“Be indispensable.” This commonly given career advice is hard to argue with. No doubt it sounds appealing these days, with a softening economy and layoffs once again dominating the business news. It’s advice I’ve tried to follow for much of my own working life. But the idea is deeply flawed. …

This is one of a series of interviews by Bloomberg Opinion columnists on how to solve the world’s most pressing policy challenges. It has been edited for length and clarity.Sarah Green Carmichael: The recent tragedies in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX have underscored the plague of gun violence in the…

This is one of a series of interviews by Bloomberg Opinion columnists on how to solve the world’s most pressing policy challenges. It has been edited for length and clarity. This interview was conducted on Instagram Live on May 18. Sarah Green Carmichael: As the founder of “The Formula Mom” (…

This is one of a series of interviews by Bloomberg Opinion columnists on how to solve the world’s most pressing policy challenges. It has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah Green Carmichael: With the pandemic subsiding in the US, the great workplace transition has begun. Many companies,…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with managers and employees about returning to the workplace. Behind every person’s individual concern is one overarching, almost philosophical conundrum: What’s the point of the office? “That’s the right question,” says Alexandra Samuel, co-author of “Remote…

Humans are essentially an indoor species. A landmark article published 20 years ago found that people spent 87% of their time indoors, and another 6% in the car. There’s little reason to suppose that the rise of flat-screen TVs and smartphones has us spending more time outside. There are two…

A pandemic may have no silver linings, but Covid-19 has brought one change I hope will last: obsessive cleaning. Not that wiping down surfaces has done much to stop the virus. Coronavirus transmission from contaminated surfaces is “really minor,” Joseph Allen, a Harvard expert on health and…

Judgment has become as much a part of the Covid-19 pandemic as a pile of crumpled masks. Seeking to avoid criticism, some people (and organizations) have been known to photoshop masks onto faces in their social media posts. Others, seeking to criticize, have blown up once-friendly group chats over…

Howard Schultz once described Starbucks as a “third place.” Unlike home or work, both of which are full of obligations — dinners to be cooked, TPS reports to be filed — Starbucks offered pure relaxation: a place to sit and not do anything. These days, many of us are stuck without even a second…

When I think back to pre-coronavirus office life, it almost seems designed to spread germs. There’s the hour-long commute on the crowded train; the steady flow of fingers poking at elevator buttons and coffee machines; and our open rows of desks with nary a cube wall to prevent a surprise sneeze…