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☆ Ex-CIA employee's conviction in big secrets leak is largely upheld
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Following the conviction, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan called the theft "one of the most brazen and damaging acts of espionage in American history." In a 14-page decision, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan found "more than sufficient" evidence to support Schulte's espionage and hacking convictions. Prosecutors have said Schulte was motivated to leak materials out of spite over how he thought the CIA treated him prior to his November 2016 resignation. Prosecutors said they found the material in Schulte's Manhattan apartment, in an encrypted container beneath three layers of password protection, during the CIA leaks probe. The case is U.S. v. Schulte, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Persons: George W, Bush, Joshua Schulte, Damian Williams, Jesse Furman, Schulte's, Aguilar, Furman, Schulte, Prosecutors, Williams, Jonathan Stempel, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Central Intelligence Agency, FBI, WikiLeaks, Prosecutors, Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention, Court, Southern District of, Thomson Locations: Langley , Virginia, U.S, Manhattan, Brooklyn's, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York

☆ Leaked Microsoft memo warns managers not to discuss its salary freeze during employee reviews, but to tie 'rewards' to an employee's own 'impact'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Notably, the company froze salaries this year and cut its budget for bonuses and stock awards. An internal guide tells managers how to answer when employees ask how those changes impact pay. And now a guide for managers conducting performance reviews, viewed by Insider, instructs managers on how to answer when employees ask how these budget cuts impact an individual's pay. Managers should not use the budget cuts as an "explanation" for compensation decisions for individual employees and instead should emphasize that the employee's own "impact" determines "rewards." "Using budgets or factors besides the employee's impact as an explanation for an employee's rewards will erode trust and confidence within your team," the guide continues.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Kathleen Hogan, Hogan, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Insider

☆ 7 companies hiring now that will let you work from anywhere—some jobs pay over $100,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In a work-from-anywhere job, employees are 100% remote, independent of location or time zone. FlexJobs has identified the top companies hiring for work-from-anywhere jobs right now by analyzing its database and seeing which companies had the highest volume of remote, location-flexible job postings between January and June 2023. The expanding marketplace for work-from-anywhere jobs stems, in part, from the "unprecedented" demand among working professionals for such flexibility, Flexa Careers reports. Many work-from-anywhere jobs offer salaries well over $100,000. Check out: The 10 most in-demand work-from-anywhere jobs companies are hiring for in 2023

Persons: Keith Spencer, FlexJobs Organizations: Education, Wikimedia, Labs Magic Media, Entertainment, Wikimedia Foundation, Cash, Invisible Technologies Locations: U.S

☆ Mess at Chef's Table: How claims of theft, embezzlement, and abuse shut down Brooklyn Fare's legendary Michelin-starred restaurant
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, the iconic three-Michelin-star tasting restaurant by chef César Ramirez, quietly ceased operations in July. Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare is one of New York's most hallowed culinary institutions. A former employee at Chef's Table at Brooklyn FareBut beneath the restaurant's pristine stainless-steel surface, chaos was brewing. By 2011, Chef's Table had become one of only 138 restaurants worldwide to boast three Michelin stars. This year, Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare was the highest-ranked US restaurant on the 2023 World's 50 Best Restaurants' list.

Persons: César Ramirez, hasn't, Ramirez, Moneer, Moe, Issa, I'd, Ramirez's, Conti, David Bouley's, Le Bernardin, Per, Chef César Ramirez, Jamie McCarthy, WireImage, Joshua David Stein, Grub, Ramirez freaked, he'd, didn't, Pete Wells, Issa didn't, Adriana, Issa's, Heidi, —, Domaine, disrespected, Spencer Platt, Cesar, Issa wouldn't, commenter Organizations: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Fare, Manhattan Fare Corp, Chef's, Pepsi, GQ, Michelin, Madison, New York Press, Guardian, Staff, New York Times, York, Madison Park Locations: Hokkaido, Los Angeles, New York, Brooklyn, Burgundy, Israeli, Hill, Mexican, Chicago, West, Madison, Masa, Kaluga Queen, Russia, Asia, Kings County, Clinton Hill, Taiwan, York

☆ Meta's updated RTO mandate is as strict as Amazon's, with a few unique rules. Here are all the key details.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is putting in place detailed and mandatory rules for in-office and remote work. See new rules on badge tracking, monthly evaluations, and remote workers only allowed in-office a few days per quarter. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg used to say remote work was the way of the future . Meta's guidelines appear to be tailored specifically to avoid remote workers having their cake, and eating it, too. Both will be evaluated monthly, for in-office and remote workers, and employees found to be non-compliant will be notified.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Lori Goler, Meta, Andy Jassy, Zuckerberg, Kali Hays, Hugh Langley Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Google, Employees, Twitter Locations: khays

☆ Forget the six-figure UPS gig. You can make $180,000 at In-N-Out, writes burger heiress Lynsi Snyder in her new book.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder reveals new details about the chain in her book set to be released in October. "He knew that to develop loyal helpers, he needed to provide them with promotions, more responsibility, and more pay," Snyder wrote. In the book, Lynsi Snyder describes how employees are rewarded, from entry-level cashiers to six-figure salary managers. Once employees learn these early tasks, they can be "trusted with our burgers," Lynsi Snyder wrote. Lynsi Snyder, 41, inherited control of the family business in 2017 and became one of the youngest billionaires in the US.

Persons: Lynsi Snyder, Snyder, That's, Harry, Esther Snyder, Harry Snyder, wouldn't Organizations: Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Produce, Employees Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chipotle, Southern California, — Texas, Oregon, Colorado

☆ The 'undermanaging' boss is just as toxic as micromanagers and 'lacks the courage or work ethic to really coach and lead,' a workplace expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The "undermanaging" boss can be as toxic as micromanagers, a workplace expert said. A pushover boss can also hinder an employee's professional development. The undermanaging boss falters at the prospect of making difficult decisions and "will experience decision paralysis, making a bad situation even worse," according to Legg. Legg says that this type of manager is a "lazy boss who lacks the courage or work ethic to really coach and lead." Cain said the characteristics of a pushover boss include indecisiveness, fleeing confrontation, going with the flow, and letting workers walk all over them.

Persons: Undermanagers, Kevin Legg, Sage, falters, Legg, Áine Cain, Cain, indecisiveness, isn't Organizations: Service, Privacy, Workers, CNBC Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ I'm a former senior leader at Amazon and working in the office made me better at my job. The bottom line is if you're fully remote you're missing out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Brandon Southern | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But in order to fully benefit from in-office work, young-tenured employees also need experienced employees to work in the office as well. Now before the pitchforks come for me, I'm 100% supportive of remote work and I'm fully supportive of employee flexibility and all the great things that come with working remotely. But while many people talk about the benefits of remote work, few talk about its consequences. I've witnessed frequent situations where team members are reinventing the wheel due to reduced communication related to remote work. As a leader, my job is to create opportunities for team members to succeed, but also to be challenged.

Persons: Brandon Southern, I've, It's, — Organizations: eBay, GameStop

☆ Google just ended a controversial system that warned employees they were at risk of being labeled low performers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google has removed a controversial tool known as "support check-ins." They were a way to warn employees who were at risk of being labeled as low performers. The decision to kill support check-ins has split opinion among staff. Google has ended a practice that alerted employees when they were at risk of being labeled a low performer, Insider has learned. Prior to the GRAD system, and to the layoffs Google has conducted this year, Google was known as a company that rarely put employees on PIPs.

Persons: Fiona Cicconi, SCIs didn't, SCIs, we've Organizations: Google, GRAD, SCI, Employees

☆ Joe Biden says he'd fire employees who don't take personal time off: It's 'a hell of a lot more important' than your job
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden has a rule for his staff members: If you don't take time off to tend to your personal life, you might get fired. Upon learning that the staffer "was having trouble at home," Biden told him to skip the Supreme Court hearing. Recalling another instance where he was made aware of an employee's troubles at home, Biden said, "if you don't go home, I'm gonna fire you. Your relationship is a hell of a lot more important than whatever you're doing for me." DON'T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life?

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, —, Jay Shetty's, He's, Bill Gates, Gates, he's Organizations: American Psychological Association, Microsoft, Northern Locations: U.S, Northern Arizona

☆ Leaked guidelines reveal more details about Amazon's controversial 'voluntary resignation' program for remote workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon recently rolled out a so-called "return-to-hub" policy that forces employees to work out of centrally assigned office locations, called hubs. That could apply even if the rest of the employee's team is in other cities. Amazon managers should have "empathy and positive intent" when having these difficult conversations with their staff. 'Be prepared'Perhaps in anticipation of sharp resistance from employees, the guidelines provide Amazon managers with several talking points and best-practice examples to follow. If an employee asks why someone else may have a remote work exemption, managers are to say "personal circumstances are confidential."

Persons: Brad Glasser, we've, Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's, Employees

☆ I'm a former senior leader at Amazon. There's a secret reason you're not getting promoted and it has to do with 'calibration meetings' happening behind closed doors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Brandon Southern | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I've worked in tech for 20 years and served as the former head of analytics at companies like eBay, Amazon, and GameStop. This matters, but more is required, and it starts with understanding the secret conversations that happen behind closed doors during the promotion process. Identify the voters: This plan starts with understanding who your manager's peers are and your manager's managers are. After generating this list with your manager, you'll need to have a discussion with your manager to determine who you should align with, much like a corporate version of Survivor! Show how your work duties have increased: Last, you'll need to demonstrate an increase in scope of work.

Persons: Brandon Southern, I've, they're, it's Organizations: eBay, GameStop

☆ Managers say 4-6 pm is now a work 'dead zone.' Employees run errands and take care of kids before logging on later to finish.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

We've now ushered in a "triple peak" day. The result is a "triple peak" day, as The Atlantic's Derek Thompson reported last April. But for those whose work is more solitary or not as time-sensitive, the triple peak day may offer a pathway to greater work-life balance. Working parents, for example, might adopt a triple peak day to spend more time with their kids during the day and finish work once their kids are off to bed. Are you working a "triple peak" day?

Persons: We've, Derek Thompson, Colette Stallbaumer, Mary Czerwinski Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Workers, Microsoft Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Cool-girl brand Aritzia made employees rate each other's appearances, discriminated against Black salespeople, and fostered a culture of fear, some ex-staffers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Nichole Jankowski | Isabella Zavarise | Brianna Holt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

They said 54% of Aritzia employees and 60% of retail employees identified as BIPOC but declined to provide a breakdown of those statistics. Insider spoke with 53 current and former Aritzia employees, several of whom said that while the world of fashion is notoriously cutthroat, working at Aritzia was particularly grueling. Aritzia's spokesperson said the company's success was a "direct result of its high-performance culture." (In a statement of defense filed with the court on July 5, the store manager and Aritzia denied all allegations. A former Ontario store manager said that shortly after she was hired, the manager of store operations asked if she had a boyfriend.

Persons: Brian Hill, Hill, Kendall Jenner, Meghan Markle, Jennifer Lopez, Aritzia, Lindsey Adelman, Melina, Isabel Slone, Max Mumby, Aritzia's, Carly Bishop, Brian, Jennifer Wong, who's, Wong, Robson, We're, George Pimentel, Heather McLean, Hill's, Tim Hortons, Kendalls, —, Todd Korol, Jessica Porter, weren't, Candace Jerry, Anyango Juma Miguna, Miguna, Hannah, Kaycelyn Pascual, Pascual, couldn't, Nadia Mahammed, Mahammed, she'd, George Floyd, they'd, Todd Ingledew Organizations: Aritzia, Euromonitor International, Aritzia's, Queen's University, Fashion, Globe, Toronto Star, Getty, SPH, Employees, British Columbia Human, Product, Estate Development, Business Locations: Toronto, Vancouver, Ontario, Aritzia, ascot, Canada, Aritzia's Vancouver, Canadian, New York City, Aritzia's Paramus , New Jersey, Newmarket , Ontario, British, New York

☆ A 16-year-old boy died while working in a Mississippi poultry plant. An unscrupulous hiring agency may be to blame, a workplace expert says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tomas Duvan Perez, 16, died after becoming trapped in equipment while working at a Mississippi poultry plant. Perez is the third minor in the last month to die in a US workplace, the Huffington Post reported. Now, six years later, he is dead because of a workplace accident at a poultry plant that should've never hired him. Perez, 16, died on July 14 at the Mar-Jac poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, NBC News reported. A spokesperson for the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi claims an outside hiring agency misled the company by misrepresenting the boy's age, the Huffington Post reported.

Persons: Tomas Duvan Perez, Perez, Duvan Tomas Perez, should've, Jac, Jordan Barab, Barab, They're, Joe Colee, Michael Schuls, Will Hampton Organizations: Huffington, Service, NBC News, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, PBS Locations: Mississippi, Wall, Silicon, Guatemala, United States, Hattiesburg , Mississippi, Wisconsin, Missouri, Wisconsin , Ohio, Iowa

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger called Hollywood strikers 'not realistic.' His critics are calling his $27 million pay package unrealistic.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently called strikers' expectations "not realistic," quickly drawing criticism. Iger could make over $27 million this year, 535 times the median pay of his employees. An average CEO in 1978 made around 31 times what their average worker made, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In 2020, the average CEO made 346 times what their average worker made. At Disney, the median worker pay is $54,256, according to the company's latest proxy statement.

Persons: Bob Iger, Sean Gunn, Fran Drescher, Iger, Gunn, Drescher, Sen, Bernie Sanders, he'd, Variety, David Zaslav, Reed Hastings, Brian Roberts Organizations: Disney, SAG, Morning, Hollywood, CNBC, Sun Valley Conference, Writers Guild of America, Guardians, Economic, Warner Bros, Netflix, Comcast Locations: Idaho, Los Angeles

Insider obtained an internal spreadsheet that shows much Google employees were paid in 2022.Insider crunched the numbers to find the highest base salaries for US-based roles at the tech giant. The median total compensation at Google in 2022 was $279,802 — but which roles raked in the highest salaries? Insider obtained an internal company spreadsheet that was shared among Google employees. The sheet includes salary data for more than 12,000 US-based employees in 2022 and covers a range of roles, including software engineers and business analysts. The spreadsheet gives us our best look yet at how much the tech giant is paying staff, with some limitations: the data is for US-based roles only and includes data that employees voluntarily submitted.

Organizations: Software, Google, Morning Locations: US

☆ When an airline made his bag disappear, a magician bought another plane ticket to get back in the airport and track it down with an Apple AirTag
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He used his Apple AirTag to track down his bag and bought a plane ticket to get back into the terminal. Thankfully he had a trick up his sleeve — an Apple AirTag in his missing bag. It was not in the terminal," Orleans said. The AirTag app was showing the bag close to the terminal, so Orleans thought maybe it had somehow gotten brought inside. Danny Orleans bought a new plane ticket so he could go back into the airport to find his bag.

Persons: Danny Orleans's, Danny Orleans, Orleans, he's, they've Organizations: United Airlines, Apple, United, Orleans, Newark Liberty International Locations: Newark, Orleans, Chicago, New York, Boston

The company also said it would make a more secure version of its Bing search engine available immediately to businesses, aiming to address their data-protection concerns, grow their interest in AI and compete more with Google. The voluntary upgrade is on top of publicly listed, monthly plans ranging from $12.50 per user to $57, meaning the copilot could triple costs for some Microsoft customers. Unlike the public Bing that millions of web surfers have accessed in recent months, the enterprise version will not allow any viewing or saving of user data to train underlying technology. Asked if Bing users were unprotected until now, Spataro said Microsoft had made its privacy policies clear and was eager to bring AI to consumers. It may also draw customers to Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI upgrade giving access to business data and compliance controls.

Persons: Jared Spataro, Spataro, Bing, Jeffrey Dastin, Stephen Coates Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Bing Chat, Thomson Locations: copilot, Palo Alto, Calif

☆ Google restricting internet access to some employees to reduce cyberattack risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Google on Wednesday is starting a new pilot program where some employees will be restricted to internet-free desktop PCs, CNBC has learned. The company will disable internet access on the selected desktops, with the exception of internal web-based tools and Google -owned websites like Google Drive and Gmail. Google is running the program to reduce the risk of cyber attacks, according to internal materials. "Googlers are frequent targets of attacks," one internal description viewed by CNBC states. Turning off most internet access ensures attackers cannot easily run arbitrary code remotely or grab data, the description explains.

Organizations: Google, CNBC, Gmail, Microsoft, State Department, U.S Locations: U.S, Western Europe

☆ Should you quit your job because you're paid too much? One worker wrote to an advice columnist to ask.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A nonprofit worker wrote to the New York Times Ethicist column about being paid too much. "I do not go above and beyond," the person wrote to the NYT. "One way to contribute to an organization is to shape your job around your talents," the columnist wrote. Quitting because you think you're paid too much? Do you think you're overpaid?

Persons: They've, underworked —, they're, Kwame Anthony Appiah, there's, Lakshmi Organizations: New York Times, Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, Lakshmi Varanasi, lvaranasi

☆ Stop thinking tenure gets you promotions — it doesn't. A former senior leader at Amazon explains what actually works.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Brandon Southern | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While time spent in a specific role may correlate with commitment, experience, or knowledge, it doesn't necessarily correlate with value to a company. To get a raise or promotion, you're going to need more than tenure — you're going to need to create additional value or increase your scope of work. In this case, the company is getting more value by paying more, but paying more doesn't always equate to more value. For many positions, it can be hard to determine if an experienced person is providing more value than a non-experienced person. The question that the company will ask is, does the hire salary cost outweigh the cost of hiring a new employee?

Persons: Brandon Southern, I've, you've Organizations: eBay, GameStop, Morning, Brandon

☆ Read the memo Shopify sent employees explaining its meeting cost calculator: 'Your calendar is a strategy.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Your calendar is a strategy, and the Meeting Cost Calculator helps you make informed decisions for organizing or accepting meetings. He said that employees could reference a page in Shopify's internal "vault" for more information about the meeting cost calculator. The Meeting Cost Calculator is here to challenge the status quo, nudging us to reconsider meeting necessity and explore more creative collaboration methods. The meeting cost calculator is the latest in a series of experiments Shopify has launched to maximize time and efficiency in its workplace this year. Your calendar is a strategy, and the Meeting Cost Calculator helps you make informed decisions for organizing or accepting meetings.

Persons: Shopify, Kaz Nejatian, Mark Zuckerberg, Tobi Lütke

☆ More tech workers in India are moonlighting — despite their bosses’ disapproval
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

There are a range of reasons that are driving IT professionals to engage in moonlighting, according to Indeed India. Abhishek Software engineerBut his bosses are not aware of his plans, nor has he told them he is moonlighting. 'The root cause is the money'There are a number of reasons driving IT professionals to engage in moonlighting, according to Indeed India. Where employers disagreeHere's where employers disagree: moonlighting goes against the sense of loyalty a company wishes to instill into employees. IT services giant Wipro for example, fired 300 employees last year for allegedly "working for rival companies," according to local reports.

Persons: Sashi Kumar, Abhishek, he's, HackerRank, —, Moonlighting, Kumar, moonlighting, Indeed's Kumar, Viswanath Organizations: CNBC, India, Wipro, Infosys — Locations: India, Bangalore, U.S

☆ The best way to evaluate top and low performers during annual reviews, according to a Kellogg MBA professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Fred Schmalz | Kellogg Insight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But leaders face a common conundrum: Should they compare members of their team relative to one another or evaluate everyone independently? It can push out otherwise excellent employees who are averse to the dog-eat-dog culture that can grow out of stack ranking systems. It is possible to take this tendency into account when designing a relative ranking system based on objective criteria. Even in isolation, stack ranking systems don't "necessarily kill collaboration, provided you incorporate collaboration into the criteria," he says. "There's this notion that you can have a healthy level of competition and still foster collaboration," Georgiadis says.

Persons: George Georgiadis, Georgiadis, gravitate, there's Organizations: Kellogg School of Management, Service, Kellogg School, GE, Microsoft Locations: Wall, Silicon

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