Here is the published version of this week’s Forbes Careers newsletter, which brings the latest news, commentary and ideas about the workplace, leadership and the future of work straight to your inbox every Wednesday. Click here to get on the newsletter list!
New survey data from Microsoft shows that while most workers think they're productive, employers lack confidence their employees are working as hard as they could be amid hybrid work. GETTY
GettyEmployees might they’re being productive. But bosses just aren’t buying it.
That’s the finding of Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index, which surveyed more than 20,000 people in 11 countries, and which I talked with Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for modern work, about last week. In yet another example of employers and their workers not seeing eye to eye about how work is going, it finds that nearly 90% of employees think they’re productive working from home, but 85% of managers don’t see it that way. They’re simply not confident that people are as productive as they should be—a phenomenon Microsoft’s report calls “productivity paranoia” that’s fueling things like return to office mandates and remote monitoring of people’s work.
“You end up with workers saying ‘I'm doing just great’ and leaders saying, ‘I'm not sure you are,’” Spataro told me. “There's real tension that is developing. Every company is working through that.”
The survey—naturally—was released as the software behemoth announced new product features for its tools, such as Viva or Teams, that are designed to help address related issues. But there’s little doubt that productivity fears exist—and bosses and their employees don’t see eye-to-eye about how to solve them. Macroeconomic figures—which likely point to other factors than distracted pajama-clad WFH employees—have shown steep productivity declines, which could be contributing to employers’ skittishness about how much work is really getting done. The New York Times’ recent in-depth look at remote monitoring software some employers are using raises heightened questions about privacy and trust in the modern workplace. (Two years ago, Microsoft made changes to productivity measures in its own tools amid some questions about privacy.)
But something else Spataro said stuck with me: There is a way to get people back to the office, and it’s not mandates or fancy concerts or food. It’s social: 73% of employees say they need a better reason to go in than just company expectations. And 84% said they would be motivated by the promise of socializing with co-workers. In other words, what will lure people back to the commute and the noise of the office is the one thing, at least occasionally, that they don’t have at home: Other people they work with. “Embrace the fact that people actually come in for each other,” Spataro told me.
Hope it’s a great week, one that includes time with people you care about—whether in or out of the office. As always, thanks to Emmy Lucas for her help compiling this week’s newsletter.
FEATURED STORY
Mark Cuban Considering Leaving Shark Tank As He Bets His Legacy On Low-Cost Drugs
Cuban, who has founded more than 10 companies, says he’s all in on the idea of his new low-cost drug company, and willing to spend “whatever it takes.” He insists he will pull back from other projects to focus on Cost Plus Drugs, and is even considering stepping away from Shark Tank. “Part of me wants to quit,” he told Forbes. He’s not worried about whether the show will sink or swim. “They’ll survive fine without me.” Jemima McEvoy’s profile of Cuban, part of the Forbes 400 list released Tuesday, can be found here.
WORK SMARTER
Here are tips to get your CV through those automated applicant tracking systems when applying to jobs.
Meeting with your mentee? Here are four questions to ask them.
Here’s advice on how you can prepare and combat ageism when job hunting.
You’ve heard about interview red flags, but here are some green flags that signal you may get the job offer.
Try these five strategies to strengthen your relationship, “people-person” skills.
ON OUR AGENDA
The four-day work week: The U.K. is halfway into their six-month trial of the four-day workweek. A recent survey showed that 35 of the 41 companies who responded to the questionnaire said they were likely or very likely to continue with the reduced work week beyond the pilot period, Forbes senior contributor Alex Ledsom writes. The trial began in June with 72 companies taking part. Contributor Luciana Paulise poses the question: Can a four-day work week be beneficial for companies with so-called quiet quitters?
Company locations post-Roe: Pharma giant Eli Lilly said it would be forced to grow outside its home state of Indiana, where it employs about 10,000 people in the state, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade and Indiana state legislature’s near-total abortion ban. According to an August Forbes poll powered by Zogby, which included 150 manufacturing executives, one in five manufacturing CEOs in the U.S. think similarly, saying they’ve changed their strategy on where to locate company facilities based on restrictive state abortion laws post-Roe, Forbes’ Amy Feldman reports.
Ghost jobs: Between ghost quitting, ghosting and now ghost jobs, you probably get the idea. Ghost jobs are essentially fake job postings. Companies post them for various possible reasons: Building a candidate pipeline for the future, appeasing current employees the company is looking to help, giving the appearance the company is doing well during tough economic times. The phenomenon is causing an inaccurate picture of the current job market, Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly suggests.
Supporting women in the workforce: The Cru’s Tiffany Dufu recently acquired The Mentor Method, a mentoring software startup, switching the focus of the innovative mentoring model from consumers to enterprise. Our editor Diane Brady sat down with Dufu to discuss the business model and how to support women climbing the corporate ladder.
Pay transparency: Laws in states like New York and California could soon require companies to include salary ranges in job postings—an effort to boost transparency and discussions around money. And while it’s a win for employees (a win that could include helping to close the gender pay gap), Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly writes that this will cause both upsides and a headache for employers.
BOOK CLUB
With an endorsement from Michael B. Jordan, You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose, and Your Why by Eric Thomas, Ph.D., provides advice on how to crack the code of success and motivation. Hint: you can get started today.