The beauty of sitting around and doing nothing
Jenny Morber is a science writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Slate and elsewhere Like most of us in 2019, I am busy. Days can feel like a race to complete an always-accumulating list of now, soon and must-do-sometime tasks for my business, my kids, my animals, my home, my relationships, my community,…
Trees hold the answers to many of life’s problems
We find ourselves living in a special time. On the one hand, the climate crisis poses the most significant threat to our future that humanity has ever faced. On the other, we are better equipped than ever before to take on that challenge. To do so, though, we need to understand and respect the natural…
How to manage the expectations gap and avoid being disappointed in a new role
I recently read The Employee Experience, which focuses on attracting and retaining top performers. One of the most important lessons for me is the benefit for both employees and employers of paying attention to what the authors define as the expectations gap. An example of an expectations gap is starting a new job with a set…
What does it (really) take to get promoted?
You’ve no doubt heard it said many a time by someone or another in your workplace: The only way to get ahead is to “suck up” to the boss. But is it possible that what some people call “sucking up” may simply be learning how to work with your specific supervisor or manager? In my…
The better way to deal with criticism at work
Criticism stings. Sure, it is sometimes couched as gentler “feedback,” or offered as “advice,” or even presented as a “pointer.” Yet criticism it is. And most of us respond with one or both of two reactions. First, we indignantly and completely discount both the message and the source. And second, we get upset and sometimes…
The informational interview – your secret advantage for your next job
Whether you’re thinking about your next step in your current career, or have your sights set on new and exciting challenges elsewhere, informational interviews can be your secret advantage in the highly-competitive world of job searching. Part networking, part information-gathering, and part low-key self-promotion, an informational interview is a powerful way to position yourself as…
A poppy is not enough. On Remembrance Day, let us understand history
Around this weekend we mark several anniversaries. Nov. 11, for instance, commemorates the end of hostilities in the First World War – originally Armistice Day, it is now Remembrance Day in Canada and other Commonwealth countries and Veterans Day in the United States. Why do we mark historical anniversaries? Even when the ceremonies are routinized,…
When are defined severance terms unfair?
It is hard to win a game when you start with a disadvantage. Yet when signing employment contracts, employees constantly set themselves up for failure. How? By routinely permitting employers to draft and dictate almost all of the important contractual terms, especially the conditions surrounding severance. Companies understand that they can vastly reduce severance liability…
The new literacy in an AI world
More than five decades ago, Marshall McLuhan argued that media are ecosystems, extensions of human consciousness. The famous adage that the medium is the message also means, as the often-misquoted title of McLuhan’s famous book notes, that the medium is the mass age. We are all immersed in media and technology. Media have changed a…