Striving for 85% productivity at work may be healthier | Managing quality, quantity in employee recruitment | How will AI affect your workplace? Find out during our AI and employment law session at AI Impact Summit.
Some corporate leaders and coaching professionals say that employees can be most effective at work if they aim for about 85% productivity instead of going for 100%, overstressing themselves and then burning out. Business author Greg McKeown says 85% is a sweet spot because trying to achieve 100% all the time is too draining, and exercise physiologist Steve Magness says realizing that a person's entire self-worth does not depend on one action can help a person to relax and be more likely to complete the task successfully. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (9/10)
Time for Active to Shine? See why we believe that market uncertainty may create opportunities for active managers to identify companies that can weather a slowdown. Find out more.
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Recruiting & Retention
Managing quality, quantity in employee recruitment Hiring hourly employees sometimes involves filling a large number of positions and at other times requires finding people with specific skills, according to a guide from HR and legal company Mitratech. The advice includes using multiple channels to reach a large number of candidates and leveraging employee referrals for roles that require higher skill levels. Full Story: Franchise Update (9/8)
House lawmakers introduce health care transparency bill A group of House lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at improving health care price transparency and reducing prescription drug costs. The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act would require health insurers, hospitals, imaging providers, laboratories and ambulatory surgical centers to publish machine-readable list of prices they charge patients, and require pharmacy benefit managers and insurers to disclose negotiated drug discounts and rebates, among other measures. Full Story: Fierce Healthcare (9/8),The Hill (9/8)
Path to Workforce
Opinion: Look to the STARs to fill tech skills roles LaShana Lewis, chair of Opportunity@Work's STARs advisory council and CEO of L.M. Lewis Consulting, advocates for skilled technology workers to overcome the "paper ceiling" and get hired without college degrees. Workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes, or STARs, could succeed at scale if only given the opportunity by employers seeking to close the skills gap. Full Story: Fast Company (tiered subscription model) (9/11)
Accomplish more in your day by breaking big projects into a series of smaller tasks that can give you a sense of accomplishment, avoid multitasking and take interruptions into account when thinking about how long a project will take, writes psychologist Michael Wiederman. "Schedule and protect blocks of time set aside for specific deep work, and alter your surroundings to minimize distractions and interruptions," Wiederman advises. Full Story: Psychology Today (9/10)
SmartBrief Podcast Network
Panasonic's Murphy discusses the importance of regenerative supply chains Andrea Murphy, the director of the Office of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability at Panasonic North America, outlines how a global company like Panasonic aims to boost the role it plays in the circular economy. Panasonic is aware of the amount of emissions generated by the manufacture and use of its products -- and to the company's credit, they've even put an actual number on it. Murphy details what Panasonic is doing to reduce the environmental impact the company creates not just up and down its supply chain, but also once it's products are sold to customers. Full Story: Sustainability SmartPod (9/6)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
Mamma mia! Which member of Swedish music group ABBA was born first?
I had just settled onto the couch, with a bowl of Skinny Pop kettle corn and the remote control, ready to binge-watch Blue Bloods, when I got slapped upside my conscience. I caught a shot of a friend of mine on Instagram. She was at the gym, working out. She looked terrific -- lean and fit in leggings and a crop top. I knew she had worked hard for her new physique. She had spent the last two years changing her eating habits and working out. She carried herself with new confidence and strength. I closed my eyes, dropped my head backward and sighed. Heavily. “Freaking overachievers!” I mumbled as I hoisted my lazy self off the couch and dragged down the hallway to my room. Ten minutes later, I was in my car, headed to the gym. I want the benefits of weight loss and good health, but lately, I’ve been procrastinating about food and exercise. I’ve used Dad’s passing, work projects and the weather (“It’s too hot to be in leggings and working out.”) as excuses for lazy eating and skipping the gym. But seeing that photo of my friend kicked me in the proverbial tail. It wasn’t a motivator. It was more like a “forcing function,” an accountability mechanism that helps ensure our compliance with a goal or task. That picture immediately convicted me and procrastination became a sour taste in my mouth. And that’s when I put the kettle corn down. How do you battle procrastination? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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