New Starbucks CEO must win over unhappy workers. (Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Brian Niccol begins earning his multimillion-dollar salary today as CEO of Starbucks, the troubled company that has been plagued by leadership changes and unionization. Praised for his achievements at Chipotle, Niccol plans to meet with skeptical employees through town halls and direct meetings, while he develops a strategy to stabilize the company and win back customers.
Companies can better integrate AI into their operations by hiring or training ultra-generalists who can manage hybrid teams of AI agents and human workers to maximize productivity, write Faye Almeshaan and Alexis Clarfield-Henry with Forum Ventures. Companies can prepare now by training generalists, involving them in strategy and providing ongoing learning opportunities, they write.
New research shows that focusing too much on whether you feel happy or not can make you feel less happy, so researchers suggest accepting all your emotions, positive and negative (without trying to feel happy all the time), spending time with others and doing what you enjoy without insisting that it make you feel happy. As Harvard happiness researcher Arthur Brooks notes, happiness is not the goal of life but the by-product of a life well lived.
With summer Fridays likely ending for the year, data from Envoy suggests this workplace perk may become a thing of the past as hybrid work trends evolve. Only 10% of employees commute to the office on Fridays, with most preferring to work remotely or planning shorter Fridays throughout the year. Jonathan Weindel of Envoy questions the practicality of summer Fridays and hints at the potential risk of a four-day workweek.
The fastest-growing workplace segment is employees age 65 and older, writes Mila Semeshkina, founder and CEO of Lectera, and companies should strive to provide continuous learning for all employees to manage a multigenerational workforce effectively. "With the right culture and support, companies can make every employee feel heard and valued, leading to enhanced innovation, productivity and overall performance," Semeshkina writes.
Soccer legends Hope Solo and Abby Wambach will go down in history as two of the best to ever play the sport. They made the game exciting and fun to watch -- Wambach with her lethal headers and Solo with her aggressive, acrobatic style in the goal. When they were on the pitch together, they trusted and supported each other.
"I think that I respected her ability on the field. Hope and I clashed a lot,” Wambach said on the show. “We found a way to manage and work with each other because, throughout the time that I played, there was no better goalkeeper. And that’s something Hope will always have, in my mind…But was she difficult to work with at times? Hell yeah. Was I? Probably. Because we’re these big personalities."
Wambach and Solo’s differences did not impede their mission. During their years playing together, they won gold at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 World Cup.
Talented people will clash. They will argue. They will defend their case. But, if they are smart, they will find a way to work through conflict to reach the goal.
This scenario is playing out now in many workplaces where members of different generations are working together. Employers can get ahead of potential conflict by capitalizing on the strengths that each group brings to the table, according to Lectera CEO Mila Semeshkina.
“Managing employees of different ages presents unique challenges due to varying perspectives, needs and experiences. Reverse or mutual mentorships can be good ways to integrate these groups, learn from each other and promote an inclusive culture,” writes Semeshkina in today's HR Leader story.
Wise words.
Conflict in the workplace is not a death knell. Don’t be discouraged by it. Our goal is not for everyone to be best friends with each other. Our goal is to create excellent products and services. And we do that by putting really smart, driven and innovative people together and letting professionalism guide their actions.
How do you manage tense relationships in your workplace? Got a story to share? Let me know! And do you love this brief? Share it with others. Want different stories? Something about it bug you? Tell me. In the words of Frasier Crane, “I’m listening.”
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