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Work and vocation

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Photo of a yellow shirt on a hanger in soft sunlight with shadows on a dark cupboard door and a radiator in the background behind a sheer curtain. A person is holding the cupboard door open; their left arm is shown along with the sleeve of their striped t-shirt.

Work and vocation

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Six ways to use clothes to boost your confidence at work

Regardless of your budget or fashion sense, dressing with more intention can benefit your mindset and performance

by Dahlia Stroud

Painting of a bundled stack of old ten-dollar bills tied with a green ribbon set against a dark brown background.

Virtues and vices

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Greedy people might be frowned upon, but are they the winners?

Some individuals have a persistent tendency to want ever more stuff and status. Psychologists are examining the lives they lead

by Karlijn Hoyer

A young woman and an older man at a poker table with colourful chips, the man wears a suit and lights a cigar, the woman wears jeans and a fluffy turquoise top.

Work and vocation

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The ways Sugar Babies navigate two roles: lover and employee

‘Sugaring’ involves the commodification of romance – presenting a puzzle of love, labour and autonomy for those involved

by Brynn Valentine

A woman in an orange sweater is practising her golf swing in a narrow, cobblestone alleyway lined with bicycles, adjacent to a building with large windows.

Play

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The achievement society is burning us out, we need more play

This is about more than a self-help switch – it will take structural changes to reject capitalism’s productivity obsession

by Alec Stubbs

Man at an office desk with multiple monitors, working on spreadsheets, a large mountain mural on the wall in front of him.

Work and vocation

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Why do so many people think they are in a bullshit job?

Researchers continue to debate whether some jobs are inherently useless – but all agree it’s harmful to see your job this way

by Shayla Love

A train arrives at a busy subway station. Many different people on the platform wait to get on the train. Some are blurred as they are caught by the camera mid-motion.

Neurodiversity

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Adapting to the neurotypical world is not the same as conforming

As an autistic person, this is how I draw the line between adapting in a way that’s good for me and simple conformity

by Jack Ori

A tabby cat sleeps upon a home office desk next to a laptop and various desk items

Goals and motivation

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Facing a tedious to-do list? This trick could make it easier

The ‘easy addendum effect’: how careful timing of your easier tasks could help you feel better at the end of the day

by Shayla Love

A painting of a man with long hair wearing a black outfit and hat, holding a lit cigarette, and sitting in a café with a glass of green liquid.

Thinkers and theories

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Learning to be a loser: a philosopher’s case for doing nothing

For Emil Cioran, a life devoid of action, practical ambitions and busyness is a life in which room has been made for meaning

by Costica Bradatan

Silhouette of a lorry driver drinking from a bottle inside the cabin at dusk.

Work and vocation

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Why AI surveillance at work leads to perverse outcomes

In the name of efficiency, workplace AI technologies shift burdens long-assumed by employers onto workers

by Karen Levy

A person walks past a billboard under a bridge, featuring an image of eyes superimposed on a sky with clouds, next to a café entrance.

Work and vocation

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Kafka warned us: surveillance turns the watched into watchers

Surveillance changes us in powerful ways, as Franz Kafka warned. Neither the watched nor their watcher escapes unscathed

by George Alliger

A bearded man’s portrait surrounded by scientific instruments, an elephant, a globe, and palm trees on a colourful background.

Stories and literature

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Are successful authors creative geniuses or literary labourers?

Some writers are explorers, like Edgar Allan Poe. Others are exploiters, like Jules Verne. Which type is better off?

by Oleg Sobchuk

A surgeon in blue scrubs and a mask walks through a hospital corridor, with surgical equipment on a table and cabinets visible through a window.

Work and vocation

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The idea of a ‘surgeon’s personality’ won’t fix the profession

What can explain why surgeons are leaving the profession in their droves? Clue: it’s not a failure of their personality

by Agnes Arnold-Forster