How Hollywood might be influencing career choices | Mass. now requires salary ranges in job postings | How the Blue Angels create a culture of gratitude
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise (James Devaney/Getty Images)
It recently seemed that the tide seems was turning toward students pursuing trades rather than traditional four-year college degrees, but experts say Hollywood is tilting the playing field back toward academia. A survey by Jobber found that 35% of Generation Z respondents cited TV and movies as an influence, and "not often in film and media do you see high-school students portrayed as having dreams of entering the blue-collar workforce," says Terrence Lurry, a chemistry student at Emory University.
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A new law in Massachusetts mandates that businesses with more than 25 employees disclose salary ranges in job postings. The law, aimed at closing wage gaps, allows workers to ask for salary ranges during job applications and promotions and includes enforcement measures, such as fines and civil citations.
Netflix pioneered unlimited PTO in 2003, and while many employees prefer the idea, usage statistics show hesitancy, with workers only taking an average of 10 days off. Caitlin Collins of Betterworks notes that for unlimited PTO to be effective, companies need to foster a culture that prioritizes vacation time.
Staffbase Chief People Officer Neil Morrison says leaders and employees benefit from quarterly town hall meetings that include a review of company performance and concerns, team presentations and celebrations of accomplishments. The company also has an annual in-person company event, which Morrison describes as "a very, very important cultural initiative that carries the cultural value for hopefully the 12 months to follow, because we're not all going to get together in the same room for another year."
Visitors to author Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West, Fla., are not allowed to touch the furniture, but no such rules apply to the 59 cats that roam the estate. In London, a cat named Larry is mouser-in-chief at the prime minister's office, another named Hodge prowls Southwark Cathedral, where visitors can purchase a plush likeness, and Lilibet the cat is a star attraction at the Lanesborough Hotel. Cats are also prominent residents of the White House, Russia's Hermitage Museum and coffee shops from Puerto Rico to Kosovo.