Should you be indispensable?

Have you ever felt that your desire to have your work matter translates into a drive to make yourself indispensable? The quest to be absolutely necessary is often limiting, both for you and the organisation. Making yourself irreplaceable can tether you to your job and compromise your wellbeing. Additionally, it reduces the potential for growth. If no one else can handle your job, you won’t be able to step up into new opportunities as they arise. There are important implications for your success as a leader. When you position yourself as a gatekeeper or go-to person, it’s easy to become a know-it-all and limit your effectiveness. You can deem yourself so vital that you become diminishing — someone who is smart and capable, but who shuts down the intelligence and capabilities of the people whom you lead. Instead, look to becoming valuable. Your value at work will grow if you replicate yourself rather than protect your scarce skills.

(Adapted from “Should You Really Be “Indispensable” At Work?” by Liz Wiseman, published by HBR Ascend)

Weight-loss shortcuts

Ozempic — a diabetes drug taken by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm — isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for weight loss. But recently, the drug and others of its kind have become the subject of conversations about weight loss, thinness and so-called biohacking in Hollywood, the tech industry and beyond. The FDA approved the drug in 2017 to help lower blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes. Doctors use medical discretion to prescribe it to people who are obese or overweight, but it’s not meant to be taken as a get-thin-quick treatment. In some cases, patients who meet neither of those criteria are still getting their hands on Ozempic. Some doctors are prescribing Ozempic too liberally — and in some cases giving samples to patients who can’t afford to continue taking the drug once the free doses run out. One Ozempic injection pen typically lasts about a month and costs about $900 before insurance, though coverage can be hard to come by.

(Adapted from “How a Diabetes Drug Became the Talk of Hollywood, Tech and the Hamptons,” by Sara Ashley O’Brien, published on October 12, 2022, by The Wall Street Journal)

Hindu-Muslim hiring bias

“If a hiring manager sees two identical resumes, it’s only normal for them to move their hand towards the name, person, or profile that feels familiar and resonates with their experience. But doing that over and over again — to the point of excluding someone equally qualified from economic opportunities — means that their bias is unchecked. Hiring managers are in a great place to start pushing for change at a systemic level. It starts by building awareness. This includes educating yourself about news events and how they impact people from marginalised identities. In India, a lot of our conversations about Hindus and Muslims often revolve around animosity, conflict, and rife. A step can be very small. It can be checking your bias and giving the Muslim candidate a callback.”

(Adapted from “Research: Muslim Women in India Face Hiring Bias for Entry-Level Roles,” by Rakshitha Arni Ravishankar, published on September 30, 2022, by HBR Ascend)

Amazon’s injury crisis

Washington state has gone the furthest in analysing Amazon’s injury crisis, thanks to the state workers’ compensation system collecting some of the most detailed data on work-related muscle and joint injuries in the US. Four Washington state inspections conducted from 2020 to 2022 found a “direct connection” between Amazon’s pace of work and its high injury rates. Strains and sprains are four times more likely at Amazon’s warehouses than at others. The state’s initial inspection was sparked by internal data published in 2020 by Reveal at the Center for Investigative Reporting, which indicated that nationwide, Amazon warehouse workers were twice as likely to get seriously hurt as workers in other warehouses. The company’s injury epidemic has also led to a federal workplace-safety investigation. This summer, federal prosecutors referred worker-safety complaints to the Department of Labor, which inspected Amazon warehouses in five states.

(Adapted from “Amazon Workers Say Minor Aches Suddenly Became Debilitating As They Raced To Meet Speed Targets,” by Katherine Long, published on October 19, 2022, by Business Insider)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 24th, 2022