Bob Merberg

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I’m working on a grant studying how ppl develop a sense of vocational calling early on in their lives. How do parenting, school, cultural values, etc. impact calling prior to age 18?

As we're ideating, we'd love to hear from YOU. What books growing up most influenced your career journey?

When I read “How to Be Caring is out…” in PUP’s post, I first thought it meant out-of-style, and thought, “That tracks.”

Unpopular opinion: these articles and discussions should cite head-to-head studies comparing ai- vs human-based therapy, not just assume human therapy is the paragon of excellence and virtue.

I find the focus on social media as a scapegoat simplistic and short-sighted. There are pushes and pulls in behavior. Young people are pulled toward social media, but what pushes them away?

Excited to share my new preprint. My work focuses on solitude, but I am not one to advocate for a "solitude theory"; psych has too many theories so one less would be good. So, what I did the past 2 yrs is talking to people, reading work outside of my literature, essentially to shop for a framework 🧵

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I've always accepted the existence of SAD, but I'm open to evidence about anything. So thanks for sharing this article.

I have to add, fwiw, that the article's headline seems to misstate the findings. The article specifically states, "lack of evidence for SAD does not prove SAD isn’t real."

Kristina R. Gaddy and I will be discussing our new book, Go Back and Fetch It: Recovering Early Black Music in the Americas for Fiddle and Banjo today (9/23) at 5:30pm EDT!

Join us in person at @umich.edu or on the livestream: bit.ly/4gAREus

My Job’s “Wellness” Program Nearly Sent Me Over the Edge Caring for my dying mother was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Corporate wellness culture made it even harder.

I believe this author mislabels what she calls "wellness programs." But her experience with personal development culture at work is a meaningful employee testimonial about workplace alienation, emotional labor, grief, and, yes, the folly of workplace personal development fadism.

We’ve all heard it: “You can’t yoga your way to well-being.” Tomorrow on State of Work Today, I talk with Bob Merberg (@heighho.bsky.social) about what organizations get wrong about wellness—and what they need to do instead.

This one goes deep. Here is a sneak peek:

It was wonderful having Bob - @heighho.bsky.social - on the show. Wellness is such an overlooked and important issue.

Enjoy this episode of @timglowa.bsky.social 's podcast, in which our convo goes where no other podcast about wellbeing has gone. We chat about job crafting; a popular wellness offering that's "fairly worthless"; ROI; listening to workers; burnout; sabbaticals; etc.

Thx, Tim, for having me on!

Still thinking about my conversation with Bob Merberg. One key point: The best way to support employee wellness isn’t to change workers—it’s to change the work.

If you missed it, the episode’s out now.

#EmployeeWellbeing #WorkplaceStrategy #HumanCapital

I'm still thinking about it, too, @timglowa.bsky.social . I enjoyed our conversation and appreciate the opportunity to share ideas about what employers get right/wrong with wellbeing... and topics like job crafting, job retention/embeddedness, ROI, sabbaticals, and burnout.

Holding It Together by Jessica Calarco: 9780593538128 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Other countries have social safety nets. The U.S. has women. Holding It Together chronicles the causes and dire consequences. America runs on women—women who are tasked with holding society...

The culture of success in the US is built on the false promise of "good choices." As I show in Holding It Together, we tell people they can be successful if they work hard/smart enough. Which means: expect no support and blame only yourself if you fail.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...

PUBLICATION DAY! Pick up a copy of Doubled Up to learn more about how families use doubling up as a private safety net and how these arrangements reshape family life.

Have you bought into the "#employeehappiness" market? It's touted as the salve for all ppl probs (i.e. burnout, retention, engagement, productivity...). But it's BS. Here's why & what to do instead. tinyurl.com/mpry4fa2
#IOPsych #workplaceculture #workplacestress #employeewellbeing #wellbeingwashing

✨Check out our latest paper exploring how flexible work arrangements (FWAs) relate to gender disparities in housework. Wife’s use of FWAs can increase her housework and reduce her husband’s housework, while husband’s impact depends on both partners’ gender ideologies.

More:
doi.org/10.1016/j.ss...

Today's unscheduled blog. And to my dear friends and colleagues at NIOSH or previously funded by NIOSH: thank you for your dedication, intelligence, perseverence. My heart is with all of you. dedemontgomery.com/2025/04/29/w... #saveniosh #safetymatters

YouTube video by ABC News Coal miners address federal institute protecting them from black lung being gutted

“ABC News travels to Appalachia as the federal institute [NIOSH] that protects miners from black lung has been gutted, talking to those most impacted from miners to laid off workers to doctors.”

youtu.be/tIAPRdk62-8

Unfortunately, saying some jobs will replace other jobs while employment patterns continue to ebb and flow doesn’t garner keynote gigs.

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It is tragic, but also, how did we get so stupid?

Aargh! Sub-3-hour; not sub-3-minute. 🙄

Actually, he's correct if he's talking about kids who die of preventable infectious diseases.

YouTube video by Jake Arno 15 Year old Kid with autism hits 6 threes in final minutes of high school game!

Now we know. RFK’s not just vaccine-ignorant. He’s ASD-ignorant.
“Never play baseball”? Someone should show him this clip about J-Mac. It’s not baseball, it’s basketball. But still. (He also ran a sub-3-minute Boston Marathon).

youtube.com/shorts/pIuK0...

If you're not interested in seeing occasional pickle posts, food, silliness, or politics, etc., you can follow @thrive-tww.bsky.social to get only workplace well-being posts.

And that's ok! it's good to have boundaries around what you want to see on social media!

"...waiting for the British to give a proper thank you"

... in a suit, of course.

As a public health researcher I find this deeply concerning. I can’t fathom how it was possible for RFK Jnr to be put in this position. With no public health expertise nor any understanding of how research and the scientific process works, he is dangerous.

#Science
#PublicHealth
#neurodivergence