The US economy gained 497,000 private-sector jobs last month, according to ADP data, marking the largest gain since July 2022. The leisure and hospitality sector showed the biggest increase, followed by construction and trade, transportation and utilities. Full Story: CNBC (7/6),MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (7/6),Bloomberg (7/6)
Recruiting & Retention
Gen Z rank finance as top career choice About a quarter of Generation Z college students and graduates surveyed by the CFA Institute said a career in financial services would be their top professional choice. Finance ranked as the top career choice among this year's survey respondents, up from fifth place in 2021. Full Story: Financial Advisor IQ (7/6)
Stress happens when the demands placed on us exceed our ability to cope, writes Paul B. Thornton, who offers a stress relief formula that involves assessing and reducing what's expected of you and sharpening coping skills by getting support and developing self-care habits. "Creating good daily habits will enable you to handle more demands from the get go," Thornton notes. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (7/6)
Workplace Chatter
How to turn fear of missing out into joy Embracing the joy of missing out rather than feeling the fear of missing out can help people uncover happiness in small things, experts say. Acknowledging sadness when feeling left out can help people move on, says licensed clinical social worker Hilary Jacobs Hendel, and identifying activities that bring joy can add fulfillment to life. Full Story: Woman's World (7/5)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
"The best thing since sliced bread" would mean nothing, if not for the bread slicer. Who is credited with inventing it? Check your answer here.
I got on the scale this morning. Ick. I was up six pounds. Unlike times past when I’d stand there, angry, wondering, “How in the world is this happening?!” I knew where the pounds came from. The thin Oreos the roommate bought me last night. The biscuits with agave syrup we had with breakfast on July 4th. The bag of Trader Joe’s almond-butter filled pretzels I ate while doing errands the other day. The afternoon naps I took instead of going to the gym over the last month. Stress eating. It’s how I’ve been dealing with heavy project loads at home and work. I binge on sugar then curl up into a ball on the couch to watch “Kim’s Convenience” or “The Blacklist.” Paul B. Thornton outlines a formula for managing stress in today’s HR Leader story. According to the formula -- D > CS = SR -- when our demands exceed our coping skills, we will have a stress reaction. The reactions fall into the categories of behavioral, physical and psychological. That sounds about right. I’d say mine fall between behavioral and psychological. I go right to food and shutting down. Thornton talks about taking command of these reactions. I plan to employ both. I’m going to drop one of my home projects for the month (reducing demand) and changing up my gym workouts (improve coping skills). Stay tuned for an update. What about you? How do you manage stress? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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