Hundreds of employees at a Kansas Frito-Lay factory are striking over forced overtime, which some say can be as much as 84 hours per week with no days off. Fifty-nine-year-old Mark McCarter, a worker and union organizer at the factory, explains why employees feel compelled to strike for the first time and how conditions have deteriorated in his 37 years as an employee.

The number of digital nomads in the US -- remote workers on the move -- rose nearly 50% between 2019 and 2020 to hit 10.9 million, according to a report from MBO Partners. Companies such as Yon Living are catering to the cohort by providing co-living and co-working spaces in the US and overseas, and co-founder Ant Steele says, "The boundaries between what is living, working or holidaying have totally blurred."

Employers can improve the diversity of their workforce by prioritizing skills over college education and optimizing the application process for mobile, writes EmployTest CEO and founder Ken Crowell. Be wary of technology and hiring algorithms that can introduce bias into the recruitment process, and instead use tech to eliminate candidate details such as personal data to truly open up hiring to all, Crowell writes.

School social worker Kenya Mills says she has seen the toll the pandemic has taken on many working mothers, who have left jobs to care for children as they learned remotely, and advocates say child care assistance is needed to get women back in the workforce. "It's always, 'I have to sacrifice either time with my child to take on more hours or I have to sacrifice my job to take care of my child,' " Mills says.

Own your credibility when presenting to senior leadership, writes Joel Garfinkle, who recommends not rushing your speech so your confidence and expertise can shine through. "They want you to communicate your ideas clearly so they can benefit from them," he says in this blog post and video.

“Aunty, why I gotta learn dis? I ain’t never gonna use it. This a waste of my time,” Kevin grumbled as he wrestled through his English assignment. I’d had this same conversation with him at least a dozen times. I cut him off before he could pick up the refrain again.

“Because you need to pass English to graduate from college. And you need college because you need a degree,” I said, holding up my hand. I knew he was going to protest and say he didn’t need a degree to get a job. “And you need a degree because most employers are still demanding them. That’s why. To get your resume even looked at, you need a degree. I know because I hire people and I can’t even consider someone who does not have a college degree. So let’s finish this up.”

That’s my standard lecture to the student athletes I work with. I push a college degree because I know that without one, they can’t even get their foot in the door of some companies.

But inside I know these kids are right -- that lacking a degree does not mean a person isn’t qualified for a job. They know. They’ve seen their parents, aunts, uncles and others locked out of jobs they could have performed but were denied from doing for lack of a degree.

Today’s Training Mag story talks about this issue and how it affects diversity in our workforces. “When a college degree is considered the key measure of skills, these otherwise qualified workers are shut out,” writes Ken Crowell.

It’s a pickle. I understand the arguments for and against college degrees. I got mine and pressed my children to get theirs because the job market demands it. Maybe one day that will change. But until then, I will hound the Kevins of the world to finish their English assignments and get their degrees.

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