Welcome back to Trabajondolo. I’m Bethan Staton, Deputy Work and Careers Editor at the Financial Times. This week has been a busy one for the Financial Times.
On Monday we had the FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award – a celebration of some of the best nonfiction of 2024. I highly recommend the winner: Parmy Olson’s Supremacywhich tells the story of the rivalry between the founders of artificial intelligence pioneers Open AI and Google Deepmind. It’s great: a fascinating, sometimes alarming study of two people who play an important role in our future, which will make you think about the concentration of power in technology. The other shortlisted books, which you can read about hereThey are also worth a visit.
Last night we also had the FT staff Christmas party. I’m not proud to admit that I left early, something I consider more boring than responsible, but I’m happy to be able to catch up on the gossip today with a fresh head.
For more ideas on seasonal socializing and how to navigate it if you’re a manager, read on.
The most wonderful time of the year.
There is no one way to approach the office Christmas party. Some bring out their best velvets and sequins and toast the company’s successes with genuine holiday cheer. Others sell out the open bar and gossip with disgruntled accomplices. There are those who avoid it altogether: why unnecessarily spend free time with people we are forced to sit with from 9 to 5?
With all due respect to misanthropic readers, I’m in the pro-Christmas party camp. You don’t have to be the live-and-work type to enjoy them. Socializing with colleagues adds a dimension of fun, caring and connection to the time we spend in our jobs: at its best, it means we create relationships that mean more than KPIs, developing solidarity or friendship.
“They’re a really good activity for building social bonds and a shared reality that makes us feel closer to people,” says science writer David Robson. Party-adjacent festive activities such as dancing, singing, eating and drinking, he explains, create “neural synchronization” between people, increasing intimacy and trust. “Neurologically speaking, our brain works the same way. The boundaries between self and other become blurred.”
I could scream All I want for Christmas is you With the sales team it will really be like that. . . transcendent? Robson points me to a wealth of studies that suggest this might not be far-fetched and that neural synchrony leads to deep social connection. That goes some way to explaining why I like karaoke so much, but it also helps in the office. “You’re paying attention,” Robson says. “There are less likely to be communication problems between you and your colleagues.” A German study found that employees who did synchronous exercises together took fewer sick days and experienced less work-related stress.
However, when it comes to workplace policies and hierarchies, things get more complicated. Katie Best, a leadership coach and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, says one of the challenges of moving into a management role is realizing that strident bonds with co-workers may no longer be appropriate. If you manage a team, he says, Christmas parties are “aimed more at junior staff and much less for you.” Those in positions of authority and trust must be mindful of maintaining it, even when staff let their hair down.
That means senior managers should be a little more cautious with their approach to the office Christmas party and refrain from going crazy. “Go in full of enthusiasm without judging others, unless someone is doing something really inappropriate,” says Best. “You definitely want to leave before everything gets complicated. “Your staff doesn’t want you to put them in a taxi.”
A couple of exceptions to the rule come to mind: charismatic managers who have a reputation for partying, but who enjoy deep goodwill and wield natural authority. Unfortunately, these are the minority (she literally knows two people). So no matter how “cool” a boss you think you are, it’s safe to assume that you’re not one of the few who gets their way.
That doesn’t mean senior staff can’t show a different side than they would during a board meeting. Christmas parties are a “good opportunity for managers to reveal a little about themselves” and establish more human relationships with their colleagues, says Best, perhaps revealing a little about what’s really going on in their lives, good or bad. .
Robson has a name for this phenomenon: the “beautiful clutter effect.” It is not an approach that I immediately I think many high-level leaders would aspire to channel, but he assures me that it’s about authenticity rather than being a charming mess. “When leaders show vulnerabilities, something they might be ashamed of, loyalty increases because people want to see the human side,” he adds. “Where you choose to set your boundaries is very personal.”
This week on the Working It podcast
As it is the busiest Christmas week in the office*, writes Isabel Berwickwe return to a classic podcast episodein which guests Stephen Bush and Viv Groskop, both seasoned party survivors, tell us how they get by (hint: it’s all in the carb preload) and what to do when it all goes very wrong.
*I would have liked to have listened to this episode before attending the FT Christmas party last night. At least I saved everyone my dance this year💃.
Dear Jonathan 📩
The problem: Our student son is coming home for Christmas this weekend🎄 and I’m wondering how to manage the conversation about what they are going to do after college, I don’t think they are making an effort to find a job, nor do I think they realize how competitive which is the world. But if I bother them, they will leave. How to handle it?
Jonathan Black’s advice: Once the returning student has caught up on sleep, the first thing is to find out because They are not participating in what you consider an essential task. Try not to convey your anxiety to them, which will aggravate the situation. 🧨
They may not be engaged because they think there is no point (“there are no jobs anyway”); perhaps because they don’t yet know what they want to do, or because they are worried about the process and fear failure. On this last point, you’ll have heard many stories from friends about how they submitted 100 applications and only got one interview. Each and every one of these are legitimate reasons to lack enthusiasm for the process and continue living in the present.
Try to explore what worries them and question any examples of “evidence” based on anecdotes. The vast majority of graduates will get some type of job after leaving university. It may not be exactly the job they want, but it is unlikely to be the last job they will have, and in due time, they will move on.
If they fear failure and prefer not to participate, then maybe it’s okay not to apply (who wants to be among the 139 out of 140 job applications that fail on average?), but it might be interesting to start collecting 📋 experiences to demonstrate important “skills.” of employability.”
Employers may be risk averse and prefer to hire people who can demonstrate that they have performed a position that requires arriving on time, staying all day/shift, generally following instructions, and showing some initiative. Your student can do this through volunteering, organizing a student society or working part-time in a cafe/supermarket/warehouse or wherever.
When the student graduates, the job market could very well be different, they will have more experiences to speak of and will be able to demonstrate important skills. They can still choose not to apply for a permanent job, but the barrier to doing so may be lower.
They may also have discovered what they would want to do ✅ and, just as important, what they don’t want to do ❎. If family members around the Christmas table want to participate, they could offer introductions to people in roles that might be of interest to them so the student can at least talk to them about the job. Before you know it, a previously discouraged student starts meeting people, picking up some skills, and maybe feeling a little more in control.
Jonathan Black is director of the careers service at the University of Oxford. Email your career dilemmas to dear.jonathan@ft.com
Five notable stories from the world of work
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How employers can set local wages in a globally competitive world: When companies hire from territories with very different average salaries and costs of living, how should they set salaries? This clever piece digs deeper into the data.
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Parmy Olson on AI: “It is not uncontrollable”: The winner of the FT Business Book Award talks about the race between AI’s most influential founders and the battle for proper oversight of this powerful technology.
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Workers in England are more likely to be overqualified than their peers globally: More than a third of employees aged 25 and over reported having levels of education above those required by their role, reflecting a lack of graduate job creation outside London.
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My uncomfortable brush with green shame: When columnist Pilita Clark told her colleagues that she had gone off the rails by purchasing an electric car, none of them were satisfied. It prompted reflection on the usefulness of criticizing friends for environmental failures.
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United Health shooting prompts rethink of corporate security: “Could this happen to us?” is the question some business leaders are asking themselves, following the shooting of Brian Thompson. Some industries are more vulnerable than others.
One more thing. . .
How do we balance the promise that technology can reduce harm with the risks of our lives becoming more surveilled or limited? This thoughtful article from the New York Times highlights some of the difficult trade-offs involved. Reports on artificial intelligence systems that could prevent teen suicides by alerting authorities to concerning language online. Lives could be saved (and probably have been), but unnecessary interventions and follow-up have left some young people traumatized and distrustful.