monday.com’s take on the latest work trends - sent on Tuesdays.
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Inside this issue
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- Workplace trends
- The AI corner
- Helping senior team members grow
- Question of the week
- Just for laughs
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Follow the monday.com weekly on LinkedIn
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Workplace trends
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Workplace Safety
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India cracks down on delivery worker exploitation
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India banned delivery companies from promising 10-minute service, saying it endangers worker safety. Worker advocacy groups say the delivery model, used by platforms including Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto, forces delivery partners into dangerous road behavior and extreme stress, with riders facing financial penalties for late deliveries while earning less than $200 monthly. Delivery companies have since dropped these marketing claims. The crackdown highlights India's struggle to create meaningful employment as the gig economy expands to over 12 million workers with minimal protections.
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Culture
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The quirky job title trend has a downside
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Companies are experimenting with reinvented job titles: Accenture's employees are now "Reinventors," Lululemon's store workers are "Educators," and some companies are hiring "Chief Appreciation Officers" to signal a fun, meaningful culture. But the strategy has downsides as quirky titles make it harder for recruiters to find candidates on LinkedIn when searching for traditional role names. HR experts also warn that these title changes need substance behind them - with employee engagement hitting a 10-year low in 2024 according to Gallup, fun new names alone won't solve deeper workplace culture problems.
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The AI corner
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Productivity
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Executives and employees are living in different AI realities
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Two-thirds of workers say AI saves them less than two hours per week or no time at all, while over 40% of executives claim it saves them more than eight hours weekly, according to a Section survey of 5,000 white-collar workers. The gap is about more than time saved - workers report feeling anxious and overwhelmed about using AI. Many say they spend extra time correcting AI errors and reworking content, which business-software company Workday calls an "AI tax" on productivity. The disconnect raises questions about whether AI's productivity boost is entirely real or just another example of the C-suite living a different reality than their employees.
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Healthcare
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Gates Foundation tests AI in understaffed African clinics
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The Gates Foundation and OpenAI are bringing AI to 1,000 African clinics by 2028 with $50 million in funding. The goal isn't flashy - AI will handle patient intake, scheduling, and paperwork in places where one doctor serves tens of thousands of people. With global health aid down 27% since 2024 and Sub-Saharan Africa short nearly six million healthcare workers, Bill Gates says AI could make clinic visits "twice as fast." But critics of the project wonder whether these tools will be able to drive long-term change when the funding inevitably runs out, Reuters reports.
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Helping senior team members grow
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Having seasoned employees on your team is always an asset. Not only do they improve efficiency and project outcomes, but they also lead by example, making your entire organization stronger. The challenge is keeping their career momentum, so you don’t risk losing them.
Gallup research highlights how preventable many departures really are. Forty-two percent of employees who left their organization voluntarily said their manager or company could have done something to prevent them from leaving. Nearly half of those employees also reported that no one had a meaningful conversation with them about their job satisfaction, performance, or future in the three months before they left.
Supporting senior team members requires a different kind of development conversation. This isn’t about teaching someone how to do their job better. It’s about helping them expand their influence, deepen their impact, and shape a future that still feels exciting. When growth becomes an ongoing dialogue instead of a once-a-year review topic, senior employees are far more likely to stay energized and invested.
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So how can you help your senior team members keep growing?
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Define what growth means to them
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Not every senior employee is interested in becoming a people manager, and assuming that can accidentally push great contributors away. Many experienced employees are more motivated by autonomy, bigger challenges, or the opportunity to deepen their expertise than by giving them direct reports. In other words, growth looks different for different people. Have an open conversation with your senior team members about what energizes them right now. They might want to take on more complex projects, mentor others, become a subject matter expert, or gain more visibility with leadership. When you understand what kind of growth feels meaningful, you can align opportunities with what truly motivates them, instead of offering a one-size-fits-all promotion path.
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Key question: “What type of growth is most exciting to your senior employees right now?”
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Focus on trajectory, not just performance
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Senior team members don’t need another check-in about whether they hit their KPIs — they need space to talk about where they’re headed. If every conversation stays focused on their current output, it can start to feel like they’re running in place. So, instead of getting into the daily weeds, shift the discussion from short-term performance to long-term direction. Ask questions like, “What kinds of problems do you want to be solving a year from now?” or “Where do you feel underused today?” These conversations help employees connect their current work to a bigger arc. At the senior level, growth is less about improving execution and more about ensuring the employee’s role continues to evolve to match their capabilities and ambitions.
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Key question: “Where does your employee want their career to be heading?”
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Make them a partner in shaping their role
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Senior employees often outgrow their job descriptions before managers have time to realize it. And if responsibilities stay static while their skills expand, disengagement can creep in quietly. One of the most effective ways to keep growth alive is to discuss how their role could evolve. Ask what types of projects would make their work more exciting, what decisions they’d like more ownership over, and where they’d like greater influence – then look for small but meaningful adjustments you can make now. Giving them ownership of a decision, involving them earlier in planning conversations, or expanding their strategic input can make their role feel more dynamic right away. Revisit these discussions regularly so growth stays active and visible.
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Key question: “How can you evolve this role to better match your employee’s strengths and ambitions?”
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Offer stretch opportunities that build influence
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Early-career growth often focuses on learning how to do things, but senior growth is more about deciding what should be done and why. Stretch goals at this stage mean giving people room to shape direction, not just deliver outcomes. So, look for opportunities where your employee can define the approach to a new initiative, recommend a strategy, build a new process, or guide others through a complex project. These experiences build strategic thinking and expand their influence across the team. Stretch goals can also come from exposure to different parts of the business. Working on cross-functional efforts, participating in executive discussions, or building their personal brand by presenting at events on behalf of the business can empower them to operate in new arenas.
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Key question: “What new challenges or environments could help this employee think and operate at a higher level?”
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Water cooler chatter
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Co-working spaces are back. This time, corporate giants like Pfizer and Amazon are using them to set up satellite offices closer to where employees live, letting workers skip long commutes while still getting office perks. The US now has 158.3 million square feet of co-working space, up from 115.6 million three years ago.
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"Today remote workers are livid about it if you force them back to the office and it's a crappy experience."
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Jamie Hodari, Industrious Co-founder and CBRE Executive
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Corner offices are vanishing. Only 7% of senior business leaders now have private offices, down from 12% in 2015, as companies push CEOs to hot-desk among employees. The shift is part of the push to make leaders seem more "approachable and available" in the hallways.
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"The hierarchy, the gravitas of a corner office, is far less important than it used to be. Leaders are working more among their people."
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Jon Eaglesham, Managing Director at Architect Barr Gazetas
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Question of the week
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Last week’s answer: 66%
This week’s question: What percent of new jobs by 2030 will come from occupations that don't require a degree, according to US estimates?
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Just for laughs
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