Here is the published version of this week’s Forbes Careers newsletter, which brings the latest news, commentary and ideas about the workplace, leadership, job hunting and the future of work straight to your inbox every Wednesday. Click here to get on the newsletter list!
Scoop CEO and co-founder Rob Sadow (l) and his brother, Chief Product and Technology Officer Jon Sadow (r), are launching a searchable database for some 4,000 companies' work-from-home policies.
Photo courtesy Scoop.Trying to find out a company's remote work policy isn't always easy. They don’t put it on their web site. They use vague language, only saying they “support flexible work.” They call it "hybrid" when they really just mean WFH is tolerated on occasional Fridays.
A new tool launched this week—which Forbes covered exclusively—is trying to make employers’ flexible work policies searchable to help job seekers, as well as human resources executives, academics and anyone else looking to compare practices or track hybrid work trends. Called the Flex Index, the database, launched by the hybrid work management startup Scoop, is trying to catalog types of remote work set-ups culled from employee surveys, career web sites and job postings. Currently, it has categorized the policies of some 4,000 employers.
You shoudn’t treat it as gospel quite yet. For one, relatively few companies have verified the data yet, says Scoop co-founder and CEO Rob Sadow. What companies say their policy is may not actually be how employees—or their managers—really behave, especially as people get more nervous about their jobs. And it's worth noting its creation could have some benefit to Scoop, whether in brand awareness or attracting new customers.
But a quick glance shows it could give job seekers at least some good starting information for their search, and could be helpful for researchers or CHROs looking to benchmark or track remote work trends. Experts like Stanford’s Nick Bloom (who also holds equity in Scoop as an adviser) says there’s nothing else like it out there so far.
As a reporter, I like the idea of standardizing language around these policies—sometimes, companies I speak with say they let “employees choose” when they come to the office, along with their teams—but then say they expect people to be in the office a couple of days a week. There’s a difference. For more ideas on the challenges of remote work—from how it complicates layoffs to whether it could be coming to an end—check out Forbes’ Careers section here.
FEATURED STORY
‘AI First’ To Last: How Google Fell Behind In The AI Boomhe chatter about generative artificial intelligence reached a fever pitch this week as Google announced its chatbot Bard and Microsoft announced a new version of Bing with AI chat features even more advanced than ChatGPT. My colleagues Richard Nieva, Alex Konrad and Kenrick Cai have an in-depth look at what happened to Google in the AI race. “A fraught history in AI and big innovations, including scandals around its AI ethics research, major backlash after the launch of a freakishly human-sounding AI called Duplex, and a persistent brain drain of AI talent has left [Google] lurching to play catchup,” they write in this must-read story about how the long-time tech talent powerhouse fell behind.
ON OUR AGENDA
About that bonkers job report: On Friday, the Labor Department announced that total employment increased by 517,000 jobs in January—significantly more than what economists were expecting and sending the unemployment rate to a lower-than-expected 3.4%, a level last seen when the U.S. first put a man on the moon. The report led U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to downplay recession fears.
But layoffs keep growing: Confused how there can be so many layoff headlines—including 81,000 people cut in major U.S. layoffs in January—despite such a positive jobs report? Check out this explainer. And if you want to subject yourself to the latest doom and gloom, our 2023 layoff tracker is here.
Bias—and racism—at work: New data from tech job search platform Otta reveals that women of color provide dramatically lower minimum salary requirements than white men, white women and men of color, Forbes senior contributor Kim Elsesser writes. Research suggests women can experience backlash when they negotiate too aggressively, and stereotypes about people of color can exacerbate this backlash, Elsesser writes. Meanwhile, contributor Josie Cox writes that more than half of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups report experiencing racism in the workplace, according to a survey by the nonprofit Catalyst of more than 2,700 women.
Middle managers are in the hot seat: Middle managers are the next target in corporate layoffs, writes Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly. In an earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed out the proliferation of managers within his organization, claiming it creates unnecessary bloat and spiraling costs, Kelly writes.
WORK SMARTER
Here’s what to say in your next job interview about getting laid off.
Laid off? Remember it could lead to a more fulfilling career.
Starting a job after a long absence? Here’s what you need to know.
Yes, Mondays are that bad. Contributor Tracy Brower has ideas to make them better.
It’s no longer taboo to cry at work, say some leadership experts.
READING LIST
Career books can be best, I’ve always believed, when they share lessons from personal stories, rather than offering five-step guides that may or may not help your individual career. Here’s one that looks promising, from Microsoft Associate General Counsel Bruce Jackson—Never Far from Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, Microsoft, and the Law—a memoir of his rise from New York’s Amsterdam housing projects to Georgetown law, the music industry, and Microsoft’s executive suite.
As antisemitism rises around the country, Bloomberg explores how it’s creeping into the workplace, too. They cite a 2022 study published in the academic journal Socius that surveyed 11,356 workers of all faiths, finding that more than half of Jewish respondents experienced discrimination at work—a higher percentage than any other religious group besides Muslims.
It’s not really a career story. But New York magazine’s cover on how to exist in society after the weirdness and isolation of covid has some fun—and funny—erhm “advice” for work, from “if you’re Slacking together in a meeting, don’t giggle,” to “if you’re in the office, you’re wearing shoes.” Always.