Happy Friday,
Paid leave seems to have been the hot topic of the past week. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; various state representatives; and the CEO of Bumble all made public statements advocating – and, in the case of Bumble, providing – a provision for paid leave for workers. Due to the prolonged stress of the pandemic, Bumble paid the entire company to take last week off, in addition to their normal vacation packages. Shamefully, the United States trails Europe in this regard. Workers have no federal guarantee of paid time off nor is maternity leave by any means standard for parents. I am optimistic this will change in the near future.
We talk about time off a lot in this corner of the Internet. As you know, seventh week sabbaticals are integral to my work (I’m on one this week, in fact), and I believe employers should incorporate seventh week sabbaticals into their company schedules, as well. The simple fact is, in order to work well for extended periods, people need time to rest. Margin is not a luxury, but necessary for long-term health and function. Thankfully, the pandemic has been a wake up call for millions, demonstrating not only the need, but existence of a much more human way to work without sacrificing your mental well-being or your family for a paycheck. Shorter work weeks and designated “off line” hours are just the beginning, of what I along with many others believe will be a renewed respect for human dignity.
Here is what I want to share this week:
How Exercise Makes You Better at Life. “In short, if movement could be bottled and sold in pill form it would be a trillion-dollar blockbuster drug—used for everything from enhancing performance to improving well-being to preventing and treating disease.”
In retail, the psychological effect that encourages impulse buying is called ‘Gruen transfer’. Shopping malls and stores use intentionally confusing layouts to make shoppers lose track of their original purpose and pick up more stuff. It’s named for Austrian architect Victor Greun, who disapproved of the tactic. More on Greun and malls here.
Annie Dillard on The Joys of Reading.
“A man whose worldview has not budged in two decades has nothing to say to a world that has changed tremendously in that same time.” Tanner Greer on the shelf life of Public Intellectuals.
Inspiration Takes Work. “One study found that people believe creativity is stimulated more by defocusing (i.e., not working on the problem) than by focusing (i.e., deliberately working) on the task. However, when asked to recall and describe a recent idea generation experience, they reported the opposite: their idea was more often preceded by focusing than defocusing.”
Currently reading: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Have a great weekend.
