Weekly Briefing: What government job should you have?

Top Stories

What government job should you have? Deep down, do you belong in innovation, policy analysis, service design, digital strategy or HR? Find out whether you’re really in the right career with this quiz, which is based on responses from a survey of public servants from around the globe. (Apolitical)

Get more of what you want: How to be a better negotiator. Looking at negotiation as a collaborative problem-solving process, rather than a battle, is the key to winning support for your ideas and making your voice heard, says Stanford University professor Margaret Neale. (Apolitical)

Scaling: What do you do when the data disappoints? Evidence Action faced this question when, despite a successful trial, a promising program showed no impact. Here, we dissect the lessons learned, from avoiding over-reliance on RCTs to knowing when to shut an intervention down. (Apolitical)

Working in government: The five biggest misconceptions, debunked. With complaints ranging from it being out of touch to secretive, the public sector isn’t short of critics. But government has come a long way in recent years, so it’s worth asking: how true are these claims? (Apolitical)

Working less may save your life. UK employees have the longest work week in the EU, but they’re 24% less productive than Danish workers, who put in the least hours. If you want to avoid productivity decline — and health problems — experts say the optimal working week is 35 hours. (Shainaz Firfiray, University of Warwick)

Education and Changing Jobs

Amsterdam’s hire-a-refugee program is fixing its labour shortage problem. Mentors help migrants integrate by finding them work, enrolling them in language classes and offering emotional support. Refugees fill jobs locals don't want, in industries from retail and transport to hospitality. (Bloomberg)

Gender Equality

At one Afghan mountain school, over 92% of graduates get into college — and most are girls. The school has no computers, lights or heat, and students’ parents are mostly illiterate. But its emphasis on equality — “We tell these boys and girls, there is no difference between you” — spurs success. (The New York Times)

Technology Frontiers

New Zealand’s new design system is based on learnings from other governments. The UK, US and Australia have made code and lessons from their digital transformations open-source, allowing other governments to get a jumpstart on building better services. (New Zealand Government)

Health and Ageing

Virtual meetups are helping Finland cope with its ageing population. With one in three Finns expected to be over 65 by 2070, the demand for and cost of care services are growing. Remote care initiatives, like online lunch groups, allow carers to keep an eye on multiple patients at once. (The Guardian)

Energy, Environment and Economic Opportunity

The US generated more electricity from renewables than coal for the first time ever. Clean energy, like solar and wind, provided 23% of electricity in April, compared to coal’s 20%. Renewable plants have become so cheap to build that experts say half the world’s power will come from them by 2050. (Bloomberg)

New York City is installing air conditioning in public housing. The city wants to curb one of the deadliest effects of climate change — extreme heat — which disproportionately affects low-income people: 90% of NYC residents have A/C, while less than half of public housing tenants do. (WNYC)

And finally

Influencer diplomacy: The US is paying for British social media stars to tour the country. The goal is to export American values through their followers on Instagram, Twitter and the like. This year, the influencers will visit the places where cult TV shows, from Parks and Recreation to Breaking Bad, were filmed. (The New Statesman)

(Picture credit: Unsplash)