An Important Balancing Point – Be Professional Always

An Important Balancing Point – Be Professional Always

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

I talk a lot about the Great Resignation and employees taking control over their own careers instead of just following along with what the company wants them to do. I stand by it, and like Mark, I am also thrilled that we are seeing a shift in the balance of power as employees start to recognize their value. But, he also raises an important post in the LinkedIn post.

As long as you are there and getting paid you owe them your best. Be professional, even if the company isn’t. Do your job even if you plan on quitting tomorrow. Commit your best efforts to the project even if you don’t agree with it.

Linked: Malicious QR Codes – The Digital Slip & Fall
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Linked: Malicious QR Codes – The Digital Slip & Fall

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

Sarah makes a valid point. Sure, during the COVID pandemic it’s nice that you can go into a restaurant and scan a QR code to view the menu instead of handling physical menus. I worked in a restaurant kitchen in college, I know how nasty some menus can get. On the other hand, are we teaching people to trust something they shouldn’t trust?

Linked: Cities and States Find New Ways to Tax Streaming Services
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Linked: Cities and States Find New Ways to Tax Streaming Services

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

I reject that argument too, and here is why.

In order to be a customer of Netflix, Disney+, etc. you need broadband internet access, which runs through those wireline facilities. The ISP is already paying for using the right of way and passing that expense on to you. Any service, streaming video, audio, websites you visit, etc. is using the connection that has already been paid for and passed on to you. Taxing each individual service simply creates a situation where there is one connection using the infrastructure, being paid for over and over again and then being passed back to you over and over again.

Linked: One in two employees reluctant to disclose a mental health condition at work

Linked: One in two employees reluctant to disclose a mental health condition at work

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

Through all of this, we still haven’t addressed the tough parts.

Sure, we’ve offered time off. We’ve told people it’s OK to not be OK. We’ve offered mental health apps for free. Maybe we’ve even offered more significant mental health benefits, or done sessions during the workday on stress and burnout.

What we haven’t done in many cases are the harder things, like creating a culture that is not rewarding all of the things we encourage employees not to do.

Linked: Cybersecurity Trends | 25% of Law Firms Have Been Breached
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Linked: Cybersecurity Trends | 25% of Law Firms Have Been Breached

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

Law firms are an attractive target because of the data, but also because it might be easier to breach a firm than it would be to hack the clients they represent. As the rest of the article goes on to describe, there are still too many firms without cybersecurity training, proper policies, or incident response plans. That is not going to keep things secure.

On top of that, as I’ve written before, the whole culture in firms is a problem. Anytime you have a large group of people in charge, (partners), who are often not to be questioned, social engineering gets a whole lot easier, and the likelihood that even some policy that exists might get ignored is pretty high.

Italy’s Employment Minister Touched a Nerve – The Workplace Is Not a Meritocracy

Italy’s Employment Minister Touched a Nerve – The Workplace Is Not a Meritocracy

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 4 minutes

Mr. Poletti is right, the best thing you can do as a job seeker is be connected to people who can help you. But the Guardian article is also correct that simply leaving it up to that has been, and will be, a guaranteed way to leave too many qualified people behind. Somehow we are going to have to find a middle ground, a place where hiring involves a true meritocracy but allows access to the most diverse group of candidates that we can get. This will not happen by accident. It will only happen person by person and company by company.

Let’s normalize having a wide and diverse professional network.