Points of view
Measure What Matters
How Irish women can successfully start their own business in a system stacked against them
Entrepreneurship is different for women, says Prof Maura McAdam of DCU Business School. “Women entrepreneurs’ journeys are very different, not because they’re less capable or ambitious, but more to do with the structural design of the ecosystem and social norms.” As...
Leaders need to rethink ‘intelligence’ in an increasingly ruptured world
Can measuring and valuing the wrong things lead to catastrophic outcomes for business and the world? Robert Sternberg, one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, thinks our limited understanding and measurement of human intelligence has led to...
What is ‘fractional employment’ and how can it offer late-career opportunities for executives?
Can I hire you for ... just a bit? You might initially scoff at this offer if you’re a top executive with decades of experience, but fractional employment is a new way of working that gives you flexibility, decent pay and the ability to work across multiple...
Are you busy as a bee or a busy fool?
Are you as busy as a bee? Do you wear the word ‘busy’ like a badge of honour? Did you grow up hearing “the devil makes work for idle hands”? Is it difficult for you to sit down and do nothing both at work and at home? You’re not alone. Many top professionals are...
What happens when an AI joins the board of directors?
Although artificial intelligence (AI) is a handy workplace productivity tool, most people don’t consider it a trusted colleague or a strategic senior adviser. Nobody is inviting new hire GenAI out for work drinks or to sing at the staff Christmas party; at least not...
Should you ever work for free? Yes, but go in with your eyes open
Profile and exposure don’t pay the bills, but that doesn’t stop people from chancing their arm and asking you to work for free. Common “exciting opportunities” include internships, award nominations, speaking at conferences, publishing your first book, having your...
Burnout by design: What can you do to avoid it?
When I started my working life, it was at an investment bank in New York. The firm was housed in a beautiful building in downtown Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. On the executive floors, the mahogany-panelled hallways...
The American dream now is to leave – at least for young women
American women have had enough. More than 40 per cent of those aged 15 to 44 want to leave the United States permanently if possible, according to a recent Gallup poll. The figure is four times higher than the 10 per cent who felt this way in 2014. Who can blame them?...
What’s really holding women back at work?
The video starts innocently enough. A young couple are outside chatting with their two little kids. Then a starter gun goes off and we realise they’re on an outdoor running track. The woman gives both of the kids to the man, and she starts running as fast as she can....
You’re 65 and being forced to retire; can they do that?
Can you be forced to retire at 65? At the moment, the answer seems to be yes, maybe or no, according to the experiences of some of our readers and various court cases. It’s all confusingly grey for the grey-haired and, as more workers need and want to work longer, the...