What the experts say
A future of 60-year careers?
The “Great Resignation” and early retirement may be all the rage now, but a recent study by the Stanford Center on Longevity offered “a haunting prediction” for the working lives of kids today, said Joe Pinsker in The Atlantic. “About half of today’s 5-year-olds can expect to live to the age of 100,” but many should also “expect to work 60 years or more.” That would add another 20 years to the average career, bringing the average retirement age into the eighties. Our longevity will require rethinking of “the blueprint for life,” the researchers say. “Instead of a march through education, work, and retirement,” the report considers a more fluid path. “The idea is to work until later in life, but with stretches of working less (or not at all).”
The non-exit interview
More companies are employing “stay interviews” to boost employee retention, said Jane Thier in Fortune.com. “Meant to preempt the necessity of an ‘exit interview,’ in which a boss or HR rep asks an employee what’s pushing them out of the company, a ‘stay interview’ aims to assess what’s keeping people at their job.” HR experts say that successful stay interviews “focus on feelings of belonging, being valued, and fitting within the company,” asking questions like “What do you like here?” or “What do you want less of?” rather than harping on hitting goals or deliverables. It’s all part of employing more “empathetic leadership,” some HR experts say. One danger, though: “If an employee is happy enough in his or her employment, being sat down for a stay interview” can feel like just another HR boondoggle.
A tax break for small donations
A valuable charitable deduction for smalldollar donors is slated to expire in a matter of weeks, said Andrew Keshner in MarketWatch .com. Until Dec. 31, “individuals can take the standard deduction—which is what most income-tax filers do—but they can also claim an additional deduction of up to $300 for cash donations to charities.” The limit rises to $600 for married couples filing jointly. Traditionally, the write-off for charitable contributions occurs when people itemize their deductions, but lawmakers introduced an “abovethe-line” deduction to “inspire more giving” during the pandemic. Charitable-giving rules were changed for itemizers, too, with the limit increased to 100 percent of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, up from 60 percent.
In the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes that hit Kentucky and neighboring states this month, Heart to Heart International (hearttoheart.org) sent their disaster response team to assess the hardest-hit areas, distribute hundreds of hygiene kits, and deploy a mobile medical unit to provide care to victims. The organization was on the ground soon after other deadly tornado events in Tennessee and Kansas in 2020 and 2019. In addition to providing disaster relief, Heart to Heart works to improve access to high-quality health care by providing equipment and on-site laboratory testing services to free clinics in the U.S. and to international medical teams. Since its founding in 1992, Heart to Heart has delivered $2 billion in aid to people in 131 countries.
Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which rates not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their governance practices, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest rating.