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Photo of an office building’s facade with illuminated windows revealing people working inside at desks and meeting spaces.

Personality

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Introverts are excluded unfairly in an extraverts’ world

One in three people are introverts, physically present, but culturally absent. We shouldn’t have to change to be heard

by Noa Herz

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

Photo of a neon-lit window display with mannequins, featuring “Willkommen im Love Story” and “Caffe” signs in German.

Gender

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The reality of prostitution is not complex. It is simple

Prostitution is not sex and it’s not work. Its reality is far from complex – in fact, it’s simple. Trust me, I’ve done it

by Rachel Moran

Black and white photo of five children sitting on a kerbside in front of a house, with playful expressions.

The self

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The self of self-help books is adrift from social and economic facts

Self-help books are a broken parachute: to win friends and influence people, take advice from a social scientist instead

by Craig Schamel

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

Blurry photo of a dimly lit interior with a person in swimwear under red lighting.

Work and vocation

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In an unstable economy, I found freedom and security in sex work

Speculation about the mental health of sex workers is undermining. Focus instead on how to improve our working conditions

by Tamara MacLeod

Photo of a man in a blue jacket and cap cutting turf in a grassy field with a pitchfork and spade under a cloudy sky.

Work and vocation

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For the Stoic Musonius Rufus, manual work is philosophy too

The Stoic Musonius Rufus practised philosophy by bridging the seeming gulf between intellectual work and manual labour

by Lee Clarke

Photo of a street scene with a large billboard showing cloudy sky a woman walking by a café and an underpass roof above.

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 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

Black and white photo of a person looking up at a tall glass skyscraper with a suitcase in hand.

Therapeutic relationships

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Life coaching is unregulated and growing rapidly. Should it be reined in?

Anybody can call themselves a life coach, and then offer what amounts to serious therapy. Should life coaching be regulated?

by Elias Aboujaoude

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

Black and white photo of a man in a suit addressing a group of workers outside a building.

Work and vocation

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Imagine a workplace where you could actually tell the truth

Most people won’t even think to tell the truth at work. In a society that seems to laud honesty, why is it so rare?

by Lauren A Taylor & David Berg