleagues, these traits do have surprising upsides.","summaryShort":"Despite being terrible colleagues, they can go far","tag":null,"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2019-07-18T15:08:42.000449Z","entity":"article","guid":"896bd858-347c-4297-b9de-81ff72a3c55b","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:05:08.456892Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20180810-the-warning-signs-youre-working-for-a-narcissist","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095713},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace","_id":"6286cf961f4b7b55793216c6","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Narcissists aren’t all overt and grandiose. There’s a stealthier, friendlier kind who are harder to spot – but just as dangerous.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe braggy colleague, the boss who hogs credit for the team's work, the connection who constantly shows off work achievements on social media – we all know a narcissist when we see one.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOr do we? Not all narcissists are egoists clamouring for the spotlight, it turns out. There's also a stealthier, friendlier version: the covert narcissist. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese individuals have the same basic drive as more overt narcissists, craving attention and recognition. But covert narcissists go about securing this attention in a quieter, more unassuming way: a covert narcissist may appear friendly, even as they ruthlessly sabotage others for their own self-interest. This kind of person can be dangerous in the workplace, as colleagues may have a harder time sniffing out their damaging behaviours. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELuckily, experts say there are hallmark traits to look for, so you can recognise a covert narcissist and understand how best to interact with them – if you must. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Good guys’ who pose a threat\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen we think of traditional narcissists, we may envisage someone who thinks they're the centre of the universe, to the annoyance and detriment of others around them. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the workplace, narcissists \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shrm.org\u002Fresourcesandtools\u002Fhr-topics\u002Fpeople-managers\u002Fpages\u002Fnarcissism-and-managers-.aspx\"\u003Ecan be poisonous\u003C\u002Fa\u003E: they manipulate colleagues to get their way, make reckless choices that don't consider others' viewpoints and can be solely focused on elevating themselves over their teammates. Their disregard for others is one of the reasons they can \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly\"\u003Eclimb the corporate ladder so quickly\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut narcissists of the covert variety – also called \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves\"\u003E'vulnerable' narcissists\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – are a little different. They have that same core need to feed their own ego at all costs, but they can be more sensitive in their methods. While overt narcissists may care less about rocking the boat to demand the attention they crave, covert narcissists are \"not comfortable presenting in that larger-than-life way\", says Julie L Hall, author of The Narcissist in Your Life, who's written about \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.psychologytoday.com\u002Fus\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-narcissist-in-your-life\u002F202007\u002F52-ways-identify-covert-narcissist\"\u003Ecovert narcissism in particular\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey \"tend to want to be seen as 'the good guy': basically, easy-going, fun, likable, generous, they may be helpful – that kind of thing\", says Hall. But the downside is that they are calculating; their behaviour is characterised by an \"ongoing passive-aggressiveness\". Think backhanded compliments, veiled barbs, insults disguised as humour, subtle digs or gossiping behind people's backs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Covert narcissists may affect us in a more invisible way because we are not as prepared to deal with them - Chanki Moon","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThey may quietly and strategically fish for acknowledgement or compliments. Perhaps they conspicuously give someone a gift in front of others, checking others are witnessing this act of generosity. They might \"triangulate\" conversations – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.healthline.com\u002Fhealth\u002Fnarcissistic-triangulation\"\u003Esteering them by bringing in an additional person\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to pit people against each other or stoke conflict. At work, they might cosy up to you and a colleague, only to badmouth each of you to the other, pitting you against each other so that the covert narcissist can look like the model employee in comparison.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDriving this behaviour is an internalised sense of shame, says Hall, so they overcompensate by trying to make themselves seem superior. Indeed, covert narcissists, unlike grandiose, overt ones, often have low self-esteem and insecurities, as opposed to having an inflated sense of self. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the moment, there is still a lot we don't know about covert narcissists in the workplace; most research to date has focused on the grandiose, overt narcissistic personality, says Chanki Moon, lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK. That's what motivated Moon, along with Catarina Morais, researcher in education and psychology at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal, to look at how covert narcissism affects workplace incivility.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a study published in March, they found covert narcissists were more likely to claim they’d \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flink.springer.com\u002Farticle\u002F10.1007\u002Fs12144-022-02968-5\"\u003Eexperienced workplace incivility \u003Cem\u003Ethemselves\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, despite their own behaviour (the digs and back-biting) likely being uncivil to others. Moon and Morais found that, due to low self-esteem, along with a worse understanding of workplace norms like fairness and respect, workers who measured high in covertly narcissistic traits were more likely to say they experienced rudeness, disrespect or discourtesy from others at work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlaying the victim in this way is \"super common – almost a given\" for covert narcissists, says Hall. \"They typically have a victim narrative, which allows them to pivot out of any situation, out of any responsibility. It's always someone else's fault, someone has been unfair to them.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c7pks0"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EHall says while overt narcissists are more obvious and aggressive, bullying others or hogging the spotlight, covert narcissists can be sweet and ingratiating, manipulating their victims over long periods before they realise what's going on.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"Covert narcissists may affect us in a more invisible way because we are not as prepared to deal with them,\" says Moon, adding that more research is needed to investigate this more deeply. \"You may be able to guard against the actions of an overt narcissist because their narcissistic behaviours are more visible…. Covert narcissism is less easily identified and harder to spot.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Fundamentally dangerous’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat’s the best way to deal with a covert narcissist?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you're trying to figure out if someone \u003Cem\u003Eis \u003C\u002Fem\u003Ea covert narcissist, consider this: how do they react when something good happens to you? Maybe it's a promotion, getting praise from a boss or even just telling them you're having a good day. \"Are they happy for you? Are they \u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\u002Fem\u003E happy for you? That's a really good way to detect narcissism,\" says Hall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you get the sense that it's fake or they're tucking something about the situation away in their mental filing cabinet, stop talking to them. Establishing boundaries is critical with any kind of narcissist, and since covert ones tend to do a better job at keeping up a likable or inoffensive appearance, it's better to err on the side of caution.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you have one in your workplace, it’s important not to disclose anything that could be used to undermine you: narcissists defend themselves by subtly attacking others. “Don't share personal information, because they're always mining information about others so they can get a leg up on them, so they can find other people's vulnerabilities and exploit those things,” says Hall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs for the convert narcissists themselves, Moon and Morais suggest that emotional intelligence training can help them build self-esteem, the lack of which causes their toxic behaviours. Moon says their study shows that \"boosting self-esteem is key\" to potentially helping covert narcissists experience less incivility at work and possibly change their harmful habits; studies have shown emotional intelligence and self-esteem \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tandfonline.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1080\u002F02699930143000482\"\u003Ehave a correlational relationship\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, so if one improves, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fprofile\u002FSaleha-Bibi\u002Fpublication\u002F308041700_Relationship_between_Emotional_Intelligence_and_Self_Esteem_among_Pakistani_University_Students\u002Flinks\u002F5d454867a6fdcc370a76c7e6\u002FRelationship-between-Emotional-Intelligence-and-Self-Esteem-among-Pakistani-University-Students.pdf\"\u003Ethe other may, as well\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut while you wait for that to happen, keep your guard up.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\"They're always hiding and armouring themselves – you can have empathy for it and pity for it, because it's its own form of tragedy in a human being. But at the same time, doing that is not safe,\" says Hall. \"They are antagonistic, and fundamentally dangerous.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace-4"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-20T22:38:24Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The quiet threat of 'covert' narcissists in the workplace","headlineShort":"The quiet threat of covert narcissists","image":["p0c7pk8j"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210319-why-ambiverts-are-better-leaders","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210414-why-some-narcissists-actually-hate-themselves"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Narcissists aren’t all overt and grandiose. There’s a stealthier, friendlier kind who are harder to spot – but just as dangerous.","summaryShort":"How not all narcissists are loud, showy braggarts – some are stealthy","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-think"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-19T23:15:16.738562Z","entity":"article","guid":"6d6d0991-f223-467e-92be-b938550dbf3c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-19T23:15:16.738562Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220518-the-quiet-threat-of-covert-narcissists-in-the-workplace","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095709},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work","_id":"6282ed141f4b7b67554d86b5","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmark-johanson"],"bodyIntro":"In places including the US and UK, remote work is here to stay. But that’s not necessarily the story around the world.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo years ago, the pandemic thrust us into remote work out of necessity – but now that many of the safety measures have lifted, large swaths of employees are still working from home. And many are doing so permanently. In several countries, companies have transitioned once in-office roles to become either entirely or partially remote. Plus, job listings with a remote component have soared.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA recent study from employment site Indeed shows the number of\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hiringlab.org\u002F2021\u002F12\u002F16\u002Fwill-remote-work-persist-after-the-pandemic\u002F\"\u003E global job listings that mention remote work has nearly tripled\u003C\u002Fa\u003E since the onset of the pandemic, up from an average of just 2.5% in January 2020 to almost 7.5% in September 2021, with countries like Ireland, Spain and the UK seeing the greatest increases. Meanwhile, careers site Ladders predicts that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theladders.com\u002Fpress\u002F25-of-all-professional-jobs-in-north-america-will-be-remote-by-end-of-next-year\"\u003E25% of all professional jobs in North America will be remote\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by the end of 2022. This doesn’t even account for the number of jobs that are not technically classified as remote or hybrid yet, but where workers are still at home while bosses toy with formal return-to-office arrangements. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, many employees who have been called back are returning to a partially remote workplace; globally, some \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fms-worklab.azureedge.net\u002Ffiles\u002Freports\u002F2022\u002Fpdf\u002F2022_Work_Trend_Index_Annual_Report.pdf\"\u003E38% of employees now work in a hybrid office\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, according to Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index. Much of the world is rapidly embracing a more progressive model for the future of the workplace, with employers going either remote and hybrid on a large scale.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, this isn’t necessarily the case with every nation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn some places, remote work just isn’t as culturally sanctioned, hasn’t been embraced by society or never caught on due to technological or logistical barriers. So, while many countries march head-first into a work-from-anywhere future, workers in locations including France or Japan are often returning to the office full-time, rejecting the notion that a five-day in-person work week is a relic of the past. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘French people are, most of the time, reluctant to change’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking from home has become so commonplace for many workers during the past two years that it can be hard to remember that, outside of Scandinavia and a few pockets in Western Europe, the practice was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F322979675_National_Culture_and_Application_of_Telework_in_Europe\"\u003Estill quite rare\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the 2010s. Now, most European nations – particularly those with higher GDPs – have embraced the concept whole-heartedly.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, France remains an outlier.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jean-jaures.org\u002Fpublication\u002Fpratiques-et-representations-associees-au-teletravail-en-europe\u002F\"\u003EIfop study\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for the French think tank Fondation Jean-Jaurès, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jean-jaures.org\u002Fpublication\u002Fpratiques-et-representations-associees-au-teletravail-en-europe\u002F\"\u003Eonly 29% of French workers say they work remotely “at least once a week\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. That compares to 51% of Germans, 50% of Italians, 42% of Brits and 36% of Spaniards. Even those in France who report working remotely appear to do so far less often than their European neighbours. While in Italy, 30% of workers said they teleworked for four to five days a week and 17% for two to three days, in France, the figures are 11% and 14%, respectively.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c64l2k"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“French people are, most of the time, reluctant to change,” says Sonia Levillain, a professor at the IÉSEG School of Management in Lille, and author of the Little Toolbox of Remote Management. “This is a stereotype, but it’s also a reality.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHybrid work has made some headway in France ever since workers began returning to the office last June. Many companies are now shifting to a flex office approach with hot desking. Yet, “employees are very sceptical of it”, says Levillain. “They were really attached to the physical office – to the place where they were working – because it was a sign of identity and of belonging to the organisation.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReluctance to work remotely may also have to do with how the French workplace has traditionally operated, with bosses feeling a strong need to control their employees. “Historically, the management practices were not developed around trust and autonomy, but more of a top-down approach,” explains Levillain.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESocial interactions are also a key tool for decision-making in the French office. Because they’ve traditionally happened quite informally, that’s been hard to replicate on a computer screen. “Communication is spontaneous – it’s not really organised and structured at a specific time with specific people,” explains Levillain, noting that managers prize unplanned contact and interaction in the workplace. “You walk around the office, and you discuss things at the coffee machine, because that’s a place where a lot of decisions are made and solutions are found.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo work in a hybrid mode on a sustainable basis would mean moving from the current informal office structure to a more structured one. “Culturally speaking,” says Levillain, “I think we still have lots of work to do to achieve that.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Everyone wanted to go back to the office as soon as possible’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJapan is another place whose highly social work structure made it a poor candidate for remote work, as evidenced by the Indeed study, which showed almost no uptick in remote jobs between January 2020 and September 2021.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParissa Haghirian, a professor of international management at Tokyo’s Sophia University, explains there are a lot of unspoken messages in the Japanese workplace – such as subtle body language cues or \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200129-what-is-reading-the-air-in-japan\"\u003E‘reading the air’\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which might steer the direction of a meeting – and these just couldn’t be examined on a screen. “In Japan, it’s always better to have a meeting in person than to write an email, because nonverbal communication plays a very important role,” she explains. “There is this idea that I know you, I like you, I have a good feeling about what you’re saying.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In Japan, it’s always better to have a meeting in person than to write an email, because nonverbal communication plays a very important role – Parissa Haghirian","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDialogue is also essential for decision making. Whereas overseas companies typically assign unique responsibilities to specific workers (and evaluate them individually), roles are far less defined in Japan, with employees working interdependently in teams, and making assessments as a group. This makes it difficult to divide processes and distribute work in a remote setting, leading to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fvoxeu.org\u002Farticle\u002Fproductivity-working-home-evidence-japan\"\u003Elower perceptions of productivity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E outside the office.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Since you don’t have a clear line of where your job ends and mine starts, everyone is doing everything together,” says Haghirian. “This kind of interaction in a Japanese firm is very fluid, but it’s often confusing to the outsider, because you never know who is really in charge or who is doing what.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJapan also prizes mentorship in the workplace. Senior members are often tasked with regularly teaching and monitoring younger peers – something that just did not happen as efficiently in a remote setting. “After a while, people just got really tired of remote work, and everyone wanted to go back to the office as soon as possible,” says Haghirian.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPresenteeism is also a problem that has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F343799695_The_Economic_Burden_of_Lost_Productivity_due_to_Presenteeism_Caused_by_Health_Conditions_Among_Workers_in_Japan\"\u003Elong plagued Japan\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Many workers fear a lack of career progression if they don’t toil away for long hours at the office, says Haghirian, who knows many people who didn’t do a single day of remote work during the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, there are some signs of change. IT giant Fujitsu, for one, launched a “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fujitsu.com\u002Fglobal\u002Fabout\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fpress-releases\u002F2021\u002F1006-01.html\"\u003EWork Life Shift\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” program last year that transformed the office into a “collaboration hub” for hybrid work. It also created more clearly defined job roles, making it easier for its 80,000 employees in Japan to work remotely. Car maker Honda, mobile carrier SoftBank and telecom company NTT Communications have all made similar allowances for remote work, suggesting a rift in Japan’s conservative corporate culture that may align businesses more with the will of workers, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.asahi.com\u002Fajw\u002Farticles\u002F14602888\"\u003E80% of whom expressed a desire to continue working from home\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in a February survey from Persol Research and Consulting Co.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c64l63"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EStill, despite some changes, many Japanese workers are hesitant to combine their home life with office life, as they prefer to have clear roles and boundaries for each (the office is for working, and the home is for recovering). The nation even has one of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdata.oecd.org\u002Fict\u002Faccess-to-computers-from-home.htm#indicator-chart\"\u003Elowest rates\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the OECD for access to personal computers, with home offices far less common than in the West, due to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fgraphics.reuters.com\u002FHEALTH-CORONAVIRUS\u002FTOKYO-HOMES\u002Fdgkvlabxpbx\u002F\"\u003Ethe small size of the average city apartment\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in this highly urbanised society.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC-based think tank, says real estate plays a key role in determining a culture’s attitudes toward remote work. “The long-term sustainability of remote work is contingent on the housing conditions of workers,” she says. “So, in Asia, where many people live in conditions where there are far fewer square feet per member of the household, work from home is not viable or attractive.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Globally, most people are still going to need offices’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccess to high-speed broadband is another barrier that can determine a country’s successful transition to hybrid forms of work, says Loh. Employees in much of the Global South, for example, have now returned to the workplace after lukewarm experiments in remote work \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fopenknowledge.worldbank.org\u002Fbitstream\u002Fhandle\u002F10986\u002F34277\u002FWho-on-Earth-Can-Work-from-Home.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y\"\u003Ehampered by poor technological infrastructure\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The knowledge economy is growing tremendously, but cultural preferences and typical living standards are not changing to that great of an extent,” says Loh. “So, globally, most people are still going to need offices.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere has, however, been an undeniable global shift in the ability to get work done beyond the confines of a traditional office, with many white-collar workers now equipped to log-on from home after learning how to do so during the height of the pandemic. So, although not every country may be as keen on remote work as the US or UK, hybrid and remote trends are here to stay.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, so, too, is the office. Companies around the world are now navigating the pros and cons of each model, picking and choosing which aspects gel with the particularities of their unique cultures. Countries like France or Japan might have been slower to adapt to remote and hybrid work, but progressive companies are now chipping away at corporate norms there, too, meaning it may only be a matter of time before the dominos begin to fall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-17T14:19:14Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The countries resisting remote work","headlineShort":"The nations resisting remote work","image":["p0c64l6t"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220307-should-in-office-workers-be-paid-more"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"In places including the US and UK, remote work is here to stay. But that’s not necessarily the story around the world.","summaryShort":"The UK and US love remote work – but that's not the whole story","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-17T00:32:01.97013Z","entity":"article","guid":"1c7e1d57-35ff-4fc2-84f1-a1d29f6ce9bc","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-17T00:33:38.58111Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-the-countries-resisting-remote-work","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095713},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b3e5f1cbffd","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"A noxious work environment can show up in any company – but some environments breed bad situations more than others.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Saurav, 39, moved industries, he expected to have to adapt to a change in pace. What he didn’t expect was to be plunged into a toxic environment, where racial slurs were common and being combative was rewarded.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Three very senior staff members made transparently Islamophobic comments about an employee who was leaving, using blatantly racist remarks,” he says. “I was astonished to see no internal reprimands or sensitivity training. The industry was a male-dominated sales environment where you simply had to be loud, brash, combative and extroverted to get along and ahead – this often meant taking a no-holds-barred approach to conversation and self-censoring.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe toxic behaviour deeply embedded in Saurav’s workplace will be recognisable to many – research suggests that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hrdive.com\u002Fnews\u002Ftoxic-cultures-have-cost-us-businesses-223b-in-the-past-five-years\u002F563905\u002F\"\u003Eone in five American workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have left a job due to a toxic workplace culture, while \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffs.hubspotusercontent00.net\u002Fhubfs\u002F2138509\u002FProtecting%20your%20people%20-%20a%20research%20report%20by%20Culture%20Shift.pdf\"\u003E64% of employees\u003C\u002Fa\u003E surveyed in the UK said that experiencing problematic behaviours at work had negatively impacted their mental health. In Saurav’s case, the behaviour at his workplace came to light, but toxicity regularly goes unreported and unchecked in many workplaces.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA common conception is that toxic behaviours are often found in large corporations where competition is fierce and accountability is low – and yet some workers report that the same damaging culture can just as easily be found in smaller, less hierarchical organisations. How can we identify which workplaces are particularly prone to toxicity? And are workers stuck in noxious workplaces if they want to work in certain industries – or is there potential for change?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen workplaces turn toxic\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough there isn’t a well-defined and consistent definition of what makes a workplace “toxic”, there are some key factors to look out for. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“A toxic workplace is a context in which abusive behaviours are almost normalised,” says Thomas Roulet, a professor of organisational theory at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. “It’s both about how people behave poorly, and how others are affected. A toxic workplace is often also riddled with political behaviours – individuals trying to gain influence without thinking about the consequences for their collaborators.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"High-pressure contexts are more likely to lead to toxic workplaces as stress and anxiety trickle down the hierarchy – Thomas Roulet","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIt’s easy to imagine the most toxic environments are in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-is-extreme-working-culture-worth-the-big-rewards\"\u003Ehighly competitive and intensely corporate companies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – much like the environment experienced by Saurav. But is this perception really accurate?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“High-pressure contexts are more likely to lead to toxic workplaces as stress and anxiety trickle down the hierarchy,” says Roulet. “But large organisations are also more likely to have good systems in place to address toxicity, for example, with opportunities to reach out to HR and initiatives to act on bullying behaviours.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, for many smaller companies, or organisations within industries typically considered kinder or more democratic, toxicity can still be an everyday occurrence. Pearl, 20, found herself horrified by toxic behaviours at a non-profit based in Europe when she moved there to take part in an internship.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I started to notice that the company hired people like me who were from developing countries to work for them in the name of ‘making a difference’,” she says. “Both myself and full-time staff from developing countries were underpaid. If we mentioned this, we were told that we should be grateful for the opportunity, rather than having our complaints taken seriously. Being in an environment where I was expected to produce a high standard of work that was often underappreciated was tough.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPearl was ultimately offered a permanent role, which she declined. She says because the company were mission-led, they believed that their work justified the exploitative nature of their contracts, and says that she was often mistreated and told that she should be “glad” that she was getting paid at all.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Worried man at computer","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EJanine Yancey, founder and CEO of Emtrain, an organisation that has recorded more than 20 million employee sentiment responses about behaviours in the workplace, says this kind of toxicity is not uncommon in workplaces where managers and workers are overstretched. In both the non-profit sector and within smaller organisations, where funds are less plentiful and companies are often \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211007-the-service-roles-that-lead-to-burnout\"\u003Eunder-resourced\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, damaging \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211015-what-does-being-a-cultural-fit-actually-mean\"\u003Ecompany cultures\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have ample space to thrive.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When smaller companies are understaffed, work around reducing toxic behaviour tends to fall to the bottom of the priority list,” says Yancey. “There has to be investment in proactively creating a culture that works for everyone.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYancey argues rather than a specific industry or type of organisation breeding toxic behaviour, there are common indicators that make any company more or less likely to become unhealthy. The resources a company possesses to manage these toxic signals will ultimately determine outcomes.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Organisations where leaders understand the implications of their power, and where there are strong norms of behaviour, tend to be the least toxic,” she says. “This has to be more than just a written policy – it’s a cultural thing where people know to act a certain way, and everyone ascribes to that.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDue to the complex and multi-faceted definition of ‘\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210330-why-toxic-workplace-cultures-follow-you-home\"\u003Etoxic workplaces\u003C\u002Fa\u003E’, it can be difficult to identify an environment where toxicity is commonplace – which can make it tough for interviewing workers to know what they’re stepping into. Yancey recommends digging deep into cultural norms during the interview: “Ask about norms of behaviour, what the leadership is like and whether they have coaching and training, and how the organisation sets tones of communication… if the company representative has no good answers to these questions, then that might not be the best sign.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHope for the future?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it’s still common for workplaces to get away with toxic behaviours, several high-profile cases of noxious company culture have surfaced in the past few years – which could potentially signal improved workplace culture in the future, across many different types of organisations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Organisations where leaders understand the implications of their power, and where there are strong norms of behaviour, tend to be the least toxic – Janine Yancey","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn November 2021, Activision Blizzard employees \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Ftechnology-59306286\"\u003Estaged a walkout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E after reports that chief executive Bobby Kotick had long been aware of harassment allegations. The state of California recently sued the video game company after employees complained of a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Ftechnology-57929543\"\u003E“fratboy” culture\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, including unequal pay, promoting men over women and widespread sexual harassment. Just a few months earlier, the CEO of Scottish brewer and pub chain Brewdog was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-57434978\"\u003Eforced to respond\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.punkswithpurpose.org\u002Fdearbrewdog\u002F\"\u003Eopen letter\u003C\u002Fa\u003E accusing the beer company of “toxic attitudes” and a “culture of fear”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYancey says it’s not a coincidence that both Brewdog and Activision Blizzard have faced public challenges in recent months.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The younger generation of our workforce have been raised to speak truth to power and to speak out when they see a wrong that needs addressing,” she says. “That generational characteristic, in combination with the power of social media, which allows people to organise online and share messages at scale, is a new framework of accountability that didn’t exist even a few years ago. But it exists now, and it’ll get even stronger as boomers and Gen Xers retire.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith toxic workplaces beginning to be named and shamed, and the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003EGreat Resignation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E now underway, employers are facing more pressure than ever to make sure that their workplaces are inclusive and attractive to potential and existing staff. Companies may need to prioritise stamping out damaging cultures – or risk coming under fire.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESaurav ended up being one of many trying to invoke change from the inside, joining the Diversity and Inclusion committee in order to ensure more BAME voices were heard within the company and pushing for more internal communications around employee behaviour. Although he eventually left the company, his response is indicative of the way that disenfranchised employees are trying to influence the cultures that they find themselves in – and perhaps changing how bosses will approach toxicity in future.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-12-06T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why some work environments breed toxic cultures","headlineShort":"Why some workplaces turn so toxic","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Anxious woman at laptop","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"A noxious work environment can show up in any company – but some environments breed bad situations more than others.","summaryShort":"\"Abusive behaviours are almost normalised\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-12-05T20:58:21.010807Z","entity":"article","guid":"ab86024d-afd4-454a-b7d2-6a8e0849d17c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:18:57.962884Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095716},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers","_id":"627c14791f4b7b457575a1d4","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Falex-christian"],"bodyIntro":"Many employees thrive in high-pressure work environments. But ruthless cultures can poison the well, eroding wellbeing and ultimately driving out workers.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Anthony was called into a meeting room at work, he expected the worst. Following a market downturn, lay-offs at his Hong Kong firm were imminent; the investment banker was aware his job was at risk. “Cuts were coming, but no one was sure if their job was on the line – it was a secret management kept from us.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the company’s cut-throat environment, this kind of secrecy was par for the course. In Anthony’s line of work, firms vied with one another for the highest-paying clients. Rivalry spilled over among internal teams. Employees were made to fight for their futures; every year, the bottom 10% of performers would automatically face the sack. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFinally, Anthony’s boss delivered the news. “We were told everyone in our meeting room would be staying – everyone else on the floor would be fired. Desks were cleared, people were marched out and then placed on gardening leave. I never saw them again.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Anthony, this kind of workplace culture meant he had to become ruthless if he wanted to keep his job. “Competition permeated the whole firm,” he adds. “You survive long term if you’re political, prepared to put in insane hours and not make enemies of certain people. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. It breeds chest-beating, Spartan-like behaviour: ‘\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork\"\u003EI work longer hours than you\u003C\u002Fa\u003E’. You either fight and work harder than the next man, or you’re quickly out the door. It can be absolutely brutal.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile a degree of healthy competition in a company can be beneficial, a ruthless, cut-throat environment seems to poison workplaces. In fact, an analysis of 1.4 million reviews written by US employees on company-reviews website Glassdoor shows toxic workplace culture was the leading cause of resignations last year. One of the biggest factors in this toxicity was cut-throat culture: hyper-competitive work environments featuring continuous undermining from management and colleagues. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompetition seems to be in the DNA of certain sectors, companies and even employees. Yet it’s clear companies need to do more to draw the line between rivalry that can be motivating, albeit high-pressured, versus toxic – or risk an exodus of unhappy staff. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDefining cut-throat culture\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECut-throat culture has been a fixture of workplaces for decades, particularly in professional services where only certain employees will ever climb to the top of the corporate ladder.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The attitude is to put everyone in the snake pit and see who climbs out – Anthony","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EJohnny C Taylor Jr, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), based in Washington, DC, says these kinds of workplace cultures breed internal competition between workers from day one. “In law firms, there are a large number of recruits with only a few ever making that coveted partner status. So, by definition, you have to do better than your colleagues if you want to make it.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese internal tensions are often further stoked by competition with rival businesses for the highest-paying clients. Taylor says this competitive corporate culture begins at the executive level, and cascades via middle management down to junior-level employees. “Cut-throat is where an organisation over-values competition to the point that their main focus is to beat another company. If you’re in the 100 top law firms, you’re naturally going to fight to remain there when you’re up against tens of thousands competing against you.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECut-throat culture is often synonymous with toxic workplaces. The recent analysis of Glassdoor reviews by human capital insights firm CultureX, seen by BBC Worklife, shows mentions of “cut-throat” are often listed alongside problems like being unable to raise issues, speak freely or promote racial equity at work; abusive leadership, favouritism and negative feedback are also frequently cited. Phrases like “Darwinian”, “back-stabbing” and “two-faced” are used to describe cut-throat environments. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the research, although mentions of “cut-throat” appeared in just 1% of 1.4 million reviews across 40 industries, use of the term had one of the biggest impacts on a company’s rating. “The most frequent criticism of an organisation will be compensation – but it has a mild effect on an employee’s overall review,” explains Charlie Sull, co-founder of CultureX, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. “Toxic culture, however, significantly tanks a Glassdoor rating. And ‘cut-throat’ is one of its biggest factors: it’s on the same level as unethical and exclusionary behaviour. It’s a very powerful driver of employee dissatisfaction.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c57jlr"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Man working late in the office","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EGlassdoor data shows cut-throat culture appears across a wide variety of sectors, from Big Tech to aerospace and construction. There is also a higher prevalence in media and entertainment, as well industries that have more frontline employees, such as in retail and health. “Cut-throat culture can even exist in non-profits,” says Taylor. “It’s ultimately people-led: if management believes in winning by all means, then it becomes the corporate culture.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAge, gender and seniority play their part in determining cut-throat work environments. Taylor says firms with this kind of culture often have leadership that skews towards older white men, those who “understand the rules of the game”. Cut-throat firms can also have a lack of diversity at employee-level. Anthony describes his industry dominated by alpha males. “The attitude is to put everyone in the snake pit and see who climbs out,” he adds. “It’s a very aggressive, macho, male-dominated work environment.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some, this competitive workplace culture can be an immediate turn-off. Angela says she quit her job at a major consulting firm in New York City after realising climbing the corporate ladder meant playing – and winning – at internal politics. “Everyone was gunning for promotion: it wasn’t the work you were doing, but who you knew that could vouch for you,” she explains. “I didn’t necessarily have those mentors and people vouching for me. As a recent graduate, I’d had a notion of meritocracy in the workplace – it was a big shock to me.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan competitive companies change?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile cut-throat culture seems to be a huge indicator of employee dissatisfaction, references to it seem to be declining, according to Glassdoor figures. Sull believes this is due to the rise of remote working; fewer face-to-face interactions have somewhat muted toxicity issues. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s one thing if your boss is mean to you on a virtual call, another if it’s done to your face,” he adds. “Our hypothesis is that cut-throat culture has been hibernating during Covid and hybrid work – it’s become less immediate.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c57jvm"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Business meeting","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet it seems unlikely it’s going away. In a recent survey of more than 16,000 business leaders, across 650 global organisations, seen by BBC Worklife, CultureX found political connections influenced promotions more than collaboration. Respondents were also nearly as likely to say there were factions among their top teams as there was cohesion. It implies that cut-throat culture remains widespread. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Culture and toxicity are very obdurate forces,” says Sull. “They don’t change much unless they’re pushed very hard, or there’s a sudden shock like a major CEO-led culture change initiative. Even if the company wants to change, and knows how to, it’s a generally slow process that can take years in large organisations.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAcross traditionally high-pressure and competitive industries, such as finance and law, however, there may be little appetite to overhaul the cut-throat environments that turn over huge profits, despite trends in other sectors towards building kinder workplaces. Many of the biggest firms are multinational institutions with decades-old working practices that have become baked in over time. Change, therefore, may be hard to come by. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn these industries, Taylor suggests firms should implement “guardrails” to keep cut-throat culture in check, creating healthier competition. “There should be an agreement that no individual can win at the cost to their colleagues or organisation,” he says. “Management should establish what constitutes ethical or unethical behaviour – guiding principles that articulate a good work culture.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWithout such measures in place, a win-at-all-costs mentality creates the kind of toxic environment that, ultimately, forces employees to quit. Although Anthony still works in finance, he says his cut-throat days are, thankfully, behind him. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It was always, ‘We’re the best bank because we do the best work, have the best price performance and raise the most money’,” he explains. “I became so wrapped up in the money and lifestyle of it all until I eventually hit a wall. I was a mess, snatching a bit of sleep at my desk at night, pulling all-nighters. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore: I quit.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAngela’s surname is being withheld for future career considerations; Anthony is using his middle name for job-security reasons \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-12T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The toxic 'cut-throat' culture that drives out workers","headlineShort":"The toxic 'cut-throat' work problem","image":["p0c57gq5"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Professional woman","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211201-why-some-work-environments-breed-toxic-cultures","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220408-the-simmering-tension-between-remote-and-in-office-workers","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many employees thrive in high-pressure work environments. But ruthless cultures can poison the well, eroding wellbeing and ultimately driving out workers.","summaryShort":"\"The attitude is to put everyone in the snake pit and see who climbs out\"","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-11T19:54:15.138578Z","entity":"article","guid":"f1849b36-5df5-46a1-8c9a-cd020cc85fc8","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-11T19:54:15.138578Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095716},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b354a7c15f4","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Workers are increasingly scrutinising benefits packages as they evaluate employment opportunities. What's reasonable to ask for?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ‘Great Resignation’, which has seen millions of people leave their positions, has put US job vacancies at a 20-year high and left companies scrambling for recruits. The narrative around this mass exodus has largely been that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003Eemployers failed employees\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, so they’re going elsewhere to find better options. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut better doesn’t always mean more money; more often, it means a better benefits package. Employees are increasingly seeking a new set of perks to match their actual needs, and bargaining for the things that really matter to them, like improved leave policies and flexible working. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, while companies have a vested interest in maintaining happy, healthy employees, the bottom line still reigns supreme. But in the wake of the pandemic – and the way it’s shaken up the employment market – companies and workers are finding themselves in a new kind of negotiation, as employees figure out what’s reasonable to ask for, and companies decide how much to give.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBenefits for individuals\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough workers are looking for additional support across the globe, this issue is especially crucial in the US, where many workers count on their employers for assistance and healthcare access that isn’t provided for on a government level.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile basic benefits, including things like health and dental coverage, remain foundational parts of American worker benefits, overall packages are getting more specific and individualised to single employees’ needs, says Tim Allen, CEO of benefit services site Care.com. “For years, benefit offerings have been determined en masse, catered to a group. Now, individuals are coming to the table and saying, ‘I need this for my life and my family’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EToday, employees, both existing and new hires, are negotiating for benefits like mental-health and wellness services, flexible working and paid leave that best suit their daily lives. It’s a trend that’s been building over \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.prnewswire.com\u002Fnews-releases\u002Fnew-decade-promises-expansion-and-diversification-of-voluntary-benefits-301002747.html\"\u003Eseveral years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, says Allen, as talent recruitment and retention have become a top priority. The pandemic significantly accelerated things, he adds, and a side effect is workers being seen as the individuals they are, rather than just parts of a whole.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I think seeing people on Zoom at home has really individualised them,” he says. “I think that normalisation also really engendered people to go and say ‘Hey, I need this benefit or this thing’. And companies go, ‘I get it, I understand’.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis new appreciation of employees’ individual circumstances is reflected in how companies provide things like mental-health benefits, says Alex Alonso, chief knowledge officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, he says, one of the main perks people want is a mental-health benefit that’s effective and on-demand. “Covid caused alienation, loneliness, anxiety – there’s a massive group of employees that need really effective mental-health benefits that will actually produce results. And these benefits are being hammered out on a team-member level, versus the team as a whole.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMore and more companies are offering these kinds of provisions, he says, where in the past they might have been seen as fringe benefits lumped in with things like fitness programmes and transport subsidies.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Now, individuals are coming to the table and saying, ‘I need this for my life and my family’ – Tim Allen","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“I think the gap between mainstream [benefits] and fringe is shrinking,” says Allen. “The baseline benefits like healthcare and dental are things companies know they have to have to attract talent. Now the employers of choice are going, ‘OK, we need to expand the benefit package to encompass the other aspects of life. How do we provide subsidies for childcare? Senior care benefits?’” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne benefit that’s significantly expanding is flexibility. Traditional offerings like paid holiday and sick leave “are just a starting point”, says Jonathan Bennett, head of employee benefits at insurance company The Hartford. Increasingly, benefits are growing to include “paid time off for other purposes, like being able to take care of children, a partner, a parent. Those kinds of needs are becoming much more present”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDespite the continued \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210624-why-doesnt-the-us-have-mandated-paid-maternity-leave\"\u003Elack of a nationwide parental leave policy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, that area has undergone one of the biggest shifts; nearly 40% of companies have increased their childcare-leave options. “In the last five years, that’s almost doubled in terms of the number of employers offering that paid maternity leave that’s beyond what’s provided by [disability or state] law,” says Alonso. “That’s now offered by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shrm.org\u002Fabout-shrm\u002Fpress-room\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fpages\u002Fshrm-study-finds-employer-provided-benefits-have-dramatically-changed-and-expanded-during-covid-19-pandemic.aspx\"\u003E53% of employers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHybrid- or remote work is another area where provisions are evolving. According to SHRM’s 2020 employee benefits report, 78% of employers have shifted and expanded their telework options since 2019. It’s perfectly reasonable, especially in light of the recent 18-month stretch that proved most of us can do our jobs effectively from anywhere, to ask for home working days. And it’s not just about whether you can be physically out of the office, but whether the company has benefits that help you thrive outside it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Expanded telework options as a benefit are being enhanced,” says Alonso. “Companies are giving people access to remote work sites, remote work technology – a variety of tools.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChanged expectations\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s important, says Alonso, to put the question of what constitutes a reasonable request into context. Decades ago, it may have seemed unreasonable to ask an employer for personalised benefits, but things are very different now. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We’re seeing a shift in the way employers are viewed by their employees,” Alonso says. “Fifty years ago, the protector of an employee’s rights and wellbeing was the government. Now, employers are the group most often cited as being responsible for employee’s wellbeing.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn other words, there’s an expectation that our companies will sustain us even when we’re not at work. That’s at least partly because the line between work and life has become so blurred. We’re working longer hours than ever and, for many of us, allowing our jobs to extend well into our ‘off’ hours and the other areas of our lives. As a result, says Alonso, “employees are entering into a partnership where the workplace is saying, ‘Hey, we’re not just going to take care of you in your work, but in your life’”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s not just about whether you can be physically out of the office, but whether the company has benefits that help you thrive outside it","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOf course, benefits like flexible working and paid time off don’t matter if company culture discourages you from taking advantage of them, says Bennett; that is the bigger shift employees are pushing for. “We found there still is a hesitancy to use some of this flexible paid time off. It’s not just about having the time; it’s about having a corporate culture that makes employees feel like they can \u003Cem\u003Euse\u003C\u002Fem\u003E the time.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEqually, people are still looking for a pay cheque, and capitalism isn’t going anywhere. But it’s far from the only thing that matters. Employees are asking for assurances, says Alonso, that companies will invest in them long-term. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAsking companies to care for us is reasonable, particularly now. “Especially in this Great Resignation, people are changing jobs because they know they have choices,” says Allen. It’s the companies that recognise this, engage with employees over what will actually benefit them and do their best to provide that will recruit and retain the best talent. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBenefit offerings, says Allen, “show you who you are to a company, and how they want to take care of you. People are looking around and going, ‘OK, you can match my salary and bonus, but if you can’t match these benefits, I’ll take the chance with someone who will’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-09-24T16:00:40Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"What workers really want to keep from quitting","headlineShort":"The benefits workers really want","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Workers are increasingly scrutinising benefits packages as they evaluate employment opportunities. What's reasonable to ask for?","summaryShort":"Amid the Great Resignation, employers need to rise to the occasion","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-09-23T20:53:22.850877Z","entity":"article","guid":"855e9100-9b55-4751-a33e-6dd0fa26a9ad","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:15:04.722466Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095717},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day","_id":"62799b001f4b7b2ef51fe534","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Sick days used to mean resting, not working. Now, however, more employees are logging in from home as they fight illness – after all, if people are remote already, why take time off?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore the pandemic, ill workers quite often showed up in the office, coughing and spluttering away as they tackled their workloads. Today, fortunately, sick employees can often work remotely, keeping their germs to themselves. But this shift raises a new dilemma for workers. Exactly \u003Cem\u003Ehow ill\u003C\u002Fem\u003E do you have to be to take a ‘proper' sick day from home?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore, the choice was binary for most sick workers: power through despite feeling lousy and go to the office, or stay at home and abandon work for the day. Option one could mean keeping on top of your work (and pleasing the boss), while option two could potentially aid your recovery.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, it's not so simple. Yes, colds or the flu can be debilitating, and people certainly might not be in shape to jump on a train and head for work. But for busy employees able to work from home, it can be tempting to continue firing off emails and performing daily tasks while coughing away on the couch, instead of taking proper time off to rest.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt's a problem that could become more common as hybrid and remote work spreads. Polling data from the US suggests two-thirds of workers feel remote work \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbeamery.com\u002Fresources\u002Fblogs\u002Fflexibility-in-the-workplace-continues-to-improve\"\u003Eadds pressure to work while sick\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; other polls suggest the same proportion \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theraflu.com\u002FRightToRecover\"\u003Efeel obliged to clock in remotely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, even if they're sick. In the UK, sickness absence \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Femploymentandlabourmarket\u002Fpeopleinwork\u002Flabourproductivity\u002Farticles\u002Fsicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket\u002F2021\"\u003Ehit record lows\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2020, as people worked from home (but rebounded somewhat in 2021, partly due to an uptick in coronavirus cases).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, data indicates many sick workers are logging in from home, and that ‘proper' sick days are becoming increasingly rare. Experts say that both companies and workers need to stop and think about this shift – and its implications for productivity, company culture and worker wellbeing – before it becomes an entrenched practice. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESick day? Like any other day\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPeople have always worked while ill; sickness absence had been falling before the pandemic, both in countries such as the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2022-02-14\u002Fworkers-are-healthier-safer-and-log-fewer-sick-days-despite-covid?sref=lgADY7dy\"\u003EUS\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (which doesn't have nationally mandated paid sick leave) and the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Femploymentandlabourmarket\u002Fpeopleinwork\u002Femploymentandemployeetypes\u002Farticles\u002Fsicknessabsencefallstothelowestratein24years\u002F2018-07-30\"\u003EUK\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (which does)\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003EBut now, remote work has enabled ill people to crack open their laptops and work from bed – making skipping sick days in favour of presenteeism easier than ever.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEarly in the pandemic, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.canadalife.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fredundancy-fears-causing-increase-in-presenteeism-during-lockdown\u002F\"\u003Eredundancy fears\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, combined with guilt and a fear of falling behind, caused many remote workers to log on while ill. Anecdotally, that trend has continued, even as the situation has stabilised, because widespread remote work has made things more complicated: we all know people who work from home while ill, if we don't do it ourselves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Widespread remote work has made things more complicated: we all know people who work from home while ill, if we don't do it ourselves","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ERemote work has made “decisions regarding when, and when not, to take sick days harder”, agrees Brittany Lambert, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, US. \"The boundaries, rules and structures which governed the way we thought about our work, in many cases, fundamentally changed.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, when you're working from home anyway, a sick day can feel like any other day – so workers might feel as though the bar to call out for the day has been raised, says Ann Frost, associate professor of organisational behaviour at Ivey Business School at Western University, Canada. “If I've got a bad cough and I clearly have a bad cold, I don't want to be with my colleagues”\" she says. “But can I stay in and still get the project done I'm supposed to do? You bet I can.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn some cases, workers have only felt catching Covid-19 was a good enough excuse to justify a sick day during the pandemic – and even that’s been up for debate.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGreg Couser, occupational medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, one the country’s largest healthcare organisations, points to a lack of clarity on sickness between employers and employees. \"The issue truly is expectations in the workplace,\" he says. \"And it seems like expectations in the workplace have changed, and I guess ground rules haven’t really been established yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c55b8f"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe role of company culture\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the absence of ground rules, some workers might see the evolution of the combined work\u002Fsick day as a positive; if you have a mild illness, you can take a little more care of yourself at home, while still getting necessary work completed. That means you’re not letting anyone down, and there’s less likely to be an unmanageable mound of work awaiting upon your return to health.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there are multiple reasons why it might be better to take a proper pause to recover from sickness. Data has long shown working while sick \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.lww.com\u002Fjoem\u002Ffulltext\u002F2019\u002F11000\u002Fexhaustion_and_impaired_work_performance_in_the.14.aspx\"\u003Eleads to worse job performance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Research also suggests a link between not taking sick days and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.lww.com\u002Fjoem\u002FAbstract\u002F2014\u002F06000\u002FIs_Sickness_Presenteeism_a_Risk_Factor_for.5.aspx\"\u003Ean increased risk of depression\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, while a 2022 study showed that working from home sick \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1002\u002Fjob.2601\"\u003Emade workers feel \u003Cem\u003Emore \u003C\u002Fem\u003Eguilty\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than if they had just taken the sick day. Plus, working remotely while feeling moderately ill – bad enough to have made people stay at home pre-pandemic – could lead to more burnout, says Couser.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The crux of it all is that people aren't going to get better, they're going to get sicker, they’re going to get more stressed out and there’s going to be all sorts of consequences that we don’t even know about,\" says Couser. It’s in companies’ interests to encourage people to take sick days, because “although there may be a short-term gain in productivity, it could lead to a longer-term loss”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, the pandemic has ushered in more worker autonomy and flexibility, meaning that if an individual wants to work remotely while sick, they can work while sick. It's up to them. But, say the experts, that decision will be heavily influenced by their company culture and the messages leaders are sending, both explicitly and implicitly.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If employers say, ‘You can just work from home – if you've got a cough and a fever, just take an Advil and hop into bed and you'll be fine’ – that's bad. That's bad culture. Who wants to work at a company like that?” says Frost.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People aren't going to get better, they're going to get sicker, they’re going to get more stressed out, and there’s going to be all sorts of consequences that we don’t even know about – Greg Courser","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EEach person will be different in terms of how they handle sickness, she adds; what’s debilitating to one may be manageable for someone else. Seeing colleagues working while sick could pressure others to do the same. That’s why, she says, the “organisational piece” is key workers need a positive culture that safeguards their right to call in sick when necessary, especially when working hybrid or remotely.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime to recalibrate?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs with many aspects of work since the pandemic, both employers and employees are still navigating these changes; it may take time for best practices on remote-work sick days to become embedded.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECouser suggests it is in companies’ best interests to address this issue; if workers don't feel supported enough to call in sick when they want, they might leave, especially in the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003Ecurrent employment climate\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. “Workers are going to be figuring out pretty quickly which companies really have this culture thing figured out,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELambert suggests workers can play a role in finding their own balance. “I think the most important thing you can do as an individual is to figure out what works for you – and work in an environment that supports your thriving. So, if working even when you are just a little sick, feels like thriving to you – go for it. Though I would add a disclaimer and say: proceed with caution.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, though, she says it’s on managers to facilitate communication, support staff and build a culture that safeguards workers' health – or else, as research shows, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.lww.com\u002Fjoem\u002FFulltext\u002F2020\u002F10000\u002FThe_Economic_Burden_of_Lost_Productivity_due_to.17.aspx\"\u003Erisk a drop in productivity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Protecting and encouraging sick leave benefits everyone – and now it is the crucial time to do just that.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Lambert says, “I think we're in a period of recalibration, and have a great opportunity to redefine what sick leave is – and could be – to better serve both organisations, and the people who work for them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-10T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How remote work could nix the sick day","headlineShort":"The end of the sick day","image":["p0c55b6w"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210923-what-workers-really-want-to-keep-from-quitting","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Sick days used to mean resting, not working. Now, however, more employees are logging in from home as they fight illness – after all, if people are remote already, why take time off?","summaryShort":"Many workers are home already, anyway – why take off time for illness?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-09T22:51:25.708078Z","entity":"article","guid":"991fef4c-d130-48bb-a951-e90d40bac2f7","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-09T23:52:35.385742Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095717},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office","_id":"6267dfc01f4b7b4af41c3a72","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"After two years of remote work, spending a day in the office can be a shock to the wallet – and rising costs are making it worse.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again,” President Joe Biden \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.whitehouse.gov\u002Fbriefing-room\u002Fspeeches-remarks\u002F2022\u002F03\u002F01\u002Fremarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered\u002F\"\u003Esaid\u003C\u002Fa\u003E earlier this year. He’s not the only political leader calling for workers to head back to the office. “Mother Nature does not like working from home,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002F454769a7-2d96-4d82-9a00-599ca9eb5c2e\"\u003Eannounced\u003C\u002Fa\u003E late last year, as he predicted a wholesale return to pre-pandemic commuting levels. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s not surprising that political leaders want us back at our desks. Without daily commutes and dining ‘al desko’, businesses of all types and sizes are losing out financially. One day of commuting is worth \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.railbusinessdaily.com\u002Fresearch-shows-business-boost-from-work-return-but-staff-and-employers-have-different-expectations\u002F#:~:text=One%20day%20of%20commuting%20is,the%20course%20of%20a%20year\"\u003E£82m\u003C\u002Fa\u003E ($107m) to businesses in the UK; in the US, workers spent \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Faverage-spending-on-commute-how-much-money-2019-7?r=US&IR=T\"\u003Ebetween $2,000 and $5,000\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (£1,536–£3,840) on transport to work alone each year before the pandemic. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there’s a problem. Employees who haven’t had to budget for train tickets, takeaway coffees or new office outfits for the past two years are now acutely aware of how much it costs to spend a day at your desk. And, worse, these costs are growing. Petrol prices are at an all-time high; transport fares have increased, and food and other essentials are on an upwards trajectory. That means an office day can hit the wallet hard.\u003Cem\u003E \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies are offering financial and other incentives to tempt unhappy commuters back. But, given how aware workers are now of exactly how much an office day costs, it feels unlikely people will willingly revert to absorbing office-day expenses like before. \u003Cem\u003E \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘A quarter of my daily income’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EClaire, a manager at a business events company in London, is certainly far more conscious now of how much she’s spending on her days in the office.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"When I first went back to the office, I was shocked. It’s just crazy expensive – Umus","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen she worked from home during the pandemic, she put the money she usually spent on transport, takeaway lunches, office wear and after-work drinks into a savings pot. “I think I saved something crazy like £6,000 in six months,” she says. But when her employers reinstituted office days, the sudden change in her outgoings came as a shock. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make matters worse, her return train ticket to work has risen from £35 pre-pandemic to almost £50. “Having a mortgage, the rise in utility bills, council tax, income tax and the rising train fares, it’s just becoming impossible,” she says. Claire’s employer has upped salaries to meet market rates but, says Claire, “it’s really not enough”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUmus, a lecturer at a London university, experienced a similar post-pandemic price shock. Their commute – a comparatively short distance on the underground – costs £6.40 during rush hour. “When I first went back to the office, I was shocked. It’s just crazy expensive,” says Umus. “People are always saying ‘you can just cycle’, but it’s very ableist, everybody is not capable of cycling seven miles every day.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt work, Umus finds that expenses accumulate. “I usually grab both breakfast and lunch around work,” says Umus. “The cheapest option is Pret, and very easily, one coffee, one little breakfast thing and lunch, ends up being £13, then I get snacks from Tesco, which isn’t cheap either.” They’ve been working on a strict budget, but still end up spending between £22 and £27 on food and transport every office day. “That’s more than a quarter of what I make per day just to be able to go into the office,” says Umus.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Takeaway sushi at an office desk","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Umus works from home, they prepare their own food – it’s easier with more time and access to a full kitchen. “People say you can bring your own lunch [to the office], but I have a baby at home. I just barely survive, I can't plan lunches as well,” says Umus. “I feel like I should be able to afford a Pret sandwich as a lecturer at [a university in] London, but it’s really pushing the limits of my budget if I do it more than twice a week.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESoaring costs\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUmus isn’t the only one struggling to cover office-related costs. “Incomes of all types, particularly wages, are just not keeping up with inflation,” says James Smith, research director at London think-tank Resolution Foundation. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the UK Office of National Statistics, while wages did technically rise over the last tax year, when accounting for rising costs, workers actually saw a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-60734392\"\u003E1% drop\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in pay. In the US, the Labor Department \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wsj.com\u002Farticles\u002Finflation-drives-worker-pay-down-not-up-wage-price-spiral-raises-goods-keynes-friedman-cost-push-fed-11643662537\"\u003Ereports\u003C\u002Fa\u003E worker pay has increased by 4% in the past year, well below the 7% increase in prices. In South Africa, worker wages were frozen in 2020 and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbusinesstech.co.za\u002Fnews\u002Ffinance\u002F534062\u002Fsalaries-to-remain-under-pressure-in-south-africa-economists-warn\u002F\"\u003Eclimbed 1.5% in 2021\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – again, well below the estimated inflation of 4.5%. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs wages lag, transport costs are surging. In London, where public transport dominates, fares on buses and the London Underground have seen the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fuk-news\u002F2022\u002Ffeb\u002F14\u002Flondon-tube-and-bus-fares-to-rise-almost-5-from-next-month\"\u003Ebiggest rise in a decade\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, to help recoup pandemic losses. Across the UK, rail costs \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fmoney\u002F2021\u002Fdec\u002F17\u002Frail-fares-increase-march-inflation\"\u003Eare also going up\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In the United States, where the vast majority (over 80%) commute by car, surging gas prices are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002F75d435fc-3e40-41b6-b4f0-0bf74321617a\"\u003Ekeeping people\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from getting behind the wheel. A year ago, petrol in the US cost $2.87 a gallon, now the average has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fgasprices.aaa.com\u002F\"\u003Egone up 50%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to $4.10, leaving many commuters struggling.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It's gotten to the point where if I were to be forced back into the office full time, I literally can't afford to get there – Tracy Benson","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESouth Africa has seen similar increases. “Wages have been stagnant since the beginning of 2020 and the petrol price just keeps going up and up,” says Tracy Benson, an office manager in Johannesburg. Benson is currently alternating remote and office days, but now South Africa has eased its pandemic rules a push to get back to the office has begun. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It's gotten to the point where if I were to be forced back into the office full time, I literally can't afford to get there, the petrol would cost me too much,” says Benson. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubsidies, for some\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese rising costs mean that workers who can do their jobs from home are understandably reluctant to head to the office unless they absolutely need to. In Benson’s case, she’s just hoping her employer keeps allowing home working. “I’m worried the office will push for a full return,” says Benson. “For me, it would honestly mean finding a different job.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies are cognisant of employees’ concerns and are offering practical solutions aimed at alleviating costs related to office days. Media company Bloomberg is offering its US staff \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wired.co.uk\u002Farticle\u002Fflexible-working-commute-cost#:~:text=The%20dreaded%20commute.,exactly%20how%20to%20spend%20it.\"\u003Ea $75 daily commuting stipend\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which they can spend however they want. In the UK, consultancy PwC is giving commuters \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Fsep\u002F06\u002Fsweet-deal-uk-workers-lured-back-to-office-with-bonuses-and-ice-cream\"\u003Ean extra £1,000\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to come into the office, while bank Goldman Sachs is offering \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.efinancialcareers.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002F2021\u002F09\u002Fgoldman-sachs-free-food\"\u003Efree breakfast and lunch\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to some workers. But these perks and stipends certainly don’t extend to all companies – meaning people are not only being asked to give up remote work but also spend more to do it. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Commuters on a train platform","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore the pandemic, people generally absorbed these costs without question. But now they’ve seen the alternative, it’s not as simple as just ‘going back to normal’ – especially if other people are getting better deals. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s an issue of fairness,” says Jean-Nicolas Reyt, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at McGill. He explains that we determine fairness not just based on what our colleagues are receiving, but also what other people doing different jobs at different organisations are getting – so if one company is subsidising their employees’ commutes, then workers elsewhere are likely to want the same benefit. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“People don't stay an unfair situation; they work less, or usually they quit,” adds Reyt. “If some companies start giving people money to commute, this is going to become the norm, the market will readjust.” Reyt encourages employers to pick their battles. “CEOs talk to me as if the goal is to reduce all costs,” he says, but an enforced back-to-office policy, without any perks, will likely have unintended consequences for employee retention. “It’s not worth it to cut corners. The overall costs are so much bigger than these savings.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet even as some workers discuss with their employers how often they’ll return to the office and who will pay, the Resolution Foundation’s Smith points out that those who have the option of working from home are still some of the most fortunate. After all, knowledge workers and those on higher incomes were far more likely to be able to work remotely during the pandemic \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200921-what-remote-jobs-tell-us-about-inequality\"\u003Ethan lower-income workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, who will have had no choice but to attend their place of work each day and absorb the related, rising costs. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Umus says: “I'm one of the lucky ones. So, I don't know how other people manage.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EClaire and Umus are using their middle names out of job-security concerns\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-21T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The sky-high cost of returning to the office","headlineShort":"The soaring cost of return-to-work","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman exiting the subway","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"After two years of remote work, spending a day in the office can be a shock to the wallet – and rising costs are making it worse.","summaryShort":"\"When I first went back to the office, I was shocked. It’s just crazy expensive\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-20T21:04:04.198017Z","entity":"article","guid":"2d3b8009-c822-4d6c-9d54-a5f95ea00e9e","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-20T21:15:31.096457Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095723},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility","_id":"627325ec1f4b7b0eca5a6e91","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fanna-jones"],"bodyIntro":"Flexibility has long been touted as the ‘it’ perk. But as pay packets swell, workers are increasingly prioritising bigger salaries over other benefits.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor many workers, flexibility has become paramount. Now that millions of employees have enjoyed the ability to work remotely and shape their schedules, workers are increasingly reticent to give up flexibility – and would consider making sacrifices to have accommodating jobs. Earlier in the pandemic, large swaths of workers reported \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.usatoday.com\u002Fstory\u002Fmoney\u002F2021\u002F11\u002F11\u002Fworkplace-survey-remote-pay-cut-covid\u002F6367601001\u002F\"\u003Ewillingness to take a pay cut\u003C\u002Fa\u003E if they secured the benefits they wanted. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut in recent months, a shift has occurred: while flexibility is still high on the list, pay is moving centre stage as a priority for job-seekers. Both knowledge- and blue-collar workers with particularly in-demand skillsets are enjoying sharp salary rises, as labour shortages impact some industries. These hikes are coming as workers of all stripes are facing \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office\"\u003Erising living costs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – and wondering if they, too, could find a better-paying role elsewhere. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, say experts, in sectors where workers have leverage, companies are having to pay more to secure the personnel they need. And as people worry about paying their bills, salary levels are moving ahead of flexibility as the most important factor in attracting and retaining talent. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA perks and salary ‘arms race’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The money that’s being thrown around at the moment is ridiculous – it’s the craziest I’ve ever seen,” says Chris Adcock, the Solihull-based managing director for Reed Technology, the IT branch of Reed Recruitment in the UK. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdcock says there’s been something of a benefits “arms race” in the past few years, as companies adjusted to new demands brought about by the pandemic. At first, flexibility around working hours or location, or a positive company culture that supported work-life balance, were portrayed as unique selling points; a reason for candidates to join up. Almost overnight, however, these “perks” \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.barnett-waddingham.co.uk\u002Fcomment-insight\u002Fnews\u002Flack-of-workplace-flexibility-prompts-employees-to-swap-jobs\u002F\"\u003Ebecame minimum expectations for job-seekers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People tend to move for pay, especially when their pay is exponentially higher than they would be expecting – Chris Adcock","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAnd while everyone was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete\"\u003Efocusing on flexibility and benefits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, they’ve “kind of ignored the elephant in the room, which is people tend to move for pay, especially when their pay is exponentially higher than they would be expecting”, says Adcock. Once everyone is offering what were once considered perks, “there’s no other benefits left so we’re back to the one thing we know, which is money, and that’s where the arms race of salary comes in”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the world slowly emerges from the pandemic, labour shortages are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.monster.com\u002Fcareer-advice\u002Farticle\u002Fshrm-industries-need-more-workers-1216\"\u003Ehitting some sectors hard\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, particularly areas like technology, engineering, sustainability, healthcare and skilled trades. That means for in-demand jobs, we’re now in a situation “where salaries being offered by businesses are 10, 20, even 30% higher than market standards, just to attract people”, says Adcock. Across the UK, March saw the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rec.uk.com\u002Four-view\u002Fnews\u002Fpress-releases\u002Freport-jobs-upturn-hiring-activity-slows-again-amid-candidate-shortages\"\u003Esteepest rise in starter salaries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on record. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdcock says flexibility and company values are still important factors for workers, but that “realistically, they're only the difference-maker when the salaries are comparable. If the salaries are within X percent, and they're looking at two roles, and one’s got all the benefits and all the work-life balance pieces they want then yes, they're probably going to go for that one”, he says. “But if one company is offering 10K, 20K out, unfortunately still the main decision-maker is salary.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘People will move to protect themselves’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA major upwards driver of salaries, says Adcock, is the rapidly rising cost of living, which is forcing people who might not have prioritised pay before to do so now. The IMF recently \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.imf.org\u002F2022\u002F04\u002F19\u002Fwar-dims-global-economic-outlook-as-inflation-accelerates\u002F\"\u003Erevised down\u003C\u002Fa\u003E its world economic forecast for 2022 and 2023, citing the effects of the war in Ukraine. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ft.com\u002Fcontent\u002F58427935-5d13-45f1-b8ed-91d793c68bec\"\u003EUS inflation has already hit 8.5%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and UK \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bankofengland.co.uk\u002Fknowledgebank\u002Fwill-inflation-in-the-uk-keep-rising\"\u003Einflation is expected to hit 8% later this year\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, pushing up prices across the board. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd despite some record-busting salary increases, most workers will\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.resolutionfoundation.org\u002Fpublications\u002Flabour-market-outlook-q1-2022\u002F\"\u003E not see their salary rise faster than inflation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E this year. About half of UK workers say they are already living pay-slip to pay-slip, a recent survey from TotalJobs showed, and a third (37%) were considering \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.totaljobs.com\u002Fmedia-centre\u002Fmore-than-a-third-of-workers-in-the-uk-consider-changing-jobs-to-combat-the-rising-cost-of-living\"\u003Echanging jobs to keep up with the rising cost of living\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In the US, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Frh-us.mediaroom.com\u002F2022-04-08-56-Of-U-S-Companies-Have-Experienced-Pay-Compression-In-The-Last-12-Months,-Robert-Half-Research-Finds\"\u003Eresearch by Robert Half recruitment\u003C\u002Fa\u003E found that 62% of workers intended to ask for a pay rise this year, 30% of them saying this was to help them adjust to rising prices.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c3pss3"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Construction workers","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EGaelle Blake, director of permanent employment at Hays recruitment agency in the UK, believes that despite the recent focus on quality and flexibility of work, salary never stopped being a priority for workers. But in the next few months, she says, with inflation causing workers’ pay to drop in real terms, “we’ll see almost a re-evaluation of those top-five reasons why people move jobs”, with salary “firmly being number one. The companies “winning the race” for staff will be those who can offer both the work-life balance policies workers say they want and competitive pay. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I think what we'll see is people moving to protect themselves,” says Blake, or making sure they secure better deals from their current employer. This is something that a “sensible employer” will need to anticipate, she says, by proactively offering above-inflation pay rises or other incentives, rather than delaying until workers vote with their feet. “If they lose them, it’s very hard to recruit again,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIndustries that can’t readily offer perks like flexibility are particularly reliant on pay to secure staff. The UK construction industry, for example, saw the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Femploymentandlabourmarket\u002Fpeopleinwork\u002Femploymentandemployeetypes\u002Fbulletins\u002Faverageweeklyearningsingreatbritain\u002Fmarch2022#:~:text=The%20rate%20of%20annual%20pay,finance%20and%20business%20services%20sector.\"\u003Esharpest increase in weekly earnings\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of any sector last year, driven by a skills shortage and a demand boom. Bina Briggs, a construction HR specialist based in Luton in the UK, says her clients have been “really struggling” to recruit, as workers make the most of the competition for their skills. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecently, one of her clients received just 10 replies to a job posting. Of the two suitable candidates, one repeatedly failed to show up for an interview, while the other was offered the job almost immediately on generous terms. But the next morning, she says, the candidate rejected the job, having been offered significantly higher pay elsewhere. Right now, says Briggs, “It’s a case of if you’ve got somebody good, hold onto them.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELong-term risk versus short-term gain\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdcock warns that in the long-term, some of these high salaries may not prove sustainable. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s hard to say without sounding cruel, but there are people who are being offered salaries much higher than they’re worth in any market,” he says. “At some point, the market will change – it’s always cyclical. And then you've got a real risk of people in all roles, whether it's technology, HR accountancy or recruitment, suddenly becoming very vulnerable because they are being paid well above market rates.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"It’s a case of if you’ve got somebody good, hold onto them - Bina Briggs","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPaul McDonald, senior executive director at Robert Half, based in LA, highlights other potential problems; he says more than half (56%) of executive managers in a recent survey said they were starting to be faced with pay compression, where existing staff end up on lower salaries than new recruits. “Companies in all industries, particularly those with lower unemployment rates, need to be cognisant of these pay gaps and salary trends,” he says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut it’s unlikely that jobseekers right now will be thinking about longer-term issues; realistically, they’ll be watching other people get recruited at much higher salaries and trying to secure their own piece of the better-salary pie. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf people who wouldn’t necessarily be looking to move are finding their bills are going up and everything’s getting more expensive, says Adcock, it might well make them think “well, maybe more money right now would be really appealing”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-05T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why workers are choosing big pay packets over flexibility","headlineShort":"The big pay cheques luring workers","image":["p0c3prvs"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Smiling professional woman","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220420-the-sky-high-cost-of-returning-to-the-office","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-the-entry-level-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220421-are-there-enough-remote-jobs-for-everyone-who-wants-one"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Flexibility has long been touted as the ‘it’ perk. But as pay packets swell, workers are increasingly prioritising bigger salaries over other benefits.","summaryShort":"Why salary has become the \"firmly number one\" priority","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-05T01:18:19.394154Z","entity":"article","guid":"6876d2e0-5362-453a-a235-45e71e1b6473","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-05T01:25:22.138152Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095723},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout","_id":"62841d6c1f4b7b3abf0089e4","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fanna-jones"],"bodyIntro":"Feeling like you’re bad at your job is miserable. Worse, it’s also more likely to lead to professional burnout.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“People seem to think I'm doing OK, but I really don’t think I am,” says Fiona, a senior manager in her 40s, working in the construction industry in the UK. “You’re always thinking you could be doing better, and that people \u003Cem\u003Emust\u003C\u002Fem\u003E be doubting you.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFiona, who has been granted anonymity to protect her professional reputation, has spent her career battling imposter syndrome: the fear she doesn’t truly deserve her success. “Despite the fact I’ve got to the position I’m in, I still don’t believe in myself. Other people seem to, but I just don’t feel it’s warranted,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe stress of constantly questioning herself has been compounded by the anxieties of the pandemic and the pressure of remote working, leaving Fiona feeling “exhausted on a daily basis”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, with sky-high demand in her industry, she feels she’s showing all the symptoms of burnout. She feels emotionally depleted, and has started to “question the whole point of work” and the value she brings “when other people do the job so much better”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EImposter syndrome \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwomensleadership.kpmg.us\u002Fsummit\u002Fkpmg-womens-leadership-report-2020.html\"\u003Eis a known issue among professionals\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But researchers are increasingly interested in the link Fiona has experienced between imposter syndrome and that other \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.apa.org\u002Fmonitor\u002F2022\u002F01\u002Fspecial-burnout-stress\"\u003Emodern career malaise: burnout.\u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the workplace undergoes a period of rapid change, understanding how these two conditions feed into each other – and what can be done to prevent them destabilising careers – will be critical for both employee wellbeing and retention. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAn insidious link\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EImposter syndrome (IS) – also called imposter phenomenon - manifests differently in different people, but commonly leaves someone with the unshakeable belief they are an intellectual fraud, despite all evidence to the contrary.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"When you see an individual who's suffering from imposter syndrome, they're more likely to burn out. And the folks who are burned out are more likely to be suffering from imposter syndrome - Sahar Yousef","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPeople with IS often feel they need to over-work and over-deliver on projects to avoid being found out. Though they might be high achievers, they might avoid taking on challenges so they can’t publicly fail. They attribute success to luck or hard work, rather than ability, and fear it will only lead to being given other chances to trip up. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fso06.tci-thaijo.org\u002Findex.php\u002FIJBS\u002Farticle\u002Fview\u002F521\u002Fpdf\"\u003EStudies suggest up to 70% of people\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have experienced imposterism at work at some point. While some research suggests IS \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210315-the-hidden-upside-of-imposter-syndrome\"\u003Emight sometimes help motivate people to achieve\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, there is also ample evidence that the stress it generates can be so draining that it places \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F233635912_I_feel_like_a_fraud_and_it_depresses_me_The_relation_between_the_imposter_phenomenon_and_depression\"\u003Eintense pressure on mental health\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne 2016 study, for example, showed that US medical students with feelings of imposterism also tended to demonstrate “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ijme.net\u002Farchive\u002F7\u002Fimpostor-syndrome-among-american-medical-students\u002F\"\u003Eincreased levels of exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and depersonalization\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”, symptoms very similar to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.who.int\u002Fnews\u002Fitem\u002F28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases\"\u003EWorld Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of burnout\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd a recent international \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fasana.com\u002Fresources\u002Fanatomy-of-work\"\u003Esurvey of 10,000 knowledge workers\u003C\u002Fa\u003E by US-based work-management platform Asana showed 42% believed they had experienced both IS and burnout at the same time. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“When you see an individual who's suffering from imposter syndrome, they're more likely to burn out. And the folks who are burned out are more likely to be suffering from imposter syndrome,” says Dr Sahar Yousef, a cognitive neuroscientist researching workplace productivity at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in California, who contributed to the research. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYousef says it’s important to note that the survey relied on people making their own assessment of burnout, a serious clinical syndrome from which recovery can take months. But even if some people might be \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210426-why-we-may-be-measuring-burnout-all-wrong\"\u003Eoverly quick to label themselves as burned out\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, rather than very tired and stressed, it’s notable that so many identified with both syndromes at the same time. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s not entirely scientifically clear why the two are increasingly overlapping, says Yousef, but one key factor is that IS manifests in a similar way to the third dimension of burnout, as defined by the WHO: “feelings of professional inefficacy”. As Fiona is finding, when someone is experiencing burnout, “you feel like no matter what you do, it’s not enough. You are the ineffective person on your team”, says Yousef. This is notably similar to the definition of imposter syndrome, she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe perfectionist tendencies of someone with IS can mean every interaction becomes intensely stressful, she says. Burnout can then set in after “hundreds, maybe thousands, of uncompleted stress cycles”, where the individual never has a chance to mentally recover from moments of pressure.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c78tn3"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A woman sitting at her desk","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EClare Josa, founder of an IS consultancy, and author of Ditching Imposter Syndrome, says she sees a clear link between IS and burnout, something she attributes to “the body’s fight, flight or freeze mechanism getting stuck on”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHer recent year-long study of 2,000 workers in the UK and US found that \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.clarejosa.com\u002Fsoulledleaders\u002Fburnout-research\u002F#tve-jump-17ffa460e08\"\u003E62% of people struggled with feelings of imposterism on a daily basis\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and 18% described themselves as being “on their knees” from stress. Based on their responses to a series of assessment questions, 34% of respondents were judged to be at high risk of imminently burning out. She concluded that IS is “one of the most important predictors of whether or not someone is at risk of burning out”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJosa believes the correlation largely stems from tactics people develop to compensate for or mask their imposterism, such as taking on work they don’t have time for to win approval, or avoiding promotion because they fear exposure. As one contributor to her research said: “I feel like if I'm in the spotlight, everyone will see if I make a mistake. So I do my best not to go there.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESomeone who is so “wired to look for threats” will quickly find it affecting their wellbeing, pushing them towards burnout, says Josa. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPrevention is key\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERight now, says Anne Raimondi, COO and head of business at Asana, their research shows it’s Gen Z workers who are most likely to say they’re struggling with both imposter syndrome and burnout. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe attributes this to the unique challenges for young people of launching careers during the pandemic. Unable to observe colleagues in person and adjust to workplace dynamics, with no clear boundaries between work and personal life; and without the “moments of feedback and reassurance” that are crucial to building professional confidence, she says it’s easy to see how junior staff could begin to feel they don’t belong in their role and become overwhelmed.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I feel like if I'm in the spotlight, everyone will see if I make a mistake. So I do my best not to go there – Contributor to Clare Josa’s research","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EJosa says while younger workers may be more vocal about their struggles, older generations are suffering, too. One of the biggest triggers she’s identified for imposter syndrome is the menopause for women, or for men getting promoted into senior positions. Working mothers, meanwhile, are a high-risk group of both IS and burnout, she adds. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere’s also a body of research suggesting people from minority backgrounds can be more acutely affected. Dr Kelly Cawcutt, from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, says imposter syndrome has long been noted as a factor in high burnout rates among medical workers. But her research suggests “ingrained biases and a lack of diversity” in the profession can mean \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.liebertpub.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1089\u002Fwhr.2021.0138\"\u003Eunder-represented and ethnic minority groups are particularly affected\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Black physicians, for example, are known to face higher risk of burnout, partly because of the stress of discrimination. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If we are told we are not good enough, not smart enough, or do not belong – or are made to feel this way through microaggressions – those extrinsic biases can be internalised,” she says, fuelling both imposterism and in the longer term, burnout. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Although there are many efforts to address this now, these biases still exist,” says Cawcutt, creating what her research calls a “substantial negative cycle” for the individual. This, she says,shows the importance of treating IS and burnout – and indeed ingrained biases – not as siloed issues, but as connected phenomena which, if they’re to be resolved, need to be addressed together. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJosa says when it comes to the individual, the starting point is to tackle the imposter syndrome by rewiring the brain’s response to stress, “so you don't get that unconscious firing of the fight, flight, freeze response”. But to address the issue of IS spiralling into burnout, she says companies need to do more to tackle cultures where “everything has become an emergency”, and where people feel compelled to over-perform and grit their teeth through adversity rather than being honest about their wellbeing. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYousef and Raimondi agree it’s critical for workers to be encouraged to build cognitive boundaries around their work so they leave time to mentally reset after stressful periods, breaking those stress cycles. Younger workers, says Yousef, need help engaging with mentors at work so they learn how to fit in, arresting those feelings of imposterism early on. “Prevention should be the key here,” she says. “I would just love it if we educated our kids even as early as high school about what happens when you overwork.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut for people like Fiona, solving the problem is easier said than done. She’s been advised by her doctor to take time off work, but is afraid that doing so will let her team down or will only prove to herself and others that “I was promoted above my grade”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, she finds herself battling each day to “wade through the treacle of work”, envying people who seem to be coping fine. “Wouldn’t that be a nice feeling,” she says, “knowing that you’re not fretting about heading into work each day?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-18T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The link between imposter syndrome and burnout","headlineShort":"How imposter syndrome fuels burnout","image":["p0c78sk3"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Silhouette of a professional woman","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220506-the-toxic-cut-throat-culture-that-drives-out-workers","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-how-remote-work-could-nix-the-sick-day","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220428-why-workers-are-choosing-big-pay-packets-over-flexibility"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Feeling like you’re bad at your job is miserable. Worse, it’s also more likely to lead to professional burnout.","summaryShort":"Feel like you're bad at your job? It's likely to lead to professional burnout","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-17T22:10:35.484884Z","entity":"article","guid":"11d12e05-bcf5-4f3e-a352-8902397342fc","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-18T13:53:53.385134Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220517-the-link-between-imposter-syndrome-and-burnout","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095715},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work","_id":"6267dfbe1f4b7b2603345638","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Companies are trying to work out the best post-pandemic working model. What can we learn from these four companies?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe pandemic has triggered seismic shifts in how we work, causing many companies to transition from an office-centric culture to more flexible ways of working. This shift is largely still in the experimental phase, as businesses try to conceive of and test effective post-pandemic working models for their operations and staff.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, no one knows what the ‘right’ answer is. What works for one company may not work for another; business needs will vary depending on sector, size and structure. Many organisations, however, are doing their best to make working more flexible – as well as less burnout-prone, thanks to recent conversations about mental health, work-life balance and burnout.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies are going fully remote, while others are opting for different visions hybrid work environments. Here’s what four companies in four different countries are choosing to do.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChargebee: Switching to fully remote\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore the pandemic, Chargebee, an India-founded subscription-management company, used to have offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam and Chennai. Today, it’s gone fully remote with a completely decentralised work structure that allows employees to live and work where they want.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChargebee had been moving toward an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210406-how-asynchronous-communication-could-change-your-workday\"\u003Easynchronous working model\u003C\u002Fa\u003E before the pandemic, anyway – meaning the focus wasn’t on everyone working the same hours, but on having teammates overlap a few hours to facilitate communication. But “like every other company during the pandemic, we had to adapt to the realities of the world and shift to a fully distributed model faster and more completely than we had originally planned”, says founder and CEO Krish Subramanian. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith meetings kept largely to overlapping hours among teammates, employees have a lot of flexibility around when they work – though meetings, of course, still need to happen. To help reduce Zoom fatigue, on ‘Focus Wednesdays’ meetings are kept to a minimum so staff can attend to their to-do list. In case projects are staggered across time zones, the company has an intranet that’s “up to date on all activities”, with conversations, meetings, documentation, meeting notes and decisions open to everyone. There are also apps, including Wingman, where employees can access customer calls and channels on Slack where employees can post questions – making “as much information as possible accessible to our employees”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"We focus on performance and output – the talent creates the lifestyle and structure that works for them – Natalia Panowicz","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESubramanian says that giving employees the freedom to manage their time is aimed at reducing remote-work stress and helping them disconnect from work. But with no set hours comes the possibility that people will have a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210517-can-the-right-to-disconnect-exist-in-a-remote-work-world\"\u003Ehard time logging off\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We found that many employees weren’t taking advantage of the unlimited PTO [paid time off] programme we offer, especially during the pandemic, but no one should stay plugged in all the time – even if they are just taking a ‘staycation’,” says Subramanian. To help protect wellbeing, employees get the first Friday of each month off to recharge, and there’s a mandatory two weeks of PTO each year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company is sticking to a fully remote work model for the foreseeable future, now that it’s their standard operating procedure. “With this transition, [upper management has] learned a lot about the value of empowering our employees,” says Subramanian. “The more traditional model of having an HQ and a manager who works in the same office as employees and having set hours and a lot of meetings just isn’t the most efficient model for most people.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, “as we have allowed our employees more freedom to work when it is optimal for them and reduced the number of meetings, we have found that their productivity has grown exponentially,” he says. “Additionally, people are generally happier and more motivated because they have more control on how work fits around their personal lives.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECodility\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E: \u003Cstrong\u003EMostly remote, with hybrid hubs and sponsored workspaces\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBased in Warsaw, but with major hubs at WeWork spaces in San Francisco, London and Berlin, Codility, which helps engineering firms hire talent, has more than 150 employees from 30 countries. Before the pandemic, the company was already flexible with structure: employees could rotate among these hubs and work from home when needed. Others were already hired to work remotely, and even CEO Natalia Panowicz was splitting time between the Bay Area and the offices in Europe. But in March 2020, Panowicz made the final shift to a remote structure.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the company transitioned, Panowicz and her team “simply asked” employees what they wanted to do their best at work and tailored policies accordingly. Using their feedback, the company has adopted a work structure that’s both completely remote and gives employees the chance to work in a hybrid format.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESome staff, for example, decided to move cities or even countries. So, to facilitate their free movement and help them remain productive, the company gave all employees WeWork access to any location of the co-working company’s 800-plus outposts, so they can have a desk to work at anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We're monitoring closely how our team uses the dedicated office space so that we can scale up or down accordingly,” says Panowicz. “In the cities where we have a high concentration of people, 30% of staff would come to the office each week (but not each day), and the rest occasionally for workshops and get-togethers.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company has also chosen to set salaries across one salary band, so what you’re paid is based on the role versus your location. In the US, all employees are paid a “San Francisco salary”, while plans are in the works for EU-based employees to be on a London-based salary band. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It's up to the individual to decide where to live for their best life,” says Panowicz. “With freedom comes choice, this immediately opens our talent pool to a much wider net and more importantly, gives our existing talent more freedom. We focus on performance and output – the talent creates the lifestyle and structure that works for them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETomTom: Activity-based working\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the pandemic hit, TomTom’s leadership made a conscious decision to reshape how their 4,500-plus employees worked, rather than just copy-and-pasting the workflow to a virtual setup. By October, the location-technology company gave its W@TT programme a test run – a model that places the focus on the actual activity of work and not where it’s done. By January 2021, its new hybrid-work structure, in which employees decide if they want to work in an office or home office, officially launched.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“A lot of companies are mandating how many days an employee is allowed to work from home, while others have decided fully remote is the way to go; we believe that decision is best left up to our employees,” says Arne-Christian van der Tang, TomTom’s chief HR officer. He says this “complete flexibility” is the most important part of the new working model. To that extent, the physical offices are still part of the company, though they’re being transformed or rebranded into “hosting centres”, where employees can collaborate and surroundings are designed to support how they’re working.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe choice is theirs to make. The expectations are quite simply to get the job done – Arne-Christian van der Tang\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The choice is theirs to make. The expectations are quite simply to get the job done – Arne-Christian van der Tang","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Our employees know what’s best for themselves,” says van der Tang. “If they need to collaborate with colleagues, it’s probably best to meet up in the office, but if they need some quiet time to buckle down on an urgent task with a deadline, perhaps working from home is best. The choice is theirs to make. The expectations are quite simply to get the job done.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the company had always had offices around the globe, employees can now live abroad for up to three months a year. “We’ve learned that our work location is less important than we thought it was,” says van der Tang. “So, we’re preparing for a post-Covid world where we can combine the best of both worlds – a world where choice and flexibility are key.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPaddle: ‘Digital-first’ strategy\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter a more than a year of remote work, Paddle, a British software start-up, has decided to go hybrid with its work structure. It recently rethought the traditional office setup with its new office in London: the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210713-hybrid-work-what-the-office-could-look-like-now\"\u003Enew digs cater specifically for hybrid working\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Amenities include moveable furniture, breakout spaces, a recording studio and Zoom integration with cameras and microphones for connecting with employees abroad. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Chief People Officer David Barker, this embrace of flexible working is something he never saw coming. “At the start of the year, we thought about recalling everyone to the office on a permanent basis. However, since March, we’ve been asking ourselves, ‘Why is it so important to have everyone in the office?’” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen the company asked staff for input, it found that there “was a great desire for flexibility”. “Looking back on the remote working of the past year and a half, we could see that the flexible model enhanced and even accelerated our business, so we moved away from an office-based or hybrid approach, and replaced it with our ‘digital first’ strategy,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThat means that whether they’re in the office or not, team members should have the tools they need to collaborate seamlessly in-person, via video or asynchronously, he says. “They can choose to work in the way that is best for them; whether that’s coming into the office, working from home or some combination of the two.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E‘Digital first’ has meant investing in tools designed to foster innovation, even if the traditional view is that creative behaviours suffer with remote work. “We’ve used Miro, for example – a virtual whiteboard solution – to brainstorm ideas and capture thoughts and feedback,” says Bianca Dragan, a brand and event manager at the company. There’s still room for playfulness, too: “To maintain our company culture, we've also had to become very creative over Slack – we've had Paddlers create custom music videos and we've paid to have Cameos [personalized videos made by celebrities] done for us to celebrate big milestones.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBarker viewed the increase in productivity during the pandemic as a potential sign that home and work boundaries were getting a little too blurry, so the company has both in-house and outsourced mental-health services available for employees. It also has meeting-free days and a quirky policy in which 30-minute meetings now end after 25, giving employees five minutes to take a breath between tasks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Embracing the way of working we’ve all been forced into over the past 18 months has forced us to re-evaluate what it means to work,” says Barker. “It’s been a journey and mindset change, even with our leadership team, but hugely positive for our business. We’ve honed a great medium where we feel that we can support our people wherever they are, fit around their lives and still achieve our results.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EConstantly evolving\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile not every business will be making sweeping changes to the ways employees work, companies will be looking to each other for inspiration as well as trialling new models and practices to see what’s working.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, it’s clear that those who are making changes can see productivity and employee-wellbeing benefits that will endure far beyond this initial post-pandemic back-to-work phase. “The repercussions of the pandemic have shocked the world into a more equitable and balanced workplace that is a far better fit for the future of the workplace,” says Codility CEO Natalia Panowicz. “Simply put, for work to be at its best, it needs to fit into life.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-09-15T14:21:43Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How companies around the world are shifting the way they work","headlineShort":"Four different ways to do remote work","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Companies are trying to work out the best post-pandemic working model. What can we learn from these four companies?","summaryShort":"How four companies around the world are approaching the future of work","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-09-14T20:29:21.801775Z","entity":"article","guid":"80b2b7aa-9c22-4cb4-99d1-de0f4ad4e40a","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:14:27.998283Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete","_id":"6267dfa51f4b7b302226a183","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Ten years ago, workplaces were all about tangible perks. But now workers want something different from their employers.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the past decade or so, it has sometimes felt like companies have been in a perks arms race to attract talent. Free snacks, break-room pool tables or in-house gyms: the more ‘fun’ the space and the better the freebies, the thinking went, the more likely people were to want to dedicate their working hours (and then some) to the organisation. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs pandemic restrictions ease and bosses try to entice staff back to offices, some companies are turning once again to these kinds of special incentives. Goldman Sachs is giving workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Fsep\u002F06\u002Fsweet-deal-uk-workers-lured-back-to-office-with-bonuses-and-ice-cream\"\u003Efree ice cream\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; investment company Nuveen has put in new rooftop gardens for employees, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2021\u002F08\u002F25\u002Fbusiness\u002Freturn-to-office.html\"\u003Ecomplete with beehives\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; while PwC is giving all staff a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fbusiness\u002F2021\u002Fsep\u002F06\u002Fsweet-deal-uk-workers-lured-back-to-office-with-bonuses-and-ice-cream\"\u003Ecash bonus of £1,000\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as their way of “helping everyone adjust”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet in recent months, study after study has shown that employees are thinking \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.myhrtoolkit.com\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-workplace-perks\"\u003Efar more holistically\u003C\u002Fa\u003E about potential jobs. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I think nowadays people are beginning to see beyond ‘come and work in our jazzy office’, or ‘Fruit Fridays’,” says Zofia Bajorek, senior research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies in Brighton, UK. Rather than gimmicky perks, people are now looking for workplaces that accommodate their changing, individualised needs. And potential employees are more prepared than ever to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2021\u002F05\u002Fwhat-your-future-employees-want-most\"\u003Eprioritise these requirements \u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2021\u002F05\u002Fwhat-your-future-employees-want-most\"\u003Eover job status or pay\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESo, does that mean the office perk as we know it is redundant as an incentive – or is it simply evolving into something that looks very different? If so, what \u003Cem\u003Ecan\u003C\u002Fem\u003E companies offer their staff to entice them on board, or even back to their desks? \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe ‘nice to haves’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s widely known the pandemic has made many people re-evaluate their working lives. Much has been written about the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210629-the-great-resignation-how-employers-drove-workers-to-quit\"\u003EGreat Resignation\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, as workers consider leaving their jobs, rather than return to commuting and long – and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-why-presenteeism-always-wins-out-over-productivity\"\u003Eoften performative\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – office-based hours. Employers are well aware, and many are scrambling for new ways to retain employees. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne technique for those companies who want to lure their people back is to promise them a more enticing workplace. But Linda Morey-Burrows, principal director of London-based interior design firm MoreySmith, says they cannot just rely on the sort of in-office attractions they offered before. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPeople working at home have managed just fine – and remained productive – without free coffee and massages. Many are also less stressed. But the downside of homeworking, for some, has been the isolation, or juggling work around family duties or housemates. So, a tempting office will be one that is “an extension of your home, but without the chaos”, says Morey-Burrows, offering an environment, social atmosphere or technological provision that can’t be found elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Two workers in a nice office","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EA recent MoreySmith survey showed Covid-conscious \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.moreysmith.com\u002Fthe-evolving-normal\u002F\"\u003Eemployees now want office provisions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E like good-quality showers and bike racks (so they can avoid crowded public transport), as well as access to open spaces and windows that actually open. But Morey-Burrows says the major practical perk companies can offer is “a feeling of safety and comfort” in which to work. “The workplace is so important to be able to create either a sanctuary for some, where they can have peace and quiet, and for others to have the sense of energy, belonging and social interaction,” she says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies are also hoping that a revamp of their wellbeing packages will appeal to workers. But Bajorek, who has studied such schemes, is fairly cynical about whether these kind of perks – or indeed the provision of more people-centric offices – can really benefit recruitment and retention. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile they might be the “nice to haves”, she says, they’re pointless if employees are feeling overworked, burned out, over-monitored or undermined. She believes companies instead need to focus on the elements workers increasingly see as valuable; training, progression, some autotomy and, perhaps most importantly, flexibility. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmployee-specific flexibility\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, ‘flexibility’ has become one of the corporate buzzwords of the pandemic. Future Forum, Slack’s consortium researching the future of work, recently surveyed 10,000 knowledge workers worldwide to ask what mattered to them most in a job. “Flexibility is very important to people,” says Brian Elliott, vice-president at Slack and executive leader of Future Forum. “In terms of a benefit and a perk, after compensation it’s the second-most important thing in our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffutureforum.com\u002F2021\u002F06\u002F15\u002Ffuture-forum-pulse\u002F\"\u003Eresearch results\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElliott says for a communication company, Slack itself used to be remarkably office-based, with only 5% of staff working off site, and those on site benefiting from in-house baristas, snacks bars and sweeping views. But as Covid-19 spread and employees were stuck at home, the company quickly introduced perks that reflected this new demand for flexibility.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In terms of a benefit and a perk, after compensation [flexibility is] the second-most important thing in our research results – Brian Elliott","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThese included “Friyays”, a once-a-month company-wide Friday off where “everything goes quiet” so no-one fears missing out, as well as no-question emergency leave, where “if you needed time off, we gave you time off”. To counter fears remote working would mean losing \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210804-hybrid-work-how-proximity-bias-can-lead-to-favouritism\"\u003Ecareer-enhancing face-time\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with colleagues or bosses, the company introduced a “one dials in, all dial in” policy for meetings to “level the playing field”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the company also recognises that working from home has been a fairly miserable experience, rather than a perk, for some staff. So, it has partnered with WeWork to give all staff on-demand access to a coworking space. Elliott says it’s been “a huge relief” to the people who really need to get out of the space they were working in. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElliott sees this sort of employee-specific flexibility as central to the future of workplace perks, particularly as flexibility has proved so beneficial to previously disadvantaged groups in the workplace, like working mothers and caregivers. But in the battle for talent, he adds, employers will also need to demonstrate very clearly how they are giving their staff “self-determination” over their careers, clarity over their responsibilities and transparency over performance evaluation. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EValues and purpose\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExperts also point to other important factors employees are now weighing in their post-pandemic choice of workplace. These are factors that employees connect with on a deeper, values-driven level, instead of obvious perks. Rather than focusing on decked-out offices or corporate retreats, they say, people want to feel that they’re working at a place they care about. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElliott believes many of Slack’s employees were drawn to the company’s mission to “make people’s working lives simpler”. He believes it’s important for employers to recognise that the need for purpose goes even deeper than that for many. \"People are looking for places where they feel like they not only belong with the company, but they have the opportunity to make a difference in the world,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A happy worker at an office desk","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBajorek, of the Institute for Employment Studies, agrees young people in particular “really value” contemporary issues like climate change and racial equality, and want to be seen to work for organisations that actively support these causes. While that might not be a perk, per se, research suggests that employers who give their staff the means – and time – to engage in activities that speak to their morals and values may well have an upper hand in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gartner.com\u002Fsmarterwithgartner\u002Fcorporate-advocacy-of-social-issues-can-drive-employee-engagement\"\u003Eemployee engagement\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll of this, of course, places fresh demands on already stretched management. It is, after all, far easier to buy a round of drinks or negotiate a deal with a local gym than it is to cater to potentially hundreds of dispersed employees with disparate needs and requests. And there’s also the risk that offering different perks to different people could create resentment, undermining all the benefits of the perks. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EElliott says the new demands hybrid working places on managers to monitor workers on their output rather than their presence is going to force many to develop an entirely new skill set. Having a boss who can both articulate goals and objectives and anticipate their employees’ emotional and professional needs may well be \"the biggest perk\" for individuals, he says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBajorek says the pandemic has crystallised what 20 years of research into workplace dynamics has been saying: “If you want someone to do a good job, you don’t need to give them perks, you have to give them a good job to do.” So, as the world gradually re-opens, she says, employers should actively engage their staff in discussions about what perks they actually want, and will make use of, but also listen to what they want from their job overall. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“What the pandemic has really highlighted is you want to have an organisation that trusts in you, that gives you voice, that listens to your concerns and actually values the work that you do,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-09-30T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Are office perks obsolete?","headlineShort":"Are office perks obsolete?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"An office worker playing table football","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Ten years ago, workplaces were all about tangible perks. But now workers want something different from their employers.","summaryShort":"If companies want workers back in seat, it will take more than unlimited snacks","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-09-29T22:45:46.538918Z","entity":"article","guid":"4f28b3e9-dfb6-44eb-99fc-6b21a179ca96","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:15:11.103068Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work","_id":"6267dfbd1f4b7b4af41c3a6b","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Many managers are itching to get staff back to the office, despite employees championing alternative set-ups. Why – and how will this change workers' futures?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAs we head into 2022, Worklife is running our best, most insightful and most essential stories from 2021. When you’re done with this article, check out our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Fcolumns\u002Fbest-of-worklife-2021\u002F\"\u003Efull list of the year’s top stories\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELeaning across their desk to ask a colleague a quick question, spontaneously heading out for a walk-and-talk brainstorm and knowing that everyone’s logged on to a stable Wifi connection. These are just a few of the reasons James Rogers, 26, loves managing their team from the office, instead of the kitchen table. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We as a business are very much office first, and personally I believe we can be a stronger workforce when based in the office full time,” says Rogers, a digital public-relations lead in the London branch of a British-American global content agency. The firm started giving employees the option to return to the office part-time in April. “Our aim is to have as many of our team back in the office as often as possible in the coming months.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHuman-resources experts say Rogers’ attitude is indicative of a broad trend. Despite numerous global surveys indicating \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office\"\u003Eremote working has been a positive experience\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for a significant portion of employees, and that many (though not all) \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office\"\u003Ewant it to continue\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, plenty of bosses disagree.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the US, a whopping 72% of managers currently supervising remote workers would prefer all their subordinates to be in the office, according to recent research for the Society for Human Resource Management, seen by BBC Worklife in July. A June poll of UK managers for the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) showed that about \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.managers.org.uk\u002Fabout-cmi\u002Fmedia-centre\u002Fpress-office\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fworkplaces-face-employee-exodus-over-covid-jabs-and-hybrid-working\u002F\"\u003Ehalf expected staff to be in the office at least two to three days a week\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Sweden, data-driven employee engagement firm Winningtemp, which serves clients in 25 countries, says it’s already noticing signs of a back-to-the-office push, particularly in markets where there are high levels of vaccinations. “I see a lot of companies forcing it right now,” says founder and CEO Pierre Lindmark. “They start saying, ‘OK, now, you took the second vaccine, you need to be at the office’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll this is fuelling debates about why exactly bosses are turning their backs on remote setups faster than many experts predicted, what it means for the future of remote work and how it will impact on employees who want to cling to their pandemic working routines.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA need for control\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the uptick in home working during Covid-19 proved that employees \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fastcompany.com\u002F90601567\u002Fhow-covid-19-has-us-doing-more-in-less-time\"\u003Ecould be productive\u003C\u002Fa\u003E outside the office, human resources experts point out that many managers experienced a loss of control compared to pre-pandemic times. Reversing remote-working policies and promoting a back-to-the-office mentality may, at least in part, be down to a keenness to regain some control. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If you meet people, you feel that you can have control,” says Lindmark. “You’re not judging people by just seeing each other on camera, you’re judging by seeing the productivity, seeing what’s going on [in the office].”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow that in many countries lockdowns are over and vaccination rates are high, he says bosses are making a more “emotional” choice to get everyone back to the office. But he warns this is often happening without them looking closely at individual or company-wide performance during their home-working phase, or having a strategy for how this will impact on employee experience.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Managing a remote team is harder. It demands new skill sets. And a lot of people were thrown into it unready,” adds Maya Middlemiss, an author on remote working based in Valencia, Spain. “So, it's not surprising in a way that we're having a backlash and people who didn't adapt well to that from a management point of view would much rather have everybody back.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOther observers have taken a less diplomatic tone, with business and media blogger Ed Zitron recently claiming that many \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fez.substack.com\u002Fp\u002Fthe-work-from-home-future-is-destroying\"\u003Emiddle-managers are keen to claw back a sense of status\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. He says some simply miss the opportunity to look important as they “walk from meeting to meeting” and monitor what their teams are up to. “While this can happen over Zoom and Slack, it becomes significantly more apparent who actually did the work, because you can digitally evaluate where the work is coming from,” he wrote in a June newsletter.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In the US, a whopping 72% of managers currently supervising remote workers would prefer all their subordinates to be in the office","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EUnsurprisingly, managers themselves aren’t queuing up to share that perspective. But pro-office bosses like James Rodgers do accept that “more visibility” of those they line-manage is a core part of their pro-office mantra. “Not so that you can micromanage and ‘keep an eye on them’, but so you can understand where they might need more support,” they argue. “It’s easier to discern whether a team member might be struggling with a task when they’re sat in front of you. You just don’t get that visibility when they’re sat 30 or 40 miles away from you in their own home.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAside from visibility, bosses championing a shift from remote working also tend to highlight the social and creative possibilities for office-based employees. For instance, ice-breaker chats by the water cooler, in-person inductions for new hires, team-building after-work drinks and spontaneous brainstorms.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We did our best over lockdowns to try and be as creative and free-flowing as possible, but it’s pretty hard when you have to schedule a call for every single thing,” says Daniel Bailey, 34, CEO of a London-based footwear-research company that’s moving into an office in the city’s new Design District in September. “Working remotely has absolutely massive benefits, [but] I don't think it’ll ever be better than being in one place together, for the creative process,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EKerri Sibson, director of the development company behind the new neighbourhood, says other bosses are prioritising a return to office spaces for their staff to be able to host and attend physical networking events again, or connect with other industry professionals in the same area. “New businesses need to find opportunities for growth that often come from these chance encounters,” she argues.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOut of sight, out of mind?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhatever managers’ motivations for shifting away from remote work, stating a clear preference for ‘visible’ employees raises important questions about equity in the workforce, if some staff are still working remotely, or spending a higher proportion of their time at home than others.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPro-office bosses like Rogers are often quick to insist that businesses can and should work to ensure “there are equal experiences and opportunities for the team whether they are office based or not”. But the Society for Human Resource Management’s recent survey suggested that around two-thirds of managers of remote staff believe full-time remote work is actually detrimental to employees’ career objectives. A similar proportion admit to considering remote employees more easily replaceable than onsite workers. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The adage, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ explains perfectly why this sentiment exists among people managers and it explains how deeply-ingrained the idea of face-to-face work is in our culture,” argues Johnny C Taylor, the organisation’s president and CEO.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The SHRM survey suggested around two-thirds of managers of remote staff believe full-time remote work is detrimental to employees’ career objectives","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOther research suggests some managers still struggle to trust employees who are working from home. Findings from an online survey of 200 US executives in August suggested they \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fgo.vyopta.com\u002Fvyopta_wakefield_survey_1\"\u003Edidn’t have full faith in a third of their staff\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to correctly utilise the collaborative remote technologies needed to make remote working successful. Earlier in the pandemic research for Harvard Business Review showed that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fhbr.org\u002F2020\u002F07\u002Fremote-managers-are-having-trust-issues\"\u003E41% of managers were sceptical about whether teleworkers could remain motivated\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the long-term.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMiddlemiss warns there’s a “genuine risk” these kinds of attitudes towards remote office employees will amplify pre-existing biases, such as those linked to race, class, disability and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200630-how-covid-19-is-changing-womens-lives\"\u003Egender\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Even before Covid-19, women were more likely to request flexible working due to caring responsibilities, for example, says Middlemiss, and are therefore likely to be disproportionately affected if companies prioritise retaining or promoting office staff. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERetaining top talent\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the flipside, employment experts predict that despite some managers’ resistance to remote working, they might simply have to make it an ongoing option as companies seek to keep and recruit employees.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The pandemic has proven that employees can successfully work from home, and they want to continue this flexibility,” says Taylor. “Ultimately, benefits like telework and flexible schedules are critical to attracting and retaining top-tier talent, and employers are aware of this.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If you could work remotely, for one person, you can actually remote work for anybody else, including potentially employers not in your immediate area,” adds Middlemiss. “So, if you know now that’s how you want to live and work, it's important to be aware that there could be lots more opportunities open to you.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThere is already overwhelming evidence of increased job-hopping as workers emerge from the pandemic with a sharper focus on what they want their work and home routines to look like moving forward. In the US, a new survey from PwC suggests that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffortune.com\u002F2021\u002F08\u002F20\u002Fus-workers-looking-for-jobs\u002F\"\u003Enearly two-thirds of workers are on the hunt for a new position\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, while figures from leading UK jobs site Totaljobs suggests that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.totaljobs.com\u002Fmedia-centre\u002Fuk-workers-after-a-fresh-start-in-2021-with-9-in-10-looking-for-a-job\"\u003Emore than three-quarters of Britons\u003C\u002Fa\u003E are actively searching.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EManagers who are continuing to champion remote working are quick to argue that their approach is already having a positive impact on recruitment. “We have had developers applying to work for us from France, from the UK, from Belgium. And that is because we have this flexibility in place,” argues Olga Beck-Friis, co-founder of a digital legal-advice platform based in Stockholm. “We currently have no plans to adopt a full-time back-to-work policy.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Lindmark at Winningtemp argues some of the managers who choose to return to the office full-time may end up reassessing their decisions. He says the switch away from remote working could have an impact on productivity levels and profitability, if staff choose to stay in their jobs, yet aren’t on board with their company’s strategy.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“If people have been home-working for a long time and they really enjoy that – coming in, they’re feeling that they are just controlled... they’re losing autonomy.” Instead, he argues bosses need to take a closer look at individual and team output and how employees are feeling to help co-create hybrid models that people are comfortable with.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“A flexible work programme... it has to work mutually for employees, employers and organisations alike,” agrees Taylor at the Society for Human Resource Management. “There is not a one-size-fits-all solution. And that’s key.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut in London, pro-office manager Rogers remains confident that other companies will come round to their way of thinking. “I do think there will be a large number of businesses who underestimate the power of having their workforce together in one space who may shift their initial stance on moving to remote working in the future,” they argue. “We found that the majority of our staff were excited about being back in the office together.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work-10"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-09-13T14:48:09Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"What bosses really think about remote work","headlineShort":"What bosses think of remote work","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many managers are itching to get staff back to the office, despite employees championing alternative set-ups. Why – and how will this change workers' futures?","summaryShort":"Workers are loud and clear about wanting to stay remote. Do managers agree?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-09-12T21:07:14.341102Z","entity":"article","guid":"e9246f34-e74a-48d9-9717-a193f591db29","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:13:09.980738Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes","_id":"6267dfe81f4b7b6a4a3601e2","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fanna-jones"],"bodyIntro":"No room at the kitchen table? Children too loud? Some workers are slipping into tiny office cubes, right in their gardens.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EIn early November, Ryan Williams watched an enormous crane lift a small aluminium pod high over his house in Manchester, UK, and lower it into his suburban garden. The pod was a solution to the problem many people are facing in the hybrid work environment – how do you work effectively from home when you have nowhere to get work done?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EWilliams, 32, found running his social-media marketing company, KOMI, from his dining table worked fine for the first few months of the pandemic. But when it became clear this was a longer-term arrangement, he needed a more permanent workspace. “I was basically living in the dining room. It’s an open-plan kitchen-diner, so the kids were playing there some days,” he says. “Every day when I finished work, I had to pick up the monitor, put all the chargers away.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EWilliams decided to buy a ready-made home office pod for his garden. He chose a sleek, fully-furnished cube made by a company called SkyPods. “It’s a little bit different from your old garden summer house,” he jokes.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EAt £12,500 ($16,700), it was “a bit of an investment”. But once in place, it simply needed to be plugged in and it was ready to go. Williams says the investment has paid off; now, he’s able to make a cleaner distinction between work and home. He can work uninterrupted – and out of everyone's way – and leave the job behind at the end of the day to spend time with his family, too. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EOf course, the idea of a drop-in-anywhere office isn’t new. Companies making small, self-contained office pods say the industry was booming even before the pandemic – though their customers were companies looking to add focus spaces to open-plan offices. Since Covid-19, however, demand has skyrocketed amid a surge of interest from private homeworkers looking to redesign their work and home life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b63dq5"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERise of the garden office\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EThe benefits of using pods for focused work in offices have been clear for several years. Companies have realised that open-plan office designs are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tandfonline.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1080\u002F09613218.2019.1710098\"\u003Enot always conducive\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to a productive work environment, and so have invested in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20190802-can-phone-booths-solve-privacy-issues-in-open-plan-offices\"\u003Ea raft of solutions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E aimed at providing quiet spaces for workers who need privacy for their task.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EBut the pandemic also brought a surge in demand for home-based workplace solutions – something that looks set to continue in the new hybrid era. One recent UK survey found 85% of working adults currently based at home \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Femploymentandlabourmarket\u002Fpeopleinwork\u002Femploymentandemployeetypes\u002Farticles\u002Fbusinessandindividualattitudestowardsthefutureofhomeworkinguk\u002Fapriltomay2021\"\u003Ewanted to continue doing so\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at least some of the time.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EManufacturers say they've seen a significant rise in interest for pods to be installed in domestic settings. \"People started looking at the spaces in their homes a bit differently, [like] if you had a really big balcony but felt crowded in your living room,” says Jon Lynn, who started London-based My Office Pods four years ago. \"They were just trying to find out how they could utilise the space more.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003ELynn does occasionally sell pods for use inside people’s homes, citing soundproofing as their great draw. He had one customer desperate for a place to take phone calls away from his children, for example. The noise inside the pod is also contained, which he says appealed to one man whose wife was tired of his guitar practice. But Lynn says the high cost and corporate appearance of pods designed to sit inside offices – as well as the fact that even the smallest pods would easily dominate an average living room – tend to put most people off.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EThat means the domestic market focuses on pods designed for garden use. But where once having a garden office meant having a slightly superior shed, emerging companies promise all the technology and comfort of an office within a tiny, self-contained square footage.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b63jp4"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Bespoke luxury’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EMark Currie, in Putney, south London, says if his garden pod \u003Cem\u003Eis \u003C\u002Fem\u003Ea shed, “then it's a really expensive shed”. He and his wife Rachel took delivery of their pod in May, having realised they wanted to continue running their video production agency largely from home.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003E“It’s got big sliding doors, it’s got a little window, it's warm, it feels insulated,” he says. It also provides all-important extra storage for their business materials, and space for two desks. \"It’s a nice little house in the garden.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EFor Currie, investing in the pod was “a big commitment”. He and his wife had been working from the kitchen table, but knew it wasn’t a sustainable solution. Now, he says, they also know that should there ever be another lockdown, “the business can continue comfortably because we can just move into the back garden and do what we need to do”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003ECurrie and his wife had to wait six months for their pod to arrive, due to the level of demand. And given the obvious potential for growth in the home-office market, it's no surprise that new innovative designs are emerging all the time; \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.yankodesign.com\u002F2021\u002F05\u002F20\u002Ffloating-office-pods-are-the-future-of-a-truly-flexible-lifestyle-and-remote-work\u002F\"\u003Efloating pods\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.boanoprismontas.com\u002Fpost\u002Fnominated\"\u003Ebudget plywood pods\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.medusagroup.pl\u002F\"\u003Eintricate origami-style pods\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or bright, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digsdigs.com\u002Fhome-office-cabin\u002F\"\u003Eangular cabin-style pods\u003C\u002Fa\u003E all promising to create than all-important \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.weforum.org\u002Fagenda\u002F2021\u002F07\u002Fthird-space-remote-hybrid-working\u002F\"\u003Ethird space\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EMike Hyde, who runs SkyPods from Barnsley in northern England, says he set up his company in November 2019 to provide a “bespoke luxury” alternative to traditional garden rooms. As well as cube-style pods like the one Ryan Williams bought, Hyde also makes pods using upcycled segments of old aeroplanes, which means they are extremely durable, well insulated and have excellent soundproofing.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b63l4f"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003E“We take the fuselage off a retired aeroplane that’s had all its engine and other parts stripped off and instead of it going to the crusher, we turn it into something else,” he says. The pods even come complete with the tail number and certificate from the original plane.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EHyde admits that the cost of pods puts them beyond the reach of many people. But he says while they might well cost the same as an extension on a house, crucially, if you do move house, \"for relatively little cost you can just take it with you, plonk it in your garden and get up and running before your house is even finished”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOngoing trends\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003ERight now, most designs target the mid-to-high earners who have the career flexibility to work from home, the space in which to install a pod and the income that allows them to do so. Yet Melanie Williamson, on Australia’s Gold Coast, believes more workers are thinking about how they can arrange – or even change – their living space to embrace the flexibility of hybrid working.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EWilliamson set up her company, Backyard Pods, in 2015, in response to what she saw as a gap in the market for affordable flatpack garden offices and outbuildings. Her flatpack kits start at around A$5,000, (£2,729, $3,660) and she says that at times over the past few months, orders have been three times higher than normal.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003EShe says she’s noticed a lot of interest among city-dwellers who are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-56167965\"\u003Emoving to smaller towns\u003C\u002Fa\u003E so they can benefit from cheaper property prices and bigger gardens with room for outdoor workspaces. “Sometimes they start consulting with us before they buy their property, because they are buying the property with the intention to do this,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0b63m7h"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"square","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003ESometimes, she says, customers do have space for an office inside their houses, but they want an entirely separate space to help them preserve boundaries between work and home. “There’s something psychological about kissing your loved ones, grabbing a coffee and shutting the door behind you,” says Williamson. “That effect doesn’t occur if you just cross the threshold of another room.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyA\"\u003ERight now, experts suggest, home-based workspace solutions will remain focused on garden pods. There are barriers to installing pods inside residential buildings, says Lynn, and companies who make pods for offices are concentrating on the strong corporate market. But he believes that when manufacturers see a domestic market developing, they’ll likely focus on creating something that can be assembled easily in smaller spaces. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ERyan Williams, however, is happy with the solution he’s found. While he may not have “the biggest garden in the world”, giving 2sq m of it over to his pod has been life changing. He’s fully embraced the flexibility it offers, telling himself that if he ever stops needing it for work, “it can always be decked out as a garden bar in the future instead”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes-8"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Fhello-hybrid"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-11-26T14:09:57Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The 'bespoke luxury' of tiny garden office cubes","headlineShort":"The 'bespoke luxury' of tiny offices","image":["p0b63llm"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210915-how-companies-around-the-world-are-shifting-the-way-they-work","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210924-are-office-perks-obsolete","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210908-what-bosses-really-think-about-remote-work"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"No room at the kitchen table? Children too loud? Some workers are slipping into tiny office cubes, right in their gardens.","summaryShort":"All the tech and comfort of an office within a cube in your back garden?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-11-25T21:18:13.211924Z","entity":"article","guid":"ef78b54f-656e-40de-8700-6674e64c19b2","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T15:13:33.857187Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095724},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance","_id":"6267df901f4b7b25b965d0e7","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Hong Kong tried to tackle its third wave of Covid-19 by banning diners from inside restaurants, authorities quickly encountered a problem. Some people had nowhere else to go. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002F1648246202123798\u002Fposts\u002F2700806773534397\u002F?d=n\"\u003EPhotos started appearing on social media\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showing outdoor workers using their breaks to eat in urban parks in extreme heat or in public toilets in heavy rain. Although \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.straitstimes.com\u002Fasia\u002Feast-asia\u002Fdining-in-back-on-menu-as-hk-govt-makes-a-u-turn\"\u003Ethe decision was reversed\u003C\u002Fa\u003E within 48 hours, it spotlighted the dearth of urban public spaces in this city of 7.5 million people.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EWhile the Ancient Greeks championed the city square or \u003Cem\u003Eagora\u003C\u002Fem\u003E as the heart of political, economic, and social life, and the Romans did the same with the \u003Cem\u003Eforum\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, the provision of public spaces in modern cities has become complicated. It’s not enough to just have the space, it has to be accessible, convenient and perhaps most importantly welcoming. The pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing policies have served to underscore the urgency of this issue.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EIn Hong Kong, public green spaces actually account for up to 40% of the total land, a large percentage compared to London and New York. But a closer look shows that while most residents live in only\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcivic-exchange.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F04\u002F20170224POSreport_FINAL.pdf\"\u003E one-fourth of the city’s land\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, the biggest parks are in less populated parts of the territory. It takes on average up to an hour for a resident to reach a large country park, according to Carine Lai, a senior researcher at a Hong Kong think tank Civic Exchange.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"right","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECompared to other cities, Hong Kong’s urban public space – outdoor recreational space that is accessible to the public – is particularly small. Residents have only \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcivic-exchange.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F02\u002FUnopened-Space-PR-EN.pdf\"\u003E2.7 square metres (29 square feet) per person\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, slightly larger than a coffin or a toilet cubicle, while Singapore at half of the size of Hong Kong \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcivic-exchange.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002FCivic-Exchange-Open-Space-Opinion-Survey-SUMMARY-REPORT-EN.pdf\"\u003Ehas 7.4 square metres (79.6 square feet) of urban public space per capita\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, according to a 2017 study from Civic Exchange. New York, also known for its high land price, has over \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.ny4p.org\u002Fclient-uploads\u002Fpdf\u002FOSI\u002FNY4P_Open_Space_Index.pdf\"\u003E10 square metres (107.6 square feet) of public space per capita\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EHong Kong’s urban parks are also not always user-friendly, says Hendrik Tieben, director of the urban design programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “There’s not much you can do in the [urban] parks, like sitting on the grass, eating in a park and so on,” he adds. “People are not allowed to touch the plants most of the time.” He says that even if there is a fountain in a public space, the side is slanted so people cannot sit comfortably.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Urban space isn’t just a nice-to-have – studies have shown that living in a city comes with a 40% higher risk of depression and over 20% risk of anxiety compared to rural areas","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet staying at home is not a particularly attractive option for the many Hong Kongers who live in very limited space due to soaring property prices. For private sales, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbre.com.hk\u002Fen\u002Fabout\u002Fmedia-centre\u002Fhong-kong-maintains-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-expensive-residential-city\"\u003Ethe average price per square foot stands at $2,091, four times that of New York ($526) and double that of Singapore ($1,063),\u003C\u002Fa\u003E data from residential research firm CBRE UK’s 2019 report showed. A domestic household averages just 15 square metres (161.5 square feet) for each person, while in subdivided flats \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bycensus2016.gov.hk\u002Fen\u002FSnapshot-09.html\"\u003Ethat figure goes down to 5.3 square metres\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (56.5 square feet), government data reveals.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELand priorities\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EPart of the problem is historical. In Hong Kong’s case, Lai says that the British colonial government had very limited incentive to create public open space in the 19th Century as it relied heavily on land sales for revenue so that it could keep taxes low.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E“Back then, the term ‘open space’ simply meant requiring property owners to leave unbuilt land at the back of the house for sanitation, ventilation and disease prevention,” she says. “That [is] not public open space [as] we know today.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe British government didn’t start integrating the modern concept of public open space into urban planning until the late 20th Century, Lai says. Even so, the situation didn’t improve drastically, as Hong Kong adopted a laissez-faire approach to regulating private developers.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EDubbed a “shoppers’ paradise”, Hong Kong is teeming with different types of malls, a by-product of the city’s tourism-driven approach to development. During a period of rapid economic growth in the 1980s, policies were put in place to rebalance the spatial needs of citizens with the commercial interests of developers, according to Tieben. These policies centred around the emergence of privately-owned public spaces (POPs).\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EThe purpose of POPs – which have also long been used in London and New York – is to act as an incentive to developers. In exchange for allowing them to circumvent zoning regulations, the developers have to open some of their space to the public.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EHowever, POPs have come under fire in Hong Kong, New York and London after investigations found that despite technically being open to the public, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnextcity.org\u002Fdaily\u002Fentry\u002Fhow-hong-kong-landlords-keep-public-out-of-their-pseudo-public-spaces\"\u003Ethe absence of certain features discourages people from using them\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In Hong Kong, for example, amenities including benches are rare in privately owned indoor spaces such as malls. If you want a place to sit, you have to buy something to consume first.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“We have to pass through countless shops in order to get to the escalators, we can only eat the food provided by the restaurants inside, we are encouraged to consume and we cannot sit on the floor or shout in the malls,” a local student \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ln.edu.hk\u002Fcultural\u002Fprogrammes\u002FMCS\u002FSymp%2013\u002FS1P2.pdf\"\u003EClaire Lo wrote\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in a study at the Lingnan University of Hong Kong about the downsides of the city’s urban design.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPublic space and wellbeing\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003ESince Covid-19, urban public space has become even more important as a much-needed escape from the confines of home for a socially-distanced walk. Cities around the world have also been scrambling to accommodate residents; Lithuania’s capital \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200805-how-vilnius-became-an-open-air-cafe\"\u003EVilnius has given bars and cafes access to public spaces to allow customers to social distance\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, San Francisco authorities have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsfmayor.org\u002Farticle\u002Fsan-francisco-closes-golden-gate-parks-jfk-drive-and-mclaren-parks-shelley-drive-vehicles\"\u003Eclosed certain roads\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to vehicles to allow residents to run, bike and walk safely, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.yahoo.com\u002Flifestyle\u002Fcemetery-visits-increase-coronavirus-social-distancing-215853581.html\"\u003EUS cemeteries are seeing a surge in visitors seeking some outdoor space\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People should not have to get used to having insufficient public space - Carine Lai","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EUrban space isn’t just a nice-to-have. Studies have shown that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com\u002Fdoi\u002Ffull\u002F10.1111\u002Fj.1600-0447.2009.01438.x\"\u003Eliving in a city\u003C\u002Fa\u003E comes with a 40% higher risk of depression and over 20% risk of anxiety compared to rural areas. Put simply, public space is good for your mental health and wellbeing.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E“This can be challenging in a dense city like Hong Kong with limited public space,” says Dr Layla McCay, director of the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health. “Especially when people are required to stay very close to their homes, or to avoid public transport to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, which could reduce their access to Hong Kong’s larger green and blue spaces.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESingle mother Linda Chan lives with her three-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son in a subdivided flat of less than 100 sqft in one of the city’s most crowded areas. During the first and second waves of coronavirus infections, they continued to go hiking at the weekends but since the third wave, restrictions have become stricter and they now stay at home.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E“The kids always want to go out, as there is not much space for them to play here [in the flat],” she says. “They went from visiting the parks once a week to none right now. They are not happy…. Everyone has become a little bit more grumpy. I get angry a lot.”\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore ambition needed\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003ETieben would like to see more co-operation between city officials and local groups in order to transform Hong Kong’s underused areas into public spaces, as was done in 2007 in New York. As part of city plans for the future, the \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.nyc.gov\u002Fhtml\u002Fdot\u002Fdownloads\u002Fpdf\u002Fnyc_plaza_guidelines_09.pdf\"\u003ENew York City Plaza programme\u003C\u002Fa\u003E aims to provide New Yorkers with quality open space within a 10-minute walk. “You want to have a public space that allows placemaking and community empowerment,” he says.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EThe Hong Kong government has made some progress over the years, including building waterfront promenades. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department, responsible for managing the city’s public parks, increased the number of pet gardens from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legco.gov.hk\u002Fresearch-publications\u002Fenglish\u002F1819in20-animal-friendly-measures-in-selected-places-20190827-e.pdf\"\u003E19 in 2010 to 45 in 2019\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The spokesperson adds that it now provides 50 multi-purpose lawns for public use, rising from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legco.gov.hk\u002Fyr17-18\u002Fenglish\u002Fpanels\u002Fha\u002Fpapers\u002Fha20180720cb2-1836-3-e.pdf\"\u003E39 in 2010 to 51 in 2018. \u003C\u002Fa\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Members of the public are welcome to use these lawn areas for different activities such as having picnic, playing games or just lying down for reading books under the sun,” the spokesperson says.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EThe city’s planning department also published a plan to increase the minimum amount of public space per capita to 2.5 square metres by 2030 (up from 2 square metres).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-12"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-13"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis would constitute an improvement for people in the most crowded areas but would still fall short of 3-3.5 square metres, the standard Lai recommends – which even then would leave Hong Kong behind major Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. Lai believes Hong Kong should be more ambitious, particularly given the lessons from the pandemic. “People should not have to get used to having insufficient public space,” she says.\u003Cbr \u002F\u003E\u003Cbr \u002F\u003EAs cities across the world look for safe, socially distanced ways to exercise, socialise, work and play, we’ve realised these spaces are more vital than ever before. Putting these amenities at the heart and soul of a city is about far more than aesthetics. It is about community, participation and connection. Perhaps the Ancient Greeks and Romans had the right idea all along?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance-14"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-09-02T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Hong Kong’s public space problem","headlineShort":"Social distancing in a packed city","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":false,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The pandemic has revealed the tension between public and private spaces in Hong Kong","summaryShort":"How can you socially distance in a city with no space?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-09-01T20:00:13.904726Z","entity":"article","guid":"4b6d46d1-b4a4-4f28-adfa-d3f2c1182c0d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:54:54.11611Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world","_id":"6267dfc71f4b7b52336fee15","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Amid economic uncertainty – and a desire to connect as we distance – bartering is experiencing an unprecedented rise. Could it stick around?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ELondon-based nurse Marjorie Dunne joined Barter United Kingdom after spending five days in hospital with coronavirus in April. The group, which she originally joined to get rid of a few unwanted items unearthed during spring cleaning, ended up helping Dunne through one of the toughest times of her life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It really helped me out with meals for my family,” says Dunne. “I didn’t have the energy to cook, I was spending a fortune on online grocery shopping and having meals brought to the house was a tremendous help.” Members of Barter United Kingdom, which started on 23 April and had 1,300 members as of early August, swapped curries, roti and cakes for Dunne’s dresses and DVDs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAround the world, people have been turning to swapping, trading and bartering during the coronavirus pandemic, whether to do their bit for the local community, save money or simply source hard-to-find baking ingredients. With economic uncertainty looming and anxiety levels soaring, barter is becoming an emerging alternative solution to getting by – and staying busy – amid Covid-19.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Barter was a natural solution’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe increase in bartering is nowhere better exemplified than in Fiji, which inspired Dunne’s London group. The country has a long tradition of barter, known as ‘veisa’. It’s only grown amid Covid-19, and Fijians have harnessed modern technology to connect even more people. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I knew that money would be tight to stretch out and even harder to come by. I asked myself what happens when there’s no more money? Barter was a natural solution to that,” says Marlene Dutta, who started the Barter for a Better Fiji group on 21 April. Its membership is just under 190,000 – more than 20% of Fiji’s population. Items changing hands have run the gamut – pigs for kayaks, a violin for a leather satchel and doughnuts for building bricks – but the most commonly requested items have been groceries and food.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The primary reason for setting up the Facebook group was to help offer a solution to our current economic situation,” says Dutta. Fiji’s tourism-dependent economy has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, with an estimated \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fijivillage.com\u002Fnews\u002FPM-confirms-115000-Fijians-have-lost-their-jobs-or-have-had-their-hours-cut-as-a-result-of-COVID-19-8fxr45\u002F\"\u003E100,000 people\u003C\u002Fa\u003E losing jobs in an industry that contributes \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.investmentfiji.org.fj\u002Fpages.cfm\u002Ffor-investors\u002Fsector-industry-profiles\u002Ftourism.html\"\u003Earound 30%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to Fiji’s GDP and employs \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmitt.gov.fj\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F04\u002FFT2021.pdf\"\u003Earound a third\u003C\u002Fa\u003E of Fiji’s total labour force. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I invited all of my friends and it just grew. We had 1,000 people in less than 24 hours —Veronica Coon","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“The economic hardships people are coping with are driving the rediscovery of bartering,” says Shera Dalin, co-author of The Art of Barter. “The same thing happened during the Great Recession. When times get harder, people turn to barter.” Similarly, more than 300 barter organisations cropped up during the early years of the Great Depression in the United States, says Dalin. “American currency was hard to come by during the Depression and barter helped assuage that need,” she adds.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile Fiji’s barter explosion has affected the whole country, other groups across the world have been working at state, city or community levels. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I invited all of my friends and it just grew. We had 1,000 people in less than 24 hours,” says Veronica Coon, who started her Facebook barter group in the US state of Nevada on 15 March. It now has more than 5,600 members. The most popular items traded have been hard-to-find groceries like flour, yeast and eggs, as well as baby wipes, disinfecting spray and masks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBartering time\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlong with goods, some people have been trading another precious commodity that they may have had more of recently – time.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E‘Time banking’, which started in Japan in the 1970s, and in the US in 1992, is seeing a jump in popularity. Members of a time bank spend one hour helping another member, and can receive one hour of help in return. People offer and receive things such as piano lessons, painting services or language teaching.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We have definitely had more interest as an organisation, with four new time banks starting after the onset of lockdown,” says Kerri Tyler, community engagement and communications manager at Timebanking UK. Founded in 2002, the group has never seen such a spike before, adds Tyler.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring Covid-19, many UK time banks have been helping the local community. In Gloucester, members of the Fair Shares time bank have been picking up prescriptions, shopping and making food parcels for those hardest-hit by the economic crisis. In Merseyside, the Our Time time bank, whose aim is to tackle social isolation faced by people with mental health problems and help them engage in the local community, has been helping connect isolated people by setting up video calls and quizzes as well as doing regular wellbeing checks on its most vulnerable members. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe reciprocal nature of time banking means people are more inclined to accept help, seeing it as an exchange rather than charity, says Reyaz Limalia, who runs Fair Shares. “A lot of people still have this view that volunteering is charity one person does to another. It’s a really demotivating thing for that person who is receiving the help.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBarter expert Dalin notes that those keen to try bartering need to come to it with time on their hands and an open attitude. “Traders need to be patient. Bartering takes more time than buying with cash,” she says. “Since bartering is so personal, it's important that traders not have a ‘win-at-all-costs’ attitude. While it's better to have swaps that are relatively equal in value, the most important thing is that all parties are satisfied with the result.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBartering business\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBartering isn’t just for individuals looking for baking items or help with grocery shopping, however. In ‘barter exchanges’ for business, participating organisations try to increase their yearly business by 10% to 15% through swapping their services for the services of other businesses.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBusinesses are increasingly interested in joining barter exchanges, which have “doctors, lawyers, service companies, retailers – you name it”, says Ron Whitney, President of the US-based International Reciprocal Trade Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 1979 that promotes and advances modern trade and barter systems.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMembers can exchange their professional services for barter credit, which they can then use to ‘buy’ the services of another member. Most times it is not a one-on-one trade. For instance, a landscaper would do a $5,000 landscaping job for a local dentist’s office. That does not mean he has to trade his labour for $5,000 of dental work; rather, he has an account at a barter exchange [\"think of it almost as a credit card account”, says Whitney], which is credited 5,000 trade dollars and he can spend that amount on any of the hundreds or thousands of members in that exchange.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhitney estimates there has been a 20% increase in member sign-ups to barter exchanges during the pandemic. “Barter exchanges are seeing more activity and gaining more interest than ever before because cash is tight, credit is tight,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"People understand how a small act of kindness can make a drastic difference to somebody else’s life — Reyaz Limalia","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe limits of barter\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe increase in barter has forged stronger community connections for many. But it’s unlikely that people will ditch spending in general for a totally swap-filled life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“[Barter is] a nice way of showing a bit of community spirit and solidarity with people without money changing hands. That is more about the significance of the signal that you’re giving than the true economic significance of the transaction,” says David Miles, professor of financial economics at Imperial College Business School in London. He adds that the draw of barter is likely the personal aspect of the exchange, especially during the pandemic. “Sometimes the swapping and there not being money changing hands makes it seem a much more communal, gentler, kinder, non-commercial thing about helping people.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo although the barter economy is currently strong and strengthening, Miles says barter has a limit. “In almost any country in the world, it only works for a tiny proportion of things,” he says. “You’re not going to buy electricity by offering to provide a service.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETime-barterer Limalia, too, acknowledges the sometimes-limited scope of bartering, but points out that scaling up is not necessarily the point. “People understand how a small act of kindness can make a drastic difference to somebody else’s life,” he says. “We’re not going to change the world – we’re not even going to change the whole city – but, actually, that one hour you give to help somebody else will make a difference to them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world-12"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-08-27T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Could bartering become the new buying in a changed world?","headlineShort":"The rise of bartering","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Amid economic uncertainty – and a desire to connect as we distance – bartering is experiencing an unprecedented rise. Could it stick around?","summaryShort":"Amid Covid-19, the bartering economy has taken off","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-08-26T23:34:03.268345Z","entity":"article","guid":"3871c817-a2a8-45e1-b3e6-0693463038a8","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:53:50.987295Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid","_id":"6267dfa31f4b7b354d141cca","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Companies are looking to the post-Covid future. For many, the vision is a model that combines remote work and office time.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESince Covid-19 upended our lives, employees around the world have settled into the rhythms of mandatory remote work. Now, as companies try to decide the best way forward for their workers, it’s clear that many employees don’t want to stuff the genie entirely back into the bottle.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA survey in May showed that 55% of US workers \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsiepr.stanford.edu\u002Fresearch\u002Fpublications\u002Fhow-working-home-works-out\"\u003Ewant a mixture of home and office working\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In the UK, employers expect the proportion of regular home workers to double, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cipd.co.uk\u002Fabout\u002Fmedia\u002Fpress\u002Fhome-working-increases\"\u003Efrom 18% pre-pandemic to 37% post-pandemic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. In China, employment expert Alicia Tung \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.microsoft.com\u002Fapac\u002F2020\u002F07\u002F29\u002Fmicrosoft-forecasts-a-hybrid-new-normal-of-work-in-asia-pacific\u002F\"\u003Ehas predicted that in 10 years’ time\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, there will be a 60\u002F40 split of onsite\u002Fremote work.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the moment, companies are managing in varied ways. Some have given employees permission to continue working remotely until at least 2021. Others have recalled staff to the workplace on different schedules and in staggered groups. Still others are leaving it entirely up to individual workers to decide where to base themselves.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut businesses around the world are also starting to think about the longer term, including alternative ways to structure work communication and hours as well as physical presence. And what many are converging on amid the ongoing uncertainty, says Marco Minervini, an organisational design researcher at business school INSEAD in Singapore, is different models of hybrid working: combining remote work with office work. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat hybrid work might look like\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile ‘hybrid’ is key to understanding the more flexible future of work, it encompasses many possible systems. Hybrid work \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002F3er1viui9wo30pkxh1v2nh4w-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fprod\u002Fsites\u002F43\u002F2020\u002F07\u002FWhitepaper-Transitioning-Asia-to-a-New-Normal-of-Work.pdf\"\u003Etends to include more freedom around when to work as well as where\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. It generally grants more autonomy to employees to fit work around the rest of their lives, rather than structuring other parts of a weekday around hours logged in an office. Ideally, it’s the best of both worlds: structure and sociability on one hand, and independence and flexibility on the other. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA common procedure of existing hybrid companies, accelerated since the pandemic started, is to designate certain days for in-office meetings and collaboration, and remote days for work involving individual focus. Physical presence might be required for orientations, team-building and project kick-offs, but not necessarily for other work. “We try to use home working days less for video sessions and more for the tasks that require concentration. A task that may take several hours in the office may be completed in just an hour or two at home,” says Baruch Silverman, founder of personal finance website The Smart Investor. His company, which is based in Los Angeles, went hybrid in June. On the other hand, the company aims for sharing and synchronisation on the days when employees come into the office together.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome companies are going further. Kissflow, a provider of digital workplace services with offices in the US and India, has introduced a mixed working model called REMOTE+. This combines three weeks of working from anywhere with one week of office-based work. The company \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fkissflow.com\u002Fnews\u002Fkissflow-launches-remoteplus\u002F\"\u003Ecovers accommodation costs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for the office week, and encourages employees to return home the rest of the time.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Ideally, hybrid work is the best of both worlds: structure and sociability, and independence and flexibility","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, the Barlow Law Firm in Chicago, which moved away from office-based work during the pandemic, has kept its office for practical reasons; it still has older paper-based files and key equipment there. “Some files contain thousands of pages of discovery. There is no way we would reprint those things at home,” explains lawyer Maria Barlow. The handful of staff go into the office as needed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an HR professional association, believes that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fbusiness-53484767\"\u003Emost companies will retain physical offices\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But changes are afoot, as some companies will be reluctant to maintain the same amount of office space for a smaller number of workers.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to Covid-19, search engine optimisation agency NOVOS had signed a lease with WeWork for office space. But due to the pandemic, it backed out of the lease and moved to We Membership, “where employees can work from home most of the time but are allocated each a monthly budget to spend on booking workspace”, NOVOS CEO Antonio Wedral explains. Pre-pandemic, almost all employees were based in or around London, but recent hires have been located as far away as Poland. Staff are able to use the We Membership credits at any eligible location, but some still appreciate coming to the same branch. “This has worked very well so far, with many enjoying seeing everyone again, the flexibility, and it is much cheaper than a physical office that we wouldn’t be using properly now anyway,” says Wedral.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"right","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ENicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economics professor with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200710-the-remote-work-experiment-that-made-staff-more-productive\"\u003Eexpertise in remote work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, believes that once the pandemic subsides, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsiepr.stanford.edu\u002Fresearch\u002Fpublications\u002Fhow-working-home-works-out\"\u003Eworking from home two days a week will be optimal\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for balancing collaborative and quiet work, while benefitting from the reduced stress of less commuting. He suggests companies that want to retain their own space consider moving from tall buildings to spread-out industrial parks or campuses to facilitate social distancing.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnita Williams Woolley, who researches organisational behaviour and theory at Carnegie Mellon University, believes that it makes sense for organisations to evaluate their space and consider downsizing, but without eliminating meeting space. “If anything I’d keep the conference room, maybe get rid of some of the cubicles that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20170105-open-offices-are-damaging-our-memories\"\u003Enobody likes anyway\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and invest in the private workspaces for the people that need to be in the office.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe darker side of hybrid work\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, hybrid working patterns won’t suit everyone. In general, there’s enormous socioeconomic and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Farticle\u002F20200420-coronavirus-why-some-racial-groups-are-more-vulnerable\"\u003Eracial inequality\u003C\u002Fa\u003E between who is able to work from home and who is not.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Sid Sijbrandij, CEO of web development platform GitLab, calls hybrid remote work “the worst of both worlds”","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe pandemic has drawn attention to disparities among those allowed to work remotely, including the spotty quality of internet access; the demands of parenting and caring; and the luxury of roomy homes and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200617-the-luxury-and-privilege-of-a-balcony-or-yard-during-covid\"\u003Eoutdoor space\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that make working from home comfortable. Those squashed into overcrowded flats may not relish having to work from home for the bulk of the week.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere’s also the question of personality. People who \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200601-the-personalities-that-benefit-most-from-remote-work\"\u003Eappreciate a fixed routine\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, for example, may find it difficult to ping back and forth between work settings. “I thought I’d be happy to go back, but I have to say that it’s difficult,” reflects Nelson Sherwin, a manager at PEO Companies, based in the US state of Nebraska, which advises on HR services. “I think the key is to just be consistent and you can pretty much adjust to anything – office or remote work. But when you do both, you don’t really get a chance to adjust to either. You’re in and out, never quite able to create a consistent routine.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to critics, a hybrid model may also have an in-built inclusion problem. Sid Sijbrandij, CEO of web development platform GitLab, calls hybrid remote work \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wired.com\u002Fstory\u002Fhybrid-remote-work-offers-the-worst-of-both-worlds\u002F\"\u003E“the worst of both worlds”\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. GitLab has an entirely remote workforce; it pays for employees to rent office or coworking space should they want it, and to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fabout.gitlab.com\u002Fhandbook\u002Fincentives\u002F#visiting-grant\"\u003Evisit each other for work\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Sijbrandij has argued that under a hybrid model, a head office will always have a disproportionate share of power, and office regulars will have the edge over home workers. If inadequately planned, this kind of structure would have neither the interaction of face-to-face work nor the egalitarianism that fully remote workforces can aspire to.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOrganisational design researcher Minervini agrees, saying: “You run the risk of creating in-group and out-group dynamics in hybrid teams.” In other words, a mixed model can entrench a divide between those in the office and those at home (and potentially \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200630-how-covid-19-is-changing-womens-lives\"\u003Emagnify the gender gap\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, as women are disproportionately expected to take on home-based caring responsibilities). “And there’s consistent evidence to show that in-group and out-group dynamics reduce collaboration and increase conflict.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPartially distributed teams also commonly report communication problems. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fieeexplore.ieee.org\u002Fdocument\u002F6457434\"\u003EConflict is more likely with digital communication\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, partly because social inhibitions are more powerful when working face-to-face. And the lack of shared social identity that is \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fieeexplore.ieee.org\u002Fdocument\u002F6457434\"\u003Emore common in partially distributed teams\u003C\u002Fa\u003E can harm team effectiveness and performance, by impairing trust and team spirit.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow to make hybrids helpful rather than harmful\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorry over the unintentional exclusion of remote workers is behind one of Minervini’s key suggestions: aim towards equalisation. Ideally all workers would be in the office on the same days, although this may be impractical for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200514-how-the-post-pandemic-office-will-change\"\u003Esocially distanced offices\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Leaders should be in the same boat as employees, to whatever extent possible, with roughly equal face time. Further, leaders should be \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fieeexplore.ieee.org\u002Fdocument\u002F6457434\"\u003Eaware of the harms of in-group dynamics\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETransparent communication is also critical. Woolley advises partially distributed companies to have group meetings in a completely distributed way, everyone on their own device. “That way everyone can be seen and heard, so you don’t have the distant conference table with the fuzzy faces,” she explains. “It cuts down on the side conversations, and it forces all of the communication to be much more explicit.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"An efficient hybrid workplace shouldn’t demand that everyone works the same hours, at the same pace","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ECommunication doesn’t necessarily have to be as comprehensive as at GitLab, which has a sprawling, public \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fabout.gitlab.com\u002Fhandbook\u002F\"\u003Eemployee handbook\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But more clarity and consistency around procedures is important to avoid conflict, says Minervini.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt also helps foster more empowered employees, which leads into Minervini’s final suggestion for optimising hybrid work: modularisation. This involves dividing up work into tasks that employees can complete independently and make decisions on quickly, without requiring colleagues to be online simultaneously. “You need to break the temporal chain of synchronicity,” urges Minervini. In other words, an efficient hybrid workplace shouldn’t demand that everyone works the same hours, at the same pace, though occasionally this is necessary. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fieeexplore.ieee.org\u002Fdocument\u002F6457434\"\u003Emix of synchronous and asynchronous communication methods\u003C\u002Fa\u003E helps geographically-distant teams work best.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, Woolley is optimistic about the future. Even before Covid-19, she believed that organisations needed to rethink practices that were conventional but not efficient, like taking a flight for a two-hour meeting. “It just takes a little creativity and comfort, getting used to a new way of doing things. And so for me the silver lining in the pandemic is that it has forced organisations to find ways to do that. And I really hope they never go back, because for people’s wellbeing, work-life balance, etc., it just really is better to have this kind of flexibility.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid-12"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-08-31T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why the future of work might be ‘hybrid’","headlineShort":"Is ‘hybrid’ work the way of the future?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Companies are looking to the post-Covid future. For many, the vision is a model that combines remote work and office time.","summaryShort":"The new model for work could be a split between home and office","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-08-30T23:20:20.994202Z","entity":"article","guid":"91234ef5-e606-4be2-a123-e40fb574b70c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:54:06.339731Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities","_id":"6267dfcf1f4b7b58d3097d76","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["future\u002Fauthor\u002Fvittoria-traverso"],"bodyIntro":"Thousands of variations on social-distancing markers are popping up around the world. They reflect more than just our need to keep ourselves separated.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIn May, parents walking with their children to the local primary school along Rue Poulletier, in central Paris, noticed some unusual marks on the ground. Right next to a zebra crossing, a series of new \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.designboom.com\u002Fdesign\u002Fwave-themed-street-signage-system-by-studio-5%E2%80%A25-encourages-parisians-social-distance-05-26-2020\u002F\"\u003Eblue-and-white wave-shaped marks\u003C\u002Fa\u003E dotted the street and pavement outside the school.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlthough the symbols seemed like something from a hopscotch game, they weren’t for fun: the markings are part of a new municipal initiative to encourage social distancing around schools. Near the wave-shaped markers, a sentence painted in blue lets pedestrians know that they are near a school, while the text ‘1m’ serves as a reminder to keep the distance of a metre between people. \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E Paris-based creative agency Studio 5·5 devised the markings in response to a call issued by the Paris municipality in preparation for the city’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.france24.com\u002Fen\u002F20200602-france-lifts-more-covid-19-restrictions-what-you-need-to-know-for-phase-ii\"\u003EPhase II\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a period of partial lockdown-rule relaxation between May and July that included the re-opening of some schools. France has since entered its Phase III, which \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.neweurope.eu\u002Farticle\u002Fmacron-details-phase-3-of-deconfinement-in-france\u002F\"\u003Eallowed\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for all schools to re-open, and the wave-shaped signs have been expanded to another two schools, in a different Parisian district, with more soon to join the scheme. \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E Children currently making their way back to class in these three schools are now welcomed by the new signs. In \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dailymotion.com\u002Fvideo\u002Fx7u1bkb\"\u003Ea video\u003C\u002Fa\u003E shot by Paris.fr, the official channel of the Paris municipal government, a boy is seen wondering at the meaning of the wave-shaped markers. “What’s this?” he asks his mum, who points to the “1m” part of the symbol. “Ah, it’s to keep distance between people!” the boy realises. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qymyd"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“I have observed parents stepping away from each other after looking at the markers,” says Vincent Baranger, a brand designer and co-founder of Studio 5·5. “Kids are also drawn to these signs and like to remind parents to respect them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe white and blue waves – a visual reference to both the Seine river and Paris’s motto “Fluctuat net mergitur” (“floating but not sinking”) – are just one of the many examples of a new visual code that is appearing all over the world in response to a need for social distancing in order to keep the Covid-19 pandemic at bay. In Bristol, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fabcnews.go.com\u002FInternational\u002Fphotos\u002Fcoronavirus-social-distancing-creative-ideas-70954938\u002Fimage-distanced-hearts-england-72121577\"\u003Elarge heart shapes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E have been sprayed on grass to outline safe distances; in New York City, white circles dot New York’s public parks; leaf shapes appear on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bostonherald.com\u002F2020\u002F08\u002F10\u002Fsocial-distance-leaves-painted-on-boston-common-grass\u002F\"\u003EBoston’s public grass\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; and painted outlines are showing up on the pavement of many Indian cities, from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscroll.in\u002Flatest\u002F957212\u002Fin-photos-social-distancing-seen-at-cabinet-meeting-chaired-by-modi-at-shops-across-country\"\u003ENew Dehli to Pondicherry.\u003C\u002Fa\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E These signs, symbols and markings are the hallmark of a pandemic-changed world – one that not only functions differently, but now looks it, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEvolving organically\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThis is not the first time that pandemics have shaped the cities we live in. For example, in the 15th Century, Venetians re-purposed an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nationalgeographic.com\u002Fscience\u002F2007\u002F08\u002Fvenice-mass-plague-graves-science\u002F#:~:text=Venice's%20government%20built%20a%20public,the%20modern%20word%20%22lazaret.%22\"\u003Eentire island\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to quarantine plague patients, and the then city-state of Milan erected an \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fhimetop.wikidot.com\u002Fthe-lazzaretto\"\u003Eentire block\u003C\u002Fa\u003E dedicated to plague patients. But, for the first time, multiple cities across the world are concurrently adapting to the same challenge – and doing it in different ways that reflect their priorities, values and cultures.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAccording to Harold Takooshian, a professor of urban psychology at Fordham University in New York City, social distancing signs around the world can be divided into three broad categories: government signs, organisational signs and citizen-created signs. Paris’s wave-shaped markers were the product of a government-led initiative, as were the white-painted squares in Vicchio, Tuscany, where the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dezeen.com\u002F2020\u002F05\u002F12\u002Fcaret-studio-social-distancing-stodistante-installation-vicchio\u002F#:~:text=The%20StoDistante%20installation%20features%20a,of%20the%20Covid%2D19%20virus.\"\u003Ecobblestones of Piazza Giotto have been marked to create a social distancing grid\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But most of the social distancing signs that have popped up across the world are part of the other two categories.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qymcz"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ESingapore, for instance, is full of them. Authorities there introduced \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F27\u002Fasia\u002Fsingapore-coronavirus-laws-scli-intl\u002Findex.html\"\u003Enew laws mandating social distancing\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, but issued no guidelines for how to mark that distance. “The design of the markers was not defined from the top down,” says Berny Tan, a Singapore-based artist who has been collecting images of social distance markers around the city. “Social distancing rules were announced, and people had to respond to it within just a few days.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThis absence of guidance resulted in a maze of symbols that businesses and citizens put together with various materials, including tape, cardboard, plastic and paint. Tan has been meticulously documenting the markings in an Instagram called \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Ftape_measures\u002F?hl=en\"\u003Etape_measures\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. The account, which works as a sort of digital archive for what she calls a “community-driven” visual language, now features hundreds of signs, from the basic yellow-and-black tape to ad-hoc stickers made by local design agencies. Her account has captured a range of signs, such as chicken feet shapes used by a fried chicken restaurant, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.channelnewsasia.com\u002Fnews\u002Fsingapore\u002Fin-pictures-safe-distancing-in-singapore-covid-19-coronavirus-12587462\"\u003Epolka dots\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the style of artist Yayoi Kusama. \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E \u003Cbr \u002F\u003E Takooshian finds these kinds of self-made signs especially interesting. “People are reacting to a stressful situation with a lot of creativity,” he says, adding that self-made signs can create a bond among people. “Government signs can be perceived as coercive,” he explains. “When seeing a self-made sign, we understand that a business or a person is, like us, trying to comply with the rules.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qywtp"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA new standard\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAs the pandemic continues, these improvised social-distancing symbols are slowly starting to evolve into more standardised markers – a kind of evolution that has precedent. For instance, before most cities eventually adopted the zebra crossing, each town marked pedestrian crossings in different ways. Britain mostly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.smithsonianmag.com\u002Fsmart-news\u002Fshort-history-crosswalk-180965339\u002F\"\u003Eused\u003C\u002Fa\u003E metal studs and poles on the side, while Detroit used tennis-court lines. Eventually, the 1949 \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftreaties.un.org\u002Fpages\u002FViewDetailsV.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-1&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg5&clang=_en\"\u003EGeneva Convention on Road Traffic\u003C\u002Fa\u003E established \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fopiniojuris.org\u002F2013\u002F05\u002F05\u002Fthe-1949-geneva-convention-you-probably-havent-heard-of\u002F\"\u003Euniform traffic rules\u003C\u002Fa\u003E across countries and most cities adopted the now iconic zebra crossing sign.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EA similar process is at work with social distancing signs. Aradhna Krishna, a professor of marketing at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, is currently working on a universal social distancing symbol with a team of international experts at the University of Lucerne. “An ideal symbol is one that gets noticed and that triggers a natural response in viewers,” she explains, adding that, so far, she has not come across any symbol that could work as a universal marker. But based on her decades-long research on the psychological impact of road signs, she thinks that some current examples can be more effective than others.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ESigns with too many words tend to be ignored, while simple signs with bright colours, such as yellow, tend to stand out more. Stimulating other senses, like touch, can also make a sign effective. In Elblag, Poland, architect Ada Kotyńska, director of art gallery Galeria EL, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.urbangardensweb.com\u002F2020\u002F06\u002F26\u002Flawn-mowed-into-checkerboard-becomes-natural-social-distancing-space\u002F\"\u003Emowed the gallery’s garden into a checkerboard pattern\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to create a tactile social-distancing demonstration. “Visitors are intuitively drawn towards the un-mowed parts,” explains Kotyńska.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qymjq"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EIncorporating an “emotional component” can also make a marker more effective. “The Paris wave-shaped mark is playing on people's loyalty to Paris,” Krishna explains, adding that a reference to a shared community can be an effective tactic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EEmotions are also at the core of the effective white circles now used across New York City’s parks to mark social distancing. Domino Park’s director Mike Lampariello, who came up with the white-circle idea, says that visitors have been appreciative of the markings, and understood intuitively how to use them from the start. According to Krishna, that’s due to the feeling of safety the circles convey. “A circle marks a private space that others will not cross,” she explains. “People can feel safe and cocooned within it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EHowever, emotional messages conveyed by social-distancing symbols may not be the same across countries – or even within them. “In the US, social-distancing markers are contentious,” says Mindy Thompson Fullilove, a professor of urban policy and health at The New School in New York City, referencing the way that masks and social distancing have been at the centre of a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fnews\u002Fworld-us-canada-53477121\"\u003Eheated debate\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on civil liberties in the country. “They can be a source of comfort to some, but irritate others.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThis is especially true for what Krishna explains as “voluntary” signs, which are not coercive, but instead rely on a person’s choice to take on a behaviour. “The Paris wave is a voluntary sign and it relies on loyalty to the city,” she adds. Non-voluntary signs, on the other hand, tell you exactly what to do. “When we mark a cross on the floor saying this where you should stand, that’s a non-voluntary sign.” She believes a mix of these two types of signs may be an effective solution.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qywlf"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-9"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFor now, business and designers are taking it upon themselves to create visual codes, with solutions such as “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbeach-ring.com\u002F\"\u003Ebeach rings\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” and “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fwatch\u002F?v=698804254243322\"\u003Esocial-distance tape\u003C\u002Fa\u003E” among the innovations. Caret Studio, a design agency based in Florence, has developed a free and easy-to-assemble kit that anyone can \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fproximity.design\u002Fen\u002Fdownload\u002F\"\u003Edownload\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and put together with A4 paper, tape, paint or chalk. The team crafted markers for different contexts – benches, lobbies, cashier desks and more.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“We believe that the current use of symbols creates stress for users who need to identify and decode a new system of signs each time,” says founding partner Federico Cheloni, who oversaw the ‘Proximity’ project, in collaboration with Forte Design. His hope is that the project will help create a standard visual system that can be easily understood across contexts, such as train stations, public gardens and beyond.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding bridges\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAs social distance markings paint the world, designers and academics are also wondering if these new shared visual languages can do more than just enforce a safety rule. They may be able to connect societies, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“When we designed the wave-shaped sign there was a lot of anxiety in France,” says Studio 5·5’s Baranger. “We designed a friendly sign with a touch of poetry that could remind people of social distance, but also bring some hope.” Many online accounts across the US also report the healing power of social distancing signs, with residents creating \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fedition.cnn.com\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F22\u002Fus\u002Fcalifornia-sidewalk-drawings-coronavirus-trnd\u002Findex.html\"\u003Echalk signs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to remind people to social distance but also to stay positive.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-10"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p08qyx2b"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-11"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFullilove, who has studied the impact of 9\u002F11 on New York City civil \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F8417972_Promoting_collective_recovery_through_organizational_mobilization_The_post-911_disaster_relief_work_of_NYC_RECOVERS\"\u003Esociety\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, thinks that local governments should work with organisations to co-create symbols that can bring a message of hope and possibility. “If people feel part of a community, they tend to play their part,” she says. “That’s a known fact about how social groups work.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAnd that may be what ultimately makes a sign effective. “The best signs are the one that actually make people want to respect a rule,” Krishna says. “We need to understand what can push people to want social distance.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities-12"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-09-16T16:13:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"How social-distancing symbols are changing our cities","headlineShort":"The social-distance signs across cities","image":["p08qywls"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200831-hong-kong-public-space-problem-social-distance","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200821-the-rise-of-bartering-in-a-changed-world","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Thousands of variations on social-distancing markers are popping up around the world. They reflect more than just our need to keep ourselves separated.","summaryShort":"What new symbols and markers tell us about the world","tag":["tag\u002Fcities"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-09-15T19:47:21.070761Z","entity":"article","guid":"06e2a352-40cc-4a9d-abcb-7737ba678b9a","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:55:09.778237Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095725},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time","_id":"6267dfb51f4b7b3e733455d8","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Many of us work on the way to and from the office. Should it be paid time - or would that erode an important buffer between work and home?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EFew people look forward to their commute, but Albane Bochatay, 30, has it easier than most. With Switzerland’s snow-capped mountains and Lake Geneva as a backdrop and an almost guaranteed seat, her one-hour train journey one-way is decidedly more relaxing than a packed London Underground train. And most importantly, she gets paid for it.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter moving from Bern, the centre of government, to the southwestern city of Lausanne, Bochatay, a research associate for Swiss union Transfair, now works at a regional office near her home two days a week and commutes to the headquarters in Bern the other three. And thanks to Switzerland’s well-equipped and uncrowded trains, her boss was happy for her to start her workday on the journey in.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I can answer my mails, I can read some papers, I can also write some minutes, so I can actually do a lot of things on the train,” she says. “And now I can be home at six in the evening and I can do some sport or see some friends. So it's a good balance.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile having your commute counted as part of your office hours is still far from the norm, it’s an idea that’s catching on in Switzerland. Transfair has allowed its employees to do this since 2016. In January, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thelocal.ch\u002F20200107\u002Fcommuting-workers-in-switzerland-can-now-be-paid-for-work-done-on-the-train\"\u003Ethe Swiss government changed its rules so that its 40,000 employees simply need sign-off from their manager to do the same\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In 2016, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU employees required to commute to remote sites can count their journey as part of their working day","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESwitzerland isn’t the only place where this happens. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Flink.springer.com\u002Farticle\u002F10.1007%2Fs11116-012-9396-7\"\u003EA 2008 survey of train users\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in Norway found 27% were allowed to count work done on their commute towards their hours. In 2016, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU employees required to commute to remote sites rather than a fixed office – like technicians sent to service equipment at client sites – can count their journey as part of their working day.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea is also a popular one. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.iwgplc.com\u002FMediaCentre\u002FPressRelease\u002Fflexible-working-is-now-a-deal-breaker-in-the-war-for-talent\"\u003Eglobal survey\u003C\u002Fa\u003E carried out in 2019 found that 48% of respondents work on their commute and 42% think official hours should include that time. But some experts caution that while it might seem like an attractive option, it could also erode an important buffer between work and home that is already under siege.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlways on\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPart of the reason the idea of “commute-as-work” is coming to the fore is our increasingly connected lives, says Juliet Jain, a mobility researcher at the University of the West of England. With the advent of wi-fi on trains and much improved mobile internet coverage, the daily commute no longer has to be dead time. Many see it as a chance to get ahead of the workday.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn a survey of commuters travelling on the London to Birmingham and London to Aylesbury lines in 2016 and 2017, Jain found that 40% of those connecting to the internet via wi-fi or mobile data were using their time to do work emails.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“A lot of people really valued that time to catch up on emails or finish things off at the end of the day,” says Jain. “So this really sort of threw that question out there, what does this actually mean in terms of work practices for businesses? Should people see this as paid time or unpaid time?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnswering that question is complicated, says Jain, because many of those interviewed interspersed work with personal tasks like browsing the web, checking social media or replying to personal messages. It also depends on your job and how you commute, she adds; a shop worker is unlikely to be able to do much useful work on the train and those who drive won’t be sending many emails.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut for those that can there are plenty of benefits – from spending more time at home, to missing the morning rush hour or being able to take jobs further from where they live.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"‘If the employee is willing to work on the way to work, especially on the railways, this is also working time for which payment is due’ – Thomas Geiser","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBotachay’s arrangement is based on trust. She is contracted to work eight hours and simply fills in a spreadsheet to say how long she has worked on the train each day. And the environment means it’s easy for her to get a solid amount of work done; it’s rare that anyone has to stand, there are dedicated quiet compartments and plenty of other commuters spend their journey working too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Thomas Geiser, a professor of labour law at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, there’s no question whether these commuters should be able to log this time. “Working time is the time which the employee makes available to the employer,” he says. “If the employee is willing to work on the way to work, especially on the railways, this is also working time for which payment is due.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECreeping commitments\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there are reasons to be wary of rolling commuting time into our office hours, says Carys Chan, who studies work-life balance at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. In our always-on society the boundaries between our professional and private lives are already being blurred, she says, and by including commuting time as work hours that line gets even harder to draw.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMore insidiously, by counting commuting as work we’re assigning economic value to this time, she says. This could have unintended consequences such as employees feeling compelled to work on their commute so as not to be seen as less committed to their jobs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMartin Rennison, 37, who works in recruitment in London, is a big advocate for using the commute as a buffer between work and home. Every day he takes a 35-minute train from the town of Leighton Buzzard to Euston station in London before a short hop on the underground to his office near Old Street station.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I will listen to podcasts, read a book, watch a TV programme or listen to music and just sort of wake up,” he says. “And I really don't want to work on the train on the way back, because I want to decompress before I get home.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EHe also questions whether most UK commuter trains have the infrastructure to facilitate useful work, such as reliable wi-fi and mobile data connections or enough seats. “Nine times out of 10 I'm stood down an aisle holding on with one hand,” he says. “I just think it's fairly impractical.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChan agrees that the quality of work conducted on commuter trains is often questionable and thinks it’s an unsatisfactory compromise compared to truly flexible working. “Why don't we have an either-or situation, where sometimes we have to come to work on specific days for meetings, but other days, we don't have to commute at all?” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJain admits the idea will clearly only work for certain people on certain routes. But she says it doesn’t necessarily have to be one or the other and it could be part of a more comprehensive flexible working policy. More importantly, whether it’s counted or not the evidence shows people are increasingly working on their commutes.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking out how employers should account for this is still a work in progress, says Matthias Humbel, 39, Bochatay’s boss who is responsible for federal employees at Transfair. But he thinks workers will embrace the change.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It cuts the hours you spend away from home or away from family, or hobbies,” he says. “The benefit is in my eyes bigger than the danger of not having this separation between private time and work time.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2020-03-10T19:14:35Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Should working while you commute count as paid time?","headlineShort":"Should you be paid to commute?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":null,"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many of us work on the way to and from the office. Should it be paid time - or would that erode an important buffer between work and home?","summaryShort":"Many of us work on the train. Should we be paid for it?","tag":null,"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2020-03-09T19:48:32.71988Z","entity":"article","guid":"310ea358-ab46-4013-8449-5de25c891904","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T06:44:13.596909Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves","_id":"6267dfee1f4b7b64df05b769","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"As remote work takes hold, rural 'Zoom towns' are popping up all over the US. For outdoorsy workers, the options are an embarrassment of riches.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ELos Angeles native Shanelle Sherlin always wanted to live close to nature in a place where, as a triathlete, she could run, bike and swim away from city noise. So, when her job as a digital marketing manager for an entertainment company went fully remote, the 30-year-old made a dramatic move that would have been unimaginable before the pandemic: she traded the Hollywood Hills for the rolling Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESherlin was one of 30,000 applicants from 50 states and 115 countries who applied for the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffindingnwa.com\u002Fincentive\u002F\"\u003ELife Works Here\u003C\u002Fa\u003E talent initiative, which was launched in November 2020 with a $1.5 million investment from the Walmart heirs (the big-box retailer has its headquarters in Northwest Arkansas). Successful candidates – there are currently 35 out of what will be a total of 100 by year’s end – receive $10,000 (£7,090) if they relocate for a minimum of one year, plus outdoor perks such as a free bike to enjoy the area’s 400 miles (644km) of hard and soft-surface trails.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“One thing that really impacted me right away was that it’s such a cycling-friendly community,” says Sherlin, who lives in Fayetteville, a small city of about 85,000 residents, by the 37-mile Razorback Regional Greenway. She bikes it and other trails three times a week, sometimes with a group of fellow cyclists. The newly remote worker also found a social club with a co-working space, which she says “is a great place to interact with likeminded, career-driven individuals”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough some urban centres across the world have also established \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210121-finlands-radical-plan-to-lure-global-talent\"\u003Eprogrammes to entice workers to relocate\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a taste for a slower, more outdoorsy option has recently emerged, especially in the US.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA new study from the Pew Research Center found that, like Sherlin, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.weforum.org\u002Fagenda\u002F2021\u002F02\u002Fpandemic-financial-pressures-health-coronavirus-covid-pandemic?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_scheduler&utm_term=United+States&utm_content=17\u002F02\u002F2021+00:00\"\u003Eone in 20 US adults have moved in response to Covid-19\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, with those younger than 30 most likely to have made the change. Many are urbanites from major coastal cities, like New York and San Francisco, who were spurred by the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbpp.org\u002Fblog\u002Frents-have-risen-more-than-incomes-in-nearly-every-state-since-2001\"\u003Egrowing disconnect\u003C\u002Fa\u003E between stagnant wages and rising living costs as well as the prospect of bigger spaces and access to nature in the American interior. Now that influential companies like Facebook and Twitter have set the tone for long-term remote work even after the pandemic ends, this young talent has been emboldened to seek out new horizons.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"shanelle sherlin","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe rise of outdoorsy ‘Zoom towns’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOil and mineral discoveries once led to boomtowns; this exodus has spawned ‘Zoom towns’, regional communities near natural amenities, where remote workers can take advantage of a higher quality of life, with more disposable income than in traditional business hubs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the US, some resort towns – including Sandpoint, Idaho; Moab, Utah; and Durango, Colorado – have been overrun by these new “\u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.amenitymigration.org\u002Fyahoo_site_admin\u002Fassets\u002Fdocs\u002FIntro_Global_AM.160131552.pdf\"\u003Eamenity migrants\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. Meanwhile, overlooked communities like Fayetteville have turned to cash incentives to both capitalise on the trend, and lure outdoor-loving remote workers to their doorsteps (especially those in the STEAM fields of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths). \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESimilar incentive programs have popped up in nature-rich states such as Arizona. Tucson, for example, is giving outdoor enthusiasts $7,650 in cash, goods and services to use it as a base for work and adventure. The first 10 finalists for its \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.startuptucson.com\u002Fremotetucson\"\u003ERemote Tucson\u003C\u002Fa\u003E initiative – who hold jobs at companies including Apple, Pfizer, Facebook and LinkedIn – are arriving now, with up to 25 more expected in a second round later this year.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fascendwv.com\u002F\"\u003EAscend West Virginia\u003C\u002Fa\u003E takes the outdoor incentives even further. Participants not only receive $12,000 to relocate to participating West Virginia towns, but also an adventure package and free gear rental to cover a year’s worth of paddling, biking, climbing and rafting in the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. The programme also includes networking excursions and educational workshops – all conducted in nature – and is said to be valued at $20,000.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"right","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuote":"It’s really an influx of energy, diversity, talent, ideas, jobs and purchasing power – Brad D Smith","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“This past year has really accelerated trends that were already under way over the last decade, including a significant shift to remote work and a generation that’s beginning to see rural as the new urban,” explains Ascend West Virginia co-founder Brad D Smith, who’s also the executive chairman of software company Intuit.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAbout half of Americans (48%) who responded to a Gallup poll at the end of 2020 said that, if able to live anywhere they wished, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.gallup.com\u002Fpoll\u002F328268\u002Fcountry-living-enjoys-renewed-appeal.aspx\"\u003Ethey would choose a town or rural area\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, up from 39% in 2018.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Our goal was to create a way to differentiate West Virginia that was durable and not so easily matched by promoting our unparalleled outdoor assets,” adds Smith, who invested $25m in the programme, alongside his wife Alys. The West Virginia native says the Ascend initiative will help 1,000 remote workers relocate over the next five years as well as create needed buzz for the state, which has seen the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Fdata\u002Ftables\u002Ftime-series\u002Fdec\u002Fpopchange-data-text.html\"\u003Ehighest population decline in America\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. More than 7,000 people from 50 states and 73 countries have already applied. The first cohort of 50 will arrive in the adventure hub of Morgantown this fall.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“These individuals will be coming in and looking at the state with fresh eyes,” notes Smith. “It’s really an influx of energy, diversity, talent, ideas, jobs and purchasing power – and all that becomes a flywheel so that future generations want to stay in the state and move here.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA boom or bust for rural enclaves?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea for Smith and others is that workers will benefit, and towns, too. Of course, the reality is not quite so simple.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tandfonline.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1080\u002F01944363.2020.1791728?journalCode=rjpa20\"\u003Estudy\u003C\u002Fa\u003E published in the Journal of the American Planning Association last year, Danya Rumore, a researcher with the University of Utah, looked at the development challenges faced by 1,200 \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.usu.edu\u002Fgnar\u002Fnews\u002Findex\"\u003Egateway and natural amenity region\u003C\u002Fa\u003E (GNAR) communities in the American Mountain West region, which includes Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and more.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“What we’re seeing in some communities is rural gentrification, which is having a spill-over effect where people can’t afford to live in the communities anymore,” she says, noting that “places with really good outdoor recreation access have gotten hammered”. Many communities have experienced other “big-city challenges in small towns”, she adds, including overwhelmed schools, overburdened infrastructure and troubles keeping employees employed due to acute housing affordability issues.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EYet, for rural areas with the resources to both manage the impact and harness the opportunity – including those actively seeking remote workers – it may be the kick they need to jumpstart the local economy.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERumore says that many rural communities receiving an influx of remote workers are transitioning away from extraction economies to tourism, but have struggled with the recent boom and bust of that industry, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“They are seeing an opportunity to diversity their economy” with a fresh influx of capital and ideas, she says. “One of the benefits of the in-migration we’ve seen is that there are younger people moving in.” Instead of pensioners retiring to nature, “you have people who are still employed, have families, have kids in school”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETemporary or permanent?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe next question on many communities’ minds is: are these Zoom towners here to stay?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESmith thinks they will put down roots in areas with strong natural assets. He says incentivising remote workers to immerse themselves in outdoor adventures is key to West Virginia’s strategy, “because this programme is successful if they come, fall in love with the state and stay”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERumore bets there’s a good chance many Zoom towners will remain in their new homes, too, particularly as towns evolve alongside their latest residents.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Once they reach this tipping point where they’re a pretty cool town with a nice coffee shop and cool bars and good restaurants – when they get over the hump and become a place – people want to stay,” she says. “So, what’s interesting about this flood of amenity migration is that it probably tipped a lot of these communities over that hump.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESherlin, the remote worker who traded Los Angeles for Northwest Arkansas, says she feels like she landed in the right place at the right time. “So far, I absolutely love it,” she says. “I don’t see myself leaving, but I’m going to complete the year and figure it out from there.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo one knows whether companies will keep remote-work policies forever, so it’s hard to predict the future of these nature-adjacent Zoom towns or the workers who’ve flocked to them. At the moment, however, for outdoors-loving workers who are able to pick up and leave, many Zoom towns have rolled out their welcome mats. Step on in.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2021-06-08T16:01:39Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The 'Zoom towns' luring remote workers to rural enclaves","headlineShort":"The most unusual 'Zoom towns'","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"As remote work takes hold, rural 'Zoom towns' are popping up all over the US. For outdoorsy workers, the options are an embarrassment of riches.","summaryShort":"For remote workers, why \"rural is the new urban\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2021-06-07T20:17:55.269158Z","entity":"article","guid":"39c45db2-39c8-4371-b767-642a94a4e9ea","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:09:19.659157Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b3b9f25600a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fbryan-lufkin"],"bodyIntro":"Before, it was generally top-level executives who lived ‘super-commuting’ lives. Now, more and more workers are embracing the idea.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EIn September 2021, product marketing manager Blaine Bassett moved from San Francisco to scenic Lake Tahoe, 300km (186mi) away on the California-Nevada border. He wanted “to take advantage of what was predicted to be a once-in-a-lifetime winter”, he says. \"Tahoe was expecting record snowfall this year; in fact, the mountain got 17 feet of snow in December. I wanted to be here to take advantage of a ton of days to snowboard and snowshoe, a new hobby I picked up this winter.\"\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the time, his San Francisco-based employer, travel and expense-managment company TripActions, was still operating remotely; he figured it was only a matter of time before things reverted to pre-pandemic norms, so he considered the move temporary.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESeven months later, however, Bassett is still living in Lake Tahoe, even as his company has started calling staff back to the office, a four-hour drive away. That means for Bassett, a once-daily commute is being replaced with a less frequent – but much longer – one. It’s called a ‘super commute’: defined as a commute that takes \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Flibrary\u002Fworking-papers\u002F2013\u002Fdemo\u002FSEHSD-WP2013-03.html\"\u003E90 minutes or longer one-way\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As you can imagine, [it] takes a bit of planning,” says Bassett, who travels two or three times a month by car from his home to his company’s headquarters. He can’t go into the office at a moment’s notice anymore, and has to “check traffic times well in advance, leave at the crack of dawn and try to cram as many in-person meetings into the day as possible. I frequently spend the night with friends or at a hotel so I can get two days in the office out of the commute”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the long-distance trek and increased costs are worth it, since he’s able to keep living in Lake Tahoe, working remotely the rest of the month. “When I need a break or I have a one-on-one,” he says, “I take calls while walking in the redwood forests, or down at the lake.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c13mfp"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESuper-commuters aren’t a new phenomenon. In sprawling countries like the US, for example, some workers, mainly senior executives, have been commuting long distances for years. But the pandemic has increased this phenomenon, as more people shift to an employment model that combines remote work and occasional visits to the office. Could this new form of commuting be the future, as workers embrace hybrid, and build lives further away from urban hubs?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe new super-commuters\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHistorically, the workers doing these kinds of long-haul commutes have had certain things in common; they were often \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2021-12-22\u002Fpandemic-remote-work-spawns-a-new-class-of-office-super-commuters\"\u003Every senior or wealthy knowledge workers in spheres like tech\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, who were allowed to live far away and come in sparsely, sometimes even by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sfchronicle.com\u002Fbusiness\u002Farticle\u002FBay-Area-super-commuters-take-to-the-skies-in-14874219.php\"\u003Ecommuter flight services\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut now, super-commuting is evolving into something a bit different. Remote work has become far more normalised, even in sectors where it was rare pre-pandemic. It’s common across more levels of the workforce; employees well below the C-suite now expect to work more flexibly. Many companies are responding by allowing a far wider range of employees to request working conditions that suit their personal circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some people, that means living far from the office, potentially somewhere cheaper, and working a hybrid schedule, combining home working days with visits to the office – whether weekly, monthly or quarterly – via a significantly longer commute. Data suggests many workers think this is a reasonable trade-off;\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.upwork.com\u002Fpress\u002Freleases\u002Fthe-new-geography-of-remote-work\"\u003E 4.9 million Americans have moved since 2020 because remote work allowed them to do so,\u003C\u002Fa\u003E while more Australians moved out of major cities in 2021 than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2021-06-25\u002Fcovid-regional-australia-population-housing-services\u002F100235562\"\u003Eat any point in the last two decades\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome workers may have fallen into super-commuting somewhat by accident. That was the case for Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, a real estate company with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. In autumn 2020, she and her husband moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin – a tiny resort town of 8,000 people – to be closer to her husband’s family. They’ve been there ever since. “We just decided to stay, we liked it so much,” she says. “I’ve always lived in cities my entire life, and this is my first time living in a rural area. I’m surprised with how much I like it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c15hn6"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDuring the pandemic, her office in Seattle (which is 3,200km [1,988mi] away from Lake Geneva) didn’t call staff back in for months. Now that the firm is shifting to a hybrid model, however, she will be expected back there on a quarterly basis. That means she’ll travel to the headquarters for three or four-day stays every three months, with the company footing the bill. “I would have considered [super-commuting] before the pandemic,” says Fairweather. “I just didn't think of it as a real option.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The group of super-commuters has expanded as companies have allowed middle-class knowledge workers to come into the office two days a week, or one week a month – Robert Pozen","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOther workers, meanwhile, got a taste of super-commuting during the pandemic, and are looking for opportunities that would allow them to continue that lifestyle – despite the logistical challenges.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I am actually interviewing in places that have a hybrid policy for permanent roles, meaning two to three times [per week] in the office in London,” says freelance creative strategist Alex Totaro, who moved from London to Weymouth, Dorset, 200km (124mi) away in the southern part of the UK, last year. “I am currently weighing all options.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen Totaro moved to Weymouth, he was employed by a London-based company that had gone remote, but hadn’t announced whether it was going to be permanent or not. “They kept extending it as many companies did, and I decided the gamble [of moving] was worth it, considering it was somewhere on the train line that, despite the three-plus-hour journey, would still be doable,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter he went freelance and a contract job called him back to London, he super-commuted in for about six weeks, enjoying the access to the big city while still living someplace cheaper. Since he went freelance late last year, he’s been looking for job opportunities that would allow him the same combination of city-based work and rural living. “I am still considering super-commuting both from a financial point of view, as well as quality of life,” he says. “London rent has gotten extremely expensive.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBassett echoes that sentiment: “I got really tired of living in a major city, San Francisco, during the pandemic,” he says. And for him, living further away but still having to come into the office, isn’t so bad. The extra-long commute means he can “enjoy the time as I get to catch up with old friends, listen to podcasts and focus on work problems that need extra time or thought”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c13npx"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs this the future?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Pozen, senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, says the evolution of the hybrid workplace means that new-style super-commuting is here to stay. “The super-commuters are mainly knowledge professionals who don't have to be physically present every day – that’s about half the workers in the US,” he points out.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBill Fulton, director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University in Texas, says it’s likely that super-commuters who commute between states “work at higher-level jobs — not at the very top, but higher up”. But Pozen believes that more people will be able to super-commute as hybrid gets more entrenched. “The group of super-commuters has expanded as companies have allowed middle-class knowledge workers to come into the office two days a week, or one week a month,” he says. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFulton points out it’s not all plain sailing. “Companies want their workers, especially the supervisors, in the office on a regular basis – maybe not five days a week, but more than once a month. So, there’s a lot of tension right now between those who want to commute long distances very occasionally – whether it’s 90 miles by car or 500 miles by plane – and employers who want them close.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBassett acknowledges his new work model comes with challenges, too. “There are definitely cons to living far away from the office. I’m hardly ever at the office for company happy hours, there is no longer ‘water cooler talk’,” he says. “Meetings are now much more intentional, building team culture is a bit harder than it used to be and it’s tiring being in the car so much.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet none of this is enough to deter him. “Super-commuting is something that I’d like to keep doing,” says Bassett, who enjoys the more local and eco-friendly flavour of Lake Tahoe. “I imagine myself going fully remote in the future, and living even farther away from the office.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes-8"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-14T15:04:32Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The workers taking on new 'super commutes'","headlineShort":"Would you 'super commute' to work?","image":["p0c13lkl"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200309-should-working-while-you-commute-count-as-paid-time","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210604-the-zoom-towns-luring-remote-workers-to-rural-enclaves"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Before, it was generally top-level executives who lived ‘super-commuting’ lives. Now, more and more workers are embracing the idea.","summaryShort":"More and more people are traveling hundreds of kilometres just to get to work","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-work"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-13T19:50:54.603338Z","entity":"article","guid":"dc0e7dac-45d7-47d8-a468-7fae95549d99","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-15T19:39:15.920802Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments","_id":"627ac35d1f4b7b1eb451ae98","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fmark-johanson"],"bodyIntro":"As remote work has left many offices empty, developers are turning these spaces into private homes – hopefully reviving dying business districts as the same time.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen The Wray opened in Washington, DC’s fashionable Foggy Bottom neighbourhood in May 2021, it was one of the buzziest real-estate projects of the year. Not only did the eight-storey apartment complex have bold Art Deco designs in its grand lobby, but also a rooftop terrace overlooking the DC skyline with fire pits and grills as well as a penthouse clubroom with a lounge and private meeting space. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor residents of the neighbourhood, it was quite a surprise to see this World War Two-era building transformed into 158 luxury apartments. It was, after all, filled just two years earlier with foreign-policy makers dissecting diplomatic cables at offices run by the US State Department.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Wray is just one of several work buildings in the Washington DC area that have been adapted into residential space. According to a recent report from rental listings site RentCafe, the US capital has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.rentcafe.com\u002Fblog\u002Frental-market\u002Fmarket-snapshots\u002Fadaptive-reuse-apartments-2021\u002F\"\u003Econverted more offices to housing\u003C\u002Fa\u003E since the start of the pandemic than anywhere else in the nation, with 1,091 new units. Neighbouring city Alexandria, Virginia, meanwhile, is right behind with 955 new units. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA decade ago, factories and hotels were the prime targets for adaptive reuse. Now, former offices comprise 41% of all US apartments converted during the past two years, according to RentCafe. They are also the most popular building type for future adaptive reuse projects, creating one-quarter of the 52,700 residential units expected to become available in the US in 2022 (a figure that’s up from 6,960 in 2012).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemote-work and hybrid schemes have led companies to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gallup.com\u002Fworkplace\u002F357779\u002Fbet-desks-empty.aspx\"\u003Ereduce the footprint of their offices\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, lowering demand and increasing supply. Meanwhile, the heated housing market has left developers eager to transform ageing assets into prime residential real estate.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis adaptive reuse has the potential to revitalise central business districts (CBDs), which have been devastated by the pandemic, as well as upend outdated assumptions about how to design cities. Yet the roadblocks – such as tax codes and zoning restrictions – are many, meaning it won’t always be an easy transition. Just as adapting homes into offices required major changes, so, too, will turning offices into homes.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c53vmx"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENorth America’s dying downtowns\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe trend of turning ageing offices into residential buildings isn’t just happening in the US. For instance, the Greater Paris Investment Agency launched \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbureaux-logements.com\u002Fhomepage-en\"\u003Ea design competition\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for office-to-housing conversions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, the need for such conversions is greatest in North America. In Asia, remote work hasn’t taken off to the same extent as in the West, leaving less office stock available for adaptive reuse. In Europe or Latin America, business districts were typically built outside historic centres, shielding the mixed-use downtown core from the biggest effects of changing workplace trends (even if Canary Wharf is empty, for example, central London still buzzes with life). On the contrary, North America has high concentrations of office buildings – many of which have outdated infrastructure and technology – located at the very heart of its cities.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, who researches commercial real-estate trends, says that if you look at the top 10 office markets in the US, you’ll find about 90% office space in the CBD.. “There’s basically nothing else there,” she explains. “So, when office workers started working from home, these CBDs emptied like a mining town out West after the gold ran dry.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOffice occupancy was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.brookings.edu\u002Fessay\u002Fthe-nature-of-office-work-is-shifting-and-so-must-downtowns\u002F\"\u003Etrending downwards\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in many markets long before the pandemic, as employers abandoned aging buildings constructed during a building boom in the 1980s and began to consume fewer square feet per worker. Cities have known this posed a threat to their downtowns for a while.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“This trend [of office to residential conversions] really started to pick up in 2019, and it gained acceptance right about the time of the pandemic,” says Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, the real-estate data company that put together the RentCafe report. “Most conversions are happening in urban core areas where the housing demand is greatest and the ability to convert is, too.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c53wk9"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn Calgary, bad offices make good residences\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere is, perhaps, no city in the world that has taken on the challenge of converting outdated office stock into residential units as aggressively as Calgary in Canada.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Calgary was, kind of in a bad way, ahead of the trend,” explains Steven Paynter, principal in the Toronto office of architectural design firm Gensler. The company worked with Calgary’s economic development group in summer 2020 to develop a plan to combat an office vacancy rate hovering around 32% – double that of Detroit’s when it declared bankruptcy in 2013. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The pandemic was the line in the sand when they realised they weren’t going to bounce back unless they did something pretty invasive and forward-thinking,” says Paynter, noting that the city “had about six million square feet of office they wanted to take out of the market, and about 12 million square feet of total vacancy”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGensler worked with Calgary to develop a scorecard for converting offices to residential dwellings, looking at things like location (was it central and highly accessible?) and shape (narrow buildings with shorter core to window depths are easier to convert). Using these metrics, it found that about 35% of the buildings were top candidates for financially viable conversions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECalgary had a target of 50%. To achieve that, it created a cash incentive of CAD$75 ($58; £47) per square foot (up to a maximum of CAD$10m per property to make the economics easier for developers. It also took away the red tape on rezoning, cutting about 18 months off the lifecycle of projects from start to finish, according to Paynter. The result: new projects in development are expected to increase Calgary’s downtown population by about 24%. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E“\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003EIt really is an opportunity to create a more modern city within the existing fabric of a downtown,” says Paynter. Gensler is now using the method developed in Calgary to score several US cities as well as to work with individual developers in major Chinese markets.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c53xcj"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe effects of repopulating a CBD\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChanges like the one underway in Calgary will be necessary to breathe new life into downtown sectors that have lain barren since the onset of the pandemic. A report from the Mastercard Economics Institute, the research division of the credit-card company, showed spending in small- and medium-sized businesses in CBDs – including coffee shops, dry-cleaners and corner stores – was \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mastercard.com\u002Fnews\u002Fpress\u002F2021\u002Foctober\u002Fmastercard-economics-institute-u-k-u-s-and-australia-lead-in-new-small-business-formation-which-grew-32-year-over-year-globally\u002F\"\u003Edown 33% in 2021 compared to 2019 levels\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, while similar retailers in residential areas saw an 8% increase.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe pandemic has made it abundantly clear that variety within a CBD is a key determinant of its resilience. “It’s like an investment portfolio,” says Loh. “Central business districts need to diversify, in order to reduce their risk exposure to the future of work trends.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdding more housing downtown can also help revive struggling public transit systems, which in almost all North American cities “are over-engineered to serve suburban to downtown work trips for white-collar workers”, says Loh, noting that remote and hybrid work have left buses and trains empty.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough most office-to-residential conversions have been for higher-end units (often due to the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fternercenter.berkeley.edu\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F11\u002FAdaptive-Reuse-November-2021.pdf\"\u003Elarge cost involved\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in making projects viable), there has been a push to use this opportunity to create more affordable housing. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fla.urbanize.city\u002Fpost\u002Fhollywood-western-building-adaptive-reuse-affordable-housing\"\u003EThe Mayer Building\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, for example, is an Art Deco landmark in downtown Los Angeles that’s currently being converted into affordable housing with 79 income-restricted apartments.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The people who need affordable housing are also the people who, for opportunity reasons, need to be in highly accessible locations that are well-served by transit,” says Loh. “So, there is a strong equity and location-efficiency argument for looking at affordable housing supply and adaptive reuse.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe final reason many cities are now looking to repurpose their office buildings is that construction contributes an estimated 11% to global carbon emissions, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Farchitecture2030.org\u002Fwhy-the-building-sector\u002F\"\u003Eaccording to non-profit organisation Architecture 2030\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and adaptive reuse can cut that by up to 80%. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith environmental, financial and equity concerns all at play, this trend is only expected to accelerate now that cities around the world are emerging from the pandemic and assessing the health of their altered downtowns.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EUpdate 11 May 2022: An innaccurate reference to a plan by the City of London was removed from this story.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments-6"}],"collection":null,"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-11T16:18:53Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The office spaces transforming into luxury apartments","headlineShort":"The offices turning into luxury flats","image":["p0c53vj1"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211124-the-bespoke-luxury-of-tiny-garden-office-cubes","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200909-how-social-distancing-symbols-are-changing-our-cities","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220413-the-workers-taking-on-new-super-commutes"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"As remote work has left many offices empty, developers are turning these spaces into private homes – hopefully reviving dying business districts as the same time.","summaryShort":"Office buildings are ghost towns, so high-end apartments are taking their place","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-live"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-10T19:55:55.637081Z","entity":"article","guid":"f4b6138e-c0ce-41d7-b418-1aad2305cb47","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-11T12:37:03.614195Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220505-the-office-spaces-transforming-into-luxury-apartments","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095724},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging","_id":"6267e00a1f4b7b6a3b30688a","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Uncommon baby names are rising across the globe, even in more traditional societies. Why are parents increasingly determined to make children's names ‘unique’?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EMy first visit to Pakistan dismantled any precious notions I had about my name’s uniqueness. While a rare curiosity in California, here, it seemed I met an Aysha, Ayesha or Aisha at every corner. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It’s like you opened a baby name book and didn’t even look past ‘A’,” I’d tell my parents, vowing that when I had kids, I’d choose something out-of-this-world. And so I did, naming my daughter Sidrat-ul-Muntaha, after an enigmatic lote tree believed to mark \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.islamquest.net\u002Fen\u002Farchive\u002Ffa6139\"\u003Ethe utmost boundary in the seventh heaven\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – literally the point of extremity none can pass. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBaby naming is an emotionally charged process. Parents worry about the long-term impact of a child’s name, and feel they need to do the best job at setting up a child for success. That’s because we know names matter; our given name \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F070674378002500206\"\u003Eforges our identity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002FdoiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpspa0000076\"\u003Einfluences name stereotypes\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, may dictate \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsyarxiv.com\u002Fxeag2\u002F\"\u003Ethe types of jobs we pursue\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsyarxiv.com\u002F53j86\u002F\"\u003Epredict career achievements\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe trends around how parents choose names for their children are a product of our evolving cultures; they shift as aspirations for children shift. Research shows today’s rising popularity of unique baby names reflects a move from collectivism to individualistic societies, and provides important contextual clues about whom parents want their children to be. Globally, it seems, parents increasingly value unique names to help children stand out, instead of fit in.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom tradition to expression\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn previous centuries, tradition-driven name conformity was the presiding impulse, explains Laura Wattenberg, founder of namerology.com and author of The Baby Name Wizard\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Parents simply did what had always been done,” she says, pointing out that in England, John and William, for example, were top boy names from the 1200s to 1930s. “According to [statistics] compiled by economist Douglas Galbi, in the 1600s, the top three names for boys and girls accounted for fully half of [England’s] population,” she explains. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is because naming conventions were founded in religious and ancestral ties. For example, scriptural names were popular, and English Puritans sometimes named their children after moral attributes, such as Faith or Mercy.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EThis story is part of BBC's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EFamily Tree\u003C\u002Fa\u003E series, which examines the issues and opportunities parents, children and families face today – and how they'll shape the world tomorrow. Find more on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EBBC Future\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Family Tree","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, Muslims in Arab and South Asian countries extolled religiosity. Traditional Muslim names include eminent historical figures in Islam (such as Muhammad, after the Holy Prophet PBUH, his contemporaries, the Umm-ul-Momineen or his wives – including Hazrat Aisha RA – and Islamic state caliphs). Often, \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fjournal.psc.edu.pk\u002Findex.php\u002Fpp\u002Farticle\u002Fview\u002F172\u002F171\"\u003Enames underscored religious devotion\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, such as any of the 99 names of Allah with the preceding word ‘Abdul’, meaning servant of. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.councilscienceeditors.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fv28n1p020-021.pdf\"\u003EUniquely regulated Arab naming traditions\u003C\u002Fa\u003E also had lineage entrenched, with names frequently prefaced by words such as ‘Bint-e-’ (daughter of), ‘Umm-e-’ (mother of), ‘Abu’ (father of) or ‘Ibn’ (son of).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDepending on the pace at which different regions developed, not all these traditions endured. Weakening cultural ties and more mobile populations around the Industrial Revolution made young parents’ choices less dictated by extended family and local customs in the Western world, explains Wattenberg. “Names increasingly became a mode of self-expression… the whole culture moved toward greater celebration of personal freedom and individuality.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior research has established the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1177\u002F1948550609349515\"\u003Esteady decrease in common names in the US\u003C\u002Fa\u003E from the 1950s, especially from 1983, and a recent macro-level study \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.linguisticsociety.org\u002Fproceedings\u002Findex.php\u002FPLSA\u002Farticle\u002Fview\u002F4741\u002F4354\"\u003Eanalysing 348 million American baby names across 137 years (1880 to 2017)\u003C\u002Fa\u003E showed Baby Boomers increased the number of novel names per thousand people four-fold for boys and 2.75 times for girls.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The Baby Boomers were the first parents who wanted to be cool, and who wanted their children to be cool as well,” says Pamela Redmond, whose 1988 book Beyond Jennifer & Jason examined the cohort as the first generation to reject many of the ethnic and religious naming conventions of the past.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd with an amplified desire for distinctiveness thanks to the rise of the internet in the 1990s, millennials took it a step further. “[These parents] became used to the model of a username – your unique identifier in a social system,” says Wattenberg. “Parents would type a full name they were considering into a search engine and worry because it was ‘taken’. The 1990s also brought a new, surprisingly powerful wrinkle: baby name statistics … Annual rankings of popular names made people feel competitive. But instead of wanting to be number one, everybody wanted to avoid the top of the charts.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, parents signal their style and values with names, explains Redmond, who is also the CEO of Nameberry, a name-consulting business that provides parents with guidance on how to choose a new name. “We hear a lot of parents saying they want to give their sons gender-neutral names to signal feminist values, or honour family in a way that’s in step with current styles – so grandpa Arthur may get honoured by giving your son the middle name Bear, Arthur’s meaning.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘A valid indicator of individualism’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven Japan, which has been a traditional, collectivist society for centuries, is showing a shift away from naming traditions. According to a 2021 study analysing 8,000 baby names between 2004 and 2018, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS2666518221000437\"\u003Erate of unique names is increasing in Japan\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – and it’s an indicator of rising individualism.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStudy author Yuji Ogihara, from the Institute of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, defined ‘unique names’ as ones with low frequency (one per 1,000 names) among the baby cohort. The names didn’t necessarily sound different to more common ones; complexity in Japanese names (stemming from the use of Chinese characters with multiple readings) \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffcomm.2021.631907\u002Ffull\"\u003Emeans uniqueness can be attained in different ways\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. For example, one name can have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nature.com\u002Farticles\u002Fs41599-021-00810-0\"\u003Emultiple different readings\u003C\u002Fa\u003E — at least 18 for the boy’s name 大翔, which can be read as Hiroto, Daisho and Sora amongst others, and 14 for the girl’s name 結愛, like Yua, Yunari or Meia.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The Baby Boomers were the first parents who wanted to be cool, and who wanted their children to be cool as well – Pamela Redmond","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ESo, parents might choose unique variations of a name by abbreviating common readings of Chinese characters, choosing less common characters or reading them with foreign pronunciation corresponding to semantic meaning. For instance, 月 (meaning ‘moon’) is usually read as ‘tsuki’ or ‘zuki’, but is uniquely read ‘runa’, corresponding to the Latin word ‘luna’ for moon, explains Ogihara.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“The index of baby names has been confirmed to be a valid indicator of individualism,” he continues. “Empirical evidence shows that common names are less frequently given to babies in more individualistic nations”, such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Noticing the paucity of similar research in Japan, his work seeks to address the phenomenon in more than an anecdotal context and root it in societal shifts. In other research, Ogihara \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002F10.1177\u002F0022022118781504\"\u003Econtextualised this trend as part of other 'indices of individualism'\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, such as Japan’s rising marriage-to-divorce ratio, and the decrease in three-generation households over 60 years. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOverall, the trend of parents reconceptualising interpretation, pronunciation or spelling to seek novelty in names while staying relatively within the ambit of the predominant naming conventions is a powerful impulse. In Pakistan, for example, while religiosity still prevails, more acts of worship are standing in as names, such as Azaan (call to prayer) or Ayat (a Quranic verse), instead of historically important names of the prophets, suggesting that parents are thinking more laterally to find names that are still religious, but not common.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Japan, Yukiko Uchida, professor of social and cultural psychology at Kyoto University, Japan, roots the rise of more unusual names in multiple factors that eroded people’s trust in a collective society. She cites \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbooks.google.com.pk\u002Fbooks?hl=en&lr=&id=HfRk-bBLiZAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA77&dq=Japan+economy+decline+2000&ots=ctjLAvKjff&sig=RxdxHDu_8uA3NvdLUw2LulHrN60&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Japan%20economy%20decline%202000&f=false\"\u003EJapan's economic decline\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, debate over demographic issues and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0922142502000178\"\u003Ethe aging population\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and the emergence of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyg.2011.00207\u002Ffull\"\u003Eproblems such as social withdrawal\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyg.2015.01117\u002Ffull\"\u003ENEETs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E [individuals Not in Education, Employment or Training]. This, she says, led to a sense that people increasingly had to “survive with their own uniqueness, not rely on traditional group belongingness”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EStudies from China also show unique baby names are one of many ways to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyg.2018.00554\u002Ffull\"\u003Efulfil rising NFU (Need For Uniqueness)\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which is a product of increasing autonomy and freedom, paired with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.frontiersin.org\u002Farticles\u002F10.3389\u002Ffpsyg.2014.01066\u002Ffull\"\u003Edeclining perceived importance of traditional Chinese cultural practices and collectivism\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, research around the rate at which unique baby girl names are rising in Japan gives insight into parental aspirations. One of Ogihara’s most compelling findings is that gender is a factor in cultural naming practises; in Japan, unique names have increased more rapidly for girls than boys. The Chinese NFU study, meanwhile, revealed girl names were more unique than boy names at one point in time, a finding consistent with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F21196534\u002F\"\u003Eprior research revealing girls were less likely to receive popular names\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Whether the gender difference is measured at one point in time or mapped out as a rate of increase, in the context of traditionally conformist cultures such as China and Japan, it represents a quiet hope of parents for their daughters to be more unique than their sons.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPreviously, parents in Japan may have named their daughters to conform and be “interdependent, ordinary and concerned with group harmony to fit into society”, explains Ogihara. Now, “more parents hope for their daughters [to] become more independent, unique and autonomous to fit into changing societal norms and expectations. Thus, it’s assumed they [give them more] unique names”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDominant parenting aspirations\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs these trends play out, should we expect a continuing boom of original, uncommon names?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUchida predicts that in Japan, the trend towards unusual names will ultimately hit a ceiling. After all, there’s a limit to the number of \u003Cem\u003Ekanji\u003C\u002Fem\u003E (characters) that can be used in names, she points out, and social stigmas do persist.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Popular means well-liked – and highly distinctive names can be polarising – Laura Wattenberg","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“After the increase in the number of ‘kira-kira’ names (eccentric and unique names) in Japan, a stigma was attached… such as ‘coming from a low class’. Conversely, names that are too traditional tend to be avoided because of being ‘old-fashioned’, so I think there will be a continuing [but not increasing] trend in favour of names that are reasonably stylish and moderately unique.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd chasing unique names may not always be the answer or ticket to success parents want it to be, anyway. “Parents have the instinct that choosing a distinctive name will give their child an advantage in life. It’s a loving impulse, but in practical terms it’s not clear that it works that way,” says Wattenberg, because after all, “Popular means well-liked – and highly distinctive names can be polarising. People may point to successful celebrities with unusual names, but for every Madonna and Beyoncé there’s a Michael Jackson, Emma Thompson, Sam Smith and Elizabeth Taylor,” she concludes. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, for parents, giving a child a name is an act of love, influenced both by personal dreams and cultural transmission of values. “Parents come to us for help in finding a name that's tailored perfectly to them, more than one that's different from anyone else,” says Redmond.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUchida agrees. “Rather than ‘standing out’ in a group or ‘becoming a star’, I think it’s a more modest desire for their kids to live their own life.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAysha Imtiaz is a freelance journalist and elementary school language arts teacher in Karachi, Pakistan.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging-9"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-07T17:47:26Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why uncommon baby names are surging","headlineShort":"Why unique baby names are surging","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Uncommon baby names are rising across the globe, even in more traditional societies. Why are parents increasingly determined to make children's names ‘unique’?","summaryShort":"Uncommon names are rising, even in more traditional societies","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-06T21:07:42.642715Z","entity":"article","guid":"ab72e392-29b7-4dd9-8b40-a1e2b0abe27e","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-06T21:07:42.642715Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095727},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors","_id":"6267dfa71f4b7b2bf1613bcf","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Many LGBTQ couples are opting to start families with donations from friends or acquaintances – a choice helping to re-define modern family structures.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWhen Alice, now 39, first started thinking about having a child solo, the idea of using a sperm bank “felt so strange”. She didn’t know how to pick from the list of potential donors, whose attributes ranged far and wide: bass players, English university majors and men with blue eyes. To Alice, choosing a close friend as a donor “felt simpler and richer”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EToday, Alice’s daughter, whose biological father is a friend Alice lived with during graduate school, is three years old. “He was the obvious choice,” Alice says of her donor. “I honestly don’t have that many cis male friends that I’m really close to.” Over brunch, she asked him if he would be open to donating his sperm, and he gamely said yes. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlice remains in close touch with her donor and his partner, whom Alice and her own partner refer to as their daughter’s “uncle” and “aunt”. “I liked the idea of my kid getting to have some relationship with the [donor],” says California-based Alice. It also presented the “possibility for broader community and queer familial structures”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EDuring the past several years, the gap between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people planning to expand their families is shrinking. According to 2018 data from the US-based LGBTQ Family Building Survey, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.familyequality.org\u002Fresources\u002Flgbtq-family-building-survey\u002F\"\u003E48% of LGBTQ millennials have made the decision to increase their family size\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, versus 55% of non-LGBTQ millennials. In contrast to past numbers, nearly 70% of non-LGBTQ individuals older than 55 have children, compared to just 28% of LGBTQ people in that age group.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFor certain LGBTQ couples who can’t have biological children together, sperm donations have become increasingly attractive. Australian data from 2018, for example, indicates \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.newlifeivf.com.au\u002Fsperm-donors-the-hidden-heros-behind-many-of-todays-families\u002F\"\u003Ethat single women and lesbian couples made up 85% of sperm donor recipients\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that year. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Default\"\u003EMany queer couples seeking sperm want the experience to be personal, which means choosing to know who the sperm donor is. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.newlifeivf.com.au\u002Fsperm-donors-the-hidden-heros-behind-many-of-todays-families\u002F\"\u003ESeveral reasons drive this choice\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, such as knowing about the future child’s biological parents, being in touch with them for medical questions and creating an extended family. While this is possible if a couple \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.familyequality.org\u002Fresources\u002Fchoosing-between-a-known-and-unknown-sperm-donor\u002F\"\u003Egoes through a sperm bank\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or other type of connection service, choosing a friend or personal relation for the donation is\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.familyequality.org\u002Fresources\u002Fbuilding-lgbtq-families-price-parenthood\u002F\"\u003E less costly\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Default\"\u003ERegardless, these choices require a careful, deliberate thought process that involves emotional, financial and legal considerations that affect not just the lives of the parents and donors, but also those of their future children.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EThis story is part of BBC's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EFamily Tree\u003C\u002Fa\u003E series, which examines the issues and opportunities parents, children and families face today – and how they'll shape the world tomorrow. Coverage continues on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EBBC Future\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Family Tree","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChanging shape of families\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EWhile plenty of services exist today to help LGBTQ couples conceive via sperm donation, that was not the case when Lisa Schuman, founder of the Center for Family Building, started working in the industry more than 20 years ago in New York.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAmong the leading organizations at the time – like the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Fertility Association – there weren’t “any queer people being represented at all”, she says. Many queer couples she spoke with would consider adoption as the primary option for starting a family. “They really didn't understand that there were many other options for them,” says Schuman.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ESchuman started a workshop for LGBTQ parents looking to start families at the Gay and Lesbian Center in New York City, through which she could teach them about options other than adoption. Early on, she recalls, only about five people would show up per session. “I just kept doing it,” she says. About a decade later, a lecture she hosted for prospective lesbian parents attracted 100 people. “The legalization of gay marriage [in 2015] helped a lot,” she says. Through efforts like Schuman’s, LGBTQ families got to learn more about their family-building options.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EStill, while there are anecdotal accounts of growing interest, it’s difficult to find data on how many LGBTQ couples opt to use friends or family members as donors, as opposed to donors found through sperm banks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ELaura Goldberger has spent two decades as a psychotherapist running groups for LGBTQ parents trying to conceive. Goldberger says about half the couples they speak with opt for a donor they already know, versus one found through an outside service or sperm bank – that rate has remained the same throughout their experience. Schuman, however, says she’s been seeing “more and more” future parents opt for friend or family member donations throughout the past several years.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA ‘wonderful, gentle presence’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlice’s choice wasn’t just obvious to her because the sperm bank route felt alienating – she also knew immediately whom she would ask to donate. She and her male friend were part of the same community, having worked on a political project together and attended the same graduate school. She trusted him deeply.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Over brunch, Alice asked him if he would be open to donating his sperm, and he gamely said yes","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“I knew that our community would hold us both to being responsible with the ways in which we were forming a queer family,” she says, acknowledging that their relationship did not exist in a vacuum, but rather that their mutual friends would help ensure they maintained healthy communication. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EAlice and her donor friend also had numerous, lengthy conversations about their expectations, spanning his family’s medical history, what his role would and wouldn’t consist of as the donor and how his family would be involved in the child’s life. They also had a conference call with his parents and sister to help clear up misunderstandings about the donor-child relationship they’d decided on. “I was glad we had the conversation,” she says. “They've been a wonderful, gentle presence throughout [the child’s life].”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENavigating ‘ruthless’ conversations\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EOf course, even with the closest friends, unexpected problems can arise with something so sensitive and impactful as a new human life. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“Everybody thinks, we've got this down, everything's going to be fine – we're best friends,” says Schuman. “But people go into marriages with the same idea, thinking they're going to be together forever, and it doesn't always happen.” Schuman stresses the importance of counselling pre-donation to make sure the recipient, their partner (if they have one) and the donor are all on the same page.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ECommunication is key, echoes Erika Tranfield, 41, founder and director of Pride Angel, a service based in the Northwest UK through which recipients can connect with sperm donors they don’t already know, but want to meet and speak with before beginning the donation process. Tranfield says it can be hard to broach “ruthless” and uncomfortable questions, like beliefs on religion and child discipline, that are important to ask a potential donor when that donor is already your friend, she says. To avoid those tough conversations with friends, Tranfield founded Pride Angel in 2009, partly to find her own donor with her now ex-wife. Today, roughly 25,000 sperm recipients use Pride Angel each in the UK, US and Europe.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ETranfield and her then-wife wanted to meet their donor, and ensure he was someone who wouldn’t want to co-parent or share financial responsibilities, but would be open to seeing the child’s school reports or popping by on Christmas. To ensure this was how the relationship would play out, Tranfield, her then-wife, and the donor signed a “letter of intent” specifying the limits of their relationship. This was not a legal agreement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ELesbian couples from the US who spoke with BBC Worklife were more likely to say they signed notarized agreements ahead of the donation or ones drawn up by lawyers. Rosslyn, 40, and Laura, 37, a married couple in California, say they worked with a lawyer who specializes in queer conception to create an agreement with their donor, Laura’s good friend from college (he offered after Laura told him about their struggles finding a donor). The agreement stated that the donor would relinquish all parental rights, but he’s still a friend of the family, as is his current partner. Rosslyn and Laura's two daughters, now ages five and two, simply call him by his first name.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EOther legal processes might include the non-gestational parent (who doesn’t carry the child) legally adopting to gain parental rights, which Alice’s partner plans do with their child (who already calls Alice’s partner “mom”). For Rosslyn and Laura, this cost roughly $2,000 (£1,480) per child. Other costs went to conception. For instance, they paid about $300 for one session with a midwife specializing in at-home conception for their first child. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThe cost of conception can be considerably higher when going through a sperm bank. For New York-based married couple Elizabeth, 32, and Joy, 36, using a sperm bank has cost about $6,000 so far. Some of this covered medical co-pays and shipping for the sperm, but most went to the vials, five of which cost about $5,300. It costs $200 to thaw the frozen vials pre-IUI (intrauterine insemination), which they plan to do soon.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EThough the process is pricey, the couple ultimately decided on a previously unknown donor, whose identity they learned through the sperm bank, because of the complications that could arise from seeking donation from someone already in their lives.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I knew that our community would hold us both to being responsible with the ways in which we were forming a queer family – Alice","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-8"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“They can say until they’re blue in the face that they can watch their biological child grow up in front of their eyes and not have that parental connection,” says Elizabeth, but she worries that could change with the birth of the child. Since Elizabeth plans to carry the child, they also considered using Joy’s brother as the donor.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E“Originally, the idea of having my own blood being able to donate was intriguing,” says Joy, but ultimately decided against it because of the reasons Elizabeth cited. “I come from a big Italian family, and they are literally always around,” Joy adds. She and Elizabeth didn’t want to deal with all the conversations that might come up between the child and various family members about the child’s conception. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExpanding family building options\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EOver time, LGBTQ couples and potential parents have gotten more information and resources to help them make choices about how to build their families. While plenty \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Flibrary\u002Fstories\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Ffifteen-percent-of-same-sex-couples-have-children-in-their-household.html\"\u003Estill adopt\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, many are choosing to ask close friends to donate sperm, like Alice, Rosslyn and Laura, while others prefer connecting with donors through services like Pride Angel or sperm banks.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003ERegardless of the decision these families ultimately make, the fact that the donor option is now so visibly on the table in general has expanded their possibilities. Unlike when Schuman first started working in the fertility space, couples of all types are now presented with a variety of ways to create families, whether that includes a donor friend, a known donor who stops by just on holidays or someone who stays out of the children’s lives completely. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003EFor Rosslyn and Laura, the kind of extended family they might form with their donor’s partner and future children remains up in the air. Her kids and the donor’s children “will make up their own narrative about how they feel towards each other, like what they get to call themselves… and the biological link they have to [the donor] as they grow older,” says Rosslyn. “But right now, it’s all honky dory.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Body\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAlice, Elizabeth and Joy’s names have been changed to protect their privacy; Rosslyn and Laura are withholding surnames for the same reason.\u003C\u002Fem\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors-9"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":true,"displayDate":"2022-02-01T16:01:13Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The millennials choosing friends as sperm donors","headlineShort":"A 'new' kind of nuclear family","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Many LGBTQ couples are opting to start families with donations from friends or acquaintances – a choice helping to re-define modern family structures.","summaryShort":"Couples are opting to start families with sperm donations from people they know","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-01-31T22:53:16.895877Z","entity":"article","guid":"2de846b3-b70b-4fc9-8142-f1da538df589","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:21:37.711998Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing","_id":"6267dfe21f4b7b64ca14d0d3","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Although it may be uncomfortable to admit, many parents play favourites among their children. Is that 'bad' parenting?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EJoanna knew she had a favourite child from the moment her second son was born. The Kent, UK-based mum says she loves both of her children, but her youngest child just “gets” her in a way that her first-born doesn’t.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EWhen Joanna’s first baby was delivered, he was rushed away from her due to a health concern, and she couldn’t see him for 24 hours. Missing this valuable bonding period was, she believes, the start of a long-lasting preference for her second son, whom she was able to spend time with immediately after he was born.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003E“To sum our relationships up: I have to make an appointment to speak to my eldest,” says Joanna, whose full name is being withheld to protect her children. “With my youngest, I could call him at 0230 and he’d drive miles to meet me. My youngest is the nicest guy on the planet. He’s caring, generous, courteous and friendly. He’s the kind of person who would help anyone out.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EThough she battled her feelings for years, Joanna says now she’s in a place of acceptance. “I could write a book on why I love one more than the other,” she says. “It’s been hard, but I haven’t got any guilt.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EUnlike Joanna, most parents’ favouritism is subtle and goes undiscussed. Having a favourite child might be the greatest taboo of parenthood, yet research shows that the majority of parents do indeed have a favourite.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EWith plenty of evidence to suggest that being the least-favoured child can fundamentally shape the personality and lead to intense \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211122-does-sibling-rivalry-ever-end\"\u003Esibling rivalries\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, it’s no wonder that parents might worry about letting their preferences slip. Yet research also shows that most kids can’t tell who their parents’ favourite child really is. The real issue, then, is how parents manage their children’s perception of favouritism.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlaying favourites\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003E“Not every parent has a favourite child, but many do,” says Jessica Griffin, an associate professor of psychiatry and paediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, US. “Data suggests that mothers, in particular, show favouritism to children who have similar values to them and that engage more with family, over qualities such as being highly ambitious or career driven.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003ERegardless of the reason, some research shows many parents almost certainly do have favourites – whether they admit to it or not. In one study, up to 74% of mothers and 70% of fathers in the UK have been shown to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F16402879\u002F\"\u003Eexhibit preferential treatment towards one child\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003EYet for most, the topic remains off-limits. In other research, when parents were surveyed, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyougov.co.uk\u002Ftopics\u002Frelationships\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F02\u002Fone-10-parents-admit-having-favourite-child\"\u003Ejust 10% admitted\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to having a favourite child, suggesting that for most mothers and fathers, feelings of favouritism remain a tightly held family secret.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003EWhen parents do admit to having a preferred child, research suggests birth order plays an important part in who they favour. According to the same YouGov survey, parents who admitted having a favourite child showed an overwhelming preference towards the baby of the family, with 62% of parents who have two children opting for their youngest. Forty-three percent of parents with three or more children prefer their last-born, with a third selecting a middle child and just 19% leaning towards their eldest.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003EDr Vijayeti Sinh is a clinical psychologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She says that a favouritism towards a youngest child is often to do with the social and emotional skills associated with birth order – as parents gain more practice in child-rearing, they have a better idea of how they want to shape their offspring’s childhood, and what attributes are most important to pass on.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I could write a book on why I love one more than the other. It’s been hard, but I haven’t got any guilt – Joanna","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003E“Parents tend to favour a child that is most like them, reminds them of themselves, or represents what they view as a success of parenting,” she says. “Younger children are most likely to have been raised by a parent who, over time and experience, is more confident and skilled in their child-raising.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyC\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Bad’ parenting?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Default\"\u003EThough parents do often have a favourite, many are racked with guilt, knowing that showing a preference will have a long-lasting impact on their child’s sense of self-worth. The concern is not entirely unfounded.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"Default\"\u003E“Children who grow up in families where they feel that they are treated unfairly may experience a deep sense of unworthiness,” says Sinh. “They might feel that they are unlovable in some way, or do not possess the special traits and characteristics needed to be loved by others. Feeling like the black sheep of the family can lead to fears and insecurities – children might become self-protective and try to be overly nice and agreeable around others.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EBut for most parents, their worries are misplaced. Evidence suggests that unless preferential treatment is very extreme, most children are not impacted by being the least favourite child.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003E“Sometimes parents are blatantly obvious in their demonstration of love and affection,” says Sinh. “But when parents are mindful and thoughtful and do their best to ensure that any feelings of closeness or likeability factor aren’t plain and clear, then children don’t feel unworthy of their parents’ love and support.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EIn fact, in most cases children might not even know that their parents prefer their sibling in the first place. In one study, when people who stated that their parents had a favourite child were probed, a staggering \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyougov.co.uk\u002Ftopics\u002Frelationships\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2020\u002F03\u002F02\u002Fone-10-parents-admit-having-favourite-child\"\u003Efour out of five\u003C\u002Fa\u003E claimed that their sibling was favoured over them – a seemingly improbable statistic. Other studies have shown that children incorrectly identify who the favourite child is \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.purdue.edu\u002Fnewsroom\u002Freleases\u002F2020\u002FQ2\u002Fthink-youre-moms-favorite-a-purdue-social-scientist-says-think-again..html\"\u003Emore than 60% of the time\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EOf course, it’s possible that parents are doing a much better job of disguising their preferences than you would expect. Or – as Griffin suggests – we’re simply very bad at guessing who the favourite child really is.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003E“Although you might think that children instinctively know whether their parent has a favourite child and who that child is, the data is surprising,” she says. “Children might assume that the first-born or the ‘baby’ of the family is the favourite, or the child who is an overachiever in the family and causes less parenting stress. Whereas in actuality, the parent might have different and varied reasons for the favouritism – such as favouring the child who struggles the most, or the child that is most similar to them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"In the majority of cases, children have no idea which sibling their parent or parents prefer","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EGriffin argues that it’s perfectly OK – and even expected – for parents to have favourites, and that parents shouldn’t feel guilty if they find themselves feeling closer to one child over another. She says that although children who believe they are the least-favoured child tend to have lower self-esteem and higher rates of depression, in the majority of cases, children have no idea which sibling their parent or parents prefer.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EPerhaps who the favourite child really is isn’t so important after all.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENo less love\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EGriffin has found that the favourite-child conundrum has shown up in both her professional and personal lives: her three children constantly joke about who the ‘favourite’ child must be.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EAlthough she recommends parents or children who find that favouritism is affecting their relationships or mental health should speak to a paediatrician or mental health provider, she believes most imbalances can be addressed with simple tactics that demonstrate care and attention.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003EGriffin says that although parents might not readily admit to favouritism, they certainly won’t be alone if they find themselves feeling closer to one child over another. Most mothers and fathers have favourites – and that’s OK.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"BodyB\"\u003E“There are going to be days when we prefer to be around one child over another, for a number of different reasons,” she says. “The important thing to remember is that having a favourite child does not mean that you love your other children less.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-01-20T13:46:12Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Is having a favourite child really a bad thing?","headlineShort":"Why many parents have a favourite child","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Although it may be uncomfortable to admit, many parents play favourites among their children. Is that 'bad' parenting?","summaryShort":"\"I could write a book on why I love one more than the other\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-01-19T21:03:13.203898Z","entity":"article","guid":"4c670543-d576-4c65-bd76-91c1ae4e9ee3","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:20:59.828594Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095727},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children","_id":"6267dfbc1f4b7b4ed36790c2","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fkatie-bishop"],"bodyIntro":"A child taking the father’s surname by default? For many parents, it’s no longer such a simple choice.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Nerea Safari, 38, became a parent for the second time, she knew she wanted to do things differently. Her first child, by then a teenager, took their father’s last name. But she had other ideas for her new-born daughter. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“There were two first names that I really liked, and I couldn’t choose between them when looking to name my youngest daughter,” she said. “So, I decided to use one of the names as a surname.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Safari, the decision to create a new surname was an easy one. She ended up choosing the surname ‘Kimani’, which has Kenyan origins. Safari, who is British but has Kenyan heritage, says the name was a perfect way of honouring her family history; she loved the fact that the word means ‘warrior’. Her partner was relaxed about the idea, and she feels strongly that as society changes, so too should the way we think about what we pass on to our children.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWithin her family, she adds, the decision wasn’t a particularly strange one. Her own surname was also created for her; she feels having a different surname from her parents gives her a strong sense of identity.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough Safari is far from the only parent going against convention in this way, her decision is still something of a rarity. A reported \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theatlantic.com\u002Ffamily\u002Farchive\u002F2021\u002F10\u002Fpatrilineal-surnames\u002F620507\u002F\"\u003E96% of heterosexual married couples\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the US still give their child the father’s name, and in the UK – where Safari lives – \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyougov.co.uk\u002Ftopics\u002Flifestyle\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2016\u002F09\u002F13\u002Fsix-ten-women-would-like-take-their-spouses-\"\u003Earound 90% of straight women\u003C\u002Fa\u003E still \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200921-why-do-women-still-change-their-names\"\u003Etake their husband’s name\u003C\u002Fa\u003E when they marry, many of whom pass it onto their child. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, there’s no longer a wholly default option when it comes to picking a surname. Some parents are taking new routes – whether that means hyphenating parents’ surnames, naming a child after just one of the parents or coming up with a new name altogether. But these creative approaches are not always without hiccups.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c19wcy"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBucking convention\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor most of Western history, parents didn’t have to give much thought to a child’s surname – women would take their male partner’s name when they married, and this would then be passed onto their offspring. But the fact most people still choose to follow the patriarchal tradition suggests how deeply rooted this social norm is.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Defaults are powerful,” says Matt Wallaert, an applied behavioural scientist, who studies how pressures like identity change people’s behaviour. “I doubt that every child that has their father’s surname does so because their parents carefully considered the action – they simply did what was cognitively easiest.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, the changing landscape of families is increasingly disrupting this ‘default’ setting. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Farchive-yaleglobal.yale.edu\u002Fcontent\u002Fout-wedlock-births-rise-worldwide\"\u003EMore children than ever\u003C\u002Fa\u003E are being born outside marriage or to single parents, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nytimes.com\u002F2015\u002F06\u002F28\u002Fupshot\u002Fabout-the-maiden-name-analysis.html\"\u003Emore women\u003C\u002Fa\u003E are choosing not to take their spouse’s name.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, “even our systems are now better set up to include more naming options than in the past”, says Michelle Janning, a professor of sociology at Whitman College in Washington, US, with a specialisation in family and gender studies. For instance, women used to have difficulty traveling internationally with a child who had a different last name – but today, this isn’t a barrier.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese evolutions have meant many parents are considering bucking convention. But if parents go their own route, they must take important decisions that can be deeply emotional in nature. This is particularly true in non-traditional family units, where there isn’t a standard convention to follow.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is the case for Barcelona-based Danny McLoughin, originally from Glasgow, who is in a same-sex relationship. The 30-year-old and his fiancé have already agreed they aren’t comfortable taking the other’s name because they already contend with “ignorant” questions about “who is the man and who is the woman” in the relationship; he feels following heteronormative traditions would play into these stereotypes. This means that there’s no straightforward answer regarding which of their names any future offspring would adopt.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c19v3g"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EThis story is part of BBC's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EFamily Tree\u003C\u002Fa\u003E series, which examines the issues and opportunities parents, children and families face today – and how they'll shape the world tomorrow. Find more on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EBBC Future\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Family Tree","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThere’s also the added complication of his fiancé’s surname. Because he already has two last names (Sanchez Medina), McLoughin feels like the option to double-barrel is off the table, as it would ultimately result in a triple-barrelled name.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe and his partner have been going back-and-forth for some time about how they will name future offspring, and are yet to reach agreement. “One potential solution is creating a whole new surname,” he says. “We’ve considered going for McSanchez and combining the two names.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECultural considerations\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother factor driving a broader range of naming traditions is the increasing ethnic and cultural changes in Western nations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We’re seeing increased diversity of family structures that stem from various global locations where practices differ from Judeo-Christian patriarchal practices,” says Janning. In other words, an uptick in cross-cultural relationships is another key driver in changing naming choices in the Western world, she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the case of McLoughin’s fiancé, his ‘Sanchez Medina’ surname is a combination of his father’s first name and mother’s surname, which is Latino cultural convention. For him and McLoughin, this has factored into the couple’s naming calculus, as it doesn’t leave a clear and straightforward naming route for them to follow.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile some parents choose to preserve cultural traditions in naming, others take a different route, opting for a more anglicised spelling or entirely different version of their surname to pass down the family. This can particularly be the case for parents whose children will grow up in a country different to their own. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“[Choosing a different name] is a common story in a lot of the US’s immigration history, and is often viewed as a way for people to assimilate themselves or present themselves in a favourable way in a new place where they may be seeking employment or social status,” says Janning. “This has softened a bit, but contemporary examples still exist.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Snowflakes in a blizzard’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt might be becoming increasingly common to choose an unconventional surname for a child, but taking this route is still not without complications.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBehavioural scientist Wallaert put his research into practice when naming his now six-year-old son. He and his wife decided that because he had two nephews who shared his surname, while she is an only child, it made sense to use her surname so the family name continued. His surname is complicated to spell and pronounce, he adds, whereas her surname – ‘Sugar’ – is much more straightforward.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c19w6n"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut when the couple, who are based in the US, tried to register their son’s name, they found the reaction “strange” – the hospital couldn’t figure out why a married couple would want to name the child after the mother. “They had all sorts of processes for what to do when the father wasn’t in the picture, but I was the one doing the registration, which really tripped them up,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough choosing to go against patriarchal naming tradition is still an uncommon choice, as more people do so, it’s possible even these new ways of naming could rapidly evolve in a variety of different directions over the next few decades. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, will children begin to carry triple-, or even quadruple-barrelled surnames, or will double-barrelled-named parents be pushed to make different choices to avoid a wave of lengthy surnames? And will people with newly invented surnames feel less of a strong historical tie to their own names, and therefore be less motivated to pass it on to their child?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“This doesn’t even begin to approach families that aren’t a married man and woman,” says Wallaert. “What about two dads? Two mums? \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors\"\u003EDonors\u003C\u002Fa\u003E? Surrogates? People have been figuring how to deal with this on their own terms, and as that continues, new cultural norms will emerge.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe business of picking a surname could be set to get even more complicated, but Wallaert argues at its core, naming has always had some key functions, and humans will continue to find ways to project these important facets of our identity, even when conventions change.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“As humans we are snowflakes in a blizzard. We have a deep-seated need to feel unique but also to feel connected to others,” he says. “Traditionally, we’ve used our first names to express our uniqueness and our last name to express our tribe. Whatever comes, it is those two core needs that we’ll likely continue to honour.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children-7"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Ffamily-tree"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-20T13:36:58Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"The parents creating new last names for their children","headlineShort":"The parents inventing new surnames","image":["p0c19x45"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220302-why-uncommon-baby-names-are-surging","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"A child taking the father’s surname by default? For many parents, it’s no longer such a simple choice.","summaryShort":"A baby taking the father's last name? It's not that simple anymore","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-live"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-19T19:51:06.97287Z","entity":"article","guid":"4e7fab4a-1133-46f8-aa32-051a1af4315d","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-24T12:23:41.291794Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095727},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all","_id":"6267dfd21f4b7b4af0616aca","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"With no ‘primary partner’ and a potential for multiple meaningful relationships, solo polyamorists are hopping off the heteronormative “relationship escalator”.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter Chris, 35, came out as bisexual three years ago, he decided that he “didn’t necessarily want to live a heteronormative life”. “I wanted to be able to date men and women simultaneously for my whole life,” says Chris, who is withholding his surname for privacy. “I felt like monogamy would deny me something of myself.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the pandemic, Chris moved into an intentional, sex-positive community in Brooklyn, New York – a “safe space” where he could further explore his relationship with sex and sexuality. Through that community, he discovered a course called Open Smarter, which guided students through navigating various types of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210326-ethical-non-monogamy-the-rise-of-multi-partner-relationships\"\u003Eethically non-monogamous relationships\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. That’s where he first heard the term ‘solo polyamory’. He quickly felt like it fit his dating style.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt its core, solo polyamory refers to people who are open to dating or engaging in multiple meaningful relationships without having a ‘primary partner’: one person to whom they’re committed above all other partners. Instead, the solo polyamorist might see themselves as their own primary partner, eschewing typical relationship goals, like merging finances or homes with a partner, and getting married and having children. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESolo polyamorists represent a small portion of polyamorists in general, many of whom tend to have or aim to have a primary partner, says Philadelphia-based sex educator and therapist Liz Powell, 39, so it’s inherently difficult to figure out what percentage of the overall population is engaging in relationships this way. However, some studies show younger generations are more likely to have entered into some kind of non-monogamous relationship than older generations. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPer a 2020 YouGov survey of 1,300 US adults, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftoday.yougov.com\u002Ftopics\u002Frelationships\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2020\u002F01\u002F31\u002Fmillennials-monogamy-poly-poll-survey-data\"\u003E43% of millennials said that their ideal relationship would be non-monogamous\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, while just 30% of Gen X said the same. Overall, research from 2016 synthesising two different US studies showed 20% of respondents \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tandfonline.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1080\u002F0092623X.2016.1178675\"\u003Eengaged in a consensually non-monogamous relationship\u003C\u002Fa\u003E at some point. But these studies don’t break down those numbers by specific types of non-monogamous relationships, so it’s impossible to say how many of those surveyed identify with solo polyamory.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince solo polyamorists are a minority identity, misconceptions about their lifestyles abound. From people who equate solo polyamory to monogamists dating around until they find “the one”, to those who consider it a selfish or greedy move, like “having your cake and eating it, too”, there’s a tendency to overlook the term’s more nuanced definition. Ultimately, it boils down to stepping off what’s known as the heteronormative “relationship escalator”, and opting for an alternative way to engage in romantic and sexual partnerships.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe “relationship escalator”\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe term solo polyamory gained popularity with the blog Solopoly.net, written by journalist Amy Gahran, under the pen name Aggie Sez. Her first blog post, published in 2012, was titled, “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsolopoly.net\u002F2012\u002F11\u002F29\u002Friding-the-relationship-escalator-or-not\u002F\"\u003ERiding the relationship escalator (or not)\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. About five years later, she wrote a book on the subject, Stepping Off the Relationship Escalator: Uncommon Love and Life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGahran defines this ‘escalator’ as “the default set of societal customs for the proper conduct of intimate relationships” – in other words, relationships that hit, or aim to hit, traditional life markers, like moving in with a partner, merging finances, getting engaged, getting married and having children.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We have these normalised benchmarks or signs that a relationship is serious,” says California-based Rachel Krantz, 34, author of Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy – A Polyamory Memoir. “Solo polyamorous people tend to avoid intertwining their life in that way with someone else.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThough the definition may seem narrow, there are plenty of ways to be ‘solo poly’. Solo polyamorous folks tend to be allosexual, says Colorado-based Elisabeth Sheff, author of books including The Polyamorists Next Door, meaning they tend to experience sexual desire – but some are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210507-asexuality-the-ascent-of-the-invisible-sexual-orientation\"\u003Easexual\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and maintain multiple, non-sexual relationships. They also tend to “value their independence”, adds Sheff, but some have very important, non-romantic relationships in their lives that they put first. “The single parent who prioritises their children over all other relationships could be solo poly,” says Sheff, as could someone who’s the caretaker of a person with a disability.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESolo polyamory also doesn’t have to be forever. One could identify as solo poly today, but still wind up entering a more traditional relationship with a shared home or finances in the future – it doesn’t have to be a fixed identity to be valid, says New York-based sex researcher and consultant Zhana Vrangalova.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChris, in fact, expresses interest in one day finding a primary partner, but says in the meantime being solo poly “allows me to date, have experiences with people, get to know a lot of different people, and have some of my needs met”. It’s similar to when he was dating around monogamously, he adds, “except now I’ve put a label on it to communicate to people what my intentions are”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I don't like that heteronormative structure of marriage. I want to rebel against that – Chris","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EVrangalova, who’s originally from Macedonia, teaches the Open Smarter course that Chris attended in New York. She estimates about two-thirds of her class are people in relationships, and slightly more than half of those are in monogamous relationships but “trying to figure out if some version of non-monogamy would be right for them”. The rest are either already exploring various forms of non-monogamy and seeking out more skills to help them better navigate those relationships, or they’re single and looking for relationships. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESolo polyamory is not right for everyone. Vrangalova has her students take personality quizzes to help them determine the relationship style(s) that might work best for them. These quizzes ask questions like “how much adventure and novelty” respondents need, or how much security they require in their relationships. Solo polyamorists, says Vrangalova, “usually don't need a lot of relational security”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, just because someone who identifies as solo poly may not need the same level of security as someone in a long-term, monogamous partnership, this doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t form deep, lasting bonds with partners. To foster trusting relationships with her partners, sex-educator Powell, who identifies as solo poly, says they’re very upfront with potential partners about their wants and needs. “I'm not going to not ask for [what I want in a relationship] just because I’m worried that you're going to say no,” they say. “If people say no, they say no, and we figure out where to go from there.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe antidote to “couple privilege”?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA lot of the stigmas surrounding solo polyamory come from a general lack of understanding of why someone might not want a so-called “serious”, traditional relationship. Stereotypes of solo poly people include them being “selfish, avoidant or [messed] up in various ways”, says Vrangalova. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFurthermore, solo polyamory is marked by its lack of adherence to relationship benchmarks like marriage and children – which also serve as benchmarks of adulthood. “The people we consider to be ‘adults’ are married with kids, sharing houses, sharing finances,” says Powell. “Whereas ‘wayward adults’, like myself, who live alone, unmarried, are examples of everything wrong with society.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, adults can very successfully live on their own and be self-sufficient. For those who identify as solo poly, it also doesn’t mean they “don’t care about people”, says Sheff. “They just don't want to organise their life centrally around a romantic partner.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThese prejudices exist alongside another societal force known as “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shape.com\u002Flifestyle\u002Fsex-and-love\u002Fcouple-privilege\"\u003Ecouple privilege\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. This wide-reaching phrase refers both to the advantages couples have in society over singles (like the financial benefits of marriage and couplehood) and the attitude that, for instance, in a polyamorous relationship, the success of the primary couple must be prioritised. All other partners’ actions must be taken with preserving that primary relationship in mind.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese stigmas and societal expectations can present roadblocks for people who identify as solo poly. When Powell was in a polyamorous relationship in Savannah, Georgia, US, around 2014, they tried to find a non-monogamy-affirming therapist, to no avail. That prompted them to fill the void, and Powell opened their own private practice targeting people who identified as non-monogamous, queer, kinky and\u002For trans.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven in psychology circles, there remains a dearth of knowledge about polyamory, let alone solo polyamory. Sheff is part of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.apa.org\u002Fabout\u002Fdivision\u002Fdiv44\"\u003EDivision 44\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a subgroup of the American Psychological Association working to develop educational materials about polyamory for counsellors and therapists.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMore than just dating around\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, solo polyamory is much more than a way to date multiple partners while living alone. It’s a rejection of heteronormative relationship standards.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“For me, a lot of solo polyamory has been about finding ways that I centre my own autonomy, the autonomy of others and genuinely question which things I want in a relationship, rather than assuming that every relationship was going to follow the escalator,” says Powell.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChris was similarly attracted to the solo poly label because it let him think about and approach relationships differently. He says the relationship pathways he grew up with didn’t make sense for him; before gay marriage was legalised in the US, he was having sexual relationships with people he knew he’d never be able to wed. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EToday, Chris says he wouldn’t 100% rule out the prospect of marriage, but he’s not exactly a fan of the institution. “As a queer, bisexual person, I don't like that heteronormative structure of marriage,” he says. “I want to rebel against that.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-04T14:24:34Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Does 'solo polyamory' mean having it all?","headlineShort":"The rise of 'solo polyamory'","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"With no ‘primary partner’ and a potential for multiple meaningful relationships, solo polyamorists are hopping off the heteronormative “relationship escalator”.","summaryShort":"\"I felt like monogamy would deny me something of myself\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-04T00:10:10.711226Z","entity":"article","guid":"0c079474-739f-4053-8486-6f73cec2fdcc","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-04T13:10:51.246094Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex","_id":"6267dfa81f4b7b3e7079b20b","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"Young people aren’t dating and having sex the same way past generations have. Is their approach to relationships more pragmatic?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“Are you ready to settle down?”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is the question Yale College student Kyung Mi Lee posed in a February 2020 piece, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyaledailynews.com\u002Fblog\u002F2020\u002F02\u002F14\u002Fsettling-down-romance-in-the-era-of-gen-z\u002F\"\u003ESettling Down: Romance in the Era of Gen Z\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, for the university’s Yale Daily News. Would she and her peers follow the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pewresearch.org\u002Fsocial-trends\u002F2020\u002F05\u002F27\u002Fas-millennials-near-40-theyre-approaching-family-life-differently-than-previous-generations\u002F\"\u003Emillennial trend of delaying marriage\u003C\u002Fa\u003E?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E Nearly two years after she wrote the article, Lee feels the answer is yes – but for a potentially different reason than her millennial counterparts. “In my cultural imagination, [for millennials] being averse to long-term relationships [means] people are hooking up a lot,” Lee, 23, says. In other words, it seemed to her that millennials waited to settle down because they were busy taking advantage of the single life. For Gen Z, she figures, “people are averse [to long-term relationships] because they’re more… introspective about the kinds of relationships they want to be in”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn increasing body of research validates this opinion: members of Gen Z seem to take an especially pragmatic approach to relationships compared to prior generations, and they’re \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Flifeandstyle\u002F2020\u002Ffeb\u002F03\u002Fquality-over-quantity-gen-zs-sex-recession-looks-more-like-an-upturn\"\u003Enot having as much sex\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“They realise that they might have different partners at different times in their lives [who] may fulfil different needs,” says Julie Arbit, Global SVP of Insights at Vice Media Group. In her research, which looked at 500 respondents from the UK and US (of mostly Gen Z and millennials, with some Gen X included “for comparison”), she’s found \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vicemediagroup.com\u002Fis-gen-z-just-not-that-into-you\u002F\"\u003Ejust one in 10 members of Gen Z say they are “committed to being committed\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOther researchers have arrived at similar conclusions. According to a study of Gen Z from India, for example, 66% of respondents accept that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.in\u002Fadvertising\u002Fad-agencies\u002Fnews\u002Findian-gen-z-spends-an-average-of-8-hours-per-day-online-isobar-ipsos-meetthez-survey\u002Farticleshow\u002F74833473.cms\"\u003E“not all relationships will be permanent\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”, with 70% rejecting a “limiting romantic relationship”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBoth researchers and members of Gen Z attribute this to a few factors.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFirst, this generation is entering adulthood during a particularly tenuous time, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fus-news\u002F2020\u002Fjul\u002F06\u002Fgen-z-covid-19-financial-crisis-lasting-scars\"\u003Eever-worsening climate change, and financial instability\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Many feel \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211215-is-parenting-scarier-than-ever\"\u003Ethey need to achieve stability for themselves before bringing another person into the picture\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. There’s also the increased access to relationship information online, empowering Gen Z with the language they \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20211101-why-demisexuality-is-as-real-as-any-sexual-orientation\"\u003Eneed to articulate both who they are\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as well as what they want from a relationship that doesn’t compromise their identity and needs.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“They’re hyper-focused on themselves,” says Arbit, “and it’s not because they’re being selfish. They know they’re responsible for their own success and happiness, and they know they need to be able to take care of themselves before they can take care of others.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeeking stability\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Back in the 1960s and 70s, your average 25-year-old man could support a family with his income and not expect his wife to work,” says Stephanie Coontz, the director of research and public education for the US-based Council on Contemporary Families. For many Gen Zers, both the idea that a 25-year-old could support an entire family, and that a man would expect a stay-at-home wife, no longer fits contemporary circumstances – and, for some, even seems laughable.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EInstead, Gen Z is prioritising a solid financial foundation as individuals, which is lengthening the path toward marriage, says Arielle Kuperberg, an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, US. “People are taking longer and longer to settle down because they’re taking longer and longer to reach financial stability.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELee and her friends agree. She says being in what she feels is “the most unsafe, financially unstable generation in history” contributes to their desire to gain “financial independence” before they settle down with a long-term partner.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a senior at university, Lee says she and her friends are much more likely to prioritise their careers over relationships, in order to reach a more financially stable place. “It’s rare that I have a friend who is like, ‘I’m going to move to this place so that I can be with my partner’,” she says. Rather, they’re focusing on what’s best for their careers, and how they can make relationships fit into that.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"They know they need to be able to take care of themselves before they can take care of others – Julie Arbit","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EKuperberg’s research on Gen Z chimes with this; she has found younger people in the throes of establishing their careers are less likely to go on formal dates compared to millennials.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I don't think it’s [that] they don't want to have long-term relationships. I think it's that they’re putting them off,” she says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, Kuperberg has found current instability in young adulthood has led more young people to move back home with their parents because they can’t afford to live on their own in their 20s. “The rise in more casual relationships and decline in more serious relationships… is because it’s just harder to form [the latter].”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERecently, this is in no small part because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated the trend of young adults being unable to live independently. Kuperberg interviewed a Gen Z man in spring 2020 who moved from Washington, DC to North Carolina with his parents shortly after the pandemic hit the country. He told researchers he wasn’t going to date again until he moved back to DC.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESoul searching\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA global Vice Media Group study from September 2020, Love After Lockdown, made up of 45% Gen Z respondents, showed 75% were currently single and not dating during the pandemic. Many reported this was in part because they wanted to take the solitary time to get to know themselves better before pursuing a partnership.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I started thinking about myself, what I want to do and what I don't want to do… and it taught me a lot,” said an anonymous Gen Z man from Italy, quoted in the survey. A Gen Z woman based in the US echoed the sentiment: “I'm physically distant from everyone and I can take a step back and say, ‘Who am I?’”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, this attitude may have developed from a lack of choice during lockdowns, rather than a Gen-Z proclivity for introspection. However, members of Gen Z from all over the world do have many more resources to figure out who they are, including social media apps like TikTok, where therapists discussing attachment styles and healthy relationship tips have become commonplace.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003ELee, for example, notes her younger sisters (in their first and second years of college, respectively) have developed in-depth language to talk about relationships through TikTok.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Teenagers are going around talking about their attachment styles to their romantic and sexual partners, using language like, ‘I’m an anxious attachment style,’” she says. This marks a very self-aware approach to dating that prioritises finding someone who makes sense for \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\u002Fem\u003E, versus just someone you find attractive or interesting. While these priorities certainly aren’t unique to Gen Z, this generation have an easily accessible array of resources to more knowledgeably find a partner who fits them well, in ways that older generations might not have known to think about.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEvolving attitudes towards sexuality and gender roles are also a factor. Among Gen Z, there’s been a marked \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsmag.com\u002Fideas\u002Fgen-z-the-future-is-non-binary\"\u003Edecrease in adhering to a gender binary\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, and an increase in “people willing to explore their sexuality”, says Kuperberg. In her research, seen by BBC Worklife, she’s noted a statistic showing roughly 50% of Gen Z identify as heterosexual, and “\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210610-why-more-women-identify-as-sexually-fluid-than-men\"\u003Emany say they’re heteroflexible\u003C\u002Fa\u003E”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis openness to different types of sexual partners and relationships recalls Arbit’s observations about Gen Z not necessarily looking for their “one and only”, but rather various people to fulfill different needs, whether these needs be romantic, sexual or something else entirely.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Our parents might have looked for someone of the same religion or the same political views,” says Arbit. “This generation is looking for honesty and passion and someone who makes them excited to get out of bed in the morning… compared to older generations, they’re open to dating different types of people and giving people a chance.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA mark of change\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis holistic approach to relationships differs dramatically from those embraced by much older generations.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECoontz, of the Council on Contemporary Families, says when she was interviewing people for her book on women and families in the 1960s and asked women why they decided to get married, “they would look startled… and say, ‘It was just time’”, she recalls. “There was this sense back [then] that marriage was something you did to enter adult life… Now it’s the opposite.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"While marriage used to be a passage into adulthood, today, it’s a mark you’ve already achieved it","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThis is a mark of change for Gen Z; while marriage used to be a passage into adulthood, today, it’s a mark you’ve already achieved it. Society’s been moving in this direction for some time, with each generation becoming more flexible with its ideas about a traditional family and its importance in their lives. Whether Gen Z are shaping society with these attitudes, or whether society is shaping Gen Z, is difficult to parse.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, these patterns aren’t true across the board. Among college students, Kuperberg has found that a Gen Z person’s race, class, gender and religion can play a role in how they date and seek out relationships.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“White people are more likely to hook up. People of colour are more likely to form relationships or have more formal dates,” she says, adding that those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are both more likely than other demographics to engage in casual sexual encounters and form long-term relationships – the latter likely because they “have more resources” to grant them stability.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile many signs point to Gen Z delaying marriage or permanent partnerships like millennials before them, their reasons for this seem to come increasingly from a place of pragmatism. Sure, millennials have delayed marriage for practical reasons like fearing divorce (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002Fhow-millennials-are-changing-marriage-divorce-weddings-prenups-2019-5#millennials-are-cohabitating-and-even-buying-homes-together-before-marriage-3\"\u003Emany grew up as children of divorce\u003C\u002Fa\u003E) and because \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nawrb.com\u002Fmillennials-are-delaying-marriage-because-they-cant-afford-it\u002F\"\u003Ethey can’t afford it\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But Gen Z is inheriting an arguably even more uncertain world as the problems that plagued millennials (like climate change) become more acute and new ones (like the pandemic) arise. This might necessitate fostering individual stability as a number one priority for Gen Z even more so than their slightly older counterparts.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We joke about who's going to get married first [in] our friend group,” says Lee, “like it's a funny thing that somebody would be engaged in their twenties.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex-8"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-01-07T16:18:10Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Are Gen Z more pragmatic about love and sex?","headlineShort":"Are Gen Z the most pragmatic about sex?","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Young people aren’t dating and having sex the same way past generations have. Is their approach to relationships more pragmatic?","summaryShort":"Why younger people aren't \"committed to being committed\"","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-01-06T21:05:28.737331Z","entity":"article","guid":"807ad1c9-8a5f-4e52-b7aa-553fb338df5c","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:20:27.929972Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095727},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete","_id":"6267dfa91f4b7b35782f09a0","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"The old adage tells us opposites attract. Not only is it wrong – but it may be less true than ever.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPeople have long lived by the adage ‘opposites attract’ – the introvert will fall for the extrovert, the bad boy for the straight-A student. This belief is lodged in popular culture, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffaculty.weber.edu\u002Feamsel\u002FClasses\u002FPracticum\u002FTA%20Practicum\u002Fpapers\u002FMcCutcheon%20(1991).PDF\"\u003Ehas been for years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut while many people are quick to agree that opposites attract, and may even jump to an example in their own life, multiple researchers have debunked the idea throughout the years. “The research is pretty clear, actually, that it’s not true,” says California-based clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula, an expert in toxic relationships. “People who have shared interests, temperaments and all that do tend to be more likely to date.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, various studies have shown friends and romantic partners tend to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F26828831\u002F\"\u003Eshare core beliefs, values and hobbies\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; people tend to be \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pnas.org\u002Fcontent\u002F108\u002F28\u002F11710#:~:text=Here%2C%20we%20found%20that%20having,for%20either%20sex%20of%20face.\"\u003Eattracted to\u003C\u002Fa\u003E or \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0956797613494852\"\u003Etrust\u003C\u002Fa\u003E those with similar physical features; and some research suggests people \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0956797616678187?journalCode=pssa\"\u003Ego for others with like personalities\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Essentially, both researchers and psychologists largely say people have long been drawn to those with shared traits, beliefs and interests. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere's also a body of evidence to suggest that opposites repel – particularly around views and values. And in an increasingly divided social, political and cultural climate in countries across the world, it's possible that we’re even less likely to fall for someone who thinks very differently to us. Factors like social media indicate it’s becoming significantly easier for daters to jump into ‘bubbles’ of like-minded others, leaving the idea of ‘opposites attract’ more outdated than ever. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeeing eye-to-eye – even if it looks otherwise\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt’s difficult to exactly pinpoint the origin of the saying ‘opposites attract’, but \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jstor.org\u002Fstable\u002F2087753\"\u003EAmerican sociologist Robert F Winch suggested it\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in a 1954 paper in the American Sociological Review. His research focused on “complementary needs in mate selection” – the idea that people sought out partners who had certain qualities they lacked (like the introvert choosing the extrovert, perhaps as a way for the introvert to benefit from the extrovert’s influence).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"There’s been really strong, widespread evidence for similarity attraction – Angela Bahn","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EClose on the heels of Winch’s research, however, other scientists began drawing different conclusions. Less than a decade later, another US-based social psychology researcher, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpsycnet.apa.org\u002FdoiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fh0044721\"\u003EDonn Byrne, challenged the opposites-attract hypothesis\u003C\u002Fa\u003E with his own paper. Byrne hypothesised that “a stranger who is known to have attitudes similar to those of the subject is better liked than a stranger with attitudes dissimilar to those of the subject [and] is judged to be more intelligent, better informed, more moral, and better adjusted”. His research supported both hypotheses. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“That was the beginning,” says Angela Bahn, associate psychology professor at Wellesley College, US. “Ever since, there’s been really strong, widespread evidence for similarity attraction.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBahn found this in her own 2017 study, in which researchers met pairs of people by approaching them in public spaces in Massachusetts. They observed that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002F26828831\u002F\"\u003Esimilarity between the pairs was statistically significant\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on “86% of variables measured”, including attitudes, values, recreational activities and substance use. More specifically, pairs of friends and romantic partners matched closely on attitudes about gay marriage, abortion, the government’s role in citizens’ lives and the importance of religion. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, there are plenty of reasons why it may \u003Cem\u003Eseem \u003C\u002Fem\u003Elike opposites attract, such as superficial differences that make people appear more opposed than they really are. A “straight-laced accountant” and “disinhibited artist”, for example, may look like an antithetical couple, suggests Durvasula – but “their values, whether that's around family [or] political ideology,” would likely be similar.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A group of activists making placards","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EInterestingly, personality remains one area where conclusions are less straightforward. In Bahn’s study, for example, pairs displayed “lower levels of similarity” in personality, specifically when it came to what are known as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.psychologytoday.com\u002Fus\u002Fbasics\u002Fbig-5-personality-traits\"\u003Ethe “big five” personality traits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Bahn explains that, for example, \"two people who are highly dominant are not going to work well together, so that’s the one area where complementarity, which you can spin as ‘opposites attract’, is much more common”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut another 2017 study by University College London social psychology lecturer Youyou Wu came up with different findings. Looking at the Facebook profiles of roughly 1,000 couples and 50,000 pairs of friends, Wu and colleagues “showed that there is\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.sagepub.com\u002Fdoi\u002Fabs\u002F10.1177\u002F0956797616678187?journalCode=pssa\"\u003E similarity stronger than was previously found\u003C\u002Fa\u003E… for all five personality traits” among pairs – more indication that opposites may indeed not attract, even if it may seem the case. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDating apps encourage seeking similar partners\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis isn’t to say, however, that people with polarised values and views won’t find success together; it happens, of course, and there can be benefits to disagreement – or even fundamental opposition – in couples. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParis-based Ipek Kucuk, 29, a dating and trends expert at dating app Happn, says she recently went from dating a person with whom she “agreed on everything” to someone who has alternate perspectives on hot-button issues like vaccination and religion. “Before I broke up with my ex, I didn't know how bored I was,” says Kucuk. “While it was quite a roller coaster of conversations with my current partner because he shocked me with some of his opinions, it really made me grow… it broadens my perspective. I really appreciate that.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Kucuk says she holds certain beliefs that she must share with her intimate partner – like feminism and the support of LGBTQ rights. And many others seem to have the same preference.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Screenshots from OkCupid's dating app","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EToday, sharing political views has been essential to couples matching up. In one example, mentions of “Black Lives Matter” (or BLM) \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tinderpressroom.com\u002FYear-In-Swipe-2020\"\u003Eincreased by 55 times in 2020\u003C\u002Fa\u003E on the dating app Tinder, indicating that people were unwilling to compromise on partners who didn’t share their most crucial convictions. After OkCupid released a badge users could put on their profiles to show their support of BLM, users who included the badge became two times more likely to match with other users who had the badge, an OkCupid representative told BBC Worklife over email. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe outsized cultural influence of social media – and its algorithms that connect people with similar beliefs – may be pushing daters even more towards those who share the same views and attitudes. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Wu explains, several dating apps recommend people in your social media networks, or based on shared ‘likes’ on Facebook or follows on Twitter. And roughly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pewresearch.org\u002Ffact-tank\u002F2020\u002F02\u002F06\u002F10-facts-about-americans-and-online-dating\u002F\"\u003E48% of US adults between ages 18 and 29 used dating apps\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, per a 2019 Pew Research study. “Based on our research showing that friends are similar in personality to begin with,” says Wu, the people using dating apps that recommend friends of friends are essentially just meeting more people like themselves. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDating apps that cater to people with specific views have also been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vox.com\u002Fplatform\u002Famp\u002Fthe-goods\u002F2018\u002F12\u002F26\u002F18150322\u002Frighter-donald-daters-patrio-conservative-dating-apps\"\u003Ecropping up over the last several years\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, specifically surrounding the divisive 2016 presidential election in the US. Apps that debuted around that time targeting politically conservative users included Righter, Conservatives Only and Donald Daters. Two years after the election, Bumble \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnymag.com\u002Fintelligencer\u002F2018\u002F12\u002Fbumble-dating-app-introduces-filters.html\"\u003Einstituted a ‘filtering’ feature\u003C\u002Fa\u003E that allowed users to pass over profiles of people who didn’t fit their political and lifestyle preferences. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It's easy to connect with people who you agree with online,” says Bahn. “The algorithms on social media platforms show us things that they think we're going to agree with already.” \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnline dating services appear to embrace this ­– it’s a feature, not a bug. According to the OkCupid spokesperson, “OkCupid is notorious for helping people connect on social and political issues due to our questions-based algorithm.” She further specified issues the dating site helps people “match on”: reproductive rights, gun control, the Covid-19 vaccine and BLM. The company’s release of badges, like the BLM badge and a “Climate Change Advocate” badge, to help people easily find others who share their key beliefs, suggests that this trend is only growing. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, the online networks and sites many of us use to find friends, dates and, ultimately, love are all nudging us towards people who seem to think similarly to us. That’s not all bad – the plethora of data showing the high percentage of couples who share views and values suggests it’s a good indicator of a lasting relationship. But there are downsides too; if we only date people who think just like us, we’re less likely to have the kind of conversations Kucuk is enjoying with her partner – the debates that challenge our assumptions and perhaps even open our eyes to different world views. Yet given the prevalence and power of technology – and the fact that opposites didn’t exactly attract to begin with – the adage may well be on its way to obsolescence.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-03-11T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why opposites don't attract in love and sex","headlineShort":"Why opposites attract less than ever","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"A man and a woman looking at each other","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":[],"summaryLong":"The old adage tells us opposites attract. Not only is it wrong – but it may be less true than ever.","summaryShort":"In matters of love and sex, the 'opposites attract' adage is outdated and untrue","tag":null,"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-10T20:55:04.842393Z","entity":"article","guid":"3f650ae4-a331-40b0-9fd6-862694c56e02","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete","modifiedDateTime":"2022-03-10T20:58:08.812721Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered","_id":"6267dfaa1f4b7b3e5257e5bc","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fjessica-klein"],"bodyIntro":"The number of singletons is increasing, yet people still insist on telling them they’ll find a partner soon. What’s with all the pity?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAsking why someone is ‘still’ single and assuring them they’ll ‘find their person soon’ may seem like thoughtful, even sensitive, ways to check in on single friends. However, these simple phrases constitute ‘single shaming’ – and they’re likely to be more harmful than helpful. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESingle shaming results from negative biases about people who are not partnered: they must be sad and lonely for not having a partner; they’re actively looking for one, but haven’t found a match yet; and there must be something wrong with them that’s causing to them to wind up alone. All these stereotypes are driven by pressures to conform to long-held societal standards: get the partner, shared home, 2.4 kids and dog, and a person has assembled all the ingredients they need for a happy life.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile people have been steadily re-evaluating these social norms for decades, recent research suggests single shaming is still going strong. Data from a survey by dating service Match, seen by BBC Worklife, shows 52% of 1,000 single UK adults reported experiencing single shaming “since the start of the pandemic”, likely due to the increased focus on whom people could rely on during lockdowns. And even though 59% said they were “content with their relationship status”, they still were the target of intrusive questions.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe persistence of these biases against singletons is not only demeaning, but also outdated in many countries. “Singlehood was once considered a transitional period, when people marked time until they were married or re-married,” says Bella DePaulo, author of Singled Out: How Singles are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After. But now, she says, Americans spend more years of their adult lives single than married. In 1970, she points out, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Flibrary\u002Fpublications\u002F2013\u002Fdemo\u002Fp20-570.html\"\u003Eciting US census data\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, 40% of US households consisted of married couples and their children, while 17% lived alone as singles. By 2012, 27% of US households consisted of singles, and just 20% were parents and children.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut even with these changing statistics, it’s clear both anecdotally and in the research that people who aren’t in romantic relationships continue to get a hard time from their coupled-up friends and family – and also from themselves. Even as singles seem to increasingly embrace and choose their relationship status, the pressure to find dates isn’t necessarily going away. But there may be at least some progress in the offing, as the growing representation of single people in the population may begin to outweigh the stigmatisation of singlehood.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bzj7cj"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe harms of single shaming\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to New York City-based psychotherapist Allison Abrams, single shaming is “negatively judging somebody for not being partnered up and not conforming to society’s expectations… of being married at a certain age”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShamers treat non-partnered people “differently” as a result, she says. “People tend to think that you’re bored and alone when you’re single,” adds Paris-based Ipek Kucuk, dating expert with the dating app Happn.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the study shared by Match, researchers asked about the common “shaming phrases” single people have heard from others, and 35% said they were told “you’ll find someone soon”. Twenty-nine percent heard “you must be so lonely”, while 38% reported general pity over their relationship status.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDePaulo says myths around singletons include the idea that married couples have a special mastery of life that single people don’t; that the lives of singles are “tragic”; and that being single implies being selfish. (Indeed, some research supports that these are myths, including a 2018 German study suggesting that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Facademic.oup.com\u002Fpsychsocgerontology\u002Farticle\u002F75\u002F7\u002F1423\u002F5257993?login=false\"\u003Estereotypes around miserable singles and happy couples are not at all correct\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.)\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe stereotypes about singles aren’t just wrong – they can also have damaging consequences. As psychotherapist Abrams says, internalised shame from societal attitudes towards singles can negatively affect self-image. Even if a single person’s friends and family aren’t shaming them for their status, not hitting big life milestones like marriage and children can take a toll – especially on someone who’s actively looking for a partner – because it’s what society tends to expect of them. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Many times, I've seen that play a part in depression,” says Abrams. A normalised ‘script’ for successful life can even force those who are happy being single to reconsider that attitude, and seek out something they’re fairly sure they don’t want, just so they can fit in with cultural norms.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"52% of 1,000 single UK adults reported experiencing single shaming “since the start of the pandemic”","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EAnd single shaming comes from many sources beyond nosy parents and friends. Governments play a part, by offering various benefits to those who are legally married, of which single people can’t take advantage. Some people believe this sends a message about the “right way” to go about life, serving as positive reinforcement for partnered people and making it very difficult for singles not to internalise the idea that they’re getting adulthood wrong.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the US, for example, an employee can add their spouse to their health care plan – but single people can’t do that for important people like siblings or close friends, points out DePaulo. Couples and families also get perks not available to singles in other realms, ranging from discounts on vacations to workplaces \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbelladepaulo.medium.com\u002Fthe-many-ways-single-people-are-treated-unfairly-at-work-645201c24ceb\"\u003Egranting special allowances\u003C\u002Fa\u003E for those with nuclear families.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESpinster versus bachelor\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELike any cultural stigma, single shaming isn’t equally distributed. Women tend to endure the brunt of it, and certain cultures emphasise marriage and having children more than others.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFirst, consider the words to describe single women as opposed to men. While men are known as ‘bachelors’, women are called ‘spinsters’. In the late Middle Ages, the latter originated as a term to describe women who spun wool professionally, most of whom were unmarried. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.merriam-webster.com\u002Fwords-at-play\u002Fspinster-meaning-origin\"\u003Elower-status job was easier for them to get\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, since more desirable jobs were generally reserved for married women – who, through their husbands, could afford the materials required to do higher-status work. ‘Bachelors’, meanwhile, are often portrayed as fun, potentially suave (if not sleazy), living their best lives and carefree – these positive connotations \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.smithsonianmag.com\u002Fsmart-news\u002Fwhere-did-spinster-and-bachelor-come-180964879\u002F\"\u003Ego all the way back\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E‘Spinster’ has taken on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cosmopolitan.com\u002Fuk\u002Flove-sex\u002Frelationships\u002Fa30868873\u002Fspinster\u002F\"\u003Eeven more negative connotations\u003C\u002Fa\u003E over time, used to disparage unmarried (and young) women in popular culture, such as in Bridget Jones’s Diary (the titular character is in her early 30s with a solid job in London, yet dwells on her ‘spinster’ status).\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0bzj709"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“According to the conventional wisdom – which is neither wise nor even accurate – women care more about marriage than men do,” says DePaulo. “So, I think single women are more often subjected to the annoying sorts of questions like, ‘Are you seeing anyone?’” Anecdotally, Abrams says more of her female clients share experiences of being single-shamed than her male clients, but caveats that her overall client population skews female.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“Single men can get treated in disparaging and dismissive ways, too,” DePaulo adds, such as people perceiving them as childish, unable to care for themselves or “obsessed with sex”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECultural demographics can influence the prevalence of single shaming, too. In her practice, Abrams has found clients with certain backgrounds, like those with families from Korea, China and India, tend to experience more pronounced single shaming from family members, as do some of her clients who moved to New York from the middle of the US. These cultures tend to emphasise more traditional gender roles around marriage, and not complying with these traditions can appear particularly unconventional. “I’ve heard one [client] say to me something like, [their] family feels shame for them not having a child at… 30 or even younger,” says Abrams. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe ‘power of numbers’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat it means to be single is changing, and some experts believe the shifts, both in attitudes and demographics, could help normalise singlehood – and potentially diminish the jump to judge the unpartnered.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn recent years, influential figures on social media and traditional celebrities alike have spoken out proudly about their single status. Actor Emma Watson, for example, has publicly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.vogue.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Farticle\u002Femma-watson-on-fame-activism-little-women\"\u003Edescribed herself as “self-partnered”\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, encouraging others to view their own lack of a romantic partner as positive, not negative. “As more people are embracing their status as a single person, I think more people feel liberated to do the same,” says Abrams.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Single women are more often subjected to the annoying sorts of questions like, ‘Are you seeing anyone?’","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDating app Bumble’s research from October 2021, seen by BBC Worklife, showed that 53% of the more than 8,500 Bumble users surveyed across Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Australia, the UK and the US “realized that it’s okay to be alone for a while”, thanks to the pandemic. Additionally, since Covid-19, many singletons have reported positive feelings and outcomes regarding their relationship status. Per the Match survey, 42% said they “enjoyed” being single during the pandemic.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, this statistic implies the other 58% of respondents did not; in fact, pandemic-wrought isolation affected many singles negatively, and increased shaming for some ­– Match reported 37% of singles surveyed said they got more questions from “concerned friends and family” about their love lives. Indeed, Abrams suggests single shaming is “still pretty rampant”, even as the ever-growing numbers of singles in countries like the US suggest a possible movement away from this behaviour.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, experts are hopeful that these changing demographics will continue to evolve judgements around singlehood. DePaulo calls this uptick in singletons “the power of numbers”, saying “just about every time the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.census.gov\u002Fnewsroom\u002Fstories\u002Funmarried-single-americans-week.html\"\u003ECensus Bureau releases its latest statistics\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, the findings show that there are more single people, and a greater proportion of single people, than there were before”. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe adds: “When whole swaths of the population are unmarried – in the US, close to half – it gets harder to insist that they all have something wrong with them.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered-8"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Flovelife"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-06T13:19:07Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"'Single shaming': Why people jump to judge the un-partnered","headlineShort":"The big 'single shaming' problem","image":["p0bzhp2x"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220104-are-gen-z-more-pragmatic-about-love-and-sex","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220308-opposites-attract-why-the-adage-is-obsolete"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The number of singletons is increasing, yet people still insist on telling them they’ll find a partner soon. What’s with all the pity?","summaryShort":"Why the stigma that singletons will 'find their person soon' endures","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-live"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-04-06T00:15:20.66815Z","entity":"article","guid":"c9f64659-150c-4505-a711-8f9d6dee58db","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-07T11:17:52.451996Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095727},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth","_id":"6267dfe61f4b7b62610b109c","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":[],"bodyIntro":"The allure of ‘The One’ stretches across time and cultures. Why do some people continue to believe in finding the perfect person?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EHannah Miller says she’s always believed in soulmates. She remembers being a child, hearing that seahorses have one partner forever. She loved the idea there might be just one person for her, too.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen she was 10, she was introduced to Sam, a friend of her sister’s, at a group outing to a theme park. She remembers him holding her hand on the scariest rides and her sister teasing her, saying she and Sam were going to get married. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but I did fall head over heels that day,” says Miller, 45, from Birmingham, UK. “I went on the school bus on Monday and told all my friends about the older boy who held my hand.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShe didn’t cross paths with the boy from the theme park again until she was 18, but once she did, things moved quickly. Weeks later, Sam told Hannah that he was falling in love with her, and the two were married just before her 20th birthday. “Commitment felt like it came easily – this was it, we were meant to be together, so why wait,” she says. “We knew that there was no reason not to get married, because we were soulmates.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn astonishing number of people \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftoday.yougov.com\u002Ftopics\u002Frelationships\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F10\u002Fsoulmates-poll-survey-data\"\u003Ebelieve in soulmates\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, according to one 2021 survey; the idea of ‘The One’ carries across many other cultures, too. There are many reasons why people are hopeful that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220124-why-people-arent-as-picky-in-love-as-they-think\"\u003Etheir perfect person\u003C\u002Fa\u003E is out there, and during the last 50 years, the idea has only increased in popularity. Experts believe that whether or not we believe in soulmates is deeply rooted in our personal circumstances and psychology – but it’s possible that those hoping to find a pre-destined partner might be dooming their relationships from the start.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA brief history of soulmates\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Greek philosopher Plato wrote that humans once had four arms, four legs and two faces. He explained that Zeus split us in half as a punishment for our pride, and we were destined to walk the Earth searching for our other half.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur understanding of love and relationships might have evolved since 385 BCE, when Plato penned Symposium, but the idea of having an ‘other half’ still endures for many, and has lasted across numerous cultures throughout history. Some Hindu traditions hold the idea that people have a karmic connection with certain souls; in Yiddish, there is a term for an ideal or predestined marriage partner – your ‘bashert’ – which loosely translates to destiny. Thirteenth-century Persian poet and Islamic scholar Rumi posed the idea that lovers do not finally meet, but that they are somehow in each other all along. And from Romeo and Juliet to Heathcliff and Cathy, Western literature is replete with examples of lovers who were meant to be together.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EBut although the concept of a soulmate might have existed for thousands of years, the actual term was probably only introduced in the 19th Century. Its first recorded use is in 1822, in a letter written by poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “To be happy in Married Life... you must have a Soul-mate,” he wrote. Coleridge’s own love life was unhappy – he married mostly due to social pressures and spent most of the union apart from his wife, before they eventually separated for good.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet despite Coleridge’s inability to find a true soulmate, the idea persisted, rocketing in popularity, especially in recent decades. Brad Wilcox, a professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, US, notes a rise in the appeal of soulmates since the 1970s, when the advent of what he calls the “me decade” and a culture of individualism shifted our approach to relationships.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“People are now more likely to look for relationships that make them happy and fulfilled,” he says. “It’s also facilitated by unprecedented prosperity in the West, which made people less dependent on marriage for economic survival. There was a shift from a pragmatic approach to marriage to a more expressive, soulmate model of marriage where people’s expectations are more psychological and less material.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe enduring nature of the soulmate myth\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are plenty of reasons to be sceptical about the idea of a perfect person being predestined for you. After all, most people don’t stray far when finding their partner, with the majority of Americans marrying someone \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftime.com\u002F4705099\u002Fmarriage-wedding-states\u002F\"\u003Efrom the same state\u003C\u002Fa\u003E as them, and 43% marrying \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.businessinsider.com\u002F28-people-marry-attended-same-college-2013-10?r=US&IR=T\"\u003Esomeone\u003C\u002Fa\u003E who they went to high school or college with.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn a planet of nearly eight billion people, it’s quite a coincidence that so many peoples’ soulmates are just in the next classroom. Yet the idea of a soulmate has persisted across numerous societies and time periods – what is it about the concept of The One that people find so irresistible?\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBradley Onishi, an associate professor of religion at Skidmore College, US, has used his background in the history of ideas to try and understand the enduring nature of soulmate mythology. He believes that there is something innate in our desire to believe in soulmates.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"The soulmate myth promises that amidst the dizzying and often confusing landscape of dating apps there is one match out there that will make sense of it all – Bradley Onishi","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E“The soulmate myth promises fulfilment,” says Onishi. “It says that the isolation and loneliness that are so often part of the human experience are only temporary – that someday there will be a happily ever after in which we are united with The One who understands us at every level, protects us from harm and gives our life overwhelming significance.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe points out that, for many of us, believing in a soulmate is a way of constructing a cohesive narrative from the oftentimes chaotic and unpredictable experience of looking for love. “The soulmate myth is really good at taking all the bad first dates, the breakups, the dashed hopes and disappointments and putting them into a story that says ‘someday all of this will fall into place’,” he says.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is particularly true when it comes to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220124-why-people-arent-as-picky-in-love-as-they-think\"\u003Emodern dating\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, perhaps explaining how the soulmate idea has evolved over time. In recent years, the term ‘twin flame’ has \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftrends.google.com\u002Ftrends\u002Fexplore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=twin%20flame\"\u003Esurged in popularity\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, a more spiritual way of understanding the idea that there might be someone that you are simply supposed to be with.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“We live in a time of overwhelming uncertainty – politically, environmentally and socially,” explains Onishi. “The soulmate myth promises that amidst the dizzying and often confusing landscape of dating apps there is one match out there that will make sense of it all. It promises an anchor to modern life that many find appealing.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPractical expectations?\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPractically, looking for a soulmate may not be the best approach, however. “Soulmate marriages are more fragile because feelings fluctuate,” Wilcox says. “Having a less soulmate-based approach is linked to more stability.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch into hundreds of relationships has showed having an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcios.org\u002FEJCPUBLIC\u002F017\u002F3\u002F01735.HTML\"\u003Eexpectation of finding a soulmate actually leads to dysfunctional patterns of behaviour\u003C\u002Fa\u003E and even makes you \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.people.vcu.edu\u002F~jldavis\u002Freadings\u002FKnee_1998_implicit_theories.pdf\"\u003Emore likely to\u003C\u002Fa\u003E breakup with your partner. This is because people who believe in soulmates tend to have what is known as a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.scienceofpeople.com\u002Fsoulmate\u002F\"\u003E‘destiny’ mindset\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. Since they are holding out for a perfect person, they are more likely to doubt their relationship, or view a hiccup in the road as a dealbreaker – perhaps this just wasn’t their person after all.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EOn the other hand, soulmate sceptics tend to have a ‘growth’ mindset. They believe that relationships take work and compromise, and are motivated to find solutions to problems.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“An expectation that something will be instantly and everlastingly perfect only leads to disappointment and resentment, because this simply isn’t realistic,” says Ruth Micallef, a specialist BACP-registered counsellor who works with many patients experiencing relationship struggles. “Some of the most successful relationships are couples who have spent years supporting each other through all of the personal changes that they are going through, and never expect each other to be ‘perfect’ or ‘everything’.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea of finding your soulmate might be a balm after a bad date, or create a sense of structure and narrative to your own love story. But ultimately, actually believing that you’ve found your soulmate might not be a good thing – and experts say that you certainly shouldn’t worry about looking for one.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“None of us is perfect – not you, and not your future mate,” says Wilcox. “So, focus on the non-negotiables – the virtues that will sustain a good marriage, shared values and some common interests. But don’t expect to check every box in a future spouse, unless you wish to be a permanent bachelor or bachelorette.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYet for some, believing in the soulmate myth simply seems to work. Hannah has now been married to Sam for 23 years, and the pair have three children together.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“It might well be the thing I am most proud of,” she says of her relationship. “So much of life is uncertain, but I can say with confidence that we have grown up together, and will continue to grow old together, forever soulmates.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth-6"}],"collection":[],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-02-14T17:25:27Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why people still believe in the 'soulmate myth'","headlineShort":"Why people believe in the soulmate myth","image":[],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":[],"relatedStories":[],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"The allure of ‘The One’ stretches across time and cultures. Why do some people continue to believe in finding the perfect person?","summaryShort":"Why is it so hard to accept there may not be just one perfect person for you?","tag":[],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-02-13T20:45:34.295123Z","entity":"article","guid":"756789db-9ca0-48b9-bca0-90ab0c9fc937","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-25T07:22:03.538835Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships","_id":"6267dfbc1f4b7b357d59cd88","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fjessica-klein"],"bodyIntro":"Do all primary-partner relationships have to be romantic and sexual? People choosing platonic life partnerships say a resounding no.","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EDeena Lilygren, a mother in her 40s, has been living with her best friend Maggie Brown for years in Kentucky, US. During the time they’ve been co-habiting, Brown met her future husband. He moved in with the pair of best friends, proposed to Brown, they got married and eventually, all three of them bought a house together.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen he moved in with them – and again when he proposed – Brown told him she and Deena “were a package deal”, says Lilygren. “She wanted to be sure he didn’t have the expectation that so many people seem to have – that marriage is the time when you let go of your friends.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBrown and Lilygren have a relationship that goes beyond most friendships. Lilygren considers them “platonic life partners”, meaning they are each other’s primary partners – the way people often relate to spouses or romantic partners, only romance and sex don’t factor into their relationship.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBarely uttered in the past, the phrase ‘platonic life partners’ has been popularised lately by two women in their 20s from Singapore, April Lee and Renee Wong. The pair discuss their platonic life partnership (PLP) \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tiktok.com\u002F@psychottie?lang=en\"\u003Eon TikTok\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, where Lee has more than 51,000 followers. They cemented their friendship as a PLP when Wong moved from Singapore to Los Angeles to live with Lee in September 2021. As Lee put it in a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.refinery29.com\u002Fen-us\u002F2022\u002F02\u002F10854249\u002Fplatonic-life-partners-tiktok-explained\"\u003Epiece about their partnership for Refinery29\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, they were not just best friends but “supportive financial partners”, helped each other reach their life goals more effectively and wanted to be together not just temporarily as roommates, but for the long haul.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe popularity of their story elicited a string of coverage on this type of committed friendship, including among men. But relationships like these aren’t wholesale new – in some cases, they \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theatlantic.com\u002Ffamily\u002Farchive\u002F2020\u002F10\u002Fpeople-who-prioritize-friendship-over-romance\u002F616779\u002F\"\u003Ehave roots back to the 18th Century\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. While some of those were certainly queer relationships in disguise, it’s quite possible many were just like Lee and Wong – the term ‘PLP’ just wasn’t around to describe them. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor some who are currently in PLPs, like Lilygren, the phrase is an important way to not just define their living situations, but also stress the value of non-romantic partnerships. “As a culture, we really devalue friendship when compared to relationships like marriage – we're expected to have transient, secondary friendships that become marginalised when one friend gets married,” says Lilygren, “and there really isn't a word for a friend who is a partner in life.” ‘PLP’ fills that void.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0by5nrc"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"portrait","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘Boston Marriages’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom colonial times up until about 1850, people entered life partnerships – marriages – for “pragmatic” reasons, says Eli Finkel, professor at Northwestern University, Illinois, US, and author of The All-Or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work. “The distinct functions of marriage during this era revolved around basic survival – literally things like food, clothing and shelter,” he says. For women – who were kept out of the workforce and unable to make a living independently – having a husband was key to getting by. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis changed for many in places like the US and Britain by the late 1800s, however. There, middle class women could attend college, paving the way for them to enter the workforce, explains US-based LGBTQ historian Lillian Faderman. Women no longer had to rely on husbands for income, and some chose to live with other women instead.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAround this time, the term ‘Boston Marriage’ popped up to describe “two women living together in a long-term, committed relationship”, says Faderman. (While she adds that no one knows for sure where the term came from, some suspect it could have originated with the 1866 Henry James novel The Bostonians, which featured a possibly romantic relationship between two women.) “Whether those were lesbian relationships or how many of those were lesbian relationships… we’ll never know,” she says, “because that sort of thing was not committed to paper – people didn’t talk openly about sex between women.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"calloutBodyHtml":"\u003Cp\u003EThis story is part of BBC's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EFamily Tree\u003C\u002Fa\u003E series, which examines the issues and opportunities parents, children and families face today – and how they'll shape the world tomorrow. Coverage continues on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Ffuture\u002Ffamily-tree\"\u003EBBC Future\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E","calloutTitle":"Family Tree","cardType":"CalloutBox","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat was committed to paper were the musings of Eleanor Butler, half a couple known as the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.britishmuseum.org\u002Fcollection\u002Fdesire-love-and-identity\u002Fladies-llangollen\"\u003ELadies of Llangollen\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, two wealthy women who had the financial resources in the late 1700s to run away from their families in Ireland and live together in what was often referred to as a “romantic friendship”. Butler referred to her life partner and cohabitator, Sarah Ponsonby, as her “beloved”, and detailed their days together in her diary, but never mentioned a sexual relationship.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it remains impossible to know the true nature of these historical relationships, as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theatlantic.com\u002Ffamily\u002Farchive\u002F2020\u002F10\u002Fpeople-who-prioritize-friendship-over-romance\u002F616779\u002F\"\u003Ehistorians suggest\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, such “romantic friendships” were common enough at the time that it’s quite possible some were non-sexual, serving as the precursors to the PLPs of today.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E‘It feels inextricable’\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom the mid-1800s up through the 1960s, Finkel says marriage had left the “pragmatic era” and landed in the “love-based era”, meaning people formed lifelong partnerships for love and intimacy, rather than survival. Industrialisation brought young people to cities, making them, “for the first time ever… geographically and economically independent of their families”, says Finkel. With this freedom came an emphasis on “emotional fulfilment” in lifetime matches.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"I definitely don't see a time ever living apart from Maggie – Deena Lilygren","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 1960s, he adds, brought another shift in what people largely looked for in life partners in the Western world. “Love and intimacy remain necessary, but they’re no longer sufficient,” he says. Marriages today also must “afford the ability for people to be authentic and pursue personal growth”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn other words, marriages and life partnerships have evolved to a point at which many expect their significant other to be their everything, fulfilling multiple roles including sexual partner, cohabitator, co-parent, emotional support system and financial partner, among other things. That can be a lot to ask of one person, and “many relationships are buckling under the strain”, adds Finkel.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPLPs offer an alternative way to engage in long-term relationships. A platonic partner isn’t expected to fulfil sexual and romantic needs, and those with a PLP don’t see their romantic partners as their primary emotional support system. Some merge finances with their PLP, as many might expect from a married couple, and others don’t, or do partially. Lilygren and Brown don't have joint checking accounts, says Lilygren, “but at this point, we've all gone in together on so many items for the house, including furniture, that it feels inextricable”.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOverall, entering a PLP has a lot in common with entering a marriage. Some even do \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thecut.com\u002F2022\u002F02\u002Fplatonic-life-partners.html\"\u003Eget married\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, in part for the legal rights that come with the arrangement (like ensuring their partners will be considered their ‘next of kin’), or to show their commitment to each other to family members and friends who may not otherwise understand. The practical discussions about how to share a life \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.refinery29.com\u002Fen-us\u002F2022\u002F02\u002F10854249\u002Fplatonic-life-partners-tiktok-explained\"\u003Estill apply\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, along with added negotiations about how to incorporate each member’s romantic partners into the relationship and\u002For living arrangement.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-6"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0by5p38"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-7"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp\u003EPeople who aren’t familiar with PLPs often struggle with the idea two people can share such deep intimacy and not have a sexual relationship. It took Florida-based Jay and Krystle, who \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.thecut.com\u002F2022\u002F02\u002Fplatonic-life-partners.html\"\u003Etalked about their PLP to The Cut\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, going viral on TikTok about their relationship for their family and friends to finally grasp that they were totally platonic, in spite of their marriage. For Lilygren, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.huffpost.com\u002Fentry\u002Fbought-a-house-with-best-friend_n_5d518718e4b0cfeed1a124c6\"\u003Ewriting about her relationship with Brown\u003C\u002Fa\u003E is what ultimately helped explain the trio’s arrangement to Brown and her husband’s families.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“They started taking us more seriously as a family unit, which is beautiful,” says Lilygren. But the article also received some backlash. “There were a lot of negative comments online because people cannot imagine that our situation isn't sexual, which is too bad.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese days, while stigma against those who identify as LGBTQ+ hasn’t been eradicated, and some queer couples haven’t come out or don’t publicly identify that way, it's less likely that people living with platonic partners are doing so to conceal romance. Increased acceptance of queer sexual orientations has made it easier for many people to be in openly queer relationships. Instead, as more young people talk publicly about their decisions to enter PLPs, they’re spreading the word that it’s an option for lifelong partnership. Lilygren wrote openly about dating women in her HuffPost article, and her PLP is married to a man. They plan to stay platonically devoted for the long run. \u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E“I definitely don't see a time ever living apart from Maggie,” says Lilygren. “I've been seeing someone for two years now, and while I'm committed to our relationship, my living arrangement makes me happy, and I don't want to do anything to disrupt it.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships-8"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Ffamily-tree"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-04-01T15:48:56Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"PLPs: The platonic partnerships that pair up friends for life","headlineShort":"The rise of platonic life partnerships","image":["p0by5nsv"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":["p0by5p38"],"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220128-the-millennials-choosing-friends-as-sperm-donors","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220301-does-solo-polyamory-mean-having-it-all","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220204-why-people-still-believe-in-the-soulmate-myth"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Do all primary-partner relationships have to be romantic and sexual? People choosing platonic life partnerships say a resounding no.","summaryShort":"Some people are partnering up permanently as just friends, no sex involved","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-live"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-03-31T20:42:31.649428Z","entity":"article","guid":"76165564-b35c-47fc-bf5f-281a99e998d6","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships","modifiedDateTime":"2022-04-01T11:42:34.663369Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:article:worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men","_id":"627d7cec1f4b7b3e05614cf2","ambientVideo":"","articleType":"story","assetVideo":null,"author":["worklife\u002Fauthor\u002Fkatie-bishop"],"bodyIntro":"Statistically, women call time on their marriages more than men. What’s with the big discrepancy – and will it stay this way?","businessUnit":"worldwide","cards":[{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EThe decision to end a marriage is often difficult, and couples may spend months, or even years, soul-searching before \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20201203-why-the-pandemic-is-causing-spikes-in-break-ups-and-divorces\"\u003Ecalling it quits\u003C\u002Fa\u003E. But when it comes to initiating a split, there’s a clear pattern in who makes the final call. In Western heterosexual relationships, women catalyse an enormous proportion of divorces.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EIn the US specifically, where no-fault divorce is legal in all 50 sates, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.asanet.org\u002Fpress-center\u002Fpress-releases\u002Fwomen-more-likely-men-initiate-divorces-not-non-marital-breakups\"\u003Esome estimates put the figure at 70%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E; this rises to a staggering 90% when women are college educated. In the UK, ONS statistics showed \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.independent.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fuk\u002Fhome-news\u002Fdivorce-inquiries-rise-pandemic-women-b1843359.html\"\u003Ewomen petitioned for 62% of divorces in England and Wales\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in 2019.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003ENow, in some Western countries, divorce is becoming easier; the UK, for instance, recently \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fuk-61004089\"\u003Elegalised no-fault divorces\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which means couples now have a quicker and more straightforward route to break up. This change in rules could open the door for even more women – who might have been hesitant before – to file for divorce.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EWhy, though, are women disproportionately choosing to divorce in the first place? For some, the answer lies in how partners do – or don’t – meet their \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20210518-the-hidden-load-how-thinking-of-everything-holds-mums-back\"\u003Eemotional needs\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in marriage. Yet for others, things are more complicated – and there may be more nuance to these statistics than it seems.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe importance of independence\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EIn most societies, divorce has been a relatively recent phenomenon.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EIn the UK, divorce was extremely uncommon before 1914, with just \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.parliament.uk\u002Fbusiness\u002Fpublications\u002Fresearch\u002Folympic-britain\u002Fhousing-and-home-life\u002Fsplit-pairs\u002F\"\u003Eone divorce in every 450 marriages\u003C\u002Fa\u003E in the first decade of the 20th Century. Now, more than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ons.gov.uk\u002Fpeoplepopulationandcommunity\u002Fbirthsdeathsandmarriages\u002Fdivorce\"\u003E100,000 couples in the UK\u003C\u002Fa\u003E get divorced every year, and in the US, around \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fworldpopulationreview.com\u002Fcountry-rankings\u002Fdivorce-rates-by-country\"\u003Ehalf of marriages\u003C\u002Fa\u003E end in divorce.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EAs Heidi Kar, a psychologist and expert on domestic violence at the US-based Education Development Center, explains, it’s no coincidence that the rise of divorce has coincided with women’s liberation.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003E“Because economic independence is an imperative before a woman can attempt to leave a marriage, either alone or with children to support, it’s extremely difficult for women to leave a marriage unless they have some way to make money on their own,” she says. “Also, because gender roles become more complicated as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220406-women-breadwinners-why-high-earners-compensate-at-home\"\u003Ewomen start to gain financial independence\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, more marital conflict naturally arises.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EIn other words, women’s entry into the workforce enabled them to leave unhappy marriages for the first time – they were no longer financially bound to remain in abusive partnerships or relationships where their needs were not being met, and women thus began to initiate divorces at greater scale.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"infographic","imageAlignment":"centre","imageOrientation":"landscape","pullQuoteImageAlignment":"centre","videoImageAlign":"centre","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-0"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Across cultures and geographies, women who are economically able to take care of themselves… are more likely to initiate divorce – Heidi Kar","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-1"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EThis also helps explain why women with university-level education are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200121-why-promoted-women-are-more-likely-to-divorce\"\u003Eso much more likely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to end a marriage. “Across cultures and geographies, women who are economically able to take care of themselves – which usually is tied to higher education levels – are more likely to initiate divorce than women who are unable to economically sustain themselves and their children,” adds Kar.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmotional and social factors \u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EStill, increased economic independence alone doesn’t explain why women have become so much more likely to initiate divorce than their husbands. Yet, the percentage of women initiating divorces has continued to rise – and the reasons are manifold.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EFor many women, the expectations they have when they enter marriage may fail to match up to reality. Experts say that they often have a higher expectation of how a partner will meet their emotional needs than men, which can lead to disappointment post-wedding.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EGilza Fort-Martinez, a Florida, US-based licensed couples’ therapist, who specialises in conflict resolution, says because men are usually socialised to have lower emotional intelligence than women, this can lead to female partners feeling unsupported and doing much of the emotional labour in the relationship.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EThis emotional intelligence also means women are more finely attuned to problems and relationship “red-flags”, and their tendency to be the primary communicators and empathisers means that they may also be the first to raise issues – perhaps ultimately resulting in separation or divorce.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EWomen also tend to gain fewer emotional benefits from marriage, which could make single life seem more appealing. While married men experience multiple perks – including \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Flifeandstyle\u002F2019\u002Fmay\u002F25\u002Fwomen-happier-without-children-or-a-spouse-happiness-expert\"\u003Eliving longer and earning more money\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – women don’t usually benefit from their relationships in the same way. Instead, they \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyougov.co.uk\u002Ftopics\u002Flifestyle\u002Farticles-reports\u002F2021\u002F03\u002F30\u002Fwomen-are-still-much-more-likely-have-do-most-coup\"\u003Ebear the brunt of household and child-rearing labour\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, which can leave working women “overwhelmed and stressed”, says Fort-Martinez.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EWomen also tend to have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.americansurveycenter.org\u002Fwhy-mens-social-circles-are-shrinking\u002F\"\u003Emore close friends\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than men (in fact, in the US, 15% of men say they have no close friendships at all), meaning they have a better support system both to discuss any marital issues as well as to ease the transition back into single life. It’s also possible these friendships make divorce seem like a more plausible option – research suggests that if a close friend gets divorced, people’s own \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Flifeandstyle\u002F2010\u002Fjul\u002F04\u002Fdivorce-friends-contagious-academic-study\"\u003Echances of divorcing rise by 75%\u003C\u002Fa\u003E.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EAdd this to the fact that women get primary custody of children in the vast majority of divorce cases, so women may feel they have less to lose when filing for divorce compared to men. And in some ways, they are right – evidence shows men’s wellbeing tends to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpmc\u002Farticles\u002FPMC5992251\u002F\"\u003Edrop much more dramatically\u003C\u002Fa\u003E immediately following a divorce.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-2"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"Image","iFrameType":"","image":["p0c62dgk"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Woman holding a child","imageOrientation":"landscape","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-3"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EBut in reality, this effect can be short-lived. “In the short-term after divorce, men’s overall wellbeing decreases more, and they report higher levels of loneliness,” says Kar. “But over time that evens out, and women continue to suffer from more chronic, long-term effects including the loss of home ownership, reduced financial means, and increased stress from life as a single parent.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EThis doesn’t mean that these women have more regrets, however. In spite of these downsides, only \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.telegraph.co.uk\u002Fwomen\u002Flife\u002Fdivorce-regret-real-does-getting-back-ex-ever-work\u002F\"\u003E27% of women\u003C\u002Fa\u003E say they regret getting a divorce, compared to 39% of men, showing that for most women divorce-related hardships are preferable to staying in an unhappy marriage.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESeeking resolution\u003C\u002Fstrong\u003E\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EOf course, filing for divorce isn't the same as ending a marriage. While research shows \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.stanford.edu\u002F~mrosenfe\u002FRosenfeld_gender_of_breakup.pdf\"\u003Ewomen in heterosexual marriages are more likely to initiate the break-up\u003C\u002Fa\u003E, there are also women who didn't choose to end their relationship, but want or need to formalise the split nonetheless.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003E“Women tend to be more motivated than men to resolve their marital status,” says Katie Spooner, partner and head of family law at Winckworth Sherwood, London. She says, based on her client record, most men are happy to remain separated, unless there is a new relationship or particular imperative to sort their finances.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EFor women, however, the need for a divorce can be much more pressing. “It remains a requirement for divorce to be filed in order to make a financial application,” says Spooner, referring to the legally-binding process of sorting finances out after a split. “Historically, women have had a greater need to do this due to their weaker financial position, or their role as primary caregiver.”\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EIn other words, married women tend to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fworld-asia-india-58867004\"\u003Eearn much less\u003C\u002Fa\u003E than their husbands, and are significantly \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fifs.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002F15359#:~:text=Mothers%20did%20more%20housework%20and,childcare%20than%20lower%2Dpaid%20fathers.\"\u003Emore likely\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to have given up work or reduced their hours to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.com\u002Fworklife\u002Farticle\u002F20200630-how-covid-19-is-changing-womens-lives\"\u003Ecare for children\u003C\u002Fa\u003E – even if they were the higher earner to begin with.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-4"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[]},"cardType":"PullQuote","iFrameType":"","pullQuote":"Women tend to be more motivated than men to resolve their marital status - Katie Spooner","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-5"},{"bodyHtml":{"assets":[],"html":"\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EThis means women who are separated from their husbands without a divorce agreement risk financial hardship, because they may not have a legal right to marital assets or financial support until a formal divorce agreement is in place. Filing for divorce might be their only choice to secure assets, even if they did not choose to end the relationship in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003ESpooner points out a big turning point for women initiating divorce in the UK was 1996, when being a “homemaker” was recognised as a contribution to the marriage, meaning women became entitled to a fairer share of assets. Before this, the less-wealthy spouse (usually the woman, especially if she’d given up her career) was only given financial support for basic needs, rather than how their domestic labour had contributed to the marriage. This arrangement is now common in many other countries, meaning fewer women risk poverty post-divorce, and are more motivated to push for a divorce over a separation to get their fair share of marital assets.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EAs for the new UK law, Spooner says there has been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.independent.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Fuk\u002Fhome-news\u002Fno-dault-divorce-laws-increase-b2057360.html\"\u003Ean early rush\u003C\u002Fa\u003E to file no-fault divorces, suggesting many people had been waiting for the law to change. However, it’s too early to know exactly how patterns will shift until the law has been in place for a while; Spooner herself believes there could be a “slight drop” in female-driven divorces, since it’s the first time couples can issue joint applications.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\"m5887748939440152381xmsonormal\"\u003EWhatever happens in the UK, ultimately, divorces – like marriages – tend to be complex and nuanced. In some cases, filing for divorce is an agonising decision based on years of unhappiness. For others, filing is more of a practical move, based on the need to reach a financial settlement. What’s clear, however, is that certain factors – women’s improved earning power, men and women’s mismatched emotional needs within marriage and ongoing inequalities in household labour – mean that divorce is likely to remain deeply gendered.\u003C\u002Fp\u003E"},"cardType":"Body","iFrameType":"","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men-6"}],"collection":["worklife\u002Fpremium-collection\u002Ffamily-tree"],"disableAdverts":false,"displayDate":"2022-05-13T00:00:00Z","embeddedCustomHtml":"","embeddedInfographicUrl":"","embeddedType":"infographic","headlineLong":"Why women file for divorce more than men","headlineShort":"Why women file for divorce more","image":["p0c62cp5"],"imageAlignment":"centre","imageAltText":"Woman removing a wedding ring","isSyndicated":true,"latitude":"","longitude":"","mpsVideo":"","option":[{"Content":{"Description":"Apple News Publish: Select to publish, remove to unpublish. (Do not just delete or unpublish the story)","Name":"publish-applenews-system-1"},"Metadata":{"CreationDateTime":"2016-02-05T14:32:31.186819Z","Entity":"option","Guid":"13f4bc85-ae27-4a34-9397-0e6ad3619619","Id":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","ModifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T22:52:24.455144Z","Project":"wwverticals","Slug":"option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1"},"Urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:option:option\u002Fpublish-applenews-system-1","_id":"6267dfc91f4b7b565656c4b5"}],"partner":null,"primaryVertical":"worklife","promoAlignment":"centre","promoAltText":"","promoImage":null,"relatedStories":["worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220414-the-parents-creating-new-last-names-for-their-children","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220405-single-shaming-why-people-jump-to-judge-the-un-partnered","worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220401-plps-platonic-life-partnerships"],"relatedTag":null,"summaryLong":"Statistically, women call time on their marriages more than men. What’s with the big discrepancy – and will it stay this way?","summaryShort":"Women may be more likely to call it quits than their male partners – why?","tag":["tag\u002Fhow-we-live"],"textToSpeech":false,"creationDateTime":"2022-05-12T21:32:11.6606Z","entity":"article","guid":"c6ab7a74-4883-4e24-aafa-23999b1e3606","id":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men","modifiedDateTime":"2022-05-12T21:32:11.6606Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"worklife\u002Farticle\u002F20220511-why-women-file-for-divorce-more-than-men","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726}},"tags":{"tag\u002Fhow-we-work":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:tag:tag\u002Fhow-we-work","_id":"6267dfe21f4b7b5e7e71ead7","assetImage":null,"description":"","linkUrl":"","name":"How we work","creationDateTime":"2021-01-21T16:50:13.35702Z","entity":"tag","guid":"f4aea95a-8f66-4cc9-a030-7e0fa4f167ee","id":"tag\u002Fhow-we-work","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T23:26:28.969385Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"tag\u002Fhow-we-work","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095726},"tag\u002Fworkplace":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:tag:tag\u002Fworkplace","_id":"6267dfe71f4b7b6544752f64","assetImage":null,"description":"","linkUrl":"\u002Ftags","name":"Workplace","creationDateTime":"2015-08-18T10:58:15.738806Z","entity":"tag","guid":"f4303e37-0dd5-45da-9111-b5abef826e14","id":"tag\u002Fworkplace","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-28T00:01:56.805716Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"tag\u002Fworkplace","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095700},"tag\u002Fhow-we-think":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:tag:tag\u002Fhow-we-think","_id":"6267dfe01f4b7b44ba78caf7","assetImage":null,"description":"","linkUrl":"","name":"How we think","creationDateTime":"2021-03-11T19:37:50.321256Z","entity":"tag","guid":"52a9a0a6-92ac-4d4c-9906-b514c70909eb","id":"tag\u002Fhow-we-think","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T23:26:24.330005Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"tag\u002Fhow-we-think","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095713},"tag\u002Fhow-we-live":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:tag:tag\u002Fhow-we-live","_id":"6267dfe11f4b7b4ec92779d1","assetImage":null,"description":"","linkUrl":"","name":"How We Live","creationDateTime":"2021-02-05T16:05:21.855044Z","entity":"tag","guid":"e9353e70-d92d-4966-b57f-eb655a24b486","id":"tag\u002Fhow-we-live","modifiedDateTime":"2022-02-27T23:26:19.601218Z","project":"wwverticals","slug":"tag\u002Fhow-we-live","cacheLastUpdated":1653443095728},"tag\u002Fcities":{"urn":"urn:pubpipe:wwverticals:tag:tag\u002Fcities","_id":"6267dff01f4b7b625f670f9f","assetImage":null,"description":"The BBC's latest stories about life in urban 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