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Pilita Clark

This Month

Leaders at Davos made it clear the MAGA vision of corporate life will be resisted by boardrooms.

A woke mining boss shows why Trump’s DEI crusade will fail

Davos showed how many companies are convinced diversity and environmental measures make financial sense.

  • Updated
It may seem like you need to be seen to be noticed in the competitive corporate world, but there are plenty of ways for introverts to get ahead.

The thing about rich bosses

Wealthy managers are increasingly isolated from the less well-off at work and that’s not good news.

December 2024

It is hard to think of anything else that costs so little, takes such a piffling amount of time, and yet achieves so much, as a short email or a brief chat to praise someone’s work.

The one thing employees really want (after a good salary)

People can stay in jobs that pay less than the market rate if they feel their work is regularly and properly valued. Recognising good work is cheap and effective.

  • Updated
solar

Why people really decide to install solar panels

In an ideal world we would not need to be prodded into greener behaviour. But in many cases, the social contagion effect is a key motivator.

November 2024

Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi test-drives an electric rickshaw in India. He also moonlighted as an Uber driver last year.

Wanted: more bosses on the shop floor

Too many leaders avoid spending time with workers doing the jobs the business depends on. But it can be easy for them to get caught up in the daily crossfire of drama.

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October 2024

In the office, subtle methods are required to halt prattlers at meetings.

Why coughing co-workers are the new pariahs

Since most of us are not required to host the Oscars or get sworn in as US commander-in-chief, it is fine to stay home if you’re sick.

Christ Church college at Oxford University.

Why it’s important to have an early alphabet surname

In the absence of quantitative signs of performance, the urge for recognition can make people obsess about what appear to be deeply trivial signs of success.

September 2024

What, me? Retire? Just because I’m 80?

Ageism is still rife in the workplace, assuming older employees can hang onto a job at all. This is a problem, as not all Boomers are wealthy.

  • Updated
Regularly organising lunches with colleagues or face-to-face project-planning meetings can help build your social fitness over time.

Why you’re not alone in enjoying your job

Satisfied employees are convinced they are lucky exceptions in a world of toxic bosses and burnout.

Could ever more elephantine salaries for relatively inexperienced people, in the law or anywhere else, skew the way applicants are hired?

The allure of the loud know-nothing

Do huge entry-level salaries encourage the selection of assertive, confident, forceful people rather than quieter, shyer rivals who are more competent?

August 2024

Why saying ‘no’ at work is good for your career

Researchers who knocked back extra work put themselves under the microscope and made some important discoveries.

The new wave of climate claptrap

Misleading, misinformed or just plain baffling utterances continue to gush forth in the face of an increasingly evident problem.

I have watched older people in a raft of different sectors burn out, fall ill with stress, or just grow more tired and unproductive.

The most annoying thing about young people at work

They are often right, especially when it comes to working hours. Older workers’ acceptance of long, unhealthy working hours is what younger workers are challenging.

Tesla has suffered a raft of other pressures, from higher interest rates to supply chain glitches.

Why Musk’s antics now appear to be hurting his bottom line

After a string of inflammatory remarks on social media, Elon Musk seems to be turning off the most obvious customers for his cars.

  • Updated
J.D. Vance’s comments are not just astronomically offensive and politically witless, they also betray a serious misunderstanding of where the world is heading in the first half of the 21st century.

Beware the march of the childless voter

The number of non-reproducers is already large and it’s rising, and unfortunately for J.D. Vance, these people may not have kids, but they do have votes.

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July 2024

‘Humaning’ and other nonsense: why we put up with corporate twaddle

Office jargon will always be unstoppable because it makes us feel more secure, more of an insider and more able to tell someone something pronto.

Do you get sick on holidays? You’re probably a workaholic

Those of us who fall ill as soon as we stop work may need to rethink our approach to life.

This is the new normal for working from home and commuting into the office.

This is the new normal of office life

Flexible working patterns in a decent place that makes it easy to do the job you’re paid for is a basic recipe for success in a post-pandemic world.

  • Updated
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer can work and work with “ridiculously small amounts of sleep”, according to one of his ex-girlfriends.

The productivity hack that really does boost careers

Physical stamina is an oddly overlooked superpower in working life. But although it will take you a long way, it won’t always be enough to achieve enduring success.

June 2024

accent

Why your accent might be holding you back at work

Wall Street banks and big law firms are among employers addressing this potential discrimination.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/pilita-clark-h0wnkt