Here is the version posted for this week Forbes The Jobs Newsletter, which brings you the latest news, reviews and insights about the workplace, leadership, job search and the future of work straight to your inbox every Wednesday. Click here for the newsletter list!
Scoop CEO and co-founder Rob Sadow (left) and his brother, Chief Product & Technology Officer John Sadow (right), are launching a searchable database of nearly 4,000 companies with work-from-home policies.
Image courtesy Scoop.
tSeeking to find out a company’s remote working policy isn’t always easy. They don’t put it on their website. They use vague language, and just say they “support flexible working”. They call it a “hybrid” when they really mean that WFH is allowed on Fridays every once in a while.
A new tool launched this week – which Forbes EXCLUSIVELY COVERED – Attempts to make flexible working policies for employers searchable to help job seekers, as well as HR managers, academics, and anyone else looking to compare practices or track mixed working trends. Called the Flex Index, the database, launched by hybrid labor management startup Scoop, attempts to categorize types of remote work settings culled from employee surveys, job websites and job postings. Currently, it has classified the policies of about 4,000 employers.
You shouldn’t treat it as gospel yet. For example, relatively few companies have verified the data so far, says Scoop co-founder and CEO Rob Sadow. What companies say their policy may not actually be is how employees – or their managers – act especially as people become more stressed about their jobs. It should be noted that its creation may have some benefits for Scoop, whether in brand awareness or attracting new customers.
But a quick look shows that it could give job seekers at least some good starting information for their search, and it could be useful to job seekers or HR managers looking to measure or track remote working trends. Experts like Stanford’s Nick Blum (who also owns shares in Scoop as a consultant) say there’s nothing else quite like it yet.
As a reporter, I like the idea of standardizing language around these policies—sometimes, companies I talk to say they’ve allowed “employees to choose” when they come into the office, along with their teams—but then say they expect people to be in the office two days in the week. There is a difference. For more insights into the challenges of remote work—from how it can complicate layoffs to whether or not it could end—check out ForbesCareers section here.
Featured story
AI First Last: How Google Fell Behind in the AI BoomChatter about generative AI reached a head this week as Google announced its chatbot Bard and Microsoft announced a new version of Bing with more advanced AI chat features than ChatGPT. My colleagues Richard Neiva, Alex Conrad, and Kenrick Kay take an in-depth look at what happened to Google in the AI race. A history of AI and big innovations, including scandals related to AI ethics research, a backlash after the release of a humanoid-seeming AI called Duplex, and an ongoing drain on AI brains [Google] Reeling in to play catch-up,” they wrote in this must-read story about how the power of tech talent waned long ago.
on our agenda
About this bonkers job report: On Friday, the Labor Department reported that total employment rose by 517,000 jobs in January – far more than economists had expected and sent the unemployment rate down to a lower-than-expected 3.4%, a level last seen when the US hired a man for the first time. on the moon. The report prompted US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to downplay recession fears.
But layoffs continue to grow: Confused how there can be so many layoff headlines – including the 81,000 people laid off in the US in January – despite such a positive jobs report? Check out this explanation. And if you want to subject yourself to the latest doom and gloom, the 2023 Layoffs Tracker is here.
Prejudice and racism at work: New data from tech job search platform Ota reveals that women of color make a minimum salary requirement that is significantly lower than white men, white women and men of color, writes Kim Elsesser, a senior contributor to Forbes. Research suggests that women can experience a backlash when they negotiate too aggressively, and that stereotypes about people of color can exacerbate a backlash, Elsesser writes. Meanwhile, contributor Josie Cox writes that more than half of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups report experiencing racism in the workplace, according to a nonprofit survey of more than 2,700 women.
Middle managers in the hot seat: Middle managers are the next target in corporate layoffs, he writes Forbes Senior contributor Jack Kelly. On an earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited the proliferation of managers within his organization, claiming it drives up unnecessary costs, Kelly wrote.
Work smart
Here’s what to say at your next job interview about a layoff.
laid off – laid off temporarily? Remember, it may lead to a more fulfilling career.
Starting work after a long absence? Here’s what you need to know.
Yes, Mondays are that bad. Contributor Tracy Brower has ideas to make it even better.
Some leadership experts say crying at work is no longer taboo.
reading list
I’ve always believed that career books can be better when they share lessons from personal stories, rather than offering five-step guides that may or may not help your individual career. Here’s one that looks promising, from Microsoft Associate General Counsel Bruce Jackson –Not Far From Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip-Hop, Microsoft, and the Law—a memoir of his rise from the Amsterdam housing projects of New York to Georgetown law, the music industry, and the executive wing of Microsoft.
With anti-Semitism on the rise across the country, bloomberg He explores how to infiltrate the workplace, too. They cite a 2022 study published in the academic journal a partner that surveyed 11,356 workers of all faiths, and found that more than half of Jewish respondents had experienced discrimination at work—a higher percentage than any other non-Muslim religious group.
It’s not really a career story. but New York The magazine cover about what it’s like to be in the community after the weirdness and isolation of Covid has some fun – and hilarious –erhm “Advice” for work, from “If you’re lounging together in a meeting, don’t giggle,” to “If you’re in the office, wear shoes.” always.
