In carrying out its routine annual revisions, the Labor Department has discovered employers added around 462,000 more new jobs in the year up to March 2022, or 39,000 per month, which indicates an even stronger job market than its previous estimates showed. "It was hard to find words to describe how strong the job growth was over those 12 months, and now it's even stronger," said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (8/24)
Recruiting & Retention
3 ways to create meaningful work and keep employees Some workers may find that they are still unhappy after moving to a new job, but companies can help employees avoid the "Great Regret" by creating a culture where their psychological need for choice, connection and competence are met, writes Susan Fowler. "Without creating the optimal motivation that comes from fulfilling their psychological needs, all the perks in the world still lead to meaningless work," Fowler writes. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (8/24)
Opinion: Employers should include hearing care in benefits About 48 million Americans have some level of hearing impairment, but fewer than 30% of respondents to a Tuned survey said their employers included hearing care in their benefits. Tuned CEO Danny Aronson says that many people are at risk of hearing issues due to working remotely with headphones and other factors, so employers should look at including hearing services in their benefit offerings. Full Story: Employee Benefit News (free registration) (8/18)
Technology
Twitter whistleblower cites platform "deficiencies" Twitter's former head of security, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, filed an 84-page whistleblower complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice in July that outlines numerous "deficiencies" such as lax user privacy protections and content moderation and erroneous reporting of platform spam and bot accounts. A Twitter spokesperson said Zatko had been fired "for ineffective leadership and poor performance" and noted the complaint "is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context." Full Story: The Washington Post (8/23),The New York Times (8/23),CNN (8/23),The Wall Street Journal (8/23)
The HR Leader
Is it depression or burnout? And what should you do? Experts say burnout happens when we feel like we can't control our work or caregiving requirements and is characterized by feelings of cynicism, resentment, irritation and depletion; burnout often subsides after a vacation; and it may be curbed by setting boundaries, exercising and talking with a mental health professional. Depression, on the other hand, is a clinical condition usually accompanied by an inability to enjoy once-pleasant activities and an overwhelming sense of sadness, and the services of a mental health professional are probably required. Full Story: The New York Times (8/23)
About the Editor
Kanoe Namahoe
Creativity is not luck. It’s not for a chosen few. It’s a skill. It’s like a muscle -- the more you work at it, the more it grows. Nate Spees talks about this today in our Leadership & Development story. “But all creativity really is, is a nascent skill that you can choose to invest your time and energy into developing or not,” Speed says. He’s right. We tend to think of creativity as a random force or like a butterfly we want to catch in a jar. But really, developing creativity is just a matter of time and practice and patience. And maybe a few exercises or hacks. Here are some of mine: I keep my Evernote app at the ready. If I get an idea for a story, a project, a new product or a better way of organizing my kitchen, I pull out my phone, open a note and start typing. I don’t worry about spelling – I just spill the ideas onto the note. I type as fast as I can, to capture every thought coming through. When the mental flood subsides, I close the note. I make a point of revisiting the note later so I can review it, decide if it’s a good one then clean it up and eliminate what doesn’t belong. I write daily. This column goes a long way in helping me keep creative muscles sharp and strong. I have to look at a topic from several angles, find a way to connect to it and then figure out how to make it interesting (I hope!). I read. This newsletter, other newsletters (Ann Handley’s and SmartBrief’s While You Were Working written by my pal Sean McMahon are among my faves), plus lots of news throughout the day. Reading builds knowledge and helps keep my writing fresh. It’s easy to fall into a rut with writing -- using the same words and phrases over and over. Reading helps avoid that and keep the creative juices flowing. I write on my sliding glass doors. Whenever I have a big project or story to plan or a problem to solve, I splash my ideas onto the sliding glass doors that lead out to my deck and pond. Friends are used to coming to my house and seeing these doors with words, phrases, and arrows and lines scrawled about. Once, when I was trying to plan some staffing and content assignments, I drew out a soccer formation -- a 4-4-2 for those of you who know soccer -- with Xs for my team members. It sounds crazy, but it worked. It helped me see who I need to put on certain tasks, according to their skills. Creativity helps you come up with ideas, find solutions to problems and work your way through thorny situations. It’s an important skill for any manager. How do you fire up your creative engines? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
Sharing SmartBrief on Workforce with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free.
