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Tomorrow is Election Day. Don’t expect a lot of work to get done.
People are already decidedly on edge as the most contentious and high-stakes election season in memory—as we keep being reminded—comes to a close. Whether they’re worried about the economy, inflation, the impact of AI, their access to issues like child care or their overall rights, everyone’s worried about something—and it’s not whether that report gets finished on Tuesday.
Managers are in the unenviable role of trying to quiet election anxiety and keep people focused. Doing so will require acknowledging their workers’ feelings (not their politics), creating an open and respectful dialogue, building community, and setting healthy boundaries, writes contributor Adrian Gostick. Debates are still sure to erupt, and distractions are certain to occur, but making space for people to navigate the anxiety of the next week—or more—will be essential. At the very least, make sure people have the time off to vote.
When it comes to the issues, check out our explainer on how a Trump or Harris administration would impact major labor law issues that have been stalled, such as the noncompete ban the FTC passed in the spring or the overtime rule, both of which are facing legal challenges. Here’s hoping you find some level of focus this week.
HUMAN CAPITAL
Just days before Election Day, the U.S. Labor Department reported numbers showing that the job market grew by less than expected in October, adding just 12,000 jobs, well below economist estimates of 110,000, but matching both September’s and economists’ forecast of a jobless rate of 4.1%. October’s numbers were seen as being temporarily weighed down by worker strikes and work stoppages resulting from severe weather events like Hurricane Milton.
Boeing resumed negotiations with striking factory workers Tuesday, less than a week after the union voted to reject a negotiated contract offer and extend a strike—which is entering its eighth week and has hampered the manufacturing of key Boeing aircraft. Striking workers are digging in their heels on a revival of their pension plan, which was frozen and closed to new members 10 years ago. The push for the plan’s return comes at a time when pensions are making a quiet comeback, Forbes’ Jeremy Bogaisky reports.
HYBRID WORK
The aftershocks from Amazon’s mandate that workers return to the office five days a week are still being felt. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman is facing backlash over comments about the policy, with more than 500 employees signing a letter sent to the AWS chief Wednesday. In a meeting, according to a transcript contributor Jack Kelly reports was reviewed by BI, Garman suggested “there are other companies around” for those who don’t want to abide by the new policy.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
OpenAI has integrated an AI-powered search engine into ChatGPT, the company announced Thursday, a move that could enter OpenAI into a market dominated by Google, Forbes’ Ty Roush reports. In other AI news, a Swedish startup raised $55 million at a $500 million valuation to help companies build their own artificial intelligence agents, Forbes spoke with Google DeepMind’s John Jumper about winning the Nobel Prize, and Google shared that more than a quarter of its new code is produced by AI and then checked by employees, Business Insider reported.
FACTS + COMMENT
The third American Opportunity Index, a project released last week by the Burning Glass Institute, the Schultz Family Foundation and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project, offers workers a ranking of the large U.S. companies that offer the best opportunities to advance their careers. Check out our story on the ranking here.
60%: The percentage of studied employers that decreased opportunities for promotion last year.
174: The number of companies out of 395 that decreased their hiring of people without college degrees or meaningful previous work experience
“Despite the widening support for skills-based hiring, most firms made no progress—or even took a step backwards” on hiring workers without college degrees, said Matt Sigelman, president of Burning Glass Institute, in an email.
STRATEGIES + ADVICE
Here are five task management apps to boost your organizational skills.
These three roles will improve frontline workers’ experience.
The future of work is really about a future of less work. Here’s why.
QUIZ
Which company told its corporate workers that the consequences for not working at the office three days a week would be “up to, and including, separation,” according to a memo reported by Bloomberg last week?
- McDonald’s
- Walmart
- Starbucks
- Target
Check if you got the answer right here.