So says an article in Fast Company: Two years ago, Michelle* was a thriving real estate mogul in Seattle, and cofounder of her own business. Her company sponsored elite events from Vancouver, B.C., to Los Angeles and contributed to many philanthropies. But at the age of 28, she did what many other successful millennial women do: She burned out. She scaled back on clients, travel, and events. Eventually, with the support of her husband, she decided to call it quits... Read more
I ran into an interesting post by Rhett Allain at Wired wondering about that question. Administrators and politicians are emphasizing the importance of colleges in their role of producing an educated workforce. More people in college means more people that can work at higher level jobs. . . . Yes, humans with a college degree would be better at some jobs – but you can’t make a college degree job training. But what if we did? What if we optimized the whole... Read more
I like all sorts of things about this interview with Andy Crouch, but one that I like best is that he is making the “I’m stepping back from work to spend more time with my family” speech we usually expect to hear from women. (So much so that it made all kinds of news when Max Schireson of MongoDB did so several years ago.) Way to go, Andy and Christianity Today: Almost everything I do will be forgotten…. So I realized there’s... Read more
This recent New York Times article challenged some things I’ve been assuming: Blaming robots, though, while not as dangerous as protectionism and xenophobia, is also a distraction from real problems and real solutions. The rise of modern robots is the latest chapter in a centuries-old story of technology replacing people. Automation is the hero of the story in good times and the villain in bad. Since today’s middle class is in the midst of a prolonged period of wage stagnation, it is... Read more
…as outlined in this profile at Seedbed of Andrea Baare, a corporate chaplain: As a businesswoman and theologian who did not choose ordained ministry in the German Protestant State Church, I struggled with a sense of guilt for many years. Had I made the right choice moving into the business world instead of pursuing full-time ministry? Could my “secular” job be equally a “calling” from God? Or was that privilege strictly reserved for clerical or helping professions, such as missionaries, doctors and nurses?... Read more
By Stephen Milliken Cleaning. Everybody at some point in their lives has to clean up something. But interestingly, those of us who practice this discipline the most tend to be society’s most neglected, or at least second class citizens. Gender norms place cleaning within women’s work, drudgery not fit for the magnanimous free thoughts of men. The more I learn about the body and matter, the more I am conscious of how poorly my American society regards those closest to... Read more
By Timothy Askew; reprinted from Inc. with the kind permission of Timothy Askew. American poet May Sarton once said, “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” Back in the eighties I was watching Johnny Carson one night. The actress Shelley Winters was Johnny’s guest. Shelley Winters flounced herself out and sat her amplitude into the guest chair. Johnny Carson was obviously fond of her, as he frequently had her on.... Read more
In seminary, several decades ago, I had a good friend named Christ (rhymes with “wrist”) John Otto. He’s written posts on this blog before about how artists need to be the foremost culture-shapers of our time (here and here). We’ve taken different denominational and vocational paths over the decades, but two things are true of both of us: we are both writers and we are both artists. Two years ago, he wrote a book about the centrality of art to... Read more
A while ago, I made a commitment to always greet and thank retail workers in whatever situation I encountered them (Starbucks, Walmart, or the corner doughnut shop. Actually, I don’t live near a corner doughnut shop anymore….more’s the pity.) I have renewed this commitment after I read this penetrating and depressing article about what it’s like to work in retail. Be nice to your store clerks, everybody, and remember they are people made in the image of God. When we... Read more
Today’s long read is from Aeon, and asks a provocative question about whether “tech campuses” and the like are really in all of our best interests. After talking about Google’s new Mountain View campus, author Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey wonders: Such offices symbolise not just the future of work in the public mind, but also a new, utopian age with aspirations beyond the workplace. The dream is a place at once comfortable and entrepreneurial, where personal growth aligns with profit growth, and where work... Read more
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