Cardiac Arrest, More about Work, and We Stole Barbie!!!

 

#9 August 1:  In an article about Bronny James (LeBron James’ son) collapsing from a cardiac arrest during basketball practice: “Sudden Cardiac Arrest is rare but is the leading cause of death among NCAA athletes.”  Wow!  Hopefully, these recent high profile episodes will result in increased mandatory screening during physicals and increased awareness among trainers and coaches to intervene sooner. 7/28

#10 August 2:  An article in today’s paper did a 1 year follow up on the 4 day workweek experiment.  Companies in the project committed to 6 months of structuring 32 hr workweeks.  At one year the positive effects had not “worn off” but increased.  The only negatives reported were a small increase in burn out rates and lower job satisfaction, though those numbers while lower than at 6 months were better than at the beginning of the experiment when a 40 hour plus workweek was in place.  Time savings came from scheduling fewer meetings, streamlining communication and building in more focus time to reduce distractions.   Most workers reported that they would need at least a 10% salary boost, or “no amount of money” to revert back to a 40 hr. week.  Where were these experiments when I was working, before I retired?!!  7/28

#11 August 3:  Barbie originated as a “porn doll” in Germany.  Ruth Handler “stole” the Barbie concept from a German porn doll marketed to men. https://www.history.com/news/barbie-inspiration-bild-lilli 7/31