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How laughter makes you a better worker
Could laughing be a way to build a stronger, more creative team culture in the workplace? Since the global economic downturn in 2008, many of us may feel that laughing in the office might send a signal that we don’t have enough to do. Discussions that might previously have been conducted in person at a colleague’s desk increasingly take place over e-mail or Slack. In that context, office chatter can at times seem unnecessary. But what if, rather than signalling inactivity, laughing together is something that improves team collaboration and stimulates innovation? After years of not paying much attention to laughter, scientists are starting to reach that very conclusion.
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Why Too Much Experience Can Backfire
In its relatively short history Pixar has achieved remarkable success, garnering 15 Academy Awards and an average international gross of more than $600 million per film. Pixar movies appeal to moviegoers of all ages, with their unconventional plots and emotional depth. Talking cars (Cars), a rat who wants to be a chef (Ratatouille), an elderly man whose house floats to South America on the strength of thousands of balloons (Up), are among the unusual stars of Pixar films. But when I spoke with Pixar president and cofounder Ed Catmull, he told me that he prefers to tell new recruits about Pixar’s failures.
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No Evidence That Women’s Preference for Masculine Faces Is Linked With Hormones
Data from almost 600 participants show that women’s perceptions of male attractiveness do not vary according to their hormone levels, in contrast with some previous research. The study findings are published in Psychological Science, a
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Psychology and Free Speech
It’s difficult to determine when discussions of controversial topics became known as hate speech on college campuses across the country. But the metamorphosis has taken place all around us, and the costs are undeniable. Open debate has morphed into self-censorship and terrified silence; what used to be celebrated as an environment of fearless questioning has become a stultifying world of repression. Intolerance of meaningful debate comes from both sides of the political spectrum. Talk of “black lives matter” constitutes hate speech for some, while “blue lives matter” fits the bill for others.
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The New Retirement: Near the Kids
Thirty-five years ago, Holly Bowers Ruben moved from California to New York, following an actor boyfriend to Brooklyn. The relationship didn’t last, but Ms. Ruben never moved back, although her mother, Marie-Louise Bowers, stayed out west. That arrangement worked — mostly. “I did talk to my mom on a daily basis. That’s kind of the relationship we had, even when she was in California,” Ms. Ruben said. But last year Ms. Bowers, 87, started having trouble getting around, and Ms. Ruben felt that helping her mother from across the country was at best a difficult prospect. In January, Ms. Ruben moved her mother to Sunrise at Mill Basin, in Brooklyn. --- Ms.
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Why corporatizing feminist messages doesn’t really help women
Companies promote conferences, self-help books, clubs and seminars as paths to empowerment or confidence, promising to unlock career success and acclaim. But selling individual empowerment won't bring about lasting social change, experts say. --- Changing that narrative means women need to question their own history of ingrained assumptions about women and girls, according to psychologist Valerie Purdie Greenaway, director for the Laboratory of Intergroup Relations and the Social Mind at Columbia University. "It's the elephant in the room," Greenaway told attendees Tuesday at the "Embrace Ambition" Summit in New York.
