Future of Work Roundup - Week of August 15, 2022

Welcome to the Future of Work Roundup. Each week, we bring you five top stories—drawing from the latest academic research and industry trends—to give you an easily-digestible snapshot of how work is changing—and why it matters.

The rise of quiet quitting

The Wall Street Journal reported on the rise of “quiet quitting.” The alliterative phrase has gone viral on TikTok, where workers boast about putting forth minimal effort—like working shorter hours—to perform their job. Is this the next iteration of resting and vesting? Or is it just corporate speak for work/life balance?

Look who’s talking!

Malcolm Gladwell set off a firestorm of criticism after he criticized remote work. He said: “It’s not in your best interest to work from home…If you’re just sitting in your pajamas in your bedroom, is that the work life you want to live?...What have you reduced your life to?” Critics were quick to point out that Gladwell has long worked remotely and they took exception to his hypocritical—and non-evidence based—remarks.

Unintended Consequences of Pay Transperancy

A new piece in Harvard Business Review reflects on the unintended conseqences of pay transparency. While there's a lot of momentum around greater pay transparancy, the authors caution of potential unintended, negtive consequences—like how pay transparancy can compress pay.

Psychedelics as an employee perk

The Financial Times reported that psychedelics are gaining interest as the latest employee health benefit. Amid the stigma attached to psychedelics, HR software provider, 15Five, plans to be the first tech company to offer psychedelic benefits as a medical treatement.

Mandatory vacations

The BBC reported that companies are experimenting with mandatory vacation policies. Some of these policies even involve payouts to employees who take full holiday allocations. Will this move enable more employees to recharge? Maybe. But in an era where more than half of workers work on vacation, the jury is still out on how effective this strategy will be.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for next week’s Future of Work roundup.