Workplace trends

Happiness among employees with disabilities is declining

Employee happiness is on the rise, with overall job satisfaction having increased by around 3% from 2023 to 2024, according to the 2024 MetLife US Employee Benefit Trends Study. However, there’s one demographic with a reported decline in workplace satisfaction: employees with disabilities. For this population, workplace happiness has actually decreased by 9% in the last year. What’s behind this anomaly? The report suggests that return-to-office policies are to blame. With 58% of employees with disabilities working fully onsite in 2023, compared to 42% in 2022, these professionals are no longer afforded the level of flexibility that is often critical to their comfort and efficiency. To address this large decline in satisfaction, the report recommends that companies devise strategies that are more inclusive of their disabled employees, like being flexible about remote work policies when possible.

In the UK, class is the greatest barrier to career progression

It turns out that in the UK, the greatest factor influencing career progression is class. In a groundbreaking report, KPMG analyzed the career paths of 16,500 employees and discovered that those from working-class families took 19% or as much as one year longer to move up in their workplace than those from higher socio-economic backgrounds. And career progression was even slower for female or ethnic working-class employees. These findings have led experts to emphasize the need for increased reporting around social classes in an effort to highlight less-discussed gaps and initiatives to ensure that all employees, regardless of their backgrounds, are provided with an equitable opportunity to advance in their careers.

The AI corner

Business schools are restructuring curriculums around AI

Professors across business schools in the US are embracing the subject of AI in an effort to prepare their students for the fast-changing corporate world. American University’s Kogod School of Business, for example, has adapted over 20 of its classes to incorporate AI, while professors at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management are encouraging students to think of AI as a smart intern and offload as much work as possible onto the tools. On top of incorporating AI into course materials, professors are also leaning on the technology to increase their own productivity, including using AI to solve lab assignments or prep presentations. With 40% of prospective business school students believing that AI knowledge is critical to an effective business degree, per the Graduate Management Admission Council, these moves are necessary to cater to the growing demands of students.

Tech companies are going to extreme measures to train their AI systems

The race to lead AI development is pushing companies like Meta, OpenAI, and Google to implement creative new strategies to get their hands on the data needed to train their advanced AI models. Having already used every credible English-language source available on the internet, Meta is looking into buying publishing house Simon & Schuster to access their long works, Google is transcribing YouTube videos to harvest texts, and OpenAI is talking about training its AI models on text generated by AI – otherwise known as synthetic data. All of these efforts demonstrate just how vital online information has become to the booming AI industry, and with experts predicting that tech companies could run out of high-quality data that’s available online as soon as 2026, there seems to be no time to waste.

Should managers be friends with their employees?

Forming real friendships with your direct reports can help you build trust, improve communication, ensure you’re updated when issues arise or they’re having a tough time at work, and increase workplace satisfaction. And yet, it can also trigger disrespect, spark concerns around favoritism, make it uncomfortable to give criticism, and add complexity when making difficult business decisions.

That’s why, unlike many areas of management, when it comes to whether or not you should develop genuine friendships with your team members, there’s no general rule of thumb. The right approach often needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis, given that some employees perform better when there’s a more professional working relationship, while others may feel greater motivation and loyalty with a deeper personal connection to their leader.

So, here are some tips for navigating this complex question:


Prioritize performance

As the manager, performance needs to be top-of-mind. So, if you notice that establishing lighter, more friendly dynamics with your team members is leading them to trust you more and perform at a higher level, it’s likely a sign that those friendships can bring value. That said, if the reverse is true, and developing a friendship with your team members causes them to listen to you less and have a harder time receiving criticism, it’s time to shift your approach to a more professional tone.

Adjust accordingly

Since there’s no clearly defined line for when an employee’s behavior starts to cross boundaries, it’s your job to adjust the dynamics when needed. Remember that you set the tone in your relationships with your employees, so if you’re starting to feel disrespected, it’s your responsibility to address it. Whether it’s a team member telling you that they don’t work on the days they work from home or skipping meetings because they’re tired, when it feels like boundaries are being crossed, be sure to call it out in the moment, rather than simply hoping things will improve on their own. It doesn’t always have to be a formal conversation – you can simply grab a few minutes at the end of a one-on-one sync or send a private message letting them know that you appreciate honesty and openness, but that their recent behavior made you feel a bit disrespected, so you want make sure that they don’t cross that specific line again.

Don’t be exclusive

Roughly 75% of surveyed workers report having felt excluded in the workplace, according to EY’s Belonging Barometer 3.0. So, while it’s natural to connect with some team members more than others, it’s extremely important to be inclusive and treat everyone on your team fairly. If your team members suspect preferential treatment, they may come to resent you and/or the employee you seem to favor, which could cause other toxic dynamics and problematic behaviors to ensue. In fact, a study about perceived work favoritism at Ohio State’s Fisher School of Business found that nearly half of employees believed their supervisors had favorites, causing them to perceive their workplace as unfair and subsequently feel less loyal and motivated, and more likely to seek work elsewhere.

So, when organizing casual social gatherings with your team members outside of the office, be it a drink after work or going out for lunch, make sure to extend the invitation to all of your team members, not just those with whom you feel closest. As the leader, it’s important to err on the side of inclusivity and make sure to be attentive to all of your employees.

Commit to transparency

Try to lead with honesty and openness, so that even as you build deeper connections with your team members, there is always the expectation that as their manager, you’ll be transparent about their performance and behavior. The best way to do this is by working feedback into regular conversations, always acknowledging what’s working well and where there’s room to improve. This way, it’s comfortably embedded in your communications, and you can feel confident that even as friendships develop, the professional needs will always be prioritized and respected.

Prioritize team-wide connectedness

We’re more technologically connected at work than ever before, and yet many workers still struggle with feelings of isolation. In fact, 82% of surveyed employees indicated feeling lonely at work in EY’s Belonging Barometer 2.0 report. With this said, while it can certainly be nice to develop friendships with your individual team members, it’s even more meaningful and rewarding to have a close and connected team. And as the leader, you have the power to facilitate an environment in which your team members feel excited about both getting to know and supporting one another. So, whether you organize a weekly team lunch, start group meetings with a funny ice breaker, or schedule quarterly meetings to celebrate team achievements altogether, try to find ways to build that sense of connectedness on your team in a way that feels inclusive and welcoming to everyone.

Water cooler chatter

Russia has banned music in Chechnya that’s too fast or too slow. In a move that feels eerily similar to the premise of Footloose, the Russian Republic of Chechnya is limiting musical, vocal, and choreographic compositions to a tempo ranging from 80 to 116 beats per minute. Authorities have stated that the decision reflects an effort to bring the people closer to the cultural heritage of the Chechen people.

You can now add gold to your Costco shopping list. The budget-friendly retailer has started to sell gold bars to its members, and it seems shoppers are all in. Sales of the golden bars are bringing in between $100 million and $200 million a month, according to Wells Fargo analysts.

Question of the week

Last week’s answer: 58%

This week’s question: What percent of execs expect their staff to shrink in the next five years as a result of AI disruption?

Just for laughs