A Message from Our CEO – January 2024

“The wise rest at least as hard as they work”

-       Mokokoma Mokhonoana

‘Busy’ has become a status badge. When you ask someone, “how is work?” they usually respond “busy,” or “crazy,” or “crazy busy.” This is one I like: “insane.” Really, work is insane? Then why on earth are you working there? In a perverse and twisted trend, being overworked has become an aspirational lifestyle, according to two researchers at Columbia and Harvard. The researchers found that the perceived scarcity of your value at work contributes to your social status. We value busy more than purpose.

Blame the Boomers. They rolled up their sleeves and bombastically blew up the 9-5 workday. Then Gen X came along, slid into leadership positions, and continued the trend with their hard driving result-driven intensity and neuroticism. Can Millennials and Gen Z save us? I really hope so. Indeed, trends of 30-year old’s and younger emphasize purpose over paycheck, and balance over work-centrism. If they have their way, and surely, they will when they step into leadership positions, work and attitudes toward work might be entirely unrecognizable. With a boost from AI, and a reprioritization of what matters, we might just start to value friends, family, and community first.

Get. A. Life.

Warren