If you enjoy the comfort of a white-collar job, you may be stunned to learn just how much you are being watched. Surveillance is rising because work-from-home policies mean that employers are keen tokeep tabs ontheir remote workforce. Before the pandemic, around one in ten of the large businesses asked by Gartner, a research firm, had spying software. Within three years it expects the share to reach 70％.

Bosses also have ever-expanding amounts of data at their disposal, enlarging the digital footprint that can be monitored. Widely used software such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams can tell managers what time you clock in or how many calls you join on their platforms. The blurring boundaries between work and home mean that video surveillance and other intrusive tools are barging into workers’ personal lives, social-media accounts and private devices at all times of the day.

The law is scrambling to adjust. In the state of New York employees subject to electronic monitoring must be told in advance, under a new law introduced recently. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation establishes some basic rights for staff. Yet it is still early days and the technology is advancing fast. As a result, most firms are only just getting their heads around how much remote work is likely to remain permanent.

There are perfectly legitimate reasons for surveillance at work. Many jobs require monitoring for safety, security and compliance. In the same way that companies collect data on customers’ behaviour in order to improve their products, so employers are using monitoring tools to measure the productivity and engagement of their most important resource: their people.

Yet it is easy to see the pitfalls. There is a long history of those with power abusing those without in the name of compliance and efficiency. In the most extreme cases, 20th-century despots ran vast informant networks, and some slave plantations in America and the West Indies kept tyrannical work records.

Today’s workers are not indentured, obviously. But many studies link excessive individual surveillance to higher levels of stress. And if algorithms trained on biased data are used to make more decisions, the odds of discrimination will rise. One analysis found that AI systems consistently interpret black faces as being angrier than white ones.

What to do? Employers should have a legitimate reason for surveillance. Although the boundary will take time to establish through case law and precedent, this is vital to ensure that monitoring is proportionate. Establishing clear guidelines is not easy, but qualms over the potential abuse of surveillance will grow. It’s time to start drawing some lines.

Enrollment in Los Angeles public schools is expected to plunge by nearly 30％ over the next decade, leading to tough choices ahead about academic programs, campus closures, jobs and employee benefits—and forcing, over that time, a dramatic remake of the nation’s second-largest school system. The predicted steep drop, which was outlined Tuesday in a presentation to the Board of Education, comes as school officials contemplate the future of Los Angeles Unified School District on several crucial fronts—including contract negotiations with the teachers union, which is seeking a 20％ raise over the next two years.

Enrollment has been incrementally dropping in L.A. Unified since peaking at about 737,000 students 21 years ago. That long-ago overcrowding detracted from the quality and even quantity of education—as campuses operated year-round with students on staggered schedules that provided 17 fewer days of instruction per year and limited access to advanced classes. The current enrollment is about 430,000 in kindergarten through 12th grade and is expected to fall about 3.6％ a year to an estimated 309,000 nine years from now.

The pace of the decline has accelerated since the pandemic, a phenomenon officials struggle to explain. At the start of the pandemic, many families kept preschoolers and kindergartners out of remote learning—preferring not to plant their children in front of computers for schooling. Yet the pace of decline has persisted even with the resumption of in-person classes. Experts have offered no conclusive explanation, but factors include families moving to more affordable areas, the decline in birth rates, a drop in immigration and, until recently, the rapid growth of charter schools.

Problems related to the enrollment drop have already surfaced. A handful of campuses—despite their importance as communityanchors—have closed or are projected to close. Or, the campuses have been offered to charter schools—which are not operated by the district and compete for students. Many charters are also facing enrollment challenges and some have shut down.

Having fewer students creates financial strains because state and federal funding is based primarily on enrollment. It’s difficult to reduce fixed costs related to buildings and operations as the funding base shrinks. Moreover, decreased funding makes it more challenging to manage pension costs shared by all school systems as well as separate lifetime retiree health benefits that L.A. Unified has provided to long-term employees.

In the coming years, under the current structure, there could be more L.A. Unified retirees and dependents receiving healthcare benefits than active employees, said Chief Financial Officer David Hart. “That was never contemplated,” Hart said.

David frank started working for tips when he was 11 years old, delighting restaurant diners in New York with his magic tricks. As a teenager he would make an average of $60—70 in an evening—not bad, but he wanted more. So he started reading research on tipping, and found a study showing that servers who left a sweet at the end of the meal could up their pay. He tried handing punters a playing card at the end of his act, hoping that the memento would persuade them to part with more cash. It worked.

Mr. Frank’s findings confirmed the notion of the tip as a sort of reward for outstanding service. That may sound straightforward, but a follow-up study with Michael Lynn of Cornell University, where Mr Frank now happens to be a student, found an opportunity for some sleight of hand.

They discovered that performing a magic trick at a table also increased the tips for the waiters and waitresses serving there, even though they had done absolutely nothing more than usual. Though tipping may seem like a simple economic transaction, by incentivising people to perform extra well, it turns out to be anything but.

For a start, economists are puzzled by the fact that so many people give tips, voluntarily handing out cash for a routine service, when it is assumed that customers generally want to pay as little as possible for what they buy. But fuzzier factors also seem to matter, like the feelings of gratitude that Mr Frank inspired. A survey in 2010 by Ofer Azar of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found that 85％ of American tippers claimed to be following a social norm, while 60％ said they tipped to avoid guilty.

During the pandemic these fuzzy factors appear to have intensified. Mr Lynn observed that people have been tipping more generously even while ordering takeaway food, while Sarah Conlisk of the Federal Reserve Board has found that people travelling in richer areas have been tipping their taxi drivers more than before.

The presence of a pandemic or of a magician performing at one’s table are just two of an array of factors that may affect the size of a tip. A tipper may simply be touched by the server. If a waiter squats down beside you at the table as he or she takes your order, that often elicits a higher tip. Good weather may spur generosity too.

[A] Stay calm

[B] Stay humble

[C] Don’t make judgments

[D] Be realistic about the risks

[E] Decide whether to wait

[F] Ask permission to disagree

[G] Identify a shared goal

How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful than You Your boss proposes a new initiative you think won’t work. Your senior colleague outlines a project timeline you think is unrealistic. What do you say when you disagree with someone who has more power than you do? How do you decide whether it’s worth speaking up? And if you do, what exactly should you say? Here’s how to disagree with someone more powerful than you.

【R1】________

You may decide it’s best to hold off on voicing your opinion. Maybe you haven’t finished thinking the problem through, the whole discussion was a surprise to you, or you want to get a clearer sense of what the group thinks. If you think other people are going to disagree too, you might want to gather your army first. People can contribute experience or information to your thinking—all the things that would make the disagreement stronger or more valid. It’s also a good idea to delay the conversation if you’re in a meeting or other public space. Discussing the issue in private will make the powerful person feel less threatened.

【R2】________

Before you share your thoughts, think about what the powerful person cares about—it may be the credibility of their team or getting a project done on time. You’re more likely to be heard if you can connect your disagreement to a “higher purpose”. When you do speak up, don’t assume the link will be clear. You’ll want to state it overtly, contextualizing your statements so that you’re seen not as a disagreeable underling but as a colleague who’s trying to advance a shared goal. The discussion will then become more like a chess game than a boxing match.

【R3】________

This step may sound overly deferential, but it’s a smart way to give the powerful person psychological safety and control. You can say something like, “I know we seem to be moving toward a first-quarter commitment here. I have reasons to think that won’t work. I’d like to lay out my reasoning. Would that be OK?” This gives the person a choice, allowing them to verbally opt in. And, assuming they say yes, it will make you feel more confident about voicing your disagreement.

【R4】________

You might feel your heart racing or your face turning red, but do whatever you can to remain neutral in both your words and actions. When your body language communicates reluctance or anxiety, it undercuts the message. It sends a mixed message, and your counterpart gets to choose what to read. Deep breaths can help, as can speaking more slowly and deliberately. When we feel panicky we tend to talk louder and faster. Simply slowing the pace and talking in an even tone helps the other person calm down and does the same for you. It also makes you seem confident, even if you aren’t.

【R5】________

Emphasize that you’re offering your opinion, not gospel truth. It may be a well-informed, well-researched opinion, but it’s still an opinion, so talk tentatively and slightly understate your confidence. Instead of saying something like, “If we set an end-of-quarter deadline, we’ll never make it,” say, “This is just my opinion, but I don’t see how we will make that dead-line.” Having asserted your position (as a position, not as a fact) demonstrates equal curiosity about other views. Remind the person that this is your point of view, and then invite critique. Be open to hearing other opinions.

[A] Give compliments, just not too many.

[B] Put on a good face, always.

[C] Tailor your interactions.

[D] Spend time with everyone.

[E] Reveal, don’t hide, information.

[F] Slow down and listen.

[G] Put yourselves in others’ shoes.

Five Ways to Win Over Everyone in the Office

Is it possible to like everyone in your office? Think about how tough it is to get together 15 people, much less 50, who all get along perfectly. But unlike in friendships, you need coworkers. You work with them every day, and you depend on them just as they depend on you. Here are some ways that you can get the whole office on your side.

【R1】________

If you have a bone to pick with someone in your workplace, you may try to stay tight-lipped around them. But you won’t be helping either one of you. A Harvard Business School study found that observers consistently rated those who were frank about themselves more highly, while those who hid lost trustworthiness. The lesson is not that you should make your personal life an open book, but rather, when given the option to offer up details about yourself or painstakingly conceal them, you should just be honest.

【R2】________

Just as important as being honest about yourself is being receptive to others. We often feel the need to tell others how we feel, whether it’s a concern about a project, a stray thought, or a compliment. Those are all valid, but you need to take time to hear out your coworkers, too. In fact, rushing to get your own ideas out there can cause colleagues to feel you don’t value their opinions. Do your best to engage coworkers in a genuine, back-and-forth conversation, rather than prioritizing your own thoughts.

【R3】________

It’s common to have a “cubicle mate” or special confidant in a work setting. But in addition to those trusted coworkers, you should expand your horizons and find out about all the people around you. Use your lunch and coffee breaks to meet up with colleagues you don’t always see. Find out about their lives and interests beyond the job. It requires minimal effort and goes a long way. This will help to grow your internal network, in addition to being a nice break in the work day.

【R4】________

Positive feedback is important for anyone to hear. And you don’t have to be someone’s boss to tell them they did an exceptional job on a particular project. This will help engender good will in others. But don’t overdo it or be fake about it. One study found that people responded best to comments that shifted from negative to positive, possibly because it suggested they had won somebody over.

【R5】________

This one may be a bit more difficult to pull off, but it can go a long way to achieving results. Remember in dealing with any coworker what they appreciate from an interaction. Watch out for how they verbalize with others. Some people like small talk in a meeting before digging into important matters, while others are more straightforward. Jokes that work on one person won’t necessarily land with another. So, adapt your style accordingly to type. Consider the person that you’re dealing with in advance and what will get you to your desired outcome.