These are the workplace issues you cared about most in 2024
Often our workplaces are a microcosm of the country’s, even the world’s, anxieties and hopes. It’s no surprise then that in this tumultuous year we’ve seen a lot of worry (over automation, layoffs, RTO mandates, and bad leadership), but also a lot of hope (for building more inclusive teams, better managing our time and energy, and improving our memories and happiness). As we get ready to wrap up 2024 and look forward to 2025, here’s a look at the most-read Work Life stories for each month of the year: January 2024: Advice for leaders on building more diverse teams “How building teams with diverse work experiences can drive success” by Jenny Fernandez and Luis Velasquez The first month of the year is typically dominated by goal-setting and self-improvement content, but this article broke though. In it, executive coaches advise leaders to build teams with people who have complementary skills rather than promoting and hiring based on expertise. Fernandez and Velasquez offer three mental shifts you need to make to design your team for future success. February 2024: Generational divides in workplace communication “The Slack generation can’t communicate with the email generation. Why more platforms are dividing the workplace” by Jared Lindzon What’s the best form of communication for important information: Phone call? Email? Slack? Text? Zoom? In person? Is it OK to send message after hours? Does the answer need to change based on your industry, age, seniority, workplace culture, or personal preference? This deep dive into workplace communication explored the generational divide over workplace communication and how the lack of widely accepted norms creates new workplace challenges. March 2024: Advice for getting your résumé past the dreaded bots “Many job applications are never read by a human. Here’s how to make sure your résumé gets seen” by Andrew Fennell A 2023 survey found that 98.8% of major companies use some form of applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen résumés for open positions. However, the majority of employers believe ATS systems can screen out qualified candidates because their résumés aren’t optimized for the bots. This article breaks down practical advice for making changes to your résumé, which will ATS-proof your application and increase your chances of getting an interview. April 2024: How to improve your memory “Forgot where you put your keys? A neuroscience professor offers 5 tips to improve your memory” by Next Big Idea ClubAs a professor of neuroscience, Charan Ranganath has been studying the science of memory for more than 25 years. In this excerpt from his new book, Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters, he shares five key ways everyone can make mindful choices to curate a richer set of memories. May 2024: A new approach to time management “Don’t focus on time management, try energy management instead” by Kristin Brownstone When you’re feeling overwhelmed, you might look for advice on time management in an attempt to get more done in your limited hours. But Kristin Browstone argues that this sort of advice is an enabler of surviving in hustle culture and instead we should be paying more attention to the energy we use. June 2024: How leaders can change company culture “4 leadership principles that drive company culture” by Ameesh Divatia Ameesh Divatia is a tech cofounder and CEO, and in this article he offers his perspective on how the C-suite can cultivate the values they stand for and impact their company culture with an approach he calls the “Four I’s”—instinct, integrity, intensity, and inclusion. July 2024: Workplace DEI issues made their way into the presidential campaign “What people mean when they call Kamala Harris a ‘DEI candidate’” by Mita Mallick Mallick is a DEI expert who has experienced some of the same bias Vice President Kamala Harris faced on the campaign trail. In this personal and thoughtful article, she explains how terms like “DEI hire,” “DEI candidate,” and “DEI president” are used to demean and devalue leaders of color. August 2024: Well-paid jobs that let employees work from home “These are the top 10 fully remote jobs that make $100,000-plus per year” by FlexJobs The RTO battle still raged this year , so it’s no surprise that this article detailing 10 jobs that both pay well and let employees work remotely was widely read. September 2024: An exploration of the ways managers can fail “10 signs you’re not fit to lead people” by Featured The topic of bosses being bad at their jobs is alway popular. This article can serve as a checklist for leaders who want to improve or for those who want to know if someone is ready to take on a leadership role. October 2024: Defining a new phenomenon: Silent Firing “Silent firing is the new quiet quitting” by George KailasThese two phrases capture the changing tides in the workplace. Employees felt more empo
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Often our workplaces are a microcosm of the country’s, even the world’s, anxieties and hopes. It’s no surprise then that in this tumultuous year we’ve seen a lot of worry (over automation, layoffs, RTO mandates, and bad leadership), but also a lot of hope (for building more inclusive teams, better managing our time and energy, and improving our memories and happiness).
As we get ready to wrap up 2024 and look forward to 2025, here’s a look at the most-read Work Life stories for each month of the year:
January 2024: Advice for leaders on building more diverse teams
“How building teams with diverse work experiences can drive success” by Jenny Fernandez and Luis Velasquez
The first month of the year is typically dominated by goal-setting and self-improvement content, but this article broke though. In it, executive coaches advise leaders to build teams with people who have complementary skills rather than promoting and hiring based on expertise. Fernandez and Velasquez offer three mental shifts you need to make to design your team for future success.
February 2024: Generational divides in workplace communication
“The Slack generation can’t communicate with the email generation. Why more platforms are dividing the workplace” by Jared Lindzon
What’s the best form of communication for important information: Phone call? Email? Slack? Text? Zoom? In person? Is it OK to send message after hours? Does the answer need to change based on your industry, age, seniority, workplace culture, or personal preference? This deep dive into workplace communication explored the generational divide over workplace communication and how the lack of widely accepted norms creates new workplace challenges.
March 2024: Advice for getting your résumé past the dreaded bots
“Many job applications are never read by a human. Here’s how to make sure your résumé gets seen” by Andrew Fennell
A 2023 survey found that 98.8% of major companies use some form of applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen résumés for open positions. However, the majority of employers believe ATS systems can screen out qualified candidates because their résumés aren’t optimized for the bots. This article breaks down practical advice for making changes to your résumé, which will ATS-proof your application and increase your chances of getting an interview.
April 2024: How to improve your memory
“Forgot where you put your keys? A neuroscience professor offers 5 tips to improve your memory” by Next Big Idea Club
As a professor of neuroscience, Charan Ranganath has been studying the science of memory for more than 25 years. In this excerpt from his new book, Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters, he shares five key ways everyone can make mindful choices to curate a richer set of memories.
May 2024: A new approach to time management
“Don’t focus on time management, try energy management instead” by Kristin Brownstone
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, you might look for advice on time management in an attempt to get more done in your limited hours. But Kristin Browstone argues that this sort of advice is an enabler of surviving in hustle culture and instead we should be paying more attention to the energy we use.
June 2024: How leaders can change company culture
“4 leadership principles that drive company culture” by Ameesh Divatia
Ameesh Divatia is a tech cofounder and CEO, and in this article he offers his perspective on how the C-suite can cultivate the values they stand for and impact their company culture with an approach he calls the “Four I’s”—instinct, integrity, intensity, and inclusion.
July 2024: Workplace DEI issues made their way into the presidential campaign
“What people mean when they call Kamala Harris a ‘DEI candidate’” by Mita Mallick
Mallick is a DEI expert who has experienced some of the same bias Vice President Kamala Harris faced on the campaign trail. In this personal and thoughtful article, she explains how terms like “DEI hire,” “DEI candidate,” and “DEI president” are used to demean and devalue leaders of color.
August 2024: Well-paid jobs that let employees work from home
“These are the top 10 fully remote jobs that make $100,000-plus per year” by FlexJobs
The RTO battle still raged this year , so it’s no surprise that this article detailing 10 jobs that both pay well and let employees work remotely was widely read.
September 2024: An exploration of the ways managers can fail
“10 signs you’re not fit to lead people” by Featured
The topic of bosses being bad at their jobs is alway popular. This article can serve as a checklist for leaders who want to improve or for those who want to know if someone is ready to take on a leadership role.
October 2024: Defining a new phenomenon: Silent Firing
“Silent firing is the new quiet quitting” by George Kailas
These two phrases capture the changing tides in the workplace. Employees felt more empowered in 2022 and opted to “quiet quit” by doing the bare minimum. In 2024, a new trend emerged: “silent firing” where companies and bosses make jobs more difficult in the hopes that employees quit, so they can either automate their jobs or simply save the cost of paying severance in a layoff.
November 2024: The RTO battle took the national stage
“Elon Musk said what a lot of CEOs think: RTO mandates are meant to make you quit” by Pavithra Mohan
After Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, they hinted at their plans to trim headcount across the civil service—in part by mandating that federal workers return to the office full-time. The pair suggested that requiring federal workers to return to the office would “result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome,” saying out loud the very thing employees locked in a four-year RTO battle with their bosses have suspected all along.
December 2024: How to be happier
“A simple exercise from Yale’s Happiness Lab will help you make decisions that lead to long-term happiness” by Jenna Abdou
The month isn’t over yet, but in an antidote to a rough year, the most popular story of December so far is from the creator of Yale’s popular class on how to transform your self-talk, change how you experience stress, and create space for serendipity. Sounds like the perfect reset before 2025.
