Linked: Mental Health Challenges are Common – and Talking about them at Work Should be Too
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Linked: Mental Health Challenges are Common – and Talking about them at Work Should be Too

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

As I read about various companies and hear stories from a variety of peers, it becomes obvious that there might be two mindsets when it comes to managing people. One says these are human beings and should be treated as such. The other says these are labor costs and anything I can do to get more productivity from these “tools” for less money is good for my business.

Those might seem like extremes, and they are. I’ll have more to say about these extremes in a later blog post, but if you fall on the side of seeing your people as people, take a look at the suggestions. I truly believe that even in a company that does want to recognize the importance of mental health and support employees, it is still really difficult to talk about. It shouldn’t be that difficult. Consider how we can make it more acceptable and comfortable for everyone to prioritize their mental health.

Linked: Scientists Explain Why Our Brains Feel Tired After Thinking Really Hard
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Linked: Scientists Explain Why Our Brains Feel Tired After Thinking Really Hard

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 1 minute

Think about how we organize our days. Is having someone sit in one place learning or working all day a recipe for mental fatigue? Of course, it is. That also means that the longer a person goes without taking some significant breaks, the less they are learning. Or, in the workplace, the more mental labor required to do your job, the more likely it is that you’ll start to make some bad decisions and mistakes after a certain point.

So those 12-hour days are probably not doing anyone any good. You’re simply doing lower-quality work instead of doing what your brain wants you to.

I think we should look at the research around sleep, mental fatigue, meeting fatigue, etc. We might just find a better way for everyone to be more successful.

Linked: Facebook Cooperated With Law Enforcement in an Abortion Case. Did it Have a Choice?
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Linked: Facebook Cooperated With Law Enforcement in an Abortion Case. Did it Have a Choice?

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

However, the article below goes on to note that Meta has options. It could create hurdles, it could delay and fight it. Neither of those would likely make much difference in the grand scheme.

Eva Galperin from the EFF, though, offers the best solution. She points out that tech companies can’t turn over what they don’t have.

It’s the collection. It’s the lack of end-to-end encryption. It’s all the information they keep about all of us forever. If they didn’t do that, it wouldn’t exist to be turned over.

They made a choice, and anyone using their services to communicate private information made theirs.

Linked: What Facebook Is Good For, and Why It Can’t Be Good Anymore
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Linked: What Facebook Is Good For, and Why It Can’t Be Good Anymore

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

I’ve moved across the country a couple of times now. I’ve lived in 5 different states and have contacts and friends around the country. (And some outside of the US). Facebook, when it allows me to see someone’s new marriage, their kids, or even the sad things they are living with, provides the best way I’ve found to at least keep in touch in some small way with a lot of those folks.

It’s all the other stuff that makes Facebook terrible.

Linked: What is Toxic Positivity in the Workplace?
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Linked: What is Toxic Positivity in the Workplace?

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

When you aren’t allowed to question, you are probably also not allowed to have a bad day or express frustration. That limits how much of you can show up in the workplace.

That is not the way to get employee engagement and the best efforts of the people who work for you. In today’s job market, it is a good way to lose them.