The great professional divide these days is between “hard” and “soft” skills: Can you code using Python? That’s a “hard” skill, per most hiring managers.

“The most wonderful time of the year”? Not so much. For most Americans, the period of time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is more like the loneliest, most stressful time of the year: A 2021 study found that 3 out of 5 Americans feel their mental health negatively affected by the holidays. That’s a lot of people who need someone to just listen to them—and who may not have anyone in their lives to do so. 

Today’s employees expect more out of the workplace experience than ever before. One of their greatest expectations is to be heard. Clearly, the days of “It’s my way or the highway” are over.

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 to counteract the spending of Black Friday and Cyber Monday with philanthropic giving to charities in need of support.

When a senior citizen dials 911, the assumption is that they must be having a medical emergency. But more often than you might think the reason for the call is not that at all -- they're just lonely and want someone to talk to. And it’s not just older adults who seek a sense of belonging.

How good of a listener are you? Do you truly hear and understand what your colleagues, customers, friends or family really want? Frankly, people are just not good listeners. We always get very excited about what we can say or do next that we sometimes forget to be in the moment and listen and learn from what we can hear from others.

Remember how easy it was to make friends as a kid? It was as if you could walk up to anyone and instantaneously become best friends with them.

Have you ever spoken to someone who dismissed everything you said? With all the distractions around us, sometimes the people we talk to may not be listening to us at the moment. Maybe they are trying to multitask. But no matter the reason, being ignored can leave us feeling rejected and unimportant.