Energage is a Certified B Corporation that helps organizations measure, shape, and showcase their culture to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Through its fully unified SaaS platform, plus support and professional services, Energage customers are successfully recruiting and retaining the right talent for their organization by building, maintaining and branding their unique culture. Having launched the industry’s first employee engagement survey 14 years ago, Energage draws on the employee feedback collected through the leading employer recognition program – Top Workplaces — to maintain the industry’s most robust workplace culture benchmarks.
Energage is a Certified B Corporation that helps organizations measure, shape, and showcase their culture to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Through its fully unified SaaS platform, plus support and professional services, Energage customers are successfully recruiting and retaining the right talent for their organization by building, maintaining and branding their unique culture. Having launched the industry’s first employee engagement survey 14 years ago, Energage draws on the employee feedback collected through the leading employer recognition program – Top Workplaces — to maintain the industry’s most robust workplace culture benchmarks.
Energage is a Certified B Corporation that helps organizations measure, shape, and showcase their culture to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Through its fully unified SaaS platform, plus support and professional services, Energage customers are successfully recruiting and retaining the right talent for their organization by building, maintaining and branding their unique culture. Having launched the industry’s first employee engagement survey 14 years ago, Energage draws on the employee feedback collected through the leading employer recognition program – Top Workplaces — to maintain the industry’s most robust workplace culture benchmarks.
“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”—Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist, in War and Peace.
Late in June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the results of the previous year’s American Time Use Study (ATUS), as it has annually since 2003. I’ve reported on it each year for more than a decade. The ATUS data for 2020, released in 2021, reflected significant effects from the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the nation since March 2020. Fortunately, during 2021, the crisis loosened its stranglehold on the economy, allowing it to bounce back to pre-plague levels. However, the economy has since fallen behind again due to the rise of the worst inflation since the 1980s (sure to be a significant factor in next year’s report).
A reminder: the ATUS study covers all individuals over 15 years old, including full-time high school and college students, the disabled, the unemployed, and retirees. It also covers every day of the week, including weekends and holidays. Therefore, the average hour per day worked may, at first glance, seem low. However, these numbers are averages for every day and every person, including those who didn’t work or worked only part time. In the 2021 data, it also includes almost 2 million people holding multiple jobs.
Home Work While the 2021 work statistics resemble those of 2019, one difference from pre-COVID stats is a continuation of a phenomenon I’ve long seen as inevitable, but COVID just accelerated its development. The sharp increase in working from home reported last year continued in 2021, especially among professionals, with minor changes. No real surprise there, given the continuing pandemic and the fact that both workers and employers have become accustomed to people working from home. Indeed, a significant percentage of workers have refused to return to the traditional workplace, resulting in what employers have dubbed “the Great Resignation” when they’ve been pressed by employers to return (I’ve blogged about this recently).
As the pandemic forced continued use of videoconferencing and telecommuting technology (e.g., Skype and Zoom), 38% of employees did some or all their work from home, as opposed to 68% who did some or all their work from their workplace (these numbers exceed 100% because some workers did both). The 38% of individuals who worked at home in 2021 is down a bit from the 42% who worked from home during the 10 months recorded for 2020. That year, the reporting was late in starting, as the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest. In 2021, those who worked at their workplaces averaged 7.84 hours on an average day they worked; people who worked at home worked an average of 5.61 days on days they worked. This lower number for those who worked at home may reflect less time spent commuting; however, again, this average includes all days of the week and holidays, which suggests most Americans are working significantly longer than the “standard” 40 hours per week.
Thirty-five percent of men worked at home on an average day, down a bit from 36% in 2020, while the number of women working from home dropped sharply from 49% to 41.5%, possibly because many children returned to school in 2021 and no longer needed home schooling and at-home supervision. Overall, workers in management and with higher levels of education tended to work more from home that those with less education. For example, 67% of workers with advanced degrees worked from home on days they worked, while just 19% of those with only a high school diploma did.
A bit under 51% of the population 15 years old or older worked in 2021, higher than the pre-COVID 2019 level of 49%, as opposed to an average of 39% in 2020. Clearly, millions of people were back to work as COVID restrictions eased nationwide and their jobs returned. The average number of hours worked on days worked (including weekends) rose to 7.75 as opposed to 7.6 in 2020, springing back above the 2019 level of 7.7. As counted by ATUS, “employed persons” includes full-time workers and part-time workers, which also lowers the average number of hours worked to below the expected eight hours; but interestingly, the sum across seven days adds up to over 50 hours weekly for the average worker.
The Takeaway It’s clear that in 2021, the economy had begun to recover from COVID. It continued to stabilize for most of 2021, before inflation hit late in the year and in early 2022. In next year’s ATUS article, I expect to report a downturn in the economy, as we’re officially already in recession, though it’s hard to say how that will affect jobs. Non-salary workers may work longer, while both salary and wage workers may get part-time hourly-wage jobs on top of their main jobs to offset the increased costs of necessities like food and energy. We’ll see.So: how did the pandemic affect your work in 2021? Let us know in the Comments section.
Passion is the fuel that drives us to do what we love. Without it, we can get stuck in a routine that doesn’t fulfil us. If you have a passion, purpose, or goal committed to achieving, your life will be more fulfilling and meaningful. In this episode with Frankie Russo, we discuss how passions and purposes can change your life for the better. It also includes some ideas on the best ways to find your passion and purpose in life.
Since 2005, Frankie Russo has been building the Russo Capital portfolio of companies throughout multiple industries, including technology, advertising, marketing, music, automotive, agriculture, publishing, and finance. The companies he has invested in have offices in the USA and India and serve 121 U.S. Markets.
Russo and his team have led 2 of his companies to become some of America’s fastest-growing privately owned companies 8 years in a row. In 2017 his company became one of the top 50 companies in southwest Louisiana. Russo was named ABIZ entrepreneur of the year and recognized as one of Louisiana’s top 20 under 40 honorees.
The Art of WHY (2016), Russo’s first book, was on Amazon’s bestseller list in the self-help category and has been readapted and expanded into his second book, the rules-defying Breaking WHY (2022). He currently conducts a series of book tours and talks around the country to help his audience master their own purpose. Frankie’s highest calling is his family, and he happily lives with his wife and six children in Louisiana.
Tune in!
During this episode, you will learn about;
[00:00] Episode intro and a quick bio of the guest; Frankie Russo
[01:02] A short backstory of who Frankie is and where he came from
[06:20] Founding Russo Capital and its mission
[07:35] Frankie Russo, through his school of WHY
[09:45] A journey to find his purpose
[13:05] Common mistakes among entrepreneurs and leaders in their pursuit of self
[16:19] The culture shift in organizations
[19:00] Ensuring a company sticks to its WHY in the growth trajectory
[25:01] How successful businesses and leaders adjust to the realities of life
[28:37] Frankie’s decision-making process he shares with us
[34:10] Quick fixes that companies and leaders need to implement
[39:02] How you can reinforce passion and wisdom in the workforce
[42:54] Analysis paralysis on understanding your WHY
[43:47] What motivated Frankie to become an author
[48:34] Rapid fire round
[52:31] Qualities that have made Frankie who he is today
[54:27] Book recommendation
[56:15] Golden take-away nuggets from the guest
[56:50] Episode wrap up
Notable Quotes
Look at what it takes to harness your passion and purpose and put them together to create true, long-lasting profits.
The purpose is the center of everything an entrepreneur does.
The secret to understanding your WHY of existence is looking at who you were as a young person.
The only truly meaningful and fulfilling thing is living your purpose and serving your gift to the world.
The most powerful leaders are the ones that have humility and honesty.
Everyone’s life is vulnerable to the outside factors that we must adjust to.
The one thing you can’t sell people on is passion. If they are not passionate about their work, their productivity will always be unfavorable.
Understanding your WHY is only the first step. All the rest of the steps are work.
Challenge yourself to find out your WHY and be okay with the answer. If you don’t like it, revisit it regularly.
TAO is building the World’s largest and AI-powered Skills Universe and Community powering a career development platform empowering some of the World’s largest communities/organizations. Learn more athttps://TAO.ai
About WorkPod:
Work Pod takes you on the journey with leaders, experts, academics, authors, and change-makers to design the future of work, workers, and the workplace.
About Work2.org
WorkPod is managed by Work2.org, a #FutureOfWork community for HR and Organization architects and leaders.
Most teachers are familiar with Back-to-School Classroom Supply Lists. Typically, they included pens, colored pencils, dry-erase markers, notebooks, and the other usual staples that are readily available at office supply stores. These may be perfect for your learners, but unfortunately, they leave teachers woefully ill-equipped. Where can you find the cool stuff that makes your classroom fun and effective? Use Trainers Warehouse to help you create your best teacher supply list ever!
Trainers Warehouse makes it easy to find a huge variety of innovative teaching aids, that inspire student engagement, fun and participation. To energize learners and start your school year on the right foot, explore these top five best teacher supply categories:
1. Games Glorious Games
Treat your students to a break from lectures, books, and quizzes with some exciting, interactive game show games. Games are tremendously effective when you want to introduce new material, test for existing knowledge, or reinforce lessons. Try a Whaddaya Know? board to create your own Jeopardy-style game. You can even engage student teams in writing each category of questions. You’ll see your students’ eyes light up when you pull out buzzers and game wheels. They’ll be so captivated by the games that they might forget this is school.
Be sure to add prizes like Kudos, trophies, and tokens to your best teacher supply list. Rather than awarding prizes only to game winners and top performers, consider prizes for “strivers,” “growth mindset learners,” and others who make an effort to participate even when they’re unsure of themselves or their knowledge. You might also entice your shyer students to share in a small group, rather than putting them on the spot, in front of an entire classroom. In addition to giving students tangible goals to work towards, the positive experience associated with recognition and prizes may help them retain what they’ve learned. Going forward, each time they look at their award, they’ll remember the lesson, and the pride they felt when being acknowledged for their effort.
3. Durable DocU-Sleeve Sheet Protectors good for, well, everything!
Some of the best teacher supply items are purely practical but may be less familiar than your time-consuming and costly lamination efforts. DocU-Sleeves are thin-yet-firm plastic sheet protectors and are incredibly versatile and handy. Use DocU-Sleeves for wall signage, student work, notices, supply lists, and other classroom postings. Best of all, and unlike lamination, you can easily swap information in and out. After you try one, you won’t be able to stop yourself and will wonder how you ever got by without them. You can even slide in a white piece of paper or worksheet and write on the outside with wet- or dry-erase marker.
When we first introduced fidget toys over 20 years ago, one teacher told us she couldn’t use fidgets in her class because they’d be too distracting. Ironically, she was fidgeting during our whole conversation and didn’t miss a beat. In fact, fidgets can be powerful tools to improve focus by utilizing the floating attention that is innate to humans. What once kept us safe from predators in the wild, now makes us easily distracted in classrooms and meetings.
As you shop for fidget toys, be aware that not all are appropriate for classroom settings. Spinners, for instance, are too distracting and noisy to be effective learning tools. However, other fidgets, like Flexygon, Loopeez, and other Trainers Warehouse Exclusive Fidgets have just the right mix of interest and mindlessness to make them perfect additions to your back-to-school best teacher supply list. Balls and squeezies, too, can give students a healthy outlet for relieving stress, while enhancing concentration and attention.
5. Chatterball Thumballs
Thumballs are an excellent way to build relationships and foster communication. While they should top your list of back-to-school purchases because they’ll help you get to know your students, don’t stow them away after your first weeks of school. When your group needs a brain break or you hope to develop deeper relationships, pull out a Thumball and start conversations flowing. The Energy Break Thumball is also an excellent tool to break the monotony of the day. Use it to get your group out of their seats, so blood can flow back to their brains.
Order the Best Teacher Supply Resources in Bulk
These five tools are just the start! As you create your classroom supply list, explore a full range of tools to build participation, reduce stress, and reinforce learning. Make your lessons memorable and help material be better received with high-quality teaching aids and supplies! Trainers Warehouse makes it easy for you to purchase the items you need in bulk and we guarantee 100% satisfaction.
Before an organization can succeed, it must have a team. This team is the foundation upon which success will be built. Teams are not just a collection of people. They are the combination of skills and personalities that come together for a common cause. Join this conversation with Patrick Touhey as we talk about why, as a leader, you need to have effective work teams which are collaborative, supportive, and positive in your organization.
Patrick Touhey is president at Elite Performance Too – E, LLC. He was a high school basketball head coach for both boys’ and girls’ teams and a college assistant coach. When his brother, Hall of Fame basketball coach Kevin Touhey, was dying from lung cancer, Patrick promised him he’d continue his passionate work of athletic coaching. With Elite Performance Too-E, Patrick mentors both coaches and players to tap into their hearts and passions, pursue the spirit of team sports, and become the best version of themselves.
Elite Performance Too-E emphasizes intrinsic elements rather than extrinsic metrics that sports often prioritize, such as work hours, scholarships, and individual statistics. By teaching the value of service, leadership, and team connection, Patrick and Elite Performance Too-E help athletes overcome the common selfish and self-absorbed mindset and use the athletic experience to develop as people and potential leaders. Patrick has played an integral part in coaching multiple teams to win state championships and reach their highest potential.
Tune in!
During this episode, you will learn about; [00:00] Episode intro and a quick bio of the guest; Patrick Touhey [01:12] Through Patrick’s journey. What brought him to this day [02:35] The work of Elite Performance, a company where he serves as President [04:44] A bit of Patrick’s backstory into what he does in his space [09:45] Patrick’s comparison of the dynamics of a team in the two areas of his career [15:45] How the team dynamic has changed before, during, and after the Covid pandemic [25:49] How leaders can get people on track from the pandemic [35:33] Why Elite Performance encourages people to embrace failures [46:11] Patrick’s advice to leaders who find it hard to relinquish control to others [53:24] Patrick as an author of Create Forever Teammates, and why he chose that title [58:28] Rapid fire round [01:02:56] Qualities that have made Patrick who he is today [01:05:27] Current book reads he enjoys [01:07:05] Golden take-away nuggets from the guest [01:08:39] Episode wrap up
Notable Quotes
Childhood beginnings could be difficult but can be used as a catalyst for a better life if viewed through the lens of positivity.
Be a leader that can help motivate, influence, and help people tap into a better version of themselves.
Everyone has value and something dynamic they can bring to the table. We only need to be humble, pay attention and listen to each other.
Looking at who we are in our attitudes, behavior, and energies is a vital part of the intrinsic experience that needs to be developed if you will be good at what you do.
We must pay attention to an intrinsic human element to be powerful leaders. We will need to rely on and trust each other.
You can never reach your fullest potential and will be the best version of yourself without a true commitment to owning your craft.
For maximum productivity in the corporate, the three basic human needs our love, appreciation, and inclusion.
There are a lot of talented people out there who are letting fear and failure stop them from expanding themselves.
Don’t get too hung up on the outcomes and the results. Take care of your employees by making them feel valued, appreciated, and loved; growth will happen independently.
A team is your most important investment and vital asset in your business. Take care of them, grow them, love them and make them feel confident.
About TAO.ai[Sponsor]: TAO is building the World’s largest and AI-powered Skills Universe and Community powering a career development platform empowering some of the World’s largest communities/organizations. Learn more at https://TAO.ai
About WorkPod: Work Pod takes you on the journey with leaders, experts, academics, authors, and change-makers to design the future of work, workers, and the workplace.
About Work2.org WorkPod is managed by Work2.org, a #FutureOfWork community for HR and Organization architects and leaders.
It’s an essential practice to free oneself from all kinds of conditioning in order to find out the deepest reason for doing what we do. In this video, Frankie Russo, author of “Breaking Why”, shares his experience in working with organizations and leaders and getting them to understand their “why”.
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To an HR, every employee is more than a composition body, mind and emotion – they’re data. If HR can use technology in the way they contact employees, store files and analyze employee performances they can bring great value to an organization. In this video, Claire Haidar, CEO and founder of WNDYR and Pattyrn, talks about some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the HR and tech equation.
To watch the full podcast of Claire Haidar follow us on: https://work2.org/claire-haider-on-trends-shaping-the-futureofwork/
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In this video, Claire Haidar, CEO and founder of WNDYR and Pattyrn, indulges in a quick session of questions and answers on random topics revolving around work.
To watch the full podcast of Claire Haidar follow us on: https://work2.org/claire-haider-on-trends-shaping-the-futureofwork/
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