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167 votes
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Just passed my PhD defense :)
Yo everyone, I'm fresh from the first good night's sleep I've gotten in awhile. I'm ecstatic to finally be finished (I took a longer road than most) and just felt like chatting with you fine...
Yo everyone, I'm fresh from the first good night's sleep I've gotten in awhile. I'm ecstatic to finally be finished (I took a longer road than most) and just felt like chatting with you fine folks.
Getting that dissertation done was a real challenge and while I'm happy I finished before George R. R. Martin finished the next ASOIAF book, I have a lot more sympathy now for him or anyone who has to write something lengthy.
Anyone else in a graduate program or recently finished? To those who have gone through the process, what'd you do immediately afterwards? I'm in the middle of a job interview process so I can't quite take a vacation, but I am planning to stick at least a full week somewhere where I travel and do nothing.
Tonight, I'm going to relax and watch The Magic Flute opera with friends which I've not done before.
142 votes -
The war on remote work has nothing to do with productivity - the goal is avoiding a commercial real estate crash
132 votes -
Is understaffing a new norm?
I'm asking this as a genuine question, not as a hot take. Where I'm coming from: My husband and I went to dinner the other night -- apologies from the waitress on being shortstaffed. A sign on a...
I'm asking this as a genuine question, not as a hot take.
Where I'm coming from:
My husband and I went to dinner the other night -- apologies from the waitress on being shortstaffed. A sign on a local store asks for patience with the lack of staff. The people staffing order pickup at a nearby department store aren't enough to keep up with orders. At my most recent doctor's appointment I spent almost 45 minutes in the exam room waiting to be seen (for an appointment I had to make over a year ago). A few hours after the appointment I went to pick up a prescription, and it hadn't even begun to be processed yet. There was only one cashier working, and she was having to jump between the in-person line and the drive-thru lane. At my job we don't have enough substitute teachers, so we're dependent on regular teachers covering classes during their "prep" periods.
This is merely a recent snapshot from my own life that I'm using as a sort of representative sample, but it feels like something that's been building for a while -- like something that was going to be temporary due to COVID but has stuck around and is now just what we're supposed to get used to. I remember that I used to keep thinking that understaffing would eventually go away over time, but it seems like it's just standard practice now?
Is this something specific to my experiences or my local area (I'm in the US, for context)? Are other people seeing the same thing?
Assuming it isn't just me, is there anything out there besides anecdotes that addresses this phenomenon? I don't want to lean solely on gut reactions, but I also can't deny that nearly every business I go to seems visibly short-staffed all of the time.
124 votes -
Want employees to return to the office? Then give each one an office.
116 votes -
Fujitsu bugs that sent innocent people to prison were known “from the start” but concealed from lawyers and judges
104 votes -
SAG-AFTRA officially calls strike as National Board approves guild’s first walkout against film & TV industry since 1980
99 votes -
Evernote, the memory app people forgot about, lays off entire US staff
93 votes -
US President Joe Biden urges striking auto workers to “stick with it” in picket line visit unparalleled in history
90 votes -
Teamsters in the USA win historic UPS contract, with zero concessions
87 votes -
Remote work to wipe out $800 billion from office values, McKinsey says
84 votes -
Return to office policies do not improve company value, but do make employees miserable: Study
83 votes -
Not all porn is created equal - is there such a thing as a healthy pornography?
83 votes -
US Federal Trade Commission bans new noncompete agreements
77 votes -
The red US state brain drain isn’t coming. It’s happening right now.
77 votes -
Bosses are fed up with remote work for four main reasons. Some of them are undeniable.
76 votes -
Elon Musk and Twitter sued over unpaid severance packages
75 votes -
We hired a man and a "girl"
A rant honestly, but I thought this might belong in tech since it's a bit more of a tech society thing for me. I'm sure other industries have this issue too, but tech definitely does. If others...
A rant honestly, but I thought this might belong in tech since it's a bit more of a tech society thing for me. I'm sure other industries have this issue too, but tech definitely does. If others disagree, please feel free to move it.
So yesterday, we had two new hires show up and we were informed this in our weekly leads meeting, so this is a pretty private setting. When our manager gave a quick blur of one, it was "we expect a lot from him, he's a bit more knowledgeable, did well on our tech test", that kinda thing. And then, when discussing the woman, he kept referring to her as a "girl", so I pointed out that maybe we should use "woman" instead.
I got made fun of - "maybe we can use lady or female or ..." honestly started tuning it out, can't remember the rest. Also accused of nitpicking.
I've been in the industry for a while now and though in general things are good, every now and then something small like this happens and it makes you check the date (yes it's still 2018, I didn't go back 20 years).
To be fair, I know my manager was being funny, but it's easy to joke at someone else's expense.
Wondering, other's experiences on both sides. Have you noticed changes in your workplace, for better hopefully? Maybe other ways you were discriminated against or singled out?
73 votes -
Bosses dislike work-from-home but suspect they’re stuck with it
72 votes -
‘Don’t mess with us’: WebMD parent company demands return to office in bizarre video
68 votes -
On "bullshit" jobs - New data supports the idea that some jobs are "so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence"
66 votes -
I hired five people to sit behind me and make me productive for a month
66 votes -
How Microsoft's ruthless employee evaluation system annihilated team collaboration
66 votes -
Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
65 votes -
US stores increasingly reverse course on self checkout
62 votes -
About 13,000 workers go on strike seeking better wages and benefits from Detroit’s three automakers
62 votes -
US senator and pilot Tammy Duckworth: anyone who votes to reduce the 1,500 hour rule for pilot training will have blood on their hands
62 votes -
Google has officially changed its mind about remote work
62 votes -
Pizza Hut is lying: They’re not firing their drivers because of a minimum wage hike
61 votes -
Treasury Department releases first-of-its-kind report on benefits of unions to the US economy
61 votes -
Folks in those $100k+ jobs, corporate types, office workers... What would you say you actually do?
I work as a prek teacher. I go to work, clock in, and spend 8 hours actively engaged with kids teaching reading, writing, math, social skills, science, games, and more. I don't have "down time" at...
I work as a prek teacher. I go to work, clock in, and spend 8 hours actively engaged with kids teaching reading, writing, math, social skills, science, games, and more. I don't have "down time" at work; I'm always on, because I have to be. There are demands of me every moment I'm there.
But what about you corporate folks? I can't seem to figure what you actually... Do?
My dad worked such a job (VP in pharma) and I could never get a real answer from him. He would always just say "I'm busy", he traveled a lot, and as far as I could tell his "work" was just meetings.
Other business folks I interact with, it's the same. They're always playing on their phone, or (my favorite) constantly talking on the phone when picking up or dropping off their kids at school, and ignoring them. A buddy of mine is a senior exec and was able to complete baldur's gate 3 during work hours because he's just sitting around in meetings all day.
How is that work? How does that justify earning 4x+ what I make?
I'm genuinely curious because I've never gotten a straight answer and my impression is that in these jobs you don't actually do anything, but that can't be right.
Sorry if this is a dumb question.
60 votes -
Amazon is warning employees they risk undermining their own promotion prospects unless they return to the office (RTO) for three days a week, as was mandated by CEO Andy Jassy months ago
60 votes -
What's the most enjoyable part of your work?
Whether you work indoors or out on the field, with your hands or with your mind. Whether you create things, fix them, sell them. Or whether you work with people or look after them. What gets you...
Whether you work indoors or out on the field, with your hands or with your mind.
Whether you create things, fix them, sell them. Or whether you work with people or look after them. What gets you up in the morning, keeps you going through the day (or night) and makes it enjoyable? (or bearable!)60 votes -
Spotify is the world's biggest music streamer but rarely turns a profit and just cut 17% of its workforce – its business model looks increasingly precarious
59 votes -
How are you actually supposed to network / LinkedIn?
I've been having a particularly rough time finding a new job in the field I graduated in. I'm doing pretty much everything most job sites have told me but networking is kinda hard. I don't...
I've been having a particularly rough time finding a new job in the field I graduated in. I'm doing pretty much everything most job sites have told me but networking is kinda hard.
I don't currently work in my field so I don't know anyone that would be particularly useful. Everyone I know is already aware of my situation and some of them have even found leads for me but no luck yet.
I have gone to events related to organizations I'm interested in and spoken to people there but it feels super weird to just approach people and tell them I'm looking for a job.
Similarly Linkedin is super foreign to me. This post is literally the most I've ever interacted with a social media site. What do I do once I open that app? Am I supposed to just stalk people on there that might hire me someday? I tried joining a "group" but it's been pending for a week now.
59 votes -
How do you stay motivated in work?
Hello, I’ve been working in technology for nearly 10 years and I just can’t be arsed anymore. The companies I’ve worked for have generally been B2B, providing technology solutions for other...
Hello, I’ve been working in technology for nearly 10 years and I just can’t be arsed anymore.
The companies I’ve worked for have generally been B2B, providing technology solutions for other technology platforms, but there’s no “product” or “thing” at the end, just some more shitty software.
I try to provide the best service I can, but I end up burning out each week. Just utterly fed up and lacking any motivation to make improvements as I have too much other stuff to “deliver”.
My question is more around what drives any of you ?
Do you get up in the morning wanting to make a difference ?
Do you work in an area that directly does good in the world ?
How do you stay motivated and fulfilled in your careers?What makes you want to get up each day ?
59 votes -
US Supreme Court grants federal job protections to gay, lesbian, transgender workers
57 votes -
Rooster Teeth is shutting down after twenty-one years
56 votes -
American UPS pilots won’t fly if Teamsters strike
55 votes -
Our company is doing so well that you’re all fired
54 votes -
70% of US workers lie on resumes, new study shows
54 votes -
Report - The increasing return of legal child labor to the US economy
Child labor is making a comeback with a vengeance. A striking number of lawmakers are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that have long prevented (or at least seriously...
Child labor is making a comeback with a vengeance. A striking number of lawmakers are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that have long prevented (or at least seriously inhibited) the possibility of exploiting children.
Take a breath and consider this: the number of kids at work in the U.S. increased by 37% between 2015 and 2022. During the last two years, 14 states have either introduced or enacted legislation rolling back regulations that governed the number of hours children can be employed, lowered the restrictions on dangerous work, and legalized subminimum wages for youths.
Iowa now allows those as young as 14 to work in industrial laundries. At age 16, they can take jobs in roofing, construction, excavation, and demolition and can operate power-driven machinery. Fourteen-year-olds can now even work night shifts and once they hit 15 can join assembly lines. All of this was, of course, prohibited not so long ago.
Legislators offer fatuous justifications for such incursions into long-settled practice. Working, they tell us, will get kids off their computers or video games or away from the TV. Or it will strip the government of the power to dictate what children can and can’t do, leaving parents in control — a claim already transformed into fantasy by efforts to strip away protective legislation and permit 14-year-old kids to work without formal parental permission.
In 2014, the Cato Institute, a right-wing think tank, published “A Case Against Child Labor Prohibitions,” arguing that such laws stifled opportunity for poor — and especially Black — children. The Foundation for Government Accountability, a think tank funded by a range of wealthy conservative donors including the DeVos family, has spearheaded efforts to weaken child-labor laws, and Americans for Prosperity, the billionaire Koch brothers’ foundation, has joined in.
Here is a Robert Frost poem related to the subject of the article. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53087/out-out
I'm GenX and I worked as a teen, but my earliest jobs were babysitting, not industrial labor.
54 votes -
I skipped to the ending
53 votes -
US survey shows abortion bans drive away young talent
52 votes -
Google lays off hundreds of ‘Core’ employees, moves some positions to India and Mexico
52 votes -
Bernie Sanders: It’s time for a four-day work week
52 votes -
Zoom CEO reportedly tells staff: Workers can't build trust or collaborate... on Zoom
52 votes -
National Geographic reportedly lays off its last US staff writers
52 votes -
What's the matter with men? They’re floundering at school and in the workplace. Some conservatives blame a crisis of masculinity, but the problems—and their solutions—are far more complex.
51 votes -
Men took over a job fair intended for women and nonbinary tech workers
51 votes