Hot Topic Friday: Jan. 17

Happy Friday! Here are my Jan. 17 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Can We Really Find Happiness at Work? (and Life).

Source: The New York Times, Niall Williams, author of “This is Happiness.”

What It’s About: Williams brilliantly opines on the ever elusive “happiness question.” The following excerpt from this article sums up the current mood: “How can you be happy now?... The catastrophe of climate neglect, the toxic politics, the tangible sense of so many things worsening in your own lifetime, along with a sense of your obscure or outright complicity, all combined to make the idea of any possible happiness seem at best childish, at worse willfully blind…. ‘This Is Unhappiness’ seemed a truer epitaph for the times, a sentiment echoed by the recent No. 1 movie in the world, ‘Joker,’ which includes the line, ‘I haven’t been happy one minute of my life,’ with an expletive thrown in for good measure.” Indeed, I do hear a lot of expressed unhappiness as I walk through workplaces, and frankly everywhere from the grocery store to the Uber driver.

Why It’s Important: I think real leaders need to be the guide to helping others reframe happiness by genuinely realizing it, and choosing it. We can’t make people happy, but we can model it. Niall’s work notes: “The point is, in my case, happiness seemed a thing that could not be pursued, only realized and chosen.” A millennial at work asked me whether things ever been worse? Every decade I’ve lived has had moments of “worst ever,” both personally and in the contextual environment. And pursuing something that would “make me happy” has never manifested into causing happiness. It’s always been the little things and my being awake enough to both realize and chose happiness that’s always there for me to embrace. I wish you happiness at work and in your life. It’s there waiting for you and me to realize and choose. It’s that accessible and elusive.

One Millennial Response: These days give us unprecedented access to people, relationships, hobbies, skills, articles, videos and pictures that can make us laugh, inspire and uplift us. Of course we can find happiness in 2020, but unlike the instant gratification of ordering Amazon Prime, it still takes some effort.

Hot Topic 2: Depression and Work.

Source: Harvard Business Review.

What It’s About: I know that mental illness is considered the new “cancer.” This topic is intentionally packaged with the one on happiness above. While they are not exactly opposites, there seems to be this emotional tug of war between happiness and depression playing out in front of us daily. According to this HBR article: “Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. One in five Americans are affected by mental health issues, with depression being the most common problem. A recent report by Blue Cross Blue Shield found that depression diagnoses are rising at a faster rate for millennials and teens than for any other generation. All told, the disorder is estimated to cost $44 billion a year in lost productivity in the U.S. alone.”

Why It’s Important: Most of us know little about how to responsibly lead people who are depressed. This article provides advice from experts. It is practical and helpful. Please read it to fully appreciate the guidance given. I personally need to become much more aware in both recognizing depression, and how to be a helpful leader to someone on the depression spectrum. I know telling them to just “choose to be happy” is both ignorant and harmful. I do know that opening up the conversation and expanding all of our understanding of mental wellness is vital. One thing I do want to emphasize is the importance of the “work from anywhere” philosophy relative to helping overcoming depression. Yes, people need some structure and core hours. However, the sense of autonomy and control of where, when and how one works is a huge contribution to our well being.

One Millennial Response: Depression and mental illness must be truly debilitating and really tough for everyone involved. I like the advice given to leaders to share information (via email, etc.) about how those suffering can seek the professional help they need, and thankfully (in another win for 2020/today’s times), colleagues are going to be a lot more open and sensitive to this. It seems that most environments offer a platform for people to candidly discuss improving their mental well-being. Look no further than the many podcasts that freely talk about healthy coping methods.

My Weekly Wine Recommendation.

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Liparita Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2017.

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

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“Collaboration and augmentation are the founding principles of innovation.” - Vaclav Smil.

Bye for now!

— Lorne Rubis

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Happy Friday! Here are my Jan. 17 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: Can We Really Find Happiness at Work? (and Life).

Hot Topic 2: Depression and Work.

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