Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Work Transformed newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here.
The pandemic has forced almost every company to change how they do business.
And co-working company WeWork has been no exception.
“We saw a drop off in April and May,” WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani told me.
But business is picking up again as companies look to rent space and keep workers safely distanced.
“We were very quickly able to de-densify our common areas, our lounges, our office space,” Mathrani said.
WeWork is also attracting new types of clients, especially in the fields of education and health sciences.
This summer, the company started working with colleges and universities. The schools needed a place for students to go between classes now that there are space limitations in places like libraries and coffee shops.
Click here to read more of my interview with Mathrani.
Practice what you preach
You’ve heard the line before from company leaders: Family is most important.
But one CEO admitted he wasn’t always practicing what he was preaching.
I was not acting in concert with what I was saying,” said Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings about touting the importance of family, while often staying late at the office.
“That in particular created real integrity issues,” he recently told CNN’s Poppy Harlow.
It was a marriage counselor who helped him see that he was “a systematic liar.”
Hastings is also working on his work relationships and encourages radical candor from his employees – even when the feedback is hard to hear.
Read and watch more about the interview here and here.
Ready to jump career ships?
If you’re thinking about switching careers, you aren’t alone.
It’s normal for big events (like a global pandemic) to cause some workers to rethink their current job.
More than half of Americans in a recent survey who are currently looking for a new job are doing so because of the pandemic, reports CNN Business’ Alexis Benveniste.
The survey, which includes people who are looking for new jobs and people who are unemployed, was conducted by Morning Consult and commissioned by Amazon.
Read more about what’s going on and get tips about switching to a new career.
How much should you really tell your boss?
Good managers are checking in with their employees to see how they’re doing during the pandemic.
So how should workers respond?
Do they slap a smile on their face and say everything is fine – even when they’re really struggling with a mental health issue? Or is it okay to talk about what’s really going on?
“There’s more stigma out there than we would like to think,” a psychology professor told The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Feintzeig about approaching the conversation. “Less is more.”
But some employees Feintzeig spoke with say they are finding that talking about mental health at work can be beneficial both on a personal and professional level.
Click here to read more.
Coffee break
Looking to take your remote work lifestyle up a few notches?
I am talking beach views (or a desk on the beach, if you prefer), laundry service and daily free yoga, fitness and meditation classes.
A luxury resort in the Maldives is offering a “Workation Package” that includes all this and more, reports Tamara Hardingham-Gill for CNN.
But be ready to fork over some serious $$$.
A seven-night stay in a beach house costs more than $23,000.
That can be expensed, right?