1 . Oliver, the CTO of a high-tech company, loved to participate in all conversations at the C-suite level, regardless of topic. He was often the first to raise his hand for a project, appeared to have infinite capacity to get high-quality work done, and offered to assist his peers and direct reports. Oliver seemed to be all-in; optimistic, energetic, supportive, and someone who constituted to everyone.

However, the more Oliver participated, the more others around him were slighted. Instead of sparking creatively in others, his ideas outshone everyone else’s. He consumed time speaking in meetings, exhausting the oxygen level in the room. Oliver felt pumped up by how many of his ideas had been deployed but frustrated by others’ lack of sufficient effort.

While the CEO appreciated Oliver’s yield, she recognized he had to change his approach to keep the rest of the team productive. In response, Oliver worked out a plan to help address his cooperation challenges using techniques many other executives had deployed.

When we over-participate, we believe that we're being helpful. However, “helpfulness” is defined by the recipient, not the giver. Instead of improving his relationships with colleagues, Oliver robbed them of fulfillment by furnishing masses of ideas. They felt discouraged, interrupted, and excluded. To fix the issue, Oliver learned the value of asking two specific questions before offering his own ideas: “What have you thought of?” and “What would be most helpful for you at this point?” Surveying others to understand what’s helpful illuminates better avenues for our contribution: directly through our ideas, through coaching colleagues to create their own, or by building on what someone else has generated.

3 . It came as no surprise that being interrupted by other people can have negative effects, like lowered productivity. But a new study shows an upside to these interruptions at work: increased feelings of belonging.

Researchers led by Harshad Puranik at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at this common workplace phenomenon from two aspects. First, interruptions get in the way of completing assignments and require employees to repeatedly switch attention between tasks. That's where the negative effects of interruptions happen. However, beyond the task-based aspect, the group found that being interrupted by others has a social component to it — social interaction with the interrupter that can have a positive effect on the interrupted employees. "If the past year of social distancing and separation has shown us anything, it is that humans are social beings who have an inherent (内在的) need for interacting with others," said Puranik.

Building on previous research on work interruptions, the researchers surveyed 111 full-time employees twice a day once at lunch and once at the end of their workday for three weeks. While there were downsides to interruptions al work, like raising levels of stress and lowering people’s energy, there was an upside, the researchers found. Employees felt more like they belonged, which eventually allowed them to get more pleasure from their work routines.

The study found something else on top of this. The social aspect of work interruptions also weakened the negative impact that the switching of tasks during interruptions had on employees job satisfaction. This means that, intend of the negative experience, being interrupted at work can be "a net positive for the well-being of employees, "according to Puranik. Therefore, the researchers urge managers to better manage rather than completely prohibit work interruptions.

6 . At Beijing’s Palace Museum, it sometimes seems that time stands still, but the clocks keep ticking at a small workshop there. This is where clock conservator (文物修复员) Qi Haonan works. .

As part of the fourth generation of conservators to repair and restore antique (古老的) clocks at the museum since 1949, Qi has returned more than 100 clocks to their former glory.

After having majored in mechanical automation during his university studies, Qi joined the cultural relics restoration department at the Palace Museum in 2005. “In the beginning, everything in the palace was new to me. It made me excited to even think about repairing antique clocks,” the 41-year-old told China Daily. But reality soon weakened his warmth. There is a rule at the museum: For the first year you can look, but not touch. From 8 a. m. to5 p. m. every day, he checked and took apart watches and clocks collected from his friends to practice. After a year of repeated work, he could finally get his hands on the clocks in the museum and get a better understanding of the job. To him, restoring such clocks doesn’t mean making them look brand-new. Through cleaning and restoration, he tries to keep them in their original form, bringing back their former function.

Qi still remembered the excitement he felt when the hands of his first repaired clock began to move. It was a French clock, which took him a month to restore. “What amazes me most about these clocks is that they combine the scientific advances, technological precision (精确) and trends in decorative art of their particular times,” Qi told China Daily.

Although the antique clock repairing special skills at the Palace Museum were listed as a national intangible (非物质的) cultural heritage in 2014, it was still a little-known skill and the specialty was in short supply of professionals. Until 2016, a 3-part TV documentary, Masters in the Forbidden City, made it possible to the public.

Qi started posting videos about the antique clocks on social media in 2019, giving viewers a look into the work. “With rising attention and influence, antique clock restoration can not only be further developed, but also expanded to more museums which house antique clocks and watches,” Qi told China Daily.

9 . Want a part-time job? Here are some options.

We are seeking fun and energetic individuals for Court Monitors. You must be a good communicator, able to work under pressure and enjoy a fast-paced environment. Applicants must have reliable transportation, be available to work weekends and have a proven background in the field.

Dickerson Landscaping is looking to add experienced members to our landscaping team. If you enjoy working outdoors and are genuinely interested in crafting, planting, and digging, then we’re interested in you! You should be capable of doing physical work and lifting objects over50 lbs. We work on weekdays.

An outstanding Sandwich Make is wanted! The ideal person for this position has relevant work experience in the restaurant industry. A responsibility is to safely prepare sandwiches to our customers’ specifications, work cooperatively with other food service staff and help to maintain organization and cleanliness in the kitchen.

If you are into organic farm practices and take interest in local and sustainably produced food, join us! Previous experience is a plus, but not required. Have the ability to lift and carry 50 lbs and perform tasks that require bending or kneeling for several hours. Schedule can be flexible with priority given to applicants with Monday-Thursday availability.

10 . When I was at school, I hated art. Growing up in north Wales, I was not able to rate higher than an E in my final exams. I wasn’t too upset; I thought I wasn’t going to choose it as a career.

By the time I was about four, I started sleepwalking. At night, I used to go under the stairs and scribble (乱画) on the wall. When I was 15, I was no longer just making scribbles. I was drawing anything from pictures of Marilyn Monroe to unrealistic paintings. I showed some to my art teachers. They said: “Why can’t you do this in class?” It was something I struggled to understand myself. I tried so hard to draw when I was awake, practising and using the same tools. But no matter what I did, I was unable to recreate the drawings.

Once I left school, I became a nurse, mainly helping people with brain injuries. I also met my partner. He is unbelievably supportive of my art and sleepwalking habits—he often films me as I work. And when I begin to paint in my sleep, I’ll use any tools I can find, sometimes knives and forks. That’s the only thing that worries my partner—that I’ll accidentally hurt myself. I have gone to various sleep clinics to try to get to the bottom of what’s happening, but nothing out of the ordinary was found health-wise. Alcohol or lack of sleep does bring the sleepwalking on more, though, so I am careful about that.

I have learned to hug my unusual talent and set up my first art exhibition in 2007 at my local in library to raise money for cancer research. Within a week, I had 160 calls from different media outlets and organizations wanting to hear about my art. I was over the moon. I then decided to leave my very fulfilling job in nursing and become a full-time artist.