SUCCESS
How Companies Can Avoid Plummeting Productivity And Employee Engagement Amid Layoff
After enduring widespread layoff announcements from mid-2022 through 2023, and now facing additional potential job losses, it’s reasonable for workers to feel overwhelmed and unsafe. With the threat of future job cuts, it’s hard for employees to focus on their jobs. There will be constant worry and anxiety that they may be next to receive the pink slip.
Major tech CEOs, including Google's Sundar Pichai and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, urged their respective staff to fill productivity gaps at the onset of the layoffs in 2022, in an effort to drive efficiency. In a December memo, Wayfair’s chief executive told employees, "Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success." The company’s cofounder and co-chair Steve Conine echoed similar sentiments, stating, "If bankruptcy is inevitable then shame on all of us for not working harder," according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.
Engagement drops when there is an erosion of trust, increased stress and anger in the workplace and a perceived disconnect between workers and their employers, leading to a decline in employee well-being. It is further compounded when workers face job insecurity, work-life imbalance, stagnant wages and a lack of career advancement opportunities, workplace culture, job satisfaction and health and safety, as well undergo abrupt organizational changes.
The decline in employee engagement can have detrimental effects on organizations, including decreased productivity, negative workplace culture and increased turnover.
Dr. Kenneth Matos, global director of people science at Culture Amp, advises on how organizations can manage amid layoffs, especially when they are staggered and employees are fearful they may be next.
Top Stories For January 26, 2024 In Wall Street, The Economy, Pop Culture, Sports, Politics, Tech And The Job Market
Wall Street
“Extreme Greed” is back on Wall Street, according to CNN Business. There is a resurgence of extreme greed in the stock market, driven by a narrow rally, particularly in the Big Tech sector. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track for their sixth-straight winning sessions, with the CNN Fear and Greed Index reaching "Extreme Greed" this week, a significant shift from a few months ago when it was in "Extreme Fear" territory.
The market's mood has been influenced by the idea of a soft landing, as evidenced by the strong economic growth, easing inflation rates, Fed rate cuts, and the booming artificial intelligence revolution are main factors in investor optimism.
However, there are still reasons for cautiousness. While the markets are hot, the broader market may not be performing as well, with a narrow rally driven largely by Big Tech, which carries inherent risk.
Economy
Many parents are still financially subsidizing their now-adult children into their late 20s and 30s.
According to the Pew Research Center, about a third of young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are still living with a parent.
A full 59% of parents said they financially helped an adult child in the past year, while 44% of adult children said they had received financial help from a parent in the same period.
Of those 44% of young adults, the majority (68%) were 18-to-24-years old. But 30% of adults between 30 and 34 also said they got a financial assist from a parent.
The money for all age groups combined was most commonly used to help pay for household expenses (28%), and cellphone bills and streaming service subscriptions (25%). Less common was help with rent (17%), medical expenses (15%) and education (11%).
Pop Culture
A former WWE staffer has accused the company’s founder, Vince McMahon, of sexual assault, trafficking and physical abuse in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The new, disturbing allegations from Janel Grant, who worked at WWE’s headquarters, come more than a year after the conclusion of a WWE-appointed special committee investigation into McMahon’s alleged misconduct while serving as chairman and CEO of the company. McMahon retired from his role amid the investigation in July 2022 but has since returned as chair of WWE’s parent company.
In the lawsuit filed in Connecticut district court, Grant alleged that McMahon promised a job – and later promotions – at WWE in exchange for sex. Grant’s lawsuit also includes allegations that McMahon trafficked her to other men inside and outside of the company, including John Laurinaitis, a former wrestler who worked in the company’s talent relations department who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
At the end of her employment and their sexual relationship, McMahon allegedly pressured Grant into signing a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for payments over several years totaling $3 million, according to the lawsuit.
Blind Ambition Podcast With Jack Kelly
Neil Dhar, Co-Head of Consulting at PwC: How to Assemble Your Personal Board of Directors
We explore the secrets and advantages of longevity in the professional services industry, focusing on the advisory and consulting profession. Neil has spent more than 30 years at PwC and has held various leadership roles across the firm's different service lines—everything from M&A deals, risk assurance, advisory and consulting. We learn why he's stayed and how the "Big Four" firm keeps things fresh for its more than 364,000 professionals worldwide. Neil shares his framework for career growth, including how to stay intellectually curious, the value of keeping an open mind and the role of mentorship. Notably, we look into how anyone can build a network of mentors, sponsors and advocates and take a behind-the-scenes look into Neil's own network and the feedback they gave him.
Sports
When the NFL holds the Super Bowl in Las Vegas for the first time next month, fans, media members, sponsors and league personnel will descend on the gambling capital of the United States. But players on the two participating teams will be barred from betting in any form that week, including on casino games or on any sport.
That prohibition, part of a modified gambling policy for players distributed Sept. 29 by the league to teams, players and the NFL Players Association, is a component of the league’s evolving relationship with gambling, which will be under intense scrutiny during the week leading up to the Feb. 11 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.
NFL players who are in Las Vegas but are not members of the participating teams are permitted to engage in legal gambling but are prohibited from betting on the NFL and from entering a sportsbook until after the Super Bowl.
Politics
The UN’s top court ordered Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but did not call for ceasefire.
In a hearing in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and ensure access to humanitarian aid.
Tech
The estate of comedy legend George Carlin has filed a lawsuit against the makers of an hour-long video featuring a version of him made using artificial intelligence, accusing them of stealing “a great American artist’s work.”
A voice sounding remarkably like the comedian, who died of heart failure in 2008, appears on a “comedy special” titled “George Carlin: I’m glad I’m dead,” which was uploaded to YouTube earlier this month by the Dudesy channel.
Carlin’s estate filed a lawsuit in California Federal Court, alleging copyright infringement and a violation of the late comedian’s right to publicity.
There is no visual representation of Carlin — the video instead shows a series of AI-generated images — but the voice touches on familiar themes such as religion and politics, while also discussing the comedian’s own death.
This legal action illustrates how AI in creative works is one of the biggest issues in entertainment and comes after a monthslong writers’ strike in Hollywood last year, partly over studios’ use of AI in generating scripts.
Job Market
Salesforce is laying off about 700 employees, or roughly 1% of its global workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, in the latest round of job cuts to hit the tech industry.
However, the report added that Salesforce still has 1,000 jobs open across the company, implying that the move could be more of a routine adjusting of the company's workforce, the report said, citing a source.
Bank of America will give restricted stock bonuses worth a collective $800 million to roughly 97% of its staff, CEO Brian Moynihan said Thursday in a memo seen by Bloomberg and Reuters. Employees who earn less than $500,000 in total annual pay are eligible for the award, Moynihan said.
Wells Fargo, meanwhile, will give $1,000 special cash awards to U.S. employees who were paid less than $75,000 in salary last year, American Banker reported Friday. Eligible employees’ total cash compensation for 2023 must not have exceeded $85,000, according to the publication. Staff must also meet certain job performance and conduct criteria, the outlet noted.
How To Get A Job In Tough Times: All The Advice You Need To Succeed From A Top Executive Recruiter
There’s an old saying, “Tough times make tough people.” In this book, Jack Kelly will help guide you every step of the way in your job search to ensure that you stay strong, resilient and positive, and get that great, new job.
