Millennials are blamed for a lot — including killing bar soap and breakfast cereal and not buying houses due to excessive avocado toast and Starbucks indulgences. However, their basic honesty hasn’t been in question. (If anything, they were too honest in the early days of social media.)

However, a new survey of more than 1,300 Americans found that millennial respondents admit to lying more than any other generation: Thirteen percent claim they tell one fib minimum per day (compared to 2% of boomers and 5% of Gen X and Gen Z). About 40% have lied to their managers “to avoid embarrassment,” and a third have fudged their resumes.

The survey might not be scientific — an online casino commissioned it — so take this news with a grain of salt … Preferably, artisanal pink Himalayan sea salt, sprinkled atop organic ancient-grains avocado toast with an oat-milk caramel frappé. But hold the caramel because it’s too much sugar.

Here’s something that isn’t a lie: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is taking nominations for America’s Top Small Business Awards. They’ve extended the deadline to July 21, so if you know or own a company that deserves recognition, apply now!

Nomads no more: Is return-to-office the end of #VanLife?

Retention: How managers can keep teams committed.

Blackberry: New film turns corporate downfall into comedy gold.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Working poolside, beachside, or at a cafe in a quaint European city on a permanent basis was an idyllic dream for millennial globe-trotters and van enthusiasts. When COVID normalized long-term remote work, the “digital nomad” lifestyle — which only required a laptop, a hotspot connection, and an adventurous spirit — felt more achievable than ever.

Between 2019 and 2022, the number of digital nomads increased from approximately 7 million to 17 million, and 81% of them felt satisfied versus 68% of stationary employees.

But now that most companies are implementing return-to-office policies (RTO), some digital nomads are finally ready to trade the open road for the comfort of home.

Lauren Juliff spent more than a decade as a digital nomad until it became unbearable. She had panic attacks from loneliness and her work suffered. “Exploring new countries made me feel alive and I learned so much,” she told the BBC, but eventually “I struggled to effectively run my business … [I was] working while lying in bed because I rarely had access to a desk.”

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Daryl and Mindi Hirsch, a Philadelphia couple who spent the past few years in 25 countries across four continents, were similarly ready to “put down some long-term roots.” They’d been robbed twice and felt burnt out from visa restrictions and “Airbnb horror stories.” As the Hirsches wrote on their blog last month, “The excitement and wanderlust that bubbled each time we traveled to a new destination started to fade to a trickle.”

Many digital nomads are still committed to working from the road. For others, however, a common story has emerged: blissful and life-changing early years followed by fatigue, homesickness, and financial struggles that convinced them to throw in the towel — along with everything else in their suitcases. At which point, an employer’s RTO mandate almost feels like a relief.

But hey, they can still do #VanLife from the company parking lot, right?

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Dr. Ben Baran is an associate professor at Cleveland State University and co-founder of Elevating What Works.   

The idea that managers can’t do much to influence retention is a complete myth. In fact, managers can directly influence how their employees think about their work, experience their work on a daily basis, and their intention to keep working — or to quit.

Regardless of the labor market or other factors outside of your control, here are three evidence-based ways in which every manager can boost retention:

Be a Supportive Supervisor

Supportive supervisors consistently value the contributions of their direct reports and care about their well-being. They recognize — and communicate — how their people’s efforts help the team, and express genuine concern for them as people.

When supervisors do this, employees generally respond by performing at a higher level and by being more committed to the organization. These actions communicate that the supervisor and the organization overall are supportive. An analysis of 588 studies provides strong evidence for this.

Always Strive for Fairness

Being fair as a supervisor can take on many forms, but two key sets of actions to remember are:

• Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
• Explain the process behind your decisions whenever possible.

It’s not your job to be everyone’s best friend or win any popularity contests, but helping people understand how you make decisions — along with being polite and compassionate — can go a long way in creating a sense of fairness. And those behaviors are key drivers of employees’ commitment to remain a member of the organization.

Take Responsibility for Employee Experience

Practices like onboarding, training, and performance appraisal often fall under the human resources department, but they fail miserably without manager involvement.

Pay special attention to new employees, both in terms of orienting them to their roles and to making them feel like a welcomed part of the team. Providing training opportunities and handling performance appraisal properly are other key ways in which managers can show their support and care for direct reports, boosting commitment and retention. 

(Source: Elevation Pictures)

“Why would anybody want a phone without a keyboard?” is just one of the yikes-inducing leadership nuggets in BlackBerry, which stars Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton as executives of the titular company, arguably the iPhone’s greatest victim.

The satire traces BlackBerry’s story from its original pitch (“Okay, picture a cellphone and an email machine all in one thing”) and incredible worldwide success to a breakneck fall from grace because its only strategy was playing defense and doubling down.

Like dinosaurs in the trajectory of a meteor, BlackBerry’s tech-bro C-suite couldn’t even fathom what was about to hit them; an internal cult of personality guaranteed a complete lack of agility in the face of external competition. It’s a tragedy for the real-life creators of BlackBerry — whose valuation crashed from $140 to less than $5 per share — but a comedy for viewers.

It's not just BlackBerry. See what you can learn from movies about Facebook, Wall Street and more.

• 1890: Henri Nestlé, founder of the world’s largest food and beverage company, passed away. 
• 1928: The Chillicothe Baking Company first used Otto Frederick Rowhedder’s single-loaf bread-slicing machine. It was the best thing since … uh …
• 1936: Henry F. Phillips received a patent for his screwdriver (and its accompanying screws). You probably have one in your closet — y’know, the Phillips-head? 
• 1978: The NBA approved a franchise swap between Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Boston Celtics owner Irv Levin; it’s remembered as one of the strangest business moves in sports history. (Today, you might know the Buffalo Braves as the Los Angeles Clippers.)

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

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