Summer is coming to an end. Are you ready for the fall marathon?
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The Sunday Scaries are a real thing. The Cleveland Clinic has written about how to deal with them, the pandemic may have made them worse, and there are ways to plan your weekend to neutralize them.
But this time of year—as the slower pace of summer draws to a close and Labor Day weekend is fast approaching—this last day of August feels a little like the Sunday Scaries of summer. A tweet from comedian and podcast host Alexis Gay caught my eye this week saying just that, summarizing the sense of anxiousness and dread so many of us feel as we stare at our overstuffed September calendars, our October travel schedules, our November year-end deadlines and December’s holiday rush.
This year, the feeling is even more pronounced. Business travel is back for the busy fall season, with in-person conferences and events bringing networking and a return to normalcy—but also stress and travel headaches. Many companies are finally demanding return to office routines post-Labor Day, adding back pricey commutes, in-person office politics and the noise and interruptions of colleagues chatting near your desk. For busy working parents, add back the packed schedules of kids who are not just back in school, but back in sports and after-school activities, and the obligation to do them amid a sense of making up for lost time.
If it all feels a little daunting—like you’re gearing up for a four-month race through a maze of meetings, deadlines and travel obligations—you’re not alone. Give yourself some empathy, and try these tips for overcoming some of your anxiety at work. Apply some ideas about dealing with Sunday Scaries to your late-summer anxiety. And of course, learn when to say no—and how to manage your time to work smarter, not harder.
Here’s to a restful Labor Day weekend—and a manageable start to the marathon of this fall. As always, thanks to assistant editor Emmy Lucas for her help preparing this week’s newsletter.
FEATURED STORY
Dr. Iman Abuzeid Leads Incredible Health To Unicorn Status With $80 Million Series BKind of like a souped-up LinkedIn for nurses, Incredible Health is a platform used by 60% of the nation’s top-ranked hospital systems—including Cedars-Sinai and Baylor Scott & White—to list their open jobs, where a proprietary algorithm matches the best candidates to available positions. The startup recently announced it has raised an $80 million Series B round of funding—a cash infusion good enough to lift its valuation to $1.65 billion and vault its CEO, Dr. Iman Abuzeid, into rarified air: She is one of only a handful of Black female founders to run a company valued at more than a billion dollars, reports Maggie McGrath.
WORK SMARTER
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For young professionals, the job landscape may change again. Here’s what you should know.
Careers can be nerve-wracking. Here’s how you can make a successful transition from one job to the next.
ON OUR AGENDA
The impact of mentors: A Northwestern University study found that 60-year-old entrepreneurs were three times more likely to build a successful startup than 30-year-old founders. From professional networking opportunities to guidance and support, Forbes senior contributor Abdo Riani explains the value of mentors. Of course, mentoring is crucial for all careers. It’s a powerful career development tool, contributor Paolo Gaudiano writes.
Taking a stand: After years of employee support for racial and gender inequality movements, Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows workers expect their leaders to take action more than ever. Forbes contributor Corinne Post presents three questions business leaders should ask themselves to evaluate their organization’s fight for equality.
Are freelancers the solution to labor shortages?: Recent data from freelance platform Upwork shows 69% of hiring managers are anticipating hiring more employees in the next six months. But 60% also said they’re having difficulty filling those roles. Freelance workers may be the solution, Forbes senior contributor Edward Segal writes.
Fed fights inflation: At the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he still plans to raise interest rates to help the economy. Powell acknowledged the slow growth the job market will see as a result, whether it’s slower hiring or job cuts, Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly writes. Kelly shares what workers should know.
Student loan relief: The Biden administration has now forgiven $34 billion in federal student loan debt. In the latest wave of canceled student debt, the White House on Tuesday forgave $1.5 billion for those who attended the now-closed Westwood College. Here’s who qualifies, Forbes’ Derek Saul reports.
BOOK CLUB
Meaningful work and flexibility in your career are at the top of new job wishlists, but career changes can be daunting. Tim Rhode and Pat Hiban’s new book, The Quitter’s Manifesto, offers a guide to “quitting the job you hate for the work you love.”