Journal

Plenty of workers fib to get an extra day or two off. So ditch sick days for a different policy that can actually boost engagement.

Plenty of workers fib to get an extra day or two off. So ditch sick days for a different policy that can actually boost engagement.

Face it: There are days when you just don’t want to go to work. According to a 2015 survey from the job website CareerBuilder, 38% of employees said they’ve called in sick even though they felt well, up from 28% in 2014. Of the employees who feigned being sick, 27% said they just didn’t feel like going, 26% needed to relax, and 21% wanted to catch up on sleep.

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Schools wary of Clinton versus Trump minefields are avoiding lessons on government—but it’s to the detriment of our kids, say experts.

Schools wary of Clinton versus Trump minefields are avoiding lessons on government—but it’s to the detriment of our kids, say experts.

Mock-election student voters at schools across the country might expect to find useful information on the presidential candidates’ policy positions on Scholastic’s Election 2016 news site. Instead, Scholastic offers kids preparing to cast a classroom ballot a cheat sheet on Republican Donald Trump’s childhood (“As a teen, Trump was a star baseball player”), fortune, and many grandchildren. To introduce Hillary Clinton, Scholastic notes that the Democrat once sold cookies (“Clinton was a Brownie and a Girl Scout”), without mentioning that she later disavowed the idea of staying home to bake them. Foreign policy, guns, jobs—the topics that animate voting decisions in the grownup world—are glaringly absent.

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Have reason to question a colleague’s integrity? Here are three ways you can deal with them.

Have reason to question a colleague’s integrity? Here are three ways you can deal with them.

Once, long ago, I worked at a rapidly growing tech company. For all intents and purposes, the organization was nailing it, sending consultants out all over the country to work with organizations on problem-solving, tech-related issues. All sounds great, right? It only took a few months for me to begin noticing things I was far from comfortable with.

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Silicon Valley human resources veteran Patty McCord helps businesses build influence.

Silicon Valley human resources veteran Patty McCord helps businesses build influence.

During Patty McCord’s 14 years as chief talent officer of Netflix, her unconventional approach to human resources shaped the workforce that transformed the DVD-by-mail retailer into a top content-streaming service. Her philosophy, which included unlimited vacation and no annual reviews, is detailed in a 124-page report, “Netflix Culture: Freedom and Responsibility,” which Sheryl Sandberg has called “the most important document ever to come out of the Valley.” Now a consultant, McCord helps businesses such as Warby Parker and Birchbox hire effective teams. Here’s how she forms company culture.

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Working a temporary job this summer? Here’s how to make it count before your time’s up.

Working a temporary job this summer? Here’s how to make it count before your time’s up.

They may not be glamorous, they probably won’t be easy, and they might not pay very well, but temp jobs can—and do—lead to successful careers in rewarding fields of work. Just ask Todd Cherches, CEO and cofounder of BigBlueGumball, a New York City–based career consulting, training, and coaching firm:

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Some companies are building much more diverse employee bases while their boards remain heavily white and male.

Some companies are building much more diverse employee bases while their boards remain heavily white and male.

Many companies are buckling down on their diversity efforts, some with better results than others. But most of those initiatives focus on employee bases, with few businesses giving the same attention to diversity at the board level. That’s a problem. Here’s why it persists and what it will take to fix it.

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Tristan Perich’s new album, Noise Patterns, is a dumb machine that turns data into noise into hypnotic music

Tristan Perich’s new album, Noise Patterns, is a dumb machine that turns data into noise into hypnotic music

You don’t need an MP3 player, a turntable, or a CD player to listen to Tristan Perich’s new album, Noise Patterns. All you need is a pair of headphones—”not earbuds,” says the composer—and a willingness to hear music in noise.

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A combination of complex legacy computer systems and strict uptime requirements make more of these disruptions almost inevitable.

A combination of complex legacy computer systems and strict uptime requirements make more of these disruptions almost inevitable.

After a data center outage caused Delta Air Lines to cancel more than 2,100 flights this week, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the company’s doing everything it can to make sure such an event never happens again.

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