The hottest Workplace dynamics Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

A Darker Truth

davidj.substack • 2 HN points • 07 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Data Management Startups Workplace dynamics
  1. Text-to-semantic layer systems can work in enterprise but text-to-SQL ones won't due to technical deficiencies.
  2. Even with infinite resources, achieving a perfect text-to-SQL system may not be enough due to the importance of how data is perceived by stakeholders.
  3. Blame and humiliation dynamics in human interactions make text-to-semantic layer systems more viable than text-to-SQL systems in corporate settings.

The Company Wants You Back in the Office – RESIST!

Anxiety Addiction & Ascension • 39 implied HN points • 06 Feb 23
💼 Business Workplace dynamics Remote work Corporate culture Labor Market
  1. Many employees prefer working from home for the flexibility it offers in their lives and are hesitant to return to the office for multiple days per week.
  2. Companies are facing challenges convincing workers to return to the office due to changing preferences and economic factors like labor shortages.
  3. Employees have some leverage to resist returning to the office and should consider continuing to work from home to maintain their independence and strength.

Diary #22

Autoscriptorium • 19 implied HN points • 18 Aug 23
📚 Literature Reflections Workplace dynamics Dualism
  1. Patterns and facts can rule how we perceive the world, leading to different outcomes.
  2. Observations from everyday life at work can inspire reflections and insights.
  3. Discussions about theories like music spectrum can lead to philosophical conversations about dualism.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Some of the best people will say all of the wrong things during an interview – you should hire them anyway

Respectful Leadership • 28 HN points • 29 May 23
💼 Business Hiring Workplace dynamics Communication
  1. Talented individuals may struggle to articulate their skills during interviews, but they still have a lot to offer.
  2. Formalities in work relationships are important, especially at the start, to avoid misinterpretations.
  3. Some people may not understand the difference between professional and personal relationships, so discretion is key when establishing boundaries.

Why you are frustrated by your organisation

Optimally Irrational • 13 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
💼 Business Management Corporate culture Ethics Workplace dynamics Incentives
  1. Beneath the overly positive facade of organizations, there's often a reality of dysfunction and disillusionment.
  2. The principal-agent problem highlights the conflict of interests between individuals and the organization's goals, leading to misaligned incentives.
  3. Managers can prioritize personal gains, reputation, and short-term benefits over the organization's success, perpetuating issues like hyperactivity and micromanagement.

On Corporate Rhetoric

Autoscriptorium • 39 implied HN points • 03 Feb 23
🎭️ Culture Language Ethics Communication Workplace dynamics
  1. Corporate rhetoric can often be confusing and more about obfuscating than communicating.
  2. Success in the corporate world is a mix of individual effort and market forces, leading to a superstitious environment.
  3. Three principles of corporate rhetoric include reflection, sublimation, and momentum, each playing a unique role in communication and decision-making.

Is Overemployment the Best Path to Early Retirement?

The Fat Software Engineer • 20 implied HN points • 12 Apr 23
💼 Business Workplace dynamics Financial planning
  1. Overemployment can be a strategy for early retirement by earning more and spending less.
  2. Overemployment involves having more than one job at once, which can be managed in different ways like working long hours or taking multiple jobs for quick paychecks.
  3. Ethically, overemployment depends on performance, legality of contracts, and the ability to handle multiple jobs stress-free.

Reflections on Workplace Infantilisation

The 21st Century Proletarian • 19 implied HN points • 22 Aug 22
🎭️ Culture Workplace dynamics Corporate culture Employee Satisfaction Neoliberalism Solidarity
  1. Modern workplaces are increasingly resembling playgrounds for adults, with fun activities and colorful environments to create a more enjoyable work atmosphere.
  2. The infantilization of office culture can lead to employees feeling disempowered, lacking genuine workplace satisfaction, and being discouraged from advocating for their own interests.
  3. The Stepford employee dynamic, cultivated by companies treating workers like children, can suppress autonomous thinking, hinder collective organizing for better conditions, and foster a culture where employees rely on the company to dictate appropriate behavior.

Ask Aadil - Wrong way to use the TPM function

Building Rome(s) • 7 implied HN points • 12 May 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Product Management Workplace dynamics
  1. Technical Program Managers operate on two planes: strategic and tactical.
  2. The real value of TPMs comes from operating on both strategic and tactical planes.
  3. To fix the situation of using TPMs in the wrong way, help evangelize the TPM role, ensure the culture is right for a TPM, and ease in the TPM role while establishing a Program Charter.

You probably work at a big company because you thought you should: Why I'll never work at a FAANG or big company again

Data Science Daily • 2 HN points • 04 Mar 23
💼 Business Workplace dynamics Career Choices Corporate culture
  1. Consider where you live and work based on constraints like availability, budget, and awareness.
  2. Big companies might offer prestige, but small companies can provide faster decision-making and more impactful work.
  3. Working at a small company can be more fulfilling than at a large corporation, with less bureaucracy and more client focus.

Whither paper?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 14 Aug 20
🕹 Technology Workplace dynamics Online Trends Economic Impact Remote work
  1. The Covid-19 pandemic may accelerate the move towards a paperless office, as people adapt to working digitally and without physical paperwork.
  2. Despite the decline in paper use, demand for wood pulp products, such as cardboard boxes for online deliveries, remains strong.
  3. The pandemic has forced organizations to transition away from paper processes, leading to a potential long-term shift towards digital alternatives.

Open Doors in Your Career by Unlocking the Dark Side of Your Superpower

The Skip • 1 HN point • 20 Aug 23
💼 Business Career development Leadership Professional Growth Workplace dynamics Skill development
  1. Every superpower has a weakness that needs to be overcome.
  2. Feedback on your strengths can be inconsistent and subtle, making it challenging to identify and address your weaknesses.
  3. To advance in your career, you need desire, self-awareness, and humility to tackle and eliminate your shadows.

Relentless Rescoping & Saying "NO"

Thinking Through • 1 HN point • 20 Feb 23
💼 Business Productivity Management Leadership Career growth Workplace dynamics
  1. Relentless rescoping and saying "NO" can help in delivering what matters without burning out.
  2. When rescaping work, focus on impact sizing and say "NO" to items that do not provide significant impact.
  3. Teams often struggle to reduce scope due to company incentives, difficulty in distinguishing busy work from impactful work, and a fear of reallocating team members.

Getting Promoted in Your Rookie Year as a PM (Without Becoming the Office Coffee Runner)

Pragmatism • 0 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
💼 Business Career growth Management Professional development Workplace dynamics
  1. Execution and excellence are key to earning trust and credibility as a product manager.
  2. Deliver impactful results by setting clear goals and celebrating wins along the way.
  3. Demonstrate readiness for promotion by taking on more responsibilities and building influential relationships.

GRANTED: The creative power of misfits

Granted • 0 implied HN points • 05 Mar 19
🎙 Podcasts Creativity Teamwork Innovation Workplace dynamics
  1. Bringing in a team of misfits can lead to incredible creativity and success, as seen in Pixar's story with an outside director
  2. Innovation and shaking things up are most effective when things are going well, allowing for time, energy, and freedom to explore new ideas
  3. Encouraging dissent and allowing people to voice problems, even without solutions, can lead to valuable insights and improvements in the workplace

Do you want to work in wartime or peacetime?

Kartick’s Blog • 0 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
💼 Business Workplace dynamics Startups Job security Bureaucracy
  1. Working in wartime often involves working with lower quality but not zero quality, unlike in peacetime where quality can be excessively high and unnecessary.
  2. In wartime situations like startups, there's a sense of urgency and willingness to take risks for the sake of innovation, unlike in peacetime setups where conflict avoidance and complacency can prevail.
  3. Balancing safety and risk is crucial in work environments - too much safety can lead to complacency while too little safety can cause unnecessary stress and burnout.

Lies We Tell in Leadership, Part 3: Polite Fictions

Adventures in Leadership Land • 0 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Leadership Workplace dynamics Social Interactions Human behavior Relationships
  1. Polite fictions are lies we tell each other to maintain gaps between ideals and behaviors.
  2. Organizations often create polite fictions to mask dysfunctional behaviors and maintain social cohesion.
  3. Maintaining polite fictions in leadership can involve pretending to follow all rules, treating everyone fairly, and suppressing personal influences in the workplace.

Season 03 - Newsletter 2 --> 5 Hacks to Create a Super Team via Collaboration and Shared Ownership

Product Hustle Stack Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 30 Jul 23
💼 Business Team Collaboration Product Management Decision-making Workplace dynamics
  1. Encourage all team members to be designers and product owners for meaningful collaboration.
  2. Focus on understanding the problem space before jumping into solutions.
  3. Utilize techniques like 'How Might We' and 'Crazy Eight exercises' to foster creative collaboration.