Try Googling “age discrimination in the workplace, 2018.” You’ll get millions of hits.

At Artisan, we hear a lot of stories from "older" workers (this essentially means anyone that isn’t a millennial or a member of the new Gen Z) about working for years at a big company only to be laid off just as they were beginning that final march toward retirement. Many of these workers believe sincerely that they have been discriminated against.

Freelancing contract jobs are definitely the new normal. That’s because the work world has shifted into an on-demand employment model that mirrors our on-demand digital lifestyles. We can work anywhere now, and we do. Freelancers can be found in every coffee shop and nerdy hangout space in our nation, and of course, at home on the couch.

It seems we have a wee bit of a problem extending outside ourselves to apply empathy in the workplace. That wee problem translates into big money for companies of all sizes that are failing in their efforts to engage their workforces.

A 2015 Gallup article spells out the problem: Only 30% of U.S. employees are engaged. Worldwide, only 13% of the workforce is engaged. This means the majority of employees aren’t fully contributing at work. This leads to lower productivity, higher absenteeism, higher safety incidents, and according to Gallup, more theft. Gallup also says that companies with engaged employees outperform competitors by 147%.

Building digital products is a complicated process that requires some way to organize all of the products' features. Think about it for a moment; every functionality on this website was created by a Web Developer. Every scroll, button, click, automation, page loads, and so much more, were mapped out as part of the software development process.

We’re not that into our jobs. No, really. Most American workers are unhappy with their work and calling it in.

Last year, CBS News did a report on the American worker and found that 51% are disengaged, meaning they do the bare minimum to make their paycheck. Another 16% are “actively disengaged,” meaning they spend time at work complaining about the job, the company, and anything else they can think of. The keyword is “actively.” These are the employees who are acting out of their unhappiness, spreading negativity, and ruining workplace culture.

Every culture has its own lingo. In addition to native language, there are buzzwords and lexicons that involve a kind of vernacular shorthand. Industries are ripe with acronyms, slang is rampant across cultures, and popular activities have their own vocabularies. 

Here’s a secret: Almost everyone hates networking events. That may be because they bring back memories of our eighth-grade spring dance where the boys and girls split down the middle like the parting of the Red Sea. Adults at networking events tend to cluster together in groups, which automatically forces some people into the outsider role. Before you know it, you may be sitting in a chair on the sideline while everyone else is dancing.

As adults, networking events are the kind of forced-fun events that tend to feel less like fun and more like work. Many of us simply are not comfortable in an artificial environment designed to bring people together. Despite the yummy finger food and the open bar, networking events are often viewed as a necessary evil.

This article will help you understand why networking events can be so hard — and give you some pointers on how to make them better.

All Writers are not created equal. Not only are there differences in skill sets, there are also different kinds of copy that need to be written and edited. It’s true that finding a good writer is hard, but trust us, finding a good editor is also tough. While writing copy is an art (and a science for technical writers), editing is all about the science of grammar, sentence structure, and the weight and meaning of the content.

Copyeditors are both similar to and different from Copywriters. In fact, you can’t have strong copy without both a Copywriter and a Copyeditor. (Also, a Proofreader.)

This article will clear up any confusion you might have about these jobs.