Employer plans have played out like a game of chicken. Now workers are rebelling outright, and executives are trying everything to make the office worth it.
Tag Archives: Work-Life Balance
Britain Tests a 4-Day Workweek
A six-month program involving thousands of workers across 70 companies in Britain will be the latest effort to assess the effects of a shorter workweek.
Silicon Valley’s Worship of Work Hurts All of Us
Work has become religion for many knowledge workers. It hurts all of us.
What Your Younger Employees Are Really Thinking
Twelve millennials talked to Times Opinion about the Great Resignation, return to office and the workplace in America today.
You Can Still Wear Masks in Meetings
Your boss may balk, but you should be able to keep your family healthy — and keep this customer happy.
Wall Street Banks Are Getting Flexible on Working From Home
Many big banks are offering flexible working arrangements — sometimes grudgingly — as they chase talent that would rather stay home.
The Kids Are Right About Email, Too
It is now just a way to be at the beck and call of anyone, and any robot, with an internet connection.
Why Hundreds of New York City Prosecutors Are Leaving Their Jobs
New burdens, low pay and pandemic malaise prompted the resignations of a fifth of the legal work force in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn.
There Is No Upside to an 8 A.M. Meeting
The Early Bird in your office may do as he pleases, but he should not demand that you join him.
Being on Leave Means Not Sending That 2 a.m. Email
What to do about a boss with enough self-awareness to want to avoid micromanaging but not enough to actually do it.
After Two Years of Remote Work, Workers Question Office Life
The office was never one size fits all. It was one size fits some, with the expectation that everybody else would squeeze in.
Another Working Mom May Join the Supreme Court
Republicans celebrated Amy Coney Barrett’s role at home. Democrats should do the same for Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Remote Work Doesn’t Have to Be the ‘Mommy Track’
Despite the hand-wringing of some commentary.
Your Self-Worth Is Not in Your Inbox
A nonresponse to email may be rude, but it is not the end of the world.
Babies Have Entered the Chat
Up close and personal with work-from-home parents — and their unruly new colleagues.
Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Out of the Office
In this case, keep your long-simmering resentment to yourself.
How a Casual Workplace Can Hurt Workers
The pandemic has eroded many of the formalities of white-collar work — changes that may benefit employers more than their employees.
These Mothers Were Exhausted, So They Met on a Field to Scream
The pandemic has been relentless for mothers, many of whom have been stuck in an endless cycle of work and child care. Some Massachusetts mothers gathered to do something about it.
What Makes Quitting So Contagious?
Why leaving a job can start to seem like the thing everyone is doing.
A Guide to Quitting Your Job
From understanding why you want to leave to tackling health insurance and retirement plans, here’s your guide to a graceful exit — without leaving money on the table.
When You’re Stuck in the Middle of a Workplace Battle
What do you do when your company’s leadership has essentially abdicated any culture-creating or policy-setting role to you?
How Parents With Young Children Are Coping With Work-Life Imbalance
Facing an uncontrolled surge of virus cases, parents of children under 5 are again forced to wrestle with child care crises as the rest of the world appears eager to move on.
What It Was Like on the Elizabeth Holmes Jury for 18 Weeks
Away from the media frenzy, jurors dealt with the trial’s disruption to their lives and had little idea of the case’s implications.
Architects Are the Latest White-Collar Workers Drawn to Unions
Saying they are overworked and underpaid, architects at a prominent New York firm want to unionize. Others could follow.
Work Advice on Avoiding Early Meetings and Bad Bosses
Plus, books by bell hooks and James Baldwin can be just the leadership read a bad boss needs.
No Paid Family Leave? That Hurts Dads, Too.
Until everyone has it, paid parental leave will be seen as nonessential.
Is the Four-Day Workweek Finally Within Our Grasp?
After embracing flexible work styles during the pandemic, some companies are now embracing a shorter week.
Remote Work Is Failing Gen Z Employees
Unless carefully designed, pandemic office culture risks hurting the least experienced workers in our organizations.
It Really Would Help if People Learned to Email
You should never find out that you were someone’s second choice.
What Bosses Really Think About the Future of the Office
C.E.O.s are eager for employees to return — and afraid of alienating those who have grown accustomed to working from home.
What to Expect at Work When You’re Expecting
Legal protections against pregnancy discrimination are one thing. Actual feelings of security are another.
A Dose of Optimism About Mothers at Work
The economist Claudia Goldin has hope for the future.
What if It Never Gets Easier to Be a Working Parent?
The shock of the pandemic threw care taking arrangements into disarray. Many families find themselves back in the same precarious arrangement they had before, with the burden still on mothers.
Why Is Everyone Else Quitting?
Sometimes, as in a collective bargaining situation, you do have to think about other people at work. Other times, it’s better to focus on what you really want.
Is This the Cure for the Loneliness of American Motherhood?
American moms are isolated, overworked and undersupported. The solution may be living together, separately.
Return to Office Makes a Big Difference for Budding Lawyers
The generational divide on returning to the office is not neatly drawn. For some young professionals, even in a pandemic, showing up is more than half the battle.
The Economic Rebound Is Still Waiting for Workers
Despite school reopenings and the end of some federal aid, many people are in no rush to land a job. Savings and health concerns are playing a role.
Working From Home Moves Into the Garden
With the work-at-home lifestyle likely here to stay, people are taking things outdoors, creating spaces meant for privacy and comfort.
Hollywood’s Behind-the-Scenes Workers Reach Deal, Averting Strike
The tentative agreement came hours before a strike deadline and avoids a production shutdown at TV and movie studios already scrambling to make up for time lost in the pandemic.
Hollywood’s Behind-the-Scenes Workers Reach Deal on New Contract
The tentative deal averts a strike set for Monday and a production shutdown at television and movie studios already scrambling to make up for time lost in the pandemic.
Pete Buttigieg Joins the Parental Leave Debate: ‘This Is Work.’
“It’s one thing to believe something as a matter of policy,” Mr. Buttigieg said about taking paid time off. “It’s another to live it and see how much of a difference it could make.”
You Are Not Where You Work
Especially if you have good reason to stay employed by — and be concerned about — a global online retailer.
The Road Back: ‘How Am I Ever Going to Dance Again?’
We talked to three New York City Ballet dancers — Megan Fairchild, Jovani Furlan and India Bradley — in the months leading up to their return to the stage.
Want to Change the World? First, Be Still.
Advocacy for the oppressed requires action — but also silence and contemplation.
Productivity Tips: Forget About Being Productive.
People and industries measure how productive they are in similar ways. This extended period of remote work for many has revealed how flawed that can be.
Want a Can’t Miss Productivity Tip? Forget About Being Productive.
People and industries measure how productive they are in similar ways. This extended period of remote work for many has revealed how flawed that can be.
Faith vs. a Full Week of Work
You shouldn’t have to forgo religious observance to do your job.
Restaurants Increase Wages and Offer Signing Bonuses
As they struggle to recruit workers, many owners are raising pay. But some are trying to go deeper, to make their business fairer and more humane.
De Blasio’s Return-to-Work Mandate for City Employees Is a Mistake
The mayor’s rushed, illogical return-to-office mandate for city employees is a big mistake.
Moving to the Theater District and Finding His Community
A musical theater educator and audition coach discovers how great it can be to live across the street from “Wicked.”