6 signs that it's time to quit what you're doing It's tempting to have a "never quit" attitude, but quitting may be the best option if a job or boss is draining your energy and your time and making you feel bored or like you're going through the motions, writes Jim VandeHei, a co-founder and CEO of Axios. "Here's the formula: Does a situation stir more negative energy than positive energy on a regular basis?" VandeHei writes. Full Story: Axios (11/2)
Does your company achieve "purpose congruence"? Support both company and employee purpose by telling employees about the company's commitment to personal purpose during onboarding, encouraging employees to share their purpose with co-workers and working with them to refine their duties to reflect the company's mission, write business professors Isaac H. Smith and Maryam Kouchaki. "Try to find ways of reminding employees of their and your company's purpose and give them the space and time to reflect," write Smith and Kouchaki, who refer to the corporate and individual alignment as "purpose congruence." Full Story: Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model) (11/2)
Creativity is a muscle not everyone exercises at work, but by incorporating more playfulness into work, employees can problem solve and brainstorm with more imagination. While play can bring people together, Michelle Lee, partner at IDEO Play Lab, reminds that there needs to be a certain degree of psychological safety within company culture for this method to be successful. Full Story: WorkLife (11/3)
Making the Connection
This is your brain on Zoom We all know Zoom calls don't offer the same level of interpersonal connection as in-person interactions. Researchers have identified one big reason why: The disconnect caused by people either looking at the camera or the screen. If you look at the camera, then you aren't looking at the other person. But if you look at the other person, the view they see is one where you aren't looking them in the eyes. Some virtual meeting solutions have worked on fixing this issue, but such offerings haven't quite solved the eye-contact conundrum. Full Story: ScienceAlert (Australia) (11/3)
The Landscape
US job growth falls to 150K in Oct. as wage growth slows The US unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in October from 3.8% in September, while job growth also slowed to 150,000 from 297,000 in the same period, below economists' expectations. Meanwhile, labor costs saw a modest uptick, with average hourly wages climbing by 0.2% and annual wage growth decelerating to a two-and-a-half-year low of 4.1%, which aligns with predictions for a softer labor market. Full Story: Bloomberg (11/3),Financial Times (11/3),MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (11/3),The Wall Street Journal (11/3)
Employers concerned employees aren't quitting The national quits rate remained at 2.3% for the third consecutive month in September, per the Labor Department, while a survey by Adecco reveals 73% of employees intend to stay in their job, an increase from 61% in 2022. Employers talk about the sudden drop in voluntary turnover and its effect on promotional opportunities and budget planning. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (11/6)
Journaling can be a powerful tool in making important decisions, executive coach Elisabeth Hayes writes. By providing a space for self-reflection and more awareness, journaling brings clarity to thoughts and helps pinpoint patterns, Hayes notes. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (11/3)
Ancient Egyptians may have created the Sphinx from an existing rock formation that looked sphinx-like, researchers suggest in a study in the journal Physical Review Fluids. Scientists modeled how a natural ridge of rock molded by wind erosion, known as a yardang, could take on a sphinx shape, which Egyptians then could carve to create the intricate details of the Sphinx. Full Story: Live Science (11/5)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
By the time George W. Bush was declared the winner of the 2000 US presidential election, everyone knew the word "chad." Where did the male name Chad rank on the list of popular baby names in 2000?
