IF YOU'RE IN middle management, which of these statements best describes you?

You encourage and motivate team members to do their best, cultivate relationships with peers and influence the direction of the organization through achieving your goals.

Or, you’re drowning in endless meetings and emails, wading through a sea of communications and processes and being an outlet for the worries of your stressed-out team while trying to smile and remain positive.

If it’s the latter, you’re not alone. Nearly a fifth of managers and supervisors report signs of depression. And Gallup research shows that “managers report more stress and burnout, worse work-life balance, and worse physical well-being than the individual contributors on the teams they lead.”

Some research suggests that these managers find it frustrating and exhausting to constantly switch between the role of "leader” to subordinates and the role of “follower” to their own supervisors. It also suggests that this frustration is exacerbated when middle managers are inundated with meetings.

So, what can be done about the dissatisfied middle manager? Experts suggest that part of their discontent stems from spending too much time on administrative tasks, leaving them little time for leading.

Technology can help here ― digital platforms for shift scheduling, onboarding, communication and other tasks can help them conduct tasks that were once considered “managerial”, from scheduling to training to performance reviews.

But above all, organizations that give managers the tools they need to adapt to this new environment — and in turn, support leaders’ well-being — stand to see the most success. In particular, managers need support in three areas: being able to spot and act on mental health warning signs, meeting the needs from reports of different backgrounds and providing flexibility while achieving flexibility for themselves.

TRENDING

The rise of the finfluencer

Finfluencers are spreading through social media. So, are they friend or foe?

SPEND A LITTLE time scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, and there’s a good chance you'll come across a post from a finfluencer ― an account centred on financial advice of all flavours, from understanding how to structure your personal finances to investment strategies to crypto.

It’s a good gig, if you can get a following ― BNN Bloomberg spoke to one finfluencer, 25-year-old Austin Hankwitz, who says he makes more than $500,000 USD on sponsored posts from companies like Fundrise, BlockFi and Public.com.

The popularity of these finfluencers is even more of an indication that finance ― traditionally seen as the domain of planners and bankers ― is becoming more democratized, with individual amateur investors more able to access investment opportunities through stock trading apps like Robinhood. (Remember summer’s Gamestop drama? Same story.)

An article from RFI spoke to some of the finfluencers who believe the key to their success is that people like getting financial advice from people their age, who have a more intuitive understanding of the financial experience of young people. And their core message ― “anyone can invest” ― is a refreshing contrast to a perceived elitism among traditional investors.

This is the internet, though, and finfluencers should always be taken with a bit of a grain of salt. The Guardian looked into this and found concern among experts. Since anyone can present themselves as a finfluencer regardless of the strength or validity of their investing advice, it’s pretty much a wild west filled with good advice and terrible advice, both of which may look identical. So, stay safe out there.

PARENTING

Parenting on pot

Weed is the new wine, but can it make you a better parent?

HERE’S A QUESTION that you couldn't ask as openly a decade ago: is it okay for parents to be stoned when they are with their kid?

Perhaps the instinct is to recoil at the very question. After all, decades of prohibition and stigma have generally put parenting on one side of the room and pot on the other.

But just as the country has experienced a weed revolution, the parenting world (and industry) are starting to warm up to it.

“It allows me to be the best version of myself for my daughter, and I have no shame at all in admitting that it makes me a better mom,” writes Leah Campbell, in Parents. For Campbell, cannabis was the key to managing her endometriosis and anxiety symptoms when she was with her kid, which in turn allowed her to spend more time focusing on parenting, and less time in pain.

More and more, both the cannabis and parenting worlds are coming to terms with this, and with a bit of attention paid to making sure the cannabis stays out of the hands of minors, many parents are coming out of the closet about how they use cannabis.

The “cannamom” is now treated like the archetypal “wine mom” was ten years ago. “Is weed mom the new wine mom?” asks wellness company Blissed. “It seems that whether indulging in a much deserved girls weekend, or simply watching Paw Patrol for the hundredth time, cannabis could just be mommy's new little helper.”

It’s not just for moms either. Dads are accessing the same benefits of cannabis. “I’m calm. I’m more attentive. I’m less irritable,” says Will from California in an article by Fatherly. “When I time it right, I can hit my stride as they're getting off the bus, and I'm just such a better parent. That’s weird to say, but it’s true. I’m like, enthralled with them and completely invested in them and their craziness, instead of just being annoyed.”

SPENDING

What’s old is new again

Converting classic cars to electric vehicles is booming in popularity

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