Joyless Work, Record Drought and Clean Air: What I’m Reading This Week

This week, I did two important things for my health: I finally booked some health appointments I’ve been meaning to get around to, and I cleaned my desk. I know that this doesn’t sound exactly riveting, or that these two are even on equal footing.

But to me, they both represent progress and effort. They are signs that I am prioritizing my physical and mental health.

Wherever you are, I hope you can find a way to prioritize yourself and practice self-care. It can be something as small or simple as going to bed 30 minutes earlier or getting preventative screenings. Both are important. You deserve—nay need—to be healthy so that you are in the best possible position to take care of others, be they at work or home.

Until next time, stay safe, be well and be kind!

Joyless Work

Sometimes, you see a headline that makes you stop whatever else you’re doing to read the article. This one from Mark Maurer and Chip Cutter at The Wall Street Journal fits that bill: “How Working in America Became so Joyless.”

To quote Maurer and Cutter, because these descriptions pack a poetic punch:

“The coffee squeeze is emblematic of a broader malaise sweeping office life at American companies, which appear to be in a race to find inefficiencies and cut costs. The curtailing of perks, from offsites to travel, is happening against the backdrop of an artificial intelligence push that employees say seems aimed at squeezing more work out of fewer people.

“The upshot, many employees say, is that work has been stripped of fun.”

Whether you personally agree or disagree, it’s evident the overall vibes have shifted. From fears about getting replaced by AI to stress about managing more direct reports to minimizing expenses at a time of high geopolitical and supply chain instability, work is more difficult—and fraught—for a lot of folks.

It can sound comical to hear that some firms are cracking down on the cost of wine that can be expensed while other employers are doing away with paid parental leave, but they all signify a change in the relationship (or, as some might say, the balance of power) between employer and employee.

It doesn’t matter where you work, what you do or how much you earn. If you feel like your employer doesn’t care about you or value your contributions, then all company metrics will eventually go in the wrong direction: higher turnover, lower morale, worse productivity, greater likelihood of a safety accident. It’s a real shame, because it takes years of investment to improve those metrics.

Read more here.

Record Drought

There has been an abundance of April showers in my neck of the woods, but that’s not the case for most of the United States. Seth Borenstein, a science writer for the Associated Press, shows the data—and the potential consequences of the next few months.

More than 61% of the Lower 48 states was in moderate to exceptional drought as of mid-April, according to U.S. Drought Monitor. And it’s not going to go away anytime soon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculated that at least 19 inches of rain in one month was needed to end drought conditions in much of the Southeast. Of course, if there was more than a foot of rain in Texas, Mississippi or Alabama, that would be even more troublesome.

It’s clear that we will see repercussions of drought in the upcoming wildfire season, further water supply issues out West and higher grocery prices due to a lower crop yield.  

“All weather is now affected by climate change,” said Kathy Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona. “There is no such thing as weather that’s divorced from climate trends. 

For the next installment of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, I spoke with a meteorologist about how weather affects just about every aspect of our lives—and how so many Americans are simultaneously facing so many weather extremes. If you aren’t already updating emergency planning materials or running drills, now’s the time to start. Because things are about to get a lot more, shall we say, interesting.

Read Borenstein’s excellent reporting and explore additional weather tracking resources here.

Clean Air

We talk about the importance of fresh air, but just how fresh is it? New data shows that our air is actually quite dirty.

A new report from the American Lung Association (ALA) found that for 152 million Americans breath unhealthy air and live in a county that the association gives a failing grade for air pollution. People of color are disproportionately affected.

You may wonder how what’s in the air can affect your health. Jen Christensen, writing for CNN Health, does a fantastic job of explaining how those particles can get stuck in our lungs and enter our bloodstream, which can increase the risk for heart attack, certain cancers, asthma, stroke and premature death, just to name a few of the many possible side effects.

The new ALA report uses 2022-2024 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the latest available.

Under the Trump administration, the EPA is undergoing what it describes as the “biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history.” That suggests that the next report will likely see much of the same—or worse—findings for America’s air quality.

Read the full story here.