Job seekers can develop tactics to stay positive during difficult times, such as learning strategic ways to tackle the job hunt and developing a network for the search, writes career coach Brandy Simula. If the ideal job is elusive, some life-coach experts advise focusing instead on finding one that's "good enough for now," Simula writes.
Results and respect should be equal priorities for leaders, in part because research shows both have a role in an organization's bottom line, says S. Chris Edmonds in this blog post and video. "Gallup’s research finds that disengaged employees cost their company the equivalent of 18% of their annual salary," Edmonds says.
Many gestures we make while speaking can give our words emphasis and impact, especially when we let them show on video calls, writes Nick Morgan. "Most people sit down when they connect to their video conference, and as a result, their hands disappear somewhere underneath the bottom end of the screen, never to be seen again during the meeting," he writes.
Fixed goals for employees are a thing of the past, as the pandemic has shown that fluidity is necessary to move forward and anticipate unforeseen changes, writes Aytekin Tank, founder of JotForm. Leaders should watch for bias in evaluation and provide regular feedback to promote success, Tank writes.
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Expressing appreciation or gratitude to others can boost their spirits and contribute to their well-being, but people hold back on their compliments, unaware of the impact their words have on others, write researchers Erica Boothby, Xuan Zhao and Vanessa Bohns. "Just as people must eat regularly to satisfy their biological needs, the fundamental need to be seen, recognized, and appreciated by others, as it turns out, is a recurring need at work and in life," they write.
Unemployment applications declined 111,000 from the previous week, according to Thursday's Labor Department report. As of Feb. 6, 19 million people were receiving unemployment, up 700,000 from the week before.
One of the sad side-effects of the pandemic is that it has created a mental health crisis. The social isolation exacerbated by COVID-19 has been blamed, in part, for an uptick in suicides. Japan has responded by creating a new Minister of Loneliness, Tetsushi Sakamoto, to address the country's nationwide concerns.
