Why mandated RTO could lead to massive executive departures

A third of executives say they would leave their organization if it requires employees to return to the office, compounding HR’s challenge of retaining a strong leadership team, according to a recent Gartner report.

The flight risk is concerning because, according to a 2023 Gartner survey of 520 HR leaders across a number of industries and regions, 80% of CHROs do not think they have a deep list of possible replacements for senior roles. READ MORE

US states with the best economies in 2024 – and the worst

The United States has the largest economy in the world, and each of its states and territories play a part in keeping its massive engine running. The states with the largest populations also contribute the most to gross domestic product, but a new study from WalletHub looked under the hood to gauge additional indicators of performance and strength.

The analysis released Monday compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on their economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential using 28 metrics, including change in GDP, unemployment rate and fiscal health, to determine which ones are pulling the most weight when it comes to moving the U.S. economy forward.

Here are the states with the best economies in the nation right now, according to WalletHub: READ MORE

3 red flags that you’re doing performance management wrong

Most senior leaders are where they are because they understand that enabling their staff to perform at their best matters much more than anything they can accomplish alone.

While all managers engage in performance management, McKinsey’s recent report on CEO excellence found that tenured CEOs are particularly likely to find creating effective ecosystems a key personal strength. However, even the most experienced leaders find it incredibly difficult to manage performance effectively.  READ MORE

Musk Accused of $7.5 Billion of Insider Trades in Investor Suit

Elon Musk had inside knowledge of a miss on production and delivery numbers that Tesla Inc. was facing when he sold more than $7.5 billion in stock in 2022, a shareholder in the electric vehicle maker claimed in a lawsuit.

Tesla’s chief executive officer had nonpublic information that Tesla would miss the fourth-quarter targets that year when he sold the shares, Tesla investor Michael Perry alleged in the suit, filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court. READ MORE

The college job market offers a warning sign to the US labor market

It’s almost laughable at this point when Bryn Savidge gets a job rejection email.

“It’s like they’re all using the same AI algorithm to say, ‘Write this person a rejection letter.’” said Savidge, who graduated from Kenyon College, a small liberal arts college 50 miles from Columbus, Ohio, with a major in environmental science. A classic refrain is “We can tell you really want to change the world, but we’ve gone for more qualified candidates,” she said. “They always add an environmental quip.” READ MORE

Most job seekers lie or cheat during the hiring process

From little white lies to outright whoppers or sneaking answers for assessments, most recent job seekers admit they have used dishonest tactics before in order to land a gig. And some say they use such methods every time.

That's according to a new study from ResumeTemplates.com, which found seven out of ten people who applied for jobs within the past two years acknowledged either lying or cheating in some way during a hiring process. READ MORE

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says attitude 'makes a big difference' at work

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said a good attitude and willingness to learn are important attributes for professionals looking to succeed in their careers.

"I think an embarrassing amount of how well you do, particularly in your 20s, has to do with attitude," Jassy told LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky in a video interview published last week. "Do you work hard? Are you more can do than naysaying? Do you do what you said you were gonna do? Can you work on a team?" READ MORE

This is how we finally end the 40-hour, 5-day workweek

For many people, the biggest problem with work isn’t anything about the job itself; it’s how the timing constantly conflicts with everything else in life. We take for granted the “standard” five-day, 40-hour workweek, but the truth is, this structure was created less than 100 years ago to suit a much different reality.

In recent years, there has been a louder drum beat of support around reimagining the workweek to be four days instead of five. And as the four-day workweek has gained attention, some companies have found it to be a powerful recruitment and retention tool. READ MORE

Worried about losing your job to AI? Expert points to the actual threat

The widespread use of artificial intelligence tools has many workers concerned that the rapidly-evolving technology will eventually result in them losing their job, and one expert says that is a real concern — but not in the way some might expect.

The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report recently released by Microsoft and LinkedIn found that 45% of knowledge workers worldwide say they are worried that AI will replace them, but Laurence Liew, director for AI Innovation at AI Singapore, says there is a more immediate threat. READ MORE

What we lose when we cut D and E from DEI

I am not a woke capitalist. I don’t believe that being good for good’s sake has an awful lot of value when speaking with investors, and that’s also true when talking about the lack of diversity in venture capital. 

However, I coauthored a book on diversity, equity, and inclusion in tech and VC. I care deeply about it and believe that despite all the pledges after #metoo and Black Lives Matter, the ecosystem has not done nearly enough. The numbers are flat or even down. That’s shameful and, bluntly, stupid.  READ MORE

Why we need fewer performance reviews—and more check-ins

Performance management, if you’re not familiar with the term, is the slightly Orwellian name given to the process involving goal-setting, annual or semiannual reviews and feedback, and performance ratings, and in its traditional form, it represents a kind of all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of our worst and most erroneous ideas about human performance. Goals must be set for people, because they are extrinsically motivated and otherwise probably won’t do much work. Performance reviews and ratings are needed because if people aren’t told where they stand and how to improve, they’ll never get any better—certainly not of their own volition. READ MORE

The four-day work week is here to stay at UK companies that tried it

One year after the conclusion of the world’s biggest trial of a four-day work week, a large majority of companies that took part were still allowing their employees to work a shorter week and more than half had made the change permanent.

For six months between June and December 2022, workers at 61 organizations in the United Kingdom worked 80% of their usual hours — for the same pay — in exchange for promising to deliver 100% of their usual work. READ MORE

Meet AdVon, the AI-Powered Content Monster Infecting the Media Industry

A few years back, a writer in a developing country started doing contract work for a company called AdVon Commerce, getting a few pennies per word to write online product reviews.

But the writer — who like other AdVon sources interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity — recalls that the gig's responsibilities soon shifted. Instead of writing, they were now tasked with polishing drafts generated using an AI system the company was developing, internally dubbed MEL. READ MORE

DEI is getting a new name. Can it dump the political baggage?

Last year, Eli Lilly’s annual shareholders letter referenced the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion 48 times. This year, “DEI” is nowhere to be found.

In March, Starbucks got shareholder approval to replace “representation” goals with “talent” performance for executive bonus incentives. At Molson Coors, “People & Planet” metrics have displaced environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, and the acronym DEI has disappeared altogether. READ MORE

Economics Was A Cause Of The Great Depression

Economics is a proud discipline. It has long seen itself as the premier social science and with the major natural sciences part of the core of the intellectual apparatus of modern society. It understands its methods as sound, serious, and extensive and its contribution to progress notable.

Economics has been particularly proud of its record in explaining the central negative event of economic history since the industrial revolution, the Great Depression of the 1930s. Its inquiries into monetary policy, the gold standard, and “regime uncertainty” (its own term) have explained the event with dedication. READ MORE