We’ve all experienced a moment of horror upon learning that we’ve mispronounced a word or phrase for years. (There’s even a meme for it: “bone apple tea,” a viral mangling of “bon appétit.”) This goes for brand names as well.

A new CenturyLink survey of 1,500 Americans concluded that Givenchy is the most commonly mispronounced company, followed by Porsche, Yves Saint Laurent, Hyundai, and Ralph Lauren. (Shockingly, 29% of respondents mispronounced Nike. Yes, that Nike.)

There are interesting generational differences. For example, 76% of Gen Z mispronounces Porsche, but only 51% of Gen X does. However, Gen Z is the only generation in which a majority correctly pronounces Nutella. Bone apple tea to that!

Teacher burnout: What the private sector can teach schools.

Office BFFs: Who says your coworkers aren’t your friends?

Tokyo Vice: An unexpected lesson in constructive feedback.

Quitter: From English teacher to movie star in South Korea.

Black Friday was just the beginning. All month long, retail shoppers will queue up to buy holiday gifts. You don’t want ‘em fighting over the last must-have action figure like in Jingle All the Way … or simply getting impatient, checking their watches, and leaving without any purchases.

Fortunately, your customers will actually enjoy their time in line with DIRECTV for BUSINESS℠. You provide the screen and DIRECTV for BUSINESS℠ will provide 155+ channels including sports, entertainment, and more:

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• 81% of business subscribers with 2+ locations say DIRECTV for BUSINESS℠ keeps customers entertained even if they’re waiting.
• 80% of subscribers that play DIRECTV Music Channels for customers say it creates a pleasant atmosphere.

With DIRECTV for BUSINESS℠, there’s always something on to keep shoppers glued to the screen … hey, you could even play Jingle All the Way for them!

(Source: Shutterstock)

America has a burnout epidemic, and nowhere is that more clear than in education. Nearly half of K-12 workers say they’re burned out, according to Gallup, making them the most stressed sector in the nation by a large margin. (College educators are next at 35%.)

The hours are relentless, at 54 per week on average. The pay isn’t what it used to be. Remote learning was a mess. Plus, K-12 educators spend $750 of their own income on school supplies each year. In short, our kids’ teachers are largely in crisis.

Over the past couple years, however, the private sector — from retail to tech — has made significant strides in prioritizing employees’ work-life balance and mental health, identifying symptoms (and solutions) and destigmatizing a much-needed conversation. Is it possible for America’s educational establishment to emulate the corporate world’s recent progress?

Provide mental health resources

Individual cases never call for a one-size-fits-all solution. However, many major companies have provided workers with everything from meditation apps and yoga classes to counseling sessions with licensed therapists, addiction specialists, and other personalized resilience resources.

One survey found that only 6% of teachers had access to workplace counseling services. This lags way behind the 23% of employers that introduced new mental health services during the pandemic.

Address the roots, not the symptoms

The aforementioned wellness resources are great to have, but they can’t fix the inevitable effects of a broken workplace culture.

“Employers can and should view high rates of burnout as a powerful warning sign that the organization — not the individuals in the workforce — needs to undergo meaningful systematic change,” warns McKinsey. 

The most common drivers of burnout include constant availability, unreasonable workloads, low levels of autonomy, and a lack of social support. Ask a teacher if they’ve ever experienced these issues, and get ready for a lecture in return.

Solutions must start at the top

Business leaders can’t simply wait for their employees to burn out before making changes. They must set the tone and provide actionable examples. Express that it’s OK to not be OK. Normalize taking time off when you need it. Don’t send non-urgent emails to directs at 10 p.m.

Employers have learned the importance of being proactive in this area. School administrators might want to study the curriculum.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Dr. Eden King is a Rice University professor of psychology and former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Do you have a best friend at the office? If so, you are probably happier and more engaged at work, and more committed to your organization. Research that Gallup conducted over the past four years suggests that the importance of best work friends has increased over time.

Why Are Work BFFs So Important?

Being connected to other people is a big part of what drives us. Some psychologists argue that the fundamental motivation driving most human behavior is a desire to have meaningful connections.

It makes sense that this need for robust relationships matters at work, where we spend a lot of our waking hours. The highs are higher (and the lows are more endurable) when you have a go-to person for advice, to debrief with about contentious meetings or awkward interactions, and to laugh or cry with when things get bananas. 

So how can you cultivate friendships at work? Three tips:

• Make time: Use the “water cooler” moments — such as time before and after meetings, or during lunch breaks — to spark conversations.
• Share activities: Go beyond happy hours and potlucks, and consider bowling, baking, painting, or other structured activities to connect with your colleagues.
• Be open: Sometimes it takes being a little vulnerable to help other people feel like they can trust you. Disclosing something important about yourself — or your family, your background, or even your likes and dislikes — can promote trust and liking.

Here’s hoping you find meaningful connections in life and at work.

(Source: HBO)

The series Tokyo Vice on HBO takes young American journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) into the world of the “yakuza,” Japan’s iteration of the mafia. Adelstein must earn his stripes at Tokyo’s largest and most distinguished newspaper. However, he has a lot going against him — from learning different professional nuances to enduring his superiors’ admonishments. Hardly anyone takes him seriously.

Fortunately, he has a great supervisor, Emi Maruyama (Rinko Kikuchi), who gives him meaningful, albeit stringent, feedback. After rejecting several drafts of Jake’s article, Maruyama finally accepts the piece … but not before telling him that he uses too many adjectives and needs to be more objective in his reporting style.

Maruyama’s comments, even if they are harshly straightforward, mean something to Jake because she provides him with consistent and transparent critiques. When she approves of his work, he knows that she means it.

The end of the year is when many companies hold annual performance reviews. It’s important to keep criticism constructive, but also to keep it honest. With the right guidance, your employees might just go on to improve — whether they’re exposing one of the world’s most powerful crime syndicates or just writing some code.

When Justin Harvey moved to South Korea in 2015 to teach English, he never envisioned himself as a big-screen action hero. But seven years later, that’s exactly what the 31-year-old has accomplished.

During his three years teaching in Gwangyang and Seoul, Harvey fell in love with the country and culture — the food, the noraebangs (Korean karaoke rooms), and the people. He says you can forget your wallet on a bus there and have it returned to you later that day. 

After picking up the language, Harvey realized that there might be bigger career opportunities on the peninsula. He quit his teaching job in 2018, established residency by taking a Korean language/citizenry test, and landed his first acting gigs on two local TV series, Welcome, First Time in Korea? and South Korean Foreigner, both of which aired in 2020. 

Last June, Harvey made his motion picture debut in Park Hoon-jung’s The Witch: Part 2 - The Other One, which grossed more than $23 million worldwide. Harvey says moving to Korea, quitting his teaching job, and taking up acting was the best decision that he’s ever made … even if he does miss his students from time to time.

Written by Dan Ketchum and Ali Saleh. Comic by John McNamee.

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