For the past several years, remote work seemed to be the holy grail of the 21st-century workforce. The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world provides employees with increased work-life flexibility and broadens the talent pool from which employers can draw. Yet, it seems there’s a backlash brewing.

IBM announced in September that it was calling 5,000 remote workers back into the office because, at least for some jobs, co-location led to better productivity. Other big names such as Bank of America, Best Buy, and Reddit are also in favor of calling teams back to the office. If that trend catches on, employees could find themselves with fewer remote work options in the near future. Read more…

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Source: Mashable | In love with your pajamas? Learn how to work from home effectively

Author Gabriel Tallent has a theory about literature: “I think good books ask us to be courageous readers.”

It’s an apt suggestion, especially with his debut novel My Absolute Darling.

The book follows a 14-year-old girl, Turtle Alveston, who lives in northern California as she struggles to escape the abuse she suffers at the hand of her father. But if there is one characteristic about My Absolute Darling that stands out, it’s the novel’s unflinching, often painful-to-read look at violence, which often requires courage from the reader as the book confronts such scenes head on. And for Tallent, that’s the point. Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Gabriel Tallent knows his book 'My Absolute Darling' is painful to read. For him, that's the point.

You can help get food to children in need this week, and maybe even have fun at the same time.

In honor of World Food Day, which raises awareness every Oct. 16 about global hunger and the fight to end it, Google Play is joining forces with the World Food Programme (WFP), the food assistance branch of the United Nations.

Through Google Play’s first-ever “charity collection” of 12 featured apps and games, 100 percent of Android users’ designated in-app purchases will be donated to World Food Program USA through Saturday, Oct. 21. The apps include Jurassic World: The Game, Dragon City, Cooking Fever, and WFP’s own hunger-fighting app, ShareTheMeal.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Fight hunger while you play mobile games this week

We already knew that Facebook was no longer the worst social media platform for cyberbullying, but now the company is taking a big step to actually eradicate it from its roots. 

Acknowledging that students are more likely to open up with their peers rather than with adults about online bullying, Facebook has decided to partner with two youth charities — Childnet International and The Diana Award — to train “anti-bullying ambassadors” in each UK secondary school. 

Tens of thousands of pupils in 4,500 secondary schools across the UK will learn how to provide peer-to-peer support and introduce online safety initiatives in the classroom, Facebook said in a press release.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Facebook will train British teens to stand up to online bullying

Me too. The sound of these two words is reverberating around the world today as women everywhere use them to share their experiences of harassment and assault. 

In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Hollywood actor Alyssa Milano posted a call to arms asking women who’ve been sexually assaulted or harassed to write “me too” as a status to “give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” 

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Source: Mashable | Women endure a lifetime of sexual harassment even before they enter the workplace