 |
|
|
|||||
Suddenly, as office buildings closed during the pandemic and millions of parents started working from home, many of us breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, no more commuting. More time with our kids. A once in a lifetime opportunity to concentrate on career and family with fewer hassles. Answer emails while cooking pasta sauce, join team Zoom in yoga pants, and always be there for bedtime. But five years into the remote-hybrid experiment, the arrangement is tougher than we expected. Yes, this flexibility has given us choices that did not exist before, but its also erased the lines so much that many working parents arent even sure if its freedom they are experiencing or just a different kind of trap. Flexibility: Leash or a lifeline This new way of working was liberating at first. Parents could make school pick up without getting the side-eye from coworkers. Doctors appointments for your child, no problem; just log back on after dinner. It was a way of easing the stress that we feel from the need to be perfect in the workplace and at home. The problem is that the work never actually stops. The laptop on the kitchen table is both a liberation and a ball and chain. Slack messages buzz through the entire swim meet, and the always on culture makes boundaries virtually disappear. This flexibility, surprisingly, has made life more difficult for some parents. If you can work from wherever, you end up working all the time. The mental load (doctors appointments, playdates, meal planning) is now just part of the workday. And having it all now means you do it all at the same time. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} The messy reality of integration In theory, hybrid work offers the best of both worlds: days at home for focus and days in the office for face time and collaboration. But in reality, it can feel like living in two worlds at once. Parents ping-pong between spreadsheets and science projects, quarterly reports and permission slips. Life has become a constant state of multitasking. The cost: more burnout and guilt than you had before. You are working and you are parenting. You are parenting, but your mind is on your inbox. Lets face it: having it all was always a set up. It suggests that you can have a fulfilling career and blissful family life, and that you should. If you dont, youve failed. Unfortunately, remote and hybrid work didnt dismantle this myth. It repackaged it. We have gone from work-life balance to the fantasy of work-life integration. But integration does not mean harmony. Parents say they have longer days, shorter tempers, and a feeling they are failing at both work and life. Getting real about what matters The real question isnt whether parents can have it all. Its how we redefine what all even means. Does it mean being equally devoted to quarterly earnings and the bedtime routine? Or can we accept that sometimes a big presentation takes priority and sometimes its okay to step back for our family? We should give ourselves permission to choose what matters the most in different seasons of our lives. Employers must step up too by setting clearer norms about availability, respecting true off-hours, and offering flexibility that is functional, not suffocating. The reality is nobody has it all. Not the CEO. Not the stay-at-home parent. And certainly not the hybrid worker. What we can have is a life that reflects what matters most to us. It might be messy, and it definitely wont be perfect, but at least it will be realistic. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
AIs promise was it would liberate us from busywork. Instead, its becoming a new dependency. Maybe its an email you didnt feel like writing. A brainstorm you didnt feel inspired to lead. Code that would take you hours to program. A bio or outline that felt just a bit too hard to begin. You used to do these things on your own. But now AI makes it so easy to skip the effort that you barely notice youre outsourcing your thinking. I use AI to research companies for my venture fund, deep dive into new industries and technical topics, design presentations, and record my meetings. I am an advocate for AI use and literacy, but the more my work started to become intertwined with AI, the more I started to think about the looming digital addiction crisis. So I wasnt surprised to see that some researchers have begun labeling compulsive overuse of generative AI as a potential behavioral addiction. They found that over time, excessive reliance on AI can impair cognitive flexibility, diminish problem-solving abilities and erode creative independence. In other words, AI can enhance human capability, but if used unchecked, it can also start to replace it. In 2024, over $100 billion was invested into generative AI startups globally. But not enough money is being spent to understand or mitigate AIs psychological impact. At PsyMed Ventures, we want to change this by investing in a new generation of companies focused on digital wellness, cognitive resilience, and mental health in the AI era. However, while investing in research is a long-term fix, in the short term leaders can combat AI addiction by helping their teams implement AI boundaries. Signs You or Your Team Are Overusing AI How do you know when your AI use is becoming harmful? One early sign: you cant start working without it. Maybe you once drafted memos or solved problems on your own, but now you wait until an AI tool gives you a prompt or plan. That reliance can weaken your ability to think independently. A study from MIT used EEG to observe people using ChatGPT, Googles search engine, or nothing at all. Out of the 54 test subjects, ChatGPT users were found to have the worst brain engagement and consistently underperformed across neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. This small study is the first step into the need for longitudinal studies to assess potential long-term effects on cognition, learning, and critical thinking. Another clear sign youre overusing AI tools is when you find yourself zoning out in meetings because you know the tool will capture, summarize, highlight action items, or even give real-time responses for you to say live. A 2025 mixed methods study on cognitive offloading shows that, while delegating comprehension to external aids can boost short-term efficiency, it undermines recall and independent reasoning when the aid is unavailable. Over time, relying on these tools can dull your ability to follow complex discussions in real time and chip away at your confidence in making judgments without algorithmic backup. Your decreased confidence can show when you hesitate to share an idea in a meeting until youve first run it through an AI for validation, even on topics where you have direct expertise. You might also notice yourself redoing projects or emails multiple times based on AI suggestions, even when the original version was solid. From AI Literacy to AI Boundaries In a rush to adopt generative AI across workplaces, most leaders are focusing on AI literacy, without thinking about the consequences of overreliance. However, AI literacy also requires focusing on AI boundaries. Similar to healthy screen time or smartphone use, guidance for ourselves and our employees on when to lean on AI and when to deliberately step back will help us use this tool in a way that benefits rather than harms us. A good first step is treating AI as a collaborator, not a crutch. AI is immensely helpful for ideation, summarization, and drafting, but it shouldnt replace human reasoning or judgment. One practical shift is to use AI to support your thinking, not to start it. For example, if youre drafting a report, write your main argument or outline yourself before prompting a tool like ChatGPT to help you refine, expand, or stress-test what youve already written while you still do the core thinking, analysis, and structuring on your own. Just as we schedule physical workouts, its worth building in analog workouts for the brain. These are AI-free moments of problem-solving, brainstorming, or creative writing without any digital help. This could mean gathering at a whiteboard to map out workflows without laptops, drafting meeting agendas or strategy notes by hand, solving a technical bug without a copilot, holding quick debates or design sprints without digital aids, or jotting down meeting takeaways from memory before checking notes. These small acts protect human creativity and maintain our ability to think deeply without an algorithms influence. Consider digital wellness check-ins or even AI detox periods, especially for younger employees who may be more prone to skill erosion. Its also valuable for leaders to outline where not to use AI. Every team should establish task boundaries like AI can be used for general research or a second set of eyes, but never for a final output. Look for ways to limit its influence on high-stakes or irreversible decisions, like hiring, strategic pivots, policy changes, or investment selection. AI should serve as a research and analysis assistant not the ultimate decision-maker. This not only guards against overreliance on AIs outputs but also preserves accountability, ensuring that critical choices remain the product of deliberate human judgment rather than automated consensus. Avoiding The Digital Addiction Crisis, Together Some may argue that enforcing AI boundaries can slow progress or undermine the very operational or financial efficiency gains these tools promise. But ignoring these limits risks a hidden cost of eroding the skills, confidence, and independent thinking that keep a business resilient. Saving time today is meaningless if your team loses the ability to problem-solve tomorrow. Other common objections include fears that boundaries will make the company less competitive, that employees will ignore them, or that skilled staff dont need them. In reality, boundaries are about using AI better, not less, by protecting teams from overreliance. Leaders can frame boundaries not as top-down restrictions, but as a shared investment in long-term capability by inviting employees into the conversation about where AI should support and where human judgment must lead. This collaborative approach turns guardrails into a cultural norm, rather than a compliance burden, and reassures teams that the goal isnt to strip away autonomy but to protect it. Yes, AI can make work faster and cheaper but the healthiest workplaces will bethose that treat efficiency as a means to strengthen people, not replace them.
Category:
E-Commerce
The vast majority of people85%, to be exactadmit they lack confidence in the workplace: they avoid taking on leadership roles, they dont speak up in meetings, and they doubt themselves. For those who feel marginalized, the feelings of low confidence can be even more stark. Imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and fear of failure can slow down our decisions and hold us back from sharing inventive ideas. But fear-based action rarely leads to promotions or breakthroughs. Left unchecked, imposter syndrome can slowly start to limit our ability to succeed. But with a resilience framework, anyone can learn strategies to silence self-doubt, reframe setbacks, and build confidence. Lets rewind for a minute At the age of 21, I wasnt sure Id be alive at 22. I awoke from an 11-hour cancer surgery at UCSF to find that the doctor had removed not only half of my nose but also half of my upper lip, muscle, and bone from my right cheek, the shelf of my right eye, six teeth, and part of my hard palate. I was attached to my chest with a delto-pectoral flap because so much tissue had been removed from my face. My world was turned upside down. More cancer surgery. Reconstruction that didnt work. Two steps back for every step forward. I was spiraling quickly, and I began to struggle with my self-esteem. It took years for me to become content with who I was again. But my openness and awareness of what was transpiring around me allowed me time for reflection that would change the course of my life. A survival kit and resilience framework Over the course of many years, I developed a survival kit and a resilience framework that helped me rebuild who I was. Ive come to call this framework ReBAR: Reflect, Build, Act, Renew. This approach helped me rebuild self-belief and step into challenges with more confidence. Here are seven strategies that can help anyone strengthen their resilience and overcome self-doubt. 1. Prepare with purpose Preparation became a cornerstone for my self-belief. In the early years of my work life, post-cancer recovery, I felt like a fraud, and I overprepared for every meeting. But then something interesting happened: I began to realize that over-preparation gave me increased self-confidence, because I was always trying to stay one step ahead, and anticipate objections I might encounter. My over-preparation was improving my knowledge base, and I became more confident in my business proposals and recommendations. I had data to support my suggestions, and people began to trust my ideas. 2. Set achievable goals Confidence builds in increments, not leaps. Early on, I committed to one personal and one professional goal at a time. Reaching those milestones proved to me that progress was possibleand each success made the next challenge less intimidating. Start small: finish a certification, commit to speaking up once in a meeting, or complete a project youve been postponing. Small wins create a ripple effect that builds real momentum. 3. Practice reflection and gratitude Daily reflection was transformative. I asked myself: What did I learn today? What am I proud of? What can I improve tomorrow? Coupled with gratitude, reflection shifted my focus away from what was lacking to what was already working. Gratitude is not just a feel-good exercise: it actually rewires your brain toward optimism, making it easier to recognize opportunities and solutions instead of obstacles. 4. Build your support system Resilience doesnt mean you have to go it alone. In my case, I leaned on close friends, family, and even group therapy. Opening up about my insecurities was uncomfortable at first, but it turned out to be freeingI realized I wasnt the only one wrestling with self-doubt. Confidence tends to grow when youre around people who encourage you, point out your strengths, and help you see opportunities you might have overlooked. On the flip side, protecting yourself from constant negativity saves energy and keeps you focused on what matters. 5. Take consistent action Confidence doesnt show up by waiting until you feel ready. It comes from doing. I started asking myself, Whats one thing I can do today that will move me forward tomorrow? Sometimes it was as simple as raising a new idea in a meeting, volunteering for a project, or reaching out to someone I admired for advice. Each small step added up. The more I acted, the more capable I felt. Action turns vague goals into real progress, and every bit of practice builds resilience. 6. Reframe setbacks with better self-talk Everyone has that inner critic. The trick is to rewrite what it says. Instead of Im not ready, try Im still learning and growing. Instead of I failed, try That gave me experience I can use next time. The way we talk to ourselves has power. Positive self-talk interrupts the negative loops that can keep us stuck. Each time you swap a destructive thought for a constructive one, you strengthen your ability to bounce back. But if you dwell too long on the negative, it slowly chips away at your confidence. 7. Celebrate progress and renew your commitment A lot of people forget to do this, but celebrating winseven small onesis key. Take time to notice the effort, the creativity, and the persistence that helped you get there. When you do, your brain starts linking hard work with reward, which makes it easier to keep pushing forward. And when setbacks come (because they always do), looking back at your past wins reminds you of what youre capable of. Then, reset, refocus, and move forward with a stronger sense of purpose. The ReBAR FrameworkReflect, Build, Act, Renew ReBARreflect, build, act, renewcan help you tie this together. Reflection helps you build a positive mindset and commit to taking risks with new ideas, building helps you develop a supportive environment to navigate lifes challenges with more positivity and optimism, action moves you closer to your goals, and renewal ensures you keep growing. With this approach, youre firmly in the drivers seat of your own life. Confidence isnt about perfection; its about practice, perspective, and persistence. Follow these steps, and youll not only quiet self-doubtbut also strengthen the resilience you need to take on bigger challenges.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||