Here are five articles that had me thinking over the last few weeks:
400 Americans are dying each day. We cannot accept this reality.
Katelyn Jetelina. Your Local Epidemiologist
Key quote: “COVID-19 remains the third leading cause of death in our repertoire of threats. And it’s largely preventable. In the U.S., death rates are not back to pre-pandemic times; excess deaths are still 10% above “expected.” This is changing our average life expectancy. In fact, the U.S. experienced the sharpest two-year decline in life expectancy in nearly 100 years.” Read the rest here.
Six Insights About Well-Being at Work in 2022
Kira M. Newman. Greater Good Magazine
Key quote: “This spring, the American Psychological Association (APA) commissioned a survey of over 2,000 adults in the U.S. who were working full-time, working part-time, or self-employed. They answered questions about how they were feeling at work and which aspects of their work environments were helping or hindering their well-being. Their responses point to a few key areas where organizations might focus to better support their workers—and they highlight how inequalities shape well-being on the job.” Read the rest here.
An economist’s rule for making tough life decisions
Sarah Todd. Quartz
Key quote: “The data from my experiment suggests we would all be better off if we did more quitting,” Levitt said in a press release. “A good rule of thumb in decision making is, whenever you cannot decide what you should do, choose the action that represents a change, rather than continuing the status quo.” Read the rest here.
12 questions to measure your workplace happiness
Tara Parker-Pope. The Washington Post
Key quote: “To assess your own workplace well-being, take this 12-question quiz, a proprietary survey created by Gallup and based on research from 2.7 million workers across 50 industries worldwide. Read each of the following statements and ask yourself if you strongly agree or strongly disagree — or if you fall somewhere in between.” Read the rest here.
The Immortal Awfulness of Open Plan Workplaces
David Brooks. The New York Times
Key quote: “For decades, research has found that open plan offices are bad for companies, bad for workers, bad for health and bad for morale. And yet they just won’t die. Human beings, if they are to thrive, need a bit of privacy — walls and a door. And yet employers, decade after decade, neglect to give workers what they need, refuse to do what’s in their own self-interest.” Read the rest here.
