From a mountaintop in the Catskills.

And just like that…our whole world is upside down. The month of March, once packed beyond reasonable, is now eerily calm. I will not add to the statistics or debates but I will be doing what I’m told from a mountaintop in the Catskills. Like many, we are pivoting meetings, clients, and workshops to webinars and hangouts. There will be new clients looking for help thinking through, “What’s next for me?”

As a person who thinks a lot about the future of work, I am intrigued by what of this experience we will keep (more online meetings, flex time as a normal part of the workday) and what will change (more funding for science and hospitals?). I’m also very curious to see where we will find unique solutions and pockets of ingenuity to the big and small problems. Maybe from our children? Boredom is good for the soul and brain.

Here’s a bright spot! One area of pay equity we don’t talk much about is suppressed wages for visa holders. Employees with visas rarely rock the boat. They are worried that the compact signed between them and their sponsoring company will fall apart if they talk about work-place concerns. We’ve worked with numerous individuals, often in leadership roles, who feel stuck in a form of work purgatory. They know they are being paid substantially less than their counterparts, but have no agency to ask for help. A good friend of mine Eva was stuck. Really stuck. She was in visa hell as immigration policies shifted. The process has been both psychologically and physically demoralizing and scary. Read her story, how she stumbled upon my Sh*tty Resume Party and made successful inroads into the next thing.

We continue to be mindful of this ever-changing landscape. And are here to do our part.

Always with you,

Cindy