Since launching as a newsletter in 2012, millennial-focused media company theSkimm has expanded its content offerings to support readers during different life stages.

In addition to a daily newsletter, theSkimm now publishes content on money, wellness, and parenting. It dipped its toe into advocacy in 2021 with a #ShowUsYourLeave campaign, placing public pressure on companies to be transparent about their paid family leave offerings. More recently, theSkimm launched #ShowUsYourChildcare, calling on the private sector to invest more in childcare benefits.

“This is definitely an extension of knowing that our audience is growing up and going through different life stages. And a lot of them are parents now, and unfortunately not getting the support that they need from either the government or the private sector,” Niven McCall-Mazza, editor-in-chief of theSkimm, told HR Brew.

Childcare = infrastructure. TheSkimm launched the #ShowUsYourChildCare campaign in June with Moms First, a nonprofit advocating for structural childcare support.

“We wanted to ignite this conversation about the importance of childcare and why it needs to be seen as a key infrastructure issue,” McCall-Mazza said. “We also wanted to call on the private sector to step up and take action for their employees.”

Keep reading.—CV

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We’re checking in with HR pros about the programs, applications, and software they can’t live without. In this edition of “Tech you love,” we heard from HR pros about software that helps with pay transparency, company culture, employee feedback, and more. There’s even a tech rec for small businesses and HR teams of one.

Jelena Djordjevic, VP of people, Thumbtack

Our compensation planning tool Pave has been really instrumental for our team. Their systems-based compensation planning enables us to have more visibility and transparency, so we can ensure pay equity among our employees and have one cohesive tool. They’ve built a great experience that is easy to use both for employees and people teams. They are a very feedback-oriented company, readily taking our feedback to help improve their product and inform their future roadmap. They have helped us scale a small compensation team through technology, and led to a much better planning experience for leaders at the company.

Esther Contreras, US director of people, Cleverbridge

Culture Amp has been a great tool for us. We currently use their development and engagement modules and found them to be very beneficial. As someone with an industrial-organizational psychology background, I greatly appreciate the amount of research that goes into the tool.

LaDavia Drane, global head of inclusion, diversity, and equity, Amazon Web Services

I truly stand by the saying that data rules all. We have a tool called Amazon Connections that gives employees a confidential and effective way to give feedback on the workplace and help shape the future of the company. By asking employees quick questions every day, Connections leverages real time information to learn more about their experiences and introduce positive changes with internal business partners around the world.

Keep reading.—AD

Hospital ICUs. Lack of sleep. Mood swings.

Researchers found that these keywords helped artificial intelligence (AI) detect distress effectively during healthcare workers’ therapy sessions in the earliest months of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research AI on October 17.

The findings, from researchers at New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine, could potentially help healthcare workers address burnout before it reaches critical levels.

“Finally we have a thermometer for anxiety and depression,” Matteo Malgaroli, the study’s lead author and a research assistant professor at NYU Langone Health’s psychiatry department, told Healthcare Brew.

How it works. In the study, a natural language processing (NPL) algorithm scanned through psychotherapy sessions transcripts from virtual behavioral health services provider Talkspace to highlight key themes and common phrases. The study is the first to use NLP—an AI-powered technology that helps computers process written and spoken language like humans—to identify psychological distress markers in healthcare workers’ speech, according to Malgaroli.

Keep reading on Healthcare Brew.—AE

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Some 73% of HR leaders surveyed say their managers are ill-equipped to lead change. (Human Resources Director)

Quote: “Once you get the hang of that skill, it can help you excel in any job, whether you’re a software developer, leading a retail team, or working in investment banking, because you’re able to calmly process a lot of incoming information, take action quickly, and deliver some type of result.”—Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald’s CPO for the US, referring to the multitasking skills employees learn working in fast-food restaurants (CNBC Make It)

Read: As we enter the final months of 2023, HR leaders are looking to the future and what they might be asked to prioritize next year. (HR Dive)

Always be retaining: Avoid regrettable attrition with 15Five’s performance management platform. It provides tools like manager training and goal tracking to increase employee engagement, performance, and retention. Schedule your demo.*

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