First-year analysts are making noise about their ‘inhumane’ working conditions. It’s tempting not to care, but it’s their world and we’re living in it
A few weeks ago, a group of first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs dropped a “Working Conditions Survey” outlining their hundred-hour weeks, “consistent 9 am-5am’s,” five hours of sleep, and self-reported 2/10 firm and work satisfaction rating. Public response fell along predictable lines. Some said these expectations were clear and the money is great, which is true. Others took issue with normalizing banker burnout and said they still shouldn’t be working that much anyway, which is arguably true. Anonymous investment bankers said the same thing.
So should we worried about the young Goldman Sachs’ bankers? Maybe the answer lies in not…
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MODERN OFFICE
Don’t seek to be liked, seek to be respected
One of the biggest lessons I learned during the pandemic was that “no” is the new “yes.” I penned (well, keyed) a piece about it here on Medium that was really successful. Turns out that thousands of people are just like me and struggle with the tiny word. Some reminded me of a maxim they live by: “No is a complete sentence.” I love that. Others responded that they, too, are people-pleasers of an equally problematic magnitude. And many readers asked an important follow-up question: how do I do that at work?
Saying “no” at work is a much trickier…
More than a year after the line between work and home blurred, instead of expecting our colleagues to be “professional,” maybe we can allow them to be “human”
A few weeks ago in one of the many professionally-oriented Facebook groups I’ve joined or been added to over the years, a senior manager at a nonprofit organization posted a question that I’ll paraphrase here to avoid running afoul of the group’s privacy policy:
How do I tell my team to be professional on our calls and keep their pets off Zoom?
Within half an hour, the post had received more than two hundred comments, most of which can be summed up as: “You don’t.”
As anyone who has ever had a pet knows, the moment you vanquish them from…
I was in my mid-30s when I started my company — my curiosity and determination far outstripped my expertise
‘I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.’
That mantra was introduced into popular culture by a 1980s “Saturday Night Live” character named Stuart Smalley, who mindfully recited his daily affirmation into an ornate, full-length mirror. While my twenty-something self (at the time) enjoyed the sheer comic value of Stuart’s shtick, it wasn’t until later on in my life that I would realize the indelible impact that Stuart’s words had on me. …
The fact that you’re considering joining one is a sign that change is needed
If you’re reading this, the door is already open. Maybe you’ve been at a big tech company a few years and it’s not as exciting as it used to be. Maybe a founder reached out to you about an open role and you can’t get the idea out of your head.
Either way, you’re considering joining a startup. You know that a young company would offer you new opportunities that you can’t get at your current job. You’re inspired by people like Eric and Rita:
“I left Uber to join Vareto, a seed-stage startup. It was a difficult decision because…
The professional networking platform showcases everything gone wrong with the attention economy
A little over a year ago, as the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic began to sink in, people began losing their jobs. The losses were swift and historic, with a quarter of adults in the U.S. reporting they or someone in their household had been laid off by October 2020.
And while the hardest hit were those in the service industry — cooks, waiters, bartenders, cleaners, and hotel staff, to name a few — large numbers of “knowledge workers” also found themselves unemployed. College seniors, many of whom had hoped to begin careers in entry-level roles in fields like marketing…
Along with a few other tips to make video less painful
I clicked on the Zoom invitation and was taken to a black screen. Moments later, I heard a voice: “Michael, what’s up?”
For the next 30 minutes, my friend, Austin Belcak, and I talked in darkness about life and career advice. Prior to wrapping up the call, I asked him about not including the video option. “It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. My main priority is to keep my sanity, and video calls steal my energy.” he said.
Austin then went on to explain that instead of giving people an option, on his invitation, he normally just sends…
My take on the Hulu doc — from a filmmaker at a WeWork on-demand “hot desk”
Nuance is dead. Not only has it vanished from our politics, but apparently it has disappeared from film, as well. Director Jed Rothstein (The China Hustle) is brilliant, which is why I was so puzzled by his latest, Hulu’s WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. If you have ever actually worked at a WeWork, you may be just as confused as I am this morning. Hello from a WeWork “hot desk,” by the way. I am writing from inside an immaculate office space on 25th Street. There’s coffee, lemon water, and a quiet clicking cadre…
What happens to your business when you get taken out of commission?
I never really understood the depth of the old adage “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters” until the pandemic turned my personal and professional life upside down.
Take a second to ask yourself this question: What happens to your team, your company, and your livelihood when a personal crisis takes you out of commission? The more of a leader you are, the deeper your absence will be felt. …
I learned more from bored, antsy, innovative teenagers during the pandemic than I have in my entire entrepreneurial career
I run digital companies in the edtech, information product, consulting, and e-learning spaces, and I have for years. When Covid became an official pandemic — and things like virtual schooling and remote work became ubiquitous across the country — my initial plan was to maintain the status quo.
Last March, I donned a “this too shall pass” attitude, as I’m guessing many of us did. …
