Workplace trends

The latest Gen Z career trend? The stay-at-home girlfriend

A growing number of Gen Z women are ditching the workforce to become stay-at-home girlfriends (SAHGs). Many of these young women across the globe have gone viral on social media from videos depicting their daily routines supporting their boyfriends with tasks like cooking and housework, in addition to their rigorous self-care regimens. This new phenomenon reflects a Gen Z move away from the girlboss hustle culture, and toward simpler lives. Apparently, the boyfriends are often the ones proposing these arrangements, per the Wall Street Journal – either because they work a lot or travel often and want extra support at home, or because they simply enjoy taking care of everything. While you may be thinking 1950s housewives, SAHGs don’t associate themselves with those women because despite their slow days that somewhat revolve around men, with no kids in the picture, they feel empowered to focus on their own self-care.

Global banks eliminated more than 60,000 jobs in 2023

2023 was one of the heaviest years for cuts since the global financial crisis. Between little stability, fewer investments, scarce dealmaking, and limited growth, investment banks suffered a second consecutive year of plummeting fees, leading to significantly reduced headcount in order to try and protect profit margins. Twenty of the world’s largest banks alone cut more than 60,000 jobs this past year, according to the Financial Times. Experts note that while previous years of extensive job cuts by banks most directly affected European lenders, at least half of 2023’s reductions came from Wall Street lenders, whose investment banking businesses have struggled to navigate the speed of interest rate hikes in the US and Europe. Analysts are saying that barring a major swing back in investment banking activity, the outlook for global banking jobs is unlikely to see much improvement in 2024.

The AI corner

The latest new worker benefit? Wellness chatbots

As demand for mental health resources grows and the supply of needed specialists gets smaller, employers are increasingly turning to AI-powered chatbots that can hold therapist-like conversations or make diagnoses. In fact, according to a recent study by professional services company WTW, around a third of U.S. employers are now offering a “digital therapeutic” for mental-health support, and an additional 15% are considering adding these kinds of benefits by 2025. Advocates say the apps effectively alleviate negative mental health symptoms and that given that they are available any time of day, they can also reach people who might not be able to fit traditional therapy into their schedules or can’t find a therapist with any openings. That said, some researchers say there isn’t sufficient evidence that the programs actually work, and the varied security practices trigger a risk that private information could be leaked or sold.

OpenAI is trying to fend off harmful AI

OpenAI is expanding its internal security processes to reduce the threat of harmful AI. How so? The company is launching a dedicated safety advisory group to oversee the technical teams and make recommendations to leadership, with the board also getting vetoing power. So, while the leadership team members are still the decision-makers, the board of directors will have the ability to reverse certain decisions. Usually these kinds of internal policy changes wouldn’t be newsworthy, but after all of the internal drama that took place at the company in November, insiders say these updates are intended to show a clear path for identifying, analyzing, and determining what to do about potentially catastrophic risks inherent in the models they’re developing.

Kicking off a strong 2024

By monday.com

It’s officially a new year, which means it’s time to set 2024 goals, identify new business opportunities, and get your team members feeling motivated and energized!

Here are some tips to kick off a successful new year:

Celebrate team wins

Schedule time for the whole team to come together to celebrate your 2023 achievements. Try to use real data to make the wins feel more tangible, and do your best to give personal shoutouts to each individual. A great way to effectively do this is by openly addressing some of the obstacles the team faced over the past year and how you all managed to navigate them. This not only makes the accomplishments feel more meaningful, it also conveys that a critical component of success at work is resiliency. By making time to honor your team’s wins, you promote a sense of positivity and empowerment, demonstrate how much you recognize your employees’ contributions, emphasize the types of behaviors you want them to continue, and make further achievements feel more attainable in 2024.

Discuss the big picture

Recent research by McKinsey found that 70% of employees say their personal sense of purpose is defined by their work, and when their work feels meaningful, they perform better, are significantly more committed, and are about half as likely to go looking for a new job. With that, a great way to make work feel meaningful is by helping team members understand how their work matters. When setting team KPIs and establishing priorities for the new year, help your team understand the ways in which their work will contribute to the company’s 2024 goals and areas of focus. Give them context about certain strategies and business shifts, and help your team members recognize the broader impact of their work.

Check in on each team member

Schedule time with each individual member of your team to find out how they’re feeling and provide some personal recognition as you kick off the new year. Come prepared with areas where you think they really excelled to help them enter 2024 feeling seen and empowered. Then, be sure to ask them how they hope to grow this year, the kinds of opportunities they’d like to explore, and if there’s anything you can do to be a more helpful leader. If they can’t think of anything in the moment, let them know they can always follow up with you when new ideas or thoughts come to mind.

Additionally, try to use these conversations as a way to gauge overall morale on your team. For example, if you come to understand that a lot of your team members ended 2023 feeling burned out and drained, it may be a sign that this year you should focus on helping them prioritize their workloads more effectively and openly encourage them to take time off when they need it.

Schedule a kick off

Recent research by the Workforce Institute revealed that making employees feel seen and heard can profoundly impact their productivity, engagement, and turnover, with 74% of employees reporting that they are more effective at their jobs when they feel heard. So, as you build out goals and strategies for 2024, give your employees the chance to weigh in and share their ideas as well. A great way to do this is by organizing a team kick-off and giving each team member an opportunity to present relevant data and insights from 2023 to the rest of the group. Then use this time to brainstorm plans and approaches together as a team, making space for everyone, regardless of seniority, to share their voice and give their input.

Schedule something fun together

According to a recent study by BetterUp Labs, 43% of workers think their company should be doing more to promote workplace connections and 53% would actually trade some compensation for more meaningful relationships with colleagues. With this in mind, it’s always great to start a new year with a team outing – whether it’s a group dinner or a fun activity, try to organize some time away from the office to get to know one another and build a more supportive, connected team. And if your team is remote, try to organize a fun virtual meeting to simply catch up and get to know each other better (funny icebreakers are always a great start!)

Water cooler chatter

Migration from the world’s poorer countries to more affluent ones has reached its highest level in decades. Millions of people are taking both legal and illegal routes in order to secure work or refuge. While many countries hope foreign migrants can help alleviate labor shortages, many voters are blaming these waves of immigration for increases in crime and rising housing costs.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal is planning to return from injury for one last go at the pro circuit next month before he says goodbye to the game. Despite 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles, after 12 months away and a painstaking process to rehabilitate nearly every part of his body, Nadal isn’t quite sure what to expect.

Question of the week

Last week’s answer: More than 70%

This week’s question: What’s the most expensive U.S. state to comfortably retire in?

Just for laughs