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☆ How to start 'career cushioning' so you aren't screwed if you lose your job
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That's why it's wise to "career cushion" so you're not blindsided if you lose your job. Experts recommend updating your LinkedIn profile and ramping up your networking. Knowing you're prepared for a possible worst-case scenario by "career cushioning" can mitigate some of the stress you're feeling, according to Blair Heitmann, a career expert at LinkedIn. Cushioning makes you feel that you're ready "for whatever comes next in the economy and in the job market," Heitmann told Insider. Update your social-media profilesHeitmann said the first — and potentially easiest — thing to do is update your LinkedIn profile.

☆ China doesn’t want US cars like Ford and General Motors. That’s a big problem for their futures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

America has a problem: China — the world's largest car market — doesn't want its vehicles. In 2022, data shows Ford and General Motors' car sales in China each dropped more than 20% from the year before. My colleagues Alexa St. John and Nora Naughton break down how the future of US automakers hinges on China. Although Google founder Larry Page's flying car company Kittyhawk majorly flopped, it left us with some interesting vehicles. Hop aboard to see all the funky flying car models here.

☆ I used AI to create my professional headshots and the results were either great or hilarious
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A TikTok featuring an AI service promising studio-quality headshots for $17 intrigued me. So when I saw this TikTok about an AI service that promises low-cost, studio-quality headshots, I was intrigued. Without further ado, here are some of the greatest hits, along with a smattering of commentary:Rebecca Knight in an AI headshot. Rebecca Knight AI form. Rebecca Knight in AI form.

☆ Meta employees criticize Mark Zuckerberg's second round of layoffs in an internal forum: 'you've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta's second round of layoffs, expected to affect 10,000 staff, began Wednesday. Employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg and other managers on internal company forums, per Reuters. Meta employees criticized Mark Zuckerberg on an internal company forum after Wednesday's layoffs, Reuters reported. "You've shattered the morale and confidence in leadership of many high performers who work with intensity," said one question seen by Reuters. But management experts told Insider's Rebecca Knight that Meta's second round of layoffs could harm employee morale.

☆ Offered a promotion right after you quit? Don't let your employer dangle a carrot.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

When you tell your company you're quitting, your boss might try to get you to stay with a promotion. After months — or years — of resenting your job, you're going to quit and take the plunge to start a different career. Your unappreciative manager just made you a surprise offer — a promotion, complete with a new title and a raise. "You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I want to do something completely different,' and quit your job," she said. Remember: If you accept the promotion and stick with your current employer, your boss might not trust you as much anymore.

☆ How Larry Page's flying-car company of the future turned into a stunning failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Although I'm currently pretty homesick and jet lagged, I'm blessed with "the life-changing magic of working from home." One worker told my colleague Rebecca Knight how remote work transformed her life and how returning to the office has killed company morale. The stunning failure of Google founder Larry Page's flying-car company. In April 2022, company morale plummeted when it axed one of its most promising projects, those former insiders say. The company put together a thorough document to help managers navigate pay-related conversations with employees, and Insider got a look.

☆ My company is making us go back to the office 2 days a week to boost morale — but no one wants to be there
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Remote work was for tech people or consultants — not for regular folks. So when COVID first hit and I, along with almost every other office worker in the world, got sent home to do my job, I didn't know what to expect. But now, management is backtracking and saying we need to be in the office at least two days a week. Earlier this year, management ordered us to go back to the office two days a month; starting this summer, they've mandated two days a week. I'm looking for another job, which is frustrating since I'd rather stay with my company and continue being the productive remote worker that I am.

☆ Here's what to do if you find a secret inappropriate boss-employee relationship in your workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Office romance is tricky— especially if you find out a manager is in a relationship with a report. I have heard from someone on my team that one of my employees is in a close relationship with a woman he supervises. "You could be wrong, and if you accuse Roger of something untrue, that could hurt your relationship with him," she said. Anticipate that Roger will deny the relationship or push back and say it's none of your business. Say that you're not trying to police people's lives but that the relationship creates a conflict of interest.

☆ Companies can't do layoffs right because they're trying to act like 'cool parents'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stripping people from their livelihoods is the most consequential action a company can take — and an inherently painful one, at that. While there might not be a good way to let employees go, there are a lot of bad ways to do it. Some, such as Google, have conducted layoffs by email. But the harshness of recent layoffs suggests that any managerial empathy workers gained during the depths of the pandemic was short-lived. That's why it's understandable that workers are angry about the way layoffs have been handled, Taylor added.

☆ Everyone needs a work spouse — even if some millennials don't think so
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A portion of millennials "disapprove" of having a work spouse, according to a new survey. My truth, as a Gen Xer, is: Work is often lonely and annoying, and everyone needs a work spouse. Everyone needs a work spouse. "Work spouse" is really just another name for "work best friend." The beauty of 'butt-kicking candor'Millennials might take exception to work spouses because they believe in a firm separation of work and home.

☆ Got a thriving side job? Here's how and when to tell your boss about it — and why you probably should.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Alexandra York | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Experts say it's important to tell your boss about your side hustle. It's probably time to tell your boss about it. If your side hustle is already a thriving business, you tell your boss right away. Alistair Berg/Getty ImagesBut if your side hustle is already a thriving business, you should mention it right away, she said. "The minute you make a mistake or your performance slips, your boss might think you're not focused," Nahrgang said.

☆ This could've been an email: If MLB can speed up games, bosses can shorten meetings. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Josée Rose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If new rules can improve game speed, surely bosses can make meetings run more efficiently. If Major League Baseball can speed up games, surely bosses can make meetings more efficient, right? Try, for instance, forcing yourself to cut meetings by half: Your weekly meeting becomes an every-other-week meeting; your hourlong meetings become 30-minutes ones. Ask for adviceJust as MLB needs to consider the fan experience of being at the ballpark or watching a game on TV, bosses need to think about their workers' experiences in meetings, Rogelberg said. "Instead of putting people in hours of meetings without ever asking them about what they're accomplishing, you need to engage," he said.

☆ The drama and politics in my office are so distracting that I have to work harder to make up for lost time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider's latest work-advice column is about how to handle the drama seekers in your office. I often feel myself drawn into it, and then I'm less productive and I have to work harder to make up for lost time. After all, we spend most of our waking hours at work, going to and from work, and thinking about work. You need to make a concerted effort to preserve your well-being, Lyons said. And for my fellow drama kings and queens, maybe it's time we hang up our crowns — at least some of the time.

☆ Gen Z wants to run your company. 'Shadow boards' give them a say without handing them the keys.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Oliver Wyman says its shadow board helped contribute to a 30% reduction in attrition in 2022. Andrew Pérez started at the management-consulting company Oliver Wyman three years ago. Oliver Wyman started its shadow board in 2021. Oliver Wyman's executive team tends to be older, while the shadow board skews younger and more diverse. She was eager to join the shadow board last year.

☆ Swipe your badge or get fired? Employers and workers face a reckoning over returning to the office.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Employers are hardening demands for workers to return to the office and quashing resistance. Apple is tracking employee attendance and has threatened action against staff who don't work from the office at least three days a week. Today, though, as a recession looms, companies are rolling back perks and demanding workers return to their desks or risk termination. After 2020's COVID-19 lockdowns forced office workers to work from home, many of them discovered the benefits of remote work. Many of the same companies demanding workers return to the office have recently conducted mass layoffs — some more than once.

☆ Nobody wants to be the target of mansplaining at work. Here's how to shut down the office know-it-all.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mansplaining is still often a man's game, but it's something women can do, too. Studies suggest that mansplaining is more than a workplace frustration; it can have serious consequences both for companies and careers. Insider spoke with three workplace experts for advice on how managers and employees can deal with the office mansplainer. And if the mansplaining continues, you might need to shut it down in real time. Without an ally, it can be hard to put a stop to mansplaining as it's happening, Woolley said.

☆ I'm a tech worker whose job offer got rescinded. Looking back, I might have overlooked some red flags about the company.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Looking back, he said that he'd missed or overlooked some red flags about the company. Looking back on the experience, I realize there were some red flags that maybe I'd missed or overlooked. After a layoff, a 'promising' job leadI got let go from my last job in tech right before Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I was surprised when the recruiter wanted me to take a standardized assessment. I'm lucky to be staying with my family right now — I'm so glad I don't have kids or a mortgage.

☆ A 2nd round of layoffs at Meta and Amazon shows companies are taking back their power — and they may not stop there
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Meta and Amazon have announced two series of mass layoffs in the span of months. After years of companies trying to attract and placate workers amid a labor shortage, businesses are reasserting some of their power. "We read about two rounds of layoffs now and shrug and say, 'When's the third?'" Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesIt's rare for a company to conduct multiple rounds of layoffs, according to data from Crunchbase. Amazon and Meta did it, so it won't stand out as much."

☆ I thought I was an introvert, but what if I'm just a shy narcissist instead?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insider's new work-advice column centers on a shy introvert who worries she might be a narcissist. I always thought that because I wasn't aggressive or self-aggrandizing, I couldn't possibly be a narcissist. To be clear, I'm not a professional shrink — and I'm not above getting carried away by the gospel of online personality quizzes (ahem! You're an introvert or, perhaps, a highly sensitive person, depending on the theory you subscribe to. "You might not like your manager's solution, but they may have identified a problem that you hadn't thought of.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is leaning into Meta's 'year of efficiency' the wrong way, and multiple rounds of layoffs will be damaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Rebecca Knight | Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week unveiled another round of layoffs hitting 10,000 staffers. The dismissals are part of an efficiency plan boost productivity and turn Meta into a talent magnet. But the job cuts are likely to have the opposite effect, two management experts told Insider. Rather than resorting to layoffs, Sucher said companies should look at other ways to lower headcount, including natural attrition, buyouts, and hiring freezes. "You have to plan for it in order to not have it kill your company," Sucher said.

☆ Artificial intelligence will replace work jerks. People skills will become more important.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

She turned into a hologram to see what the future of work might look like. When dealing with a difficult manager, it's important to identify what they hold true or what speaks to their values. That coworker who's brilliant — but a horrible person — better watch out. Employees will find out within the next 30 days whether they need to return to the office, per a leaked email. A leaked email shows Amazon has been working behind the scenes on AI.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg is planning another round of layoffs, and it will likely decimate remaining morale at Meta
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Meta, the parent of Facebook, could go through another round of layoffs, according to reports. CEOs often see layoffs as a way to fix a company's problems, but the cuts can do lasting damage. Just a few months ago, Meta conducted its first-ever round of mass layoffs. One bout of layoffs dents morale; a second can be devastatingIt's uncommon for a company to conduct multiple rounds of layoffs, according to data from Crunchbase. One bout of layoffs can leave a dent in employee morale; a second round can be devastating.

☆ When everyone around you is quitting, don't wait for your boss to initiate a 'stay interview.' Ask for one yourself.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Experts suggest asking your boss for "stay interview." That's where the "stay interview" enters the equation. The stay interview is, essentially, a career conversation usually initiated by managers to understand why high-performing employees stay at an organization and what could cause them to leave. Insider spoke with four HR leaders and career experts and coaches to learn how to make the most of your stay interview. You don't want your manager to think that by asking for a stay interview you're issuing an ultimatum, said Joshua Luna, a leadership and development trainer in Chicago.

☆ I took an office-personality quiz, and it turns out that as a remote worker, I'm a caged butterfly
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Turns out, I'm a "break-room butterfly" who thrives on teams and doing in-person work. It's hard to let your inner break-room butterfly soar when the only break room in sight doubles as your kitchen. After all, what does an "office personality" even mean nowadays? My gregarious editor is a fellow break-room butterfly, our tight-ship boss is a cubicle cat, and another free-spirited, somewhat reclusive colleague is a couch koala. By extension, the very notion of an "office personality" is becoming outdated.

☆ You need a 'professional prenup' to protect yourself from layoffs, according to the Corporate Bro
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ross Pomerantz is a startup advisor and content creator who operates under the name Corporate Bro. He says that job seekers need to have "professional prenups" before they sign on with new employers. Essentially, these are contractual understandings of potential severance in case of layoffs. The idea of a "professional prenup" sounds rather … unusual. In a small, 20-person company, there's a good chance you're interviewing with senior leadership.

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