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☆ Companies’ New Cause: Dodging the Culture Wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Chip Cutter | Lauren Weber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-new-cause-dodging-the-culture-wars-73e52cf3

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ The Disappearing White-Collar Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Chip Cutter | Harriet Torry | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Warren Buffett on Finding Success at Work, and What Matters in Hiring
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shareholders watched Warren Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger from an overflow room at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Photo: Rebecca S. Gratz/Associated PressThe question was a philosophical one: How should you avoid major mistakes in business and life? Warren Buffett , the 92-year-old chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway , paused briefly.

☆ Buffett and Munger on Success, Toxicity and Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ What’s Next at Work? Much Change, and Likely Some Pain for Employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-next-at-work-much-change-and-likely-some-pain-for-employees-688a7fc4

For years when AT&T Inc. threw a retirement party, employees had to enter the names of attendees in the telecom company’s expense-reporting system. It was the kind of small annoyance that is an accepted part of office life for millions of white-collar workers. But a technology team at AT&T figured the requirement, plus a similar one for service-anniversary parties, was costing its workers 28,500 hours a year that they could be spending on more important tasks. So the company scrapped it, and in the past two years has made more than 160 similar moves it estimates are saving employees nearly 3 million hours a year.

☆ A New Way to Push People Back to Offices: Tying Pay to Attendance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-new-way-to-lure-people-back-to-offices-tying-pay-to-attendance-5b3d7d39

☆ The New Rules of Layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When McDonald’s Corp. said it would temporarily close its U.S. offices as it conducts layoffs at the burger chain, it brought renewed attention to a debate swirling inside HR departments: What is the best way to let people go? The question is taking on urgency as more U.S. companies, from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Amazon.com Inc., move to shed staff in a wave of layoffs that is heavily concentrated on white-collar jobs.

☆ How Big Companies Choose Who Is Laid Off
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Soon after a company decides to cut its head count, the debate begins: Who should go? In the current economic environment, a final decision can take weeks, according to executives and corporate advisers. Workers remain in short supply, raising the stakes of determining who is expendable and who is worth keeping. With layoffs that target corporate staff, department heads often take the lead and human resources troubleshoots their lists, which can lead to intense debate and multiple rewrites.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg on How to Run a Company in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Chip Cutter | Lauren Weber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mark-zuckerberg-on-how-to-run-a-company-in-2023-29fd9c2c

☆ 6 ways companies are 'quiet firing' white-collar workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The kinds of moves Cutter is describing are examples of a growing workplace trend of "quiet firing." Wigert added that "quiet firing happens unintentionally more often than intentionally." "Economic conditions can certainly spur more quiet firing," Wigert said. It could also be the case that your pay suffers along with this in quiet firing. "Typically with quiet firing, you are the person who's being impacted.

☆ USAA Tells Staff, Your Remote Job Is No Longer Remote
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Many bosses are calling workers back to the office. One big U.S. company told people hired on a remote basis that they need to start coming in. The financial-services company USAA notified some staff on Monday that they would soon be required to show up in an office three days a week, according to a company email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

☆ How Companies Can Lose Workers Without Imposing Layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Carolyn Fong for The Wall Street JournalMeta says it gives incentives for high-quality work. Companies are shedding some workers without imposing layoffs. Amid a wave of job cuts hitting U.S. white-collar workers, a number of employers are taking other approaches to manage their workforces. Some are adding new restrictions on remote work, stepping up scrutiny in performance reviews or requiring staffers to relocate across the country to keep their jobs.

Shortly after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November, Jeff Maggioncalda , the CEO of online education company Coursera Inc., jumped into the technology to see if it could save him time. He began using the chatbot to draft company letters and notes, and asked his executive assistant to try the same for drafting replies to his inbound emails. She prompts ChatGPT based on how she thinks he would respond, and he edits the answers it generates before sending.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-metas-push-to-solve-the-noisy-office-ba43042

☆ The Bosses Are Back in Charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Chip Cutter | Theo Francis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

America’s bosses are starting to feel bossy again. Many executives say that they are no longer scrambling to retain workers, after several years of doing whatever it took to keep people on staff. Pay increases are slowing. For some jobs, hiring is getting easier. Executives are seizing on this moment to streamline operations or cut projects, shedding staff that until recently they couldn’t afford to lose.

☆ Bosses Are Back in Charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Chip Cutter | Theo Francis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Corporate Layoffs Spread Beyond High-Growth Tech Giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chip Cutter | Theo Francis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dow Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and SAP SE announced plans to cut thousands of jobs to prepare for a darkening economic outlook, as the current wave of corporate layoffs spreads beyond high-growth technology companies. Together with layoffs announced by manufacturer 3M Co. this week, these companies are trimming more than 10,000 jobs, just a fraction of their total workforces. Still, the decisions mark a shift in sentiment inside executive suites, where many leaders have been holding on to workers after struggling to hire and retain them in recent years when the pandemic disrupted workplaces.

☆ For CEOs at Davos, Efficient, Profitable Operations Take Center Stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Executives at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said they needed new technology to help trim costs. DAVOS, Switzerland—Results. It is the outcome executives say they are seeking, demanding—and selling. Companies say they are giving priority to profitability and efficiency amid concerns about macroeconomic conditions, whether it is to reach their strategic goals, slim down their workforces or streamline operations. In many cases, executives say they are looking to deploy new technology to help cut costs, offering a potential boon for sellers of such software.

☆ At Davos, Mood Is Somber as Many CEOs Question Economic Outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chip Cutter | Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DAVOS, Switzerland—The end of the free-money era has put a chill in the Swiss mountain air. Business leaders and economists gathered here this week for the World Economic Forum’s annual event say they see the world buffeted by high interest rates that central banks have pushed through to combat inflation. That has created a threat of recession, and led some of the world’s biggest companies to hold their breath—and their spending—ahead of an uncertain year.

☆ At Davos, Mood Is Somber as Many CEOs Question Economy’s Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chip Cutter | Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The town of Davos in Switzerland is seen on the opening day of the World Economic Forum, where politicians and top executives are gathered. DAVOS, Switzerland—The end of the free-money era has put a chill in the Swiss mountain air. Business leaders and economists gathered here this week for the World Economic Forum’s annual event say they see the world buffeted by inflation and the high interest rates that central banks have pushed through to combat it—and the threat of recession as those rates choke at least some demand. That is leading some of the world’s biggest companies to hold their breath—and their spending—ahead of an uncertain year.

☆ The Debate Swirling Inside HR Departments: How to Lay Off Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Executives considering downsizing are currently grappling with the same problem: finding the most effective way to let employees go. Is it better to get layoffs over with all at once even at the risk of cutting too deep? Is firing over Zoom more humane than making an employee come into the office to lose their job? How much severance pay is fair?

☆ Adobe’s CEO Sizes Up the State of Tech Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Chip Cutter | Photographs Carolyn Fong For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For all the turmoil in the technology industry in 2022, Adobe Inc. Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen says the questions he and other executives keep asking these days are relatively timeless. “Are you looking around the corner adequately?” the 59-year-old asks. “How do you—in addition to ensuring that you have the right strategy—execute against it?”

☆ More Bosses Order Workers Back to the Office as Job Market Shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The average office occupancy rate in 10 major U.S. cities remained below 50% for much of 2022, according to data from security firm Kastle Systems. Employers are losing their patience with empty desks in the office. Companies including investment giant Vanguard Group , workplace technology company Paycom Software Inc. and others have sent directives to employees in recent weeks, urging workers to follow existing hybrid schedules or to come into the office on additional days in 2023, according to internal memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal and interviews with employees. In some cases, bosses have told those who fail to comply that they could face termination within weeks.

☆ Some bosses are using the threat of a possible recession this year to give workers an ultimatum: Come back to the office or be fired
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some companies have been threatening to fire workers who don't return to the office, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bosses are gaining leverage over employees due to recession anxiety. But most people will likely keep their jobs in the event of a recession, experts say. That's because the recession that could hit this year is giving employers a leg to stand on in their pandemic-long fight to get workers back in the office. A survey from Insight Global last summer found that 78% of US workers are worried about losing their jobs during the next recession.

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