Work sucks, I know
Welcome to Clock In, TIME's monthly LinkedIn-only newsletter about the changing world of work. This edition focuses barriers at work, from job application to promotion and more.
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Column: Even Before the Glass Ceiling, the Broken Rung Is Holding Women Back at Work
Kweilin Ellingrud , Lareina Yee and María del Mar Martínez write: One important and often overlooked step in helping more women get ahead is addressing the obstacle that affects them—not as they approach the glass ceiling, but actually at the beginning of their careers: the broken rung. The glass ceiling does persist, despite a few small cracks in its surface, but many women begin to fall behind their male counterparts long before they are anywhere near that level.
Read here for more about how the broken rung affects women in the workplace.
Column: AI-Powered Tools May Make it Even Harder to Find a Job
Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta write: Entering 2025, underlying the calm surface of the U.S. labor market were currents of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and stagnation. Companies were taking longer to fill open roles, and a growing numbers of employees were disengaged but staying in their roles out of concern it would be difficult to find something better.
Now, President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their Department of Government Efficiency have laid off thousands of federal employees. These workers are now re-entering the job market. Plus, companies and employees alike are trying to anticipate the impact of rollicking financial markets thanks to constant changes in tariffs. This economic tumult is bringing the stormy currents of the labor market to the surface.
In the face of these challenges, many job seekers are turning to new AI-powered apps meant to help them find jobs. But ironically, these tools are likely to exacerbate the present challenges and make it harder, not easier, to find jobs.
Column: No, Your Email Doesn’t Find Me Well. Why Everyone Is So Tired of Work
Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer write: As Industrial-Organizational Psychologists who have studied workplace wellness for decades, we have our theories. We wondered if organizational wellness solutions were misaligned with employee needs or expectations. We also considered whether many companies were following wellness fads or trends without evidence that they actually drive results. But we didn’t only want to know the answer; we also wanted to find solutions. We interviewed and surveyed hundreds of employees to better understand how leaders can take action to improve employee, team, and organizational wellness. What we found was surprising—but also provides clear pathways forward for solving the persistent problem of workplace burnout.
We found that workplace wellness isn’t what most companies think it is.
Read here for what workplace wellness actually is and how to solve for employee burnout.
Column: This Tech Hack Can Help You Communicate More Efficiently
"In today’s fast-paced world, many of us rush to deliver our messages without taking the time to tailor or test them," writes Matt Abrahams, a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, the author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter and the host of Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast.
"At work, we rely on boilerplate presentations, or 'Frankendecks,' consisting of slides we have 'borrowed' from previous presentations or hastily composed emails and memos that lack focus and relevance. This approach leads to confusion, lost engagement, missed opportunities, and a lot of time cleaning up the mess of misunderstandings.
However, the tech industry can teach us a way to predictably increase the fidelity of how we communicate while remaining time efficient."
Read here to learn more about how to use tech to communicate more efficiently.
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This newsletter was curated by Kari Sonde and edited by Meg Zukin