GoKawiil
Tech News
A workplace advice column lays out how employees can approach making a significant request of their manager, completing a three-part series on big asks in the workplace. Earlier instalments covered how colleagues can make substantial requests of each other and how managers can approach big asks of their direct reports.
Self-improvement app RiseGuide has posted a one-month 'chief small talk officer' role paying $2,000 plus a going-out budget. Up to three people, preferably in New York or Los Angeles but open to any U.S. applicant, will visit cafés, bars, parks and other public spots to strike up conversations with strangers and document the experience in notes, videos and stories.
A workplace advice piece addresses how fear of appearing 'too much' or 'harsh' can stop women leaders from advocating for themselves at work. It includes an anecdote from a leader who worried about how assertive she appeared in a conversation, and offers a four-step framework intended to help readers ask for what they need more confidently.
Research discussed in the article finds that blanket restrictions on sending or reading email outside work hours don't solve the underlying problem of excessive workloads and blurred boundaries. Instead, the piece points to the example of a parent emailing late at night without expecting an immediate reply, noting colleagues often can't tell that from the message itself.
A leadership coaching column describes the case of a manager named Clara who felt exhausted and uncertain after her boss repeatedly changed strategic direction. The coach recommends employees use targeted questions to clarify priorities rather than confronting a boss about team morale directly.
A working paper from Harvard Business School reports that the way people speak can influence their career trajectories, steering them toward more people-oriented, socially intensive roles. The research suggests communication style is a factor employers and career paths respond to, beyond just skills or experience.
A US research-university scientist wrote to Nature's advice column defending a habit of turning up late to meetings they chair in order to avoid small talk, arguing this keeps sessions efficient and lets them end early. Nature asked several other scientists to weigh in on whether this behaviour is disrespectful or simply a productivity tactic.
A workplace productivity tip argues that opening chat messages with greetings like 'hi, you around?' before stating the actual request wastes time. Because typing is slower than speaking, making a colleague wait through a greeting exchange before hearing the real question delays responses unnecessarily. The advice: state the question or request immediately in the first message.
A leadership commentary observes that leaders often ask teams if everything is fine and accept nodding agreement at face value, without knowing whether that reflects genuine buy-in. It argues that in a culture obsessed with speed, executives skip the slower work of building real trust and understanding among their teams, leaving them unable to tell if silence signals agreement or unspoken doubt.
A guide on workplace humor examines how leaders and employees can use jokes to build rapport without embarrassing themselves or colleagues. It draws on an example of a finance director opening a results presentation to hundreds of staff with humor, illustrating how tone and timing shape whether a joke lands well in a professional setting.
Research highlighted in the report shows people are talking to each other less often than in the past, a shift attributed largely to rising reliance on digital communication over in-person interaction. Analysts warn this decline in conversation is already affecting mental health and workplace dynamics, yet most organizations have not adjusted policies to address it.
Conversational AI features are letting employees speak their thoughts aloud rather than type and heavily edit emails, reports, and presentations. This shift could reduce time spent perfecting formal, buttoned-up business language in favor of a more natural, spoken tone in workplace writing.