Workplace trends

Americans are struggling to find work

Despite the rosy looking 275,000 job openings in February, American job seekers are having a really tough time landing their next gig. Applicants that were previously highly sought after are now finding themselves settling for significantly lesser roles with lower pay after months without offers. What’s making it so hard? Experts say that it’s largely about economic uncertainty; companies have become warier about hiring new talent amid high interest rates and rising wages, and with the presidential election looming, businesses are acting more cautiously knowing that corporate and economic policy could wildly change in the near future. As a result, many companies are turning to internal team members to take on more responsibility, leaving eligible workers vying with more job candidates for fewer openings.

Japan’s union won their biggest wage hike in 33 years

Member unions of Japan’s largest labor confederation won an average 5.28% wage increase this year, marking the greatest jump since 1991. Every spring, unions and management at some of the country’s biggest companies hold talks, known as shunto, to establish monthly wages ahead of the start of Japan’s fiscal year in April. Negotiations at major companies like Toyota, Hitachi, and Panasonic concluded this week, with many fully meeting union demands, and some, such as Nippon Steel, even exceeding demands. Based on initial tallies, base pay and seniority-based hikes were 1.48 percentage points higher than last year. Between a deepening labor shortage, ongoing inflation, and a weakened yen that has boosted the profits of export-oriented companies, experts say that these results may be a key indicator of changes in monetary policy and wage growth trends going forward.

The AI corner

The EU passed landmark AI legislation

As the global debate about the future of AI and its potential risks and benefits continues, European lawmakers approved the world’s most comprehensive AI legislation yet, setting out sweeping rules to govern the advanced technology. The regulations, which would gradually take effect over several years, ban certain AI uses altogether, introduce new transparency rules, and require risk assessments for specific AI systems. These new rules apply to all AI products in the EU market, regardless of where they were developed, and they’re backed by fines of up to 7% of a company’s global revenue. While the legislation only applies in the EU, it’s expected to have a worldwide impact because large AI companies are unlikely to forgo access to such a massive market. The law still needs final approval from EU member states, but insiders say this is somewhat of a formality since they already politically endorsed the legislation.

xAI is open sourcing Grok

In his latest swipe at OpenAI, Elon Musk announced that his AI startup xAI is starting to open-source Grok, its chatbot that directly rivals OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This move comes on the back of his decision earlier this month to sue OpenAI and Sam Altman for going back on its original commitment to open-sourced, not-for-profit AI. While insiders believe this is a clear dig at OpenAI, many also suggest commercial motivation. It’s still not certain how much of Grok xAI will be released going forward, but an open-source version could encourage faster uptake of the model by developers and potential customers who are interested in testing it out – serving as a sort of marketing tool. Additionally, developer feedback and improvements to the open version could also help accelerate xAI’s growth and development of new versions.

When is it too much ownership?

By monday.com

“Employee ownership” has become an increasingly common term in the business world, with the idea being that employees who are assigned as the owners of a given project or process are responsible for the quality and timeliness of an outcome – even when they’re working with others. Promoting ownership on your team can help you build a culture in which your employees are encouraged to take initiative and address challenges head-on.

The catch to all of this, however, is that sometimes, in an effort to give your team members that sense of ownership and control, you may wind up removing yourself too much from the particular project. So, rather than making them feel empowered and accountable, they start to feel somewhat neglected.

An Interact and Harris survey revealed that eight of the top nine complaints about leaders concerned absent behavior, and that feeling ignored by your boss can actually be more alienating than getting treated poorly. When employees get the sense that their managers are overly removed from their work, it can make them feel disconnected, trigger miscommunication due to a lack of direction, and result in lower performance and morale.

So, how can you promote ownership while remaining a present leader?
Click play on the video below and read on!

Establish clear goals

Before you can effectively hand off responsibility to your team members, it’s important to clearly align on how you’re defining success. Simply giving them an assignment without any real direction is not the way employee ownership is supposed to work. In fact, it will likely leave your team members feeling lost and unsure where to begin. That’s why it’s your responsibility as a manager to sit down with your employees to give context, set goals and expectations, and provide them with a clear understanding of how you see progress and success. Only then, once you’re on the same page about the vision and desired end results, should you hand off the reins and let them determine how to get there.

Be a resource for problem solving

Recognize that giving your employees ownership doesn’t mean closing the door when they confront a challenge and are unsure what to do. It means offering them support and helping them identify the resources they may need to navigate the problems. Whether it’s referring them to certain teammates they can leverage with relevant insights and expertise, suggesting useful resources they can utilize to find solutions, or serving as a sounding board to work through things out loud if they need it, be present and available.

Remember that you can listen and guide without simply telling your team members what to do. If they seem to want to process things out loud, give them the space to share the solutions they’re considering and how they plan on moving forward, and when relevant, feel free to offer alternative perspectives or questions to consider. What’s most important is that you make it clear that you trust them and remind them that you’re around to offer support.

Follow up

Stay informed on what your team members are working on and check in to see how things are going. Try scheduling regular one-on-one meetings to follow up on their progress and offer supportive feedback when relevant. This shows your team members that you’re invested in them and their success. Emphasize that while they are the owners and decision-makers, you still care and want to be in the loop to ensure that they don’t feel neglected or forgotten.

Provide meaningful recognition

The best way to avoid being an absent leader? Recognize your team members’ efforts and achievements. According to a recent Gallup study, employees are four times as likely to be engaged at work if they feel strongly that they receive the right amount of recognition for their contributions. So, while you might not be managing their day-to-day tasks, you can still go out of your way to emphasize that you recognize their value. Reach out when your employees do something great and spotlight their achievements in front of the rest of the team so that others can acknowledge them as well. When your team members feel like you really see the great work they’re doing and want them to feel recognized, it shows them that you’re actively involved in their work and committed to their success.

Water cooler chatter

An Indonesia flight veered off course after two pilots fell asleep at the same time. The country is investigating the incident, which caused the plane carrying 153 people to briefly veer off course before landing safely – adding to the country’s already fraught aviation safety record.

12 fans that attended a subzero Kansas City Chiefs NFL playoff game had to undergo amputations. Research Medical Center said in a statement that it treated dozens of people who had experienced frostbite and that it expects more surgeries over the next two to four weeks as injuries evolve.

Question of the week

Last week’s answer: 16%

This week’s question: How many employees have been laid off in the tech industry in 2024?

Just for laughs