Times of crisis, injustice, and division seem to define our moment. But they are actually defining features of the human experience. The human condition is the same in all times and places. Were profoundly social as a species, but were also defined by self-loveand the tension between these facets of our nature ensure that injustice and chaos will always be part of our lived experience this side of eternity.

Its easy to despair.

I certainly did. I experienced a season of division in Washington D.C. while working at our nations capital. I chose to give up, to flee.

I moved with my husband to Indianapolis, Indianaa city in his home state that I hoped would be free from the polarities of extreme politeness and extreme hostility that I experienced while working in federal government.

While there, I discovered a quiet revolution afoot that is healing our world from the bottom up, one interaction at a time. I first encountered this revolution through an unexpected invitation.

Im Joanna Taft, said the tall, socially fearless woman with a blond bobbed haircut and ready smile. She immediately reminded me of my mother, in more ways than one. Would you like to porch with us sometime? she asked, as we chatted after church one August afternoon.

This marked the first time I had heard the word porch used as a verb.

For Joanna, porching is about reviving the community living room. The porch is a quasi-public third place, a neutral ground where people from different backgrounds can encounter and befriend one another. In a seminal essay for the Palimpsest, Richard H. Thomas documents how between 1860 and 1960, Americans gradually changed the architectural arrangement of their homes: porches moved from the front of the home to the back, becoming the modern patio. Thomas argued that the home is a personal and cultural statement about the way a society and culture is organized and oriented, and that this architectural shiftfrom front porch to back patiotracked a social one: a move from the communal to the individual, from a focus on public life to a preference for the private.

Though originally from the Washington, DC, area, Joanna chose to build a life in Indianapolis with her husband and family. She has used her porch to cultivate community and to provide a haven from the hurriedness of modern life. It is a place to forge new friendships, an incubator of ideas to make the community brighter, a place to encounter and create beauty, a catalyst for further cultural and communal growth, and a venue where those who differ politically, racially, and culturally can form bonds and feel seen, known, and loved.

My husband and I joined Joanna on her porch that afternoon, a decision that would deepen my understanding of the practical benefits of civility. Much as Id seen my mother do with countless others whom we had welcomed into our home growing up, Joanna asked us about our backgrounds, interests, and passions so that she could effectively introduce us to others and plug us into the community. Joannas emotional and practical hospitality helped us discover and define our niche in our new community. Her civilityand the community it builthelped make Indianapolis feel like home.

We live in fractured days, lacking in harmony, civility, and comity. Comity, an old word for courtesy and kindness, is related etymologically to the Sanskrit word for smile. As it often does, etymology here beautifully illuminates a reality, in this case about both kindness and smiling: they unceasingly bring warmth, joy, and a smile to both giver and receiver. I realized that the civility of Joannas front porch, as a place of joy and laughter, was a breeding ground of comity, a much-needed refuge from the broken state of our world.

In this way, Joannas porch and other spaces like it are essential building blocks of civil societyand in turn, contribute to human flourishing.

Other people across history and culture have similarly realized the power that lies in reclaiming their civic and social sphere, and choosing to be part of the solutions themselves in the face of chaos and injustice. Albert Schweitzer and the Chinese Sage Confucius are just a few.

Everyone must find their own Lambarene: Lessons from Albert Schweitzer

Alsatian-German doctor, theologian, philosopher, and Nobel laureate Albert Schweitzer spent over two decades reflecting on the nature of true civilization. As a young man, Schweitzers conscience was sensitized by the plight of colonial Africa. Horrified by the brutality of colonial powers toward the people of Africa and the European occupiers cavalier disregard of human life, he emerged as one of the twentieth centurys harshest critics of colonialism. He saw the transparent self-interest and imperialism that motivated European colonial powers, disguised beneath the name of spreading civilization to other nations. Schweitzer wrote,

Oh, this noble culture of ours! It speaks so piously of human dignity and human rights and then disregards this dignity and these rights of countless millions and treads them underfoot, only because they live overseas or because their skins are of different color or because they cannot help themselves. This culture does not know how hollow and miserable and full of glib talk it is, how common it looks to those who follow it across the seas and see what it has done there, and this culture has no right to speak of personal dignity and human rights.

He saw the Western worlds hypocrisy: its claims to support human rights and dignity rang hollow in the face of its ruthless colonial legacy. Schweitzer wanted to change the way the world understood civilization and how it viewed humanity. He decided to start with himself. My life is my argument, he was fond of saying.

In 1913, Schweitzer opened a hospital in Lambarene, a small town in what was then a part of French Equatorial Africa and what is today the West African country of Gabon. Immediately upon its opening, thousands of people traveled hundreds of miles to reach the hospital and seek much-needed medical care. When World War I broke out in 1914, Schweitzer and his wife, Helene, were German citizens in French-occupied territory and were placed under supervision by French authorities. During that time, they were able to continue their work serving Africans in need of medical care. In 1917, they were sent to internment camps in France, from which they were released in 1918.

After his release, Schweitzer processed his years of instability and tumult by writing about his experience in Africa. He wrote about the barbarity of colonialism, exposing the sham of this atrocity committed in the name of civilization. He offered an account of true civilization in his book The Philosophy of Civilization. In this work, Schweitzer said that there were two definitions of civilization: the material and the ethical. The material view defined civilization solely according to its creative, artistic, technological, cultural, and other material attainmentsin other words, the sort of superficial attributes that Saddam Hussein thought defined civilization. For Schweitzer, the material view was false civilization. He favored the ethical definition as true civilization, which he defined as a mental attitude premised on reverence for lifea phrase he coined for the view that saw human life, and all life in general, as intrinsically valuable. As Schweitzer wrote, Reverence for Life affords me my fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, assisting, and enhancing life, and to destroy, to harm, or to hinder life is evil.

In an argument similar to Martin Luther King, Jr.s, Schweitzer said that to perpetuate and foster life is an unalloyed good; to degrade it is an unalloyed evil. Individuals in a society must adopt a weltanschauunga theory of the universe, or worldviewthat respects personhood and the intrinsic dignity of the human being in order to form a true civilization. Reclaiming a high view of personhood begins with appreciating the capability and potential within each of us. After that, Schweitzer says, we become inspired to realize our potential in ways that benefit our fellow human beings and the world around us and bring about social, cultural, and scientific advancements.

In other words, the things that lead to achievements in culture, technology, and infrastructure are byproducts of a society that values the intrinsic worth of human life. On their own, however, such byproducts do not make a true civilization, one that values the dignity of the person and nurtures his or her potential, makes it. Once a society has lost its reverence for lifeonce it has come to see its value as a civilization in purely material terms, and degraded the personhood of its own citizens or other groupsit begins to decay. Only a vigilant commitment to a reverence for life can prevent civilization from descending into barbarism and chaos, Schweitzer argued.

But how can one begin the process of transforming a society from a faux civilization into a true civilization? Schweitzer, like Joanna, realized he couldnt single-handedly transform society.

He understood that big, heady concepts such as civilization are intimidating and abstract but that everyone has a role to play in preserving and improving these values.

Everyone must find their own Lambarene, Schweitzer asserted. Everyone has their own sphere where they can practice a reverence for life, esteeming and preserving its intrinsic beauty in all of its forms. Each one of us has a humble role to play in defending against inhumanity, cruelty, and barbarism, and in reviving true civilization.

Confucius: The Politician the Wasnt

British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead noted that the European philosophical tradition consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. Many have said that the same is true of Confucius in the Chinese philosophical tradition: the entire history of Chinese literatureplays, novels, and moreis a series of footnotes to Confucius and the Analects. His philosophical and ethical ideas have formed the basis of East Asian culture and society.

We know little about the historical Confucius beyond the fact that he led a professionally frustrated life. He yearned to have political influence during his lifetime. He hungered to see his teachings adopted from the top of society down so that they could help people. He had a trickle down theory of social change that began with cultivating the character of leaders: elites with integrity would naturally work toward the benefit of all people. He spent over a decade traveling across China trying to convert rulers to his ideas and persuade them to adopt him as an adviser.

When he failed to do so, Confucius was at first discouraged that he was not able to put his ideas into practice. But he returned to his home of Lu, south of Beijing, and resolved to do what he could with the rest of his life to bring about positive social reforms. He spent the remainder of his life talking with his disciples and teaching his local community his vision of an ethical and humane world.

Confucius didnt let his failure to be a political influence in his lifetime stop him. He focused on what he could control, and he chose to make himself and those around him better and stronger.

And he had more influence than he would ever have guessed during his lifetime.

Confucius would not live to see the effect his ideas would have on government leaders. For many years, the entrance exam to become a government official in China was to memorize the entirety of the Analects! For Confucius, known simply as the sage throughout Chinese history, the best life was the social life, and the social life required developing a demeanor of kindness and benevolence toward others. We find in Confuciuss Analectsa collection of dialogues, maxims, stories, and aphorisms thought to have been compiled by his studentsthat the virtue and kindness of one person can elevate and improve the lives of those around him or herand society, too.

Confucius knew that we live in an incredibly complex and social world where roles and duties change all the time. Instead of giving people principles to memorize, he wanted to give them guidelines to live by and to help them navigate the often ambiguous and fluid project of life in community. He understood that changing our disposition toward others was more effective than memorizing a list of rules and would more reliably cultivate a shared effort to elevate social life and improve civility in society.

Lessons from the Original Porch

In 176 AD, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, known to history as a philosopher king, endowed four chairs of philosophy in the city of Athens. For the Epicureans, he endowed the Garden. For the Platonists, the Academy. For the Aristotelians, the Lyceum.

And for the Stoics, the Porchor the Stoa.

The Stoics porch was located at the ancient Agora, which for many years had been home to a variety of famous philosophical schools. And for the Stoics the porch represented an important idea: we can each realize our capacity for true freedom and flourishing when we choose to distinguish what we can control from what we cant and decide to make the best of what is in our control.

The stoicism of Marcus Aurelius and that of his intellectual mentor, Epictetus, offers lessons in how to create a more civil future. In short, it starts with us. We cant change society, but we can change ourselves and how we operate in the world around us. And if enough of us decide to change ourselves, we might be able to change the world we live in, too.

Epictetus was a slave and referred to himself as a cripple. Despite his disability and his lack of the political freedoms that many of us enjoy, he made the most of his circumstances and ultimately became one of the most important philosophers in history.

Unlike Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius was born to freedom, privilege, and wealth. Yet as Roman emperor during a time of constant war and plague, he had his own struggles to bear. Like his teacher Epictetus before him, however, Marcus Aurelius strove to focus only on what he could control. He endeavored to treat those around him justly and to live a life of personal virtue.

Its easy to look around us at the divided state of the world and blame our public leaders, the media, our education system, and more. But thats not a productive way to spend our time.

Instead, we should focus on what we can control.

Us.

The Stoic porch of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus illuminates how each of us can do our part to restore civility to modern life. These philosophers remind us that change in society begins with ourselves. This chapter opened with my story of moving to Indianapolis after a frustrating season in Washington, DC. Soon after arriving, I saw how Joanna Taft sows seeds of friendship and community wherever she goes. She spreads and cultivates the garden of civilization in her wake by focusing on nurturing the individualsthe raw plots of soilshe encounters. The seeds shes sown have already flourished and been fruitful in her lifetime and will continue to do so after it. She is a serial builder of social capital and a deployer of the timeless principles of civility, tools she uses to create new institutions to make her community better.

Joannas front porchher stoais central to the relationships she forms and the institutions that she helps build. Like the Stoics, she focuses on controlling what she can and on making the world around her better. In doing so, she embodies the ethos of the Stoic philosophersthe original porchers.

The attitude of Stoic porchers shows how the disposition of civility is one we can all have anywhere, anytimewith a porch or without one. Anyone can be a part of healing their family life, their community, and even the world, one relationship, and one interaction, at a time.

Cultivating the disposition of civility in our personal gardenand the attitude of porchingmeans meeting people at a human level, cutting through tribes and superficial labels. Civility will enable us to build meaningful human connections whenever and wherever we can. This can take many forms, such as welcoming people into our home, initiating a conversation across political divides, or offering a simple smile and acknowledgment to a stranger on the street. We must resist the temptation to look around at the divided state of our world and feel stuck and helpless. Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus remind us that focusing on what we can do is the answer. And in truth, we can do a lot.

Our interactions with others can leave people better off, and restore faith and trust in society. These strengthened, trust-infused relationships, in turn, strengthen neighborhoods, cities, and countries.

The Joannas of the world are good stewards of the garden of civilization. They build and bind our social fabric. They lead their civility-rich lives to bridge divides and sow seeds of trust. We can choose to lead such lives, too.

In doing so, we can be part of healing the personal and social hurt caused by our tribal, toxic status quo and of moderating the excesses of hostility and atomization and destructive politeness that define our public life today. In choosing to embody civility, we each have the chance to promote individual flourishing, civil society, and our free and democratic way of life.

As Joanna Taft, Porcher-in-chief, is fond of saying, Its not about having a porch. It is a lifestyle.

We can each respond to the chaos, barbarism, and injustice in our world by learning from porchers across time and place, re-locating our center of control, and being part of the antidote to barbaric times in our everyday lives.

This essay is adapted from Alexandra O. Hudsons recent book The Soul of Civility.

Image credit: via Wikimedia Commons

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A Tale of Three "Porchers" - Front Porch Republic

How would you define optimism? Would you call it seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty? Perhaps say optimism is a positive attitude or the ability to see the bright side of a situation. Or maybe you're a more scientific thinker and prefer a rigorous definition: "A positive orientation toward the future. Optimists are people who have the habitual tendency to expect positive future outcomes even when difficulties arise."1

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Have you ever considered that optimism is actually a placebo effect? In fact, not only is optimism a placebo effect, it may be the most powerful placebo effect ever studied. If this sounds implausible, the next few paragraphs may just persuade you to a whole new way of thinking about what optimism is and how it works.

What almost everyone gets wrong about placebo effects.

If there was a "Top 10" collection of the most misunderstood findings in psychology, placebo effects might lead the list. Ask a typical person about placebo effects and you will likely hear examples about sugar pills and pain relief, people acting jittery after (unknowingly) drinking decaf coffee, or people showing signs of intoxication after (also unknowingly) consuming alcohol-free beer. And they'd be right: These are legitimate examples of placebo effects.

However, the first mistake even many experts routinely make about placebo effects is believing they are limited to medicines or psychoactive substances. The second mistake is thinking they are imaginary.

Placebo effects are not what you think

Source: Thomas Rutledge

The table above provides a practical definition of placebo effects, pervasive misunderstandings about placebos, and a concise summary of placebo factsmost of which are directly the opposite of how placebos are commonly perceived. Placebo effects are just as real, and frequently just as strong, as those produced by conventional medicine and treatments. However, rather than the effects resulting from an outside source, placebo effects are produced on the inside; beliefs, expectations, and prior experiences can induce endogenous neurochemical changes and external behaviors aligned with the internal mental state.

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This means that the relief a person experiences when taking a sugar pill (masked as a painkiller) is not just in their head. Instead, it is in their whole body, as their expectations trigger the release of endogenous opioids, endorphins, and enkephalins that produce a similar pain-reducing effect.

But what if these same placebo effectsbeliefs, expectations, and prior experiences about what is going to happen in the future, manifesting chemically inside your body and externally through your behaviorcould do more than blunt pain and mirror the effects of drugs? What if they could also lengthen your lifespan, increase your bank account, improve your stress resilience, and enhance your love life? They can.

Each day, millions of people wake up endowed with the most powerful placebo effect scientists have yet discovered. This effect enhances their mood, optimizes their behavior, makes them more flexible, creative, and persistent in the face of obstacles, and improves their communication skills. These people will enjoy these benefits not only today but perhaps even for many years to come, with the rewards they reap actually expanding over time. Best of all, they don't have to take a pill or even see a specialist to get it. This remarkable placebo effect is simply a short- and long-term benefit of developing an optimistic attitude.2-3

Summary

Now that you understand a little more about optimism and placebo effects, you may also appreciate that optimism isn't "just" an attitude or "just" positive thinking. Positive or negative, your thoughts and attitudes have consequences. They up- and down-regulate hormones and neurotransmitter activity, affect pain sensitivity, impact gene expression, alter brain function, and predispose decision-making and behavior patterns that shape the quality and even length of our lives. Placebo effects are everywhere. Choose yours wisely.

References

1. Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 10631078.

2. Rozanski A, Bavishi C, Kubzansky LD, Cohen R. Association of Optimism With Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Sep 4;2(9):e1912200. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.12200.

3. M.J.C. Forgeard, M.E.P. Seligman. Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism, Pratiques Psychologiques. Volume 18, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prps.2012.02.002.

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Is Optimism the World's Most Powerful Placebo Effect? - Psychology Today

The Eva Wiseman column

Sometimes its good to give up the idea that we should be striving, always, for permanent and unblemished contentment

Sun 19 Nov 2023 03.00 EST

Do you know what Ive come to believe? Ive come to believe that its good to feel bad. Not all the time, of course, not continuously. I mean, its not good to lie still, in chronic pain, with horrific memories or insults or bitter thoughts smashing relentlessly against the roof of your mouth. But sometimes, regularly, it is good to feel bad. To feel despair. A little dread. To feel sadness. To give up the idea (one that the wellness industry has long insisted upon) that we should be striving, always, for permanent and unblemished contentment.

Wellness, in fact, goes further: not only should we be free of stress, have optimised our orgasms and our work days, not only should our skin be radiant and our bowel movements exquisite, not only should we give zero fucks, striding across the street confident as an idiot, not only should creativity flow through us like tea, not only should we indefinitely hold off death by means of meditation, cold-water swimming and positive mental attitude, but we should also be HAPPY.

The confidence thing in particular this has irked me, recently. Have you noticed the encroaching mainstream idea that in order to find true empowerment, we women must shrug off all shame and self-doubt and storm through life as if we are Beyonc marching across a stage? Never (the culture says), EVER apologise. Trim the first and last lines from every email, the ones that say, No worries if not, and other such betrayals of weakness.

A transformation will occur. Notice your own impostor syndrome, and in doing so, simply eradicate it. Love yourself with a terrible fierceness, take no shit, eat men like air, and re-emerge from the fragments of femininity, no longer a fallible, questioning person, understandably disturbed by the many pressures of surviving in a distressingly unequal world, but a hair-swishing, strong, modern woman. Or to give her her correct name: a bad bitch. Its bad enough being told how to look and how to behave; must we also be told how to feel? Am I alone in feeling utterly exhausted by this insistence on positivity, on confidence? This pretending that everythings fine?

The whole thing the focus on confidence, on joy, on happiness feels equal parts flattening and insane. Flattening because it is human to feel sad, and to accept feeling sad, and frustrated, and incapable of some things. It is healthy, and it is a clear, if uncomfortable, sign we are alive. To try to eliminate these feelings or, worse, deny them, leaves you unwhole. Leaves you lonely and disconnected from the world, performing a sort of glittering drag.

The wellness industry thrives because it trades on crises, of mental health and womens healthcare, but the people buying its products and buying into its messaging are rarely actually the ones affected by these crises. We, instead, are the ones seduced by the idea that life can be perfected; ironed out like a shirt. That something like empowerment can become fact simply by saying the word out loud. And it feels insane because it is appropriate to feel bad sometimes, worried sometimes, guilty even. It is necessary. It is a result of things like grief, inequality and empathy, rather than, say, gluten. In our governments, in our homes, inside our bodies, terrible things are happening, and we are or we feel, or are made to feel powerless to change them.

Is this an unpopular opinion? Perhaps. It feels bad to feel bad; it is not a state to be welcomed, or sought. But when it arrives, I think it should be met with respect and curiosity, rather than being briskly swept away. Bad feelings and anger, sharpened correctly, can result in bursts of furious creativity. If dread is accurately channelled it has the potential to mutate into a great work of art, or an impossibly clean kitchen. Moments of darkness can focus the mind, and allow us to appreciate the good feelings that sit in between them, barking like puppies.

Another benefit of these bad feelings is that they crack us open, exposing the raw pink inside. They show us what we want, and sometimes who we are. And by acknowledging them, by admitting our lack of confidence, our sadnesses, our multiple daily failures, we can connect with each other in ways that sitting in simple contentment rarely allows. As I write, a debate is playing out over the proposed banning of a planned protest in London, so I am thinking a lot about that feeling of powerlessness, and what we do with it. Marching is one thing. Marching your powerlessness through town, giving it some air, taking your horrors and frustrations on a walk to meet other peoples sadness and grief, finding comfort there, in not doing nothing, in feeling bad, together.

Email Eva at e.wiseman@observer.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @EvaWiseman

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Were constantly being told to feel good but feeling bad brings its own kind of power - The Guardian

At any level of sport there is often too much focus on whether youre recruiting attackers or defenders. But Ive always had the attitude that defence wins games no matter how good you are in offense.

To win you need to have strong defence. You dont need lots of sporting talent to play defence well in our sport either, its all in your mental attitude. You need to want it.

There are parallels with business. Offense is the fun bit in business, going on corporate golf days, networking events or launching new services. Whereas defence is the hard work being consistent with your finance, emails and business strategy.

Winning new business isnt going to be worth much if you arent on top of what youve already built. Winning in sport and business means having the right team of people around you.

The Newcastle Eagles Stadium.

What is sometimes overlooked though is how much personality matters. We invest a lot of time and energy into making sure we recruit the right personalities for the Eagles.

The difference between a professional and amateur sportsman is not always how technically gifted they are but their mentality.

We have developed a glass half full culture at the Eagles an ethos that our Head Coach Mark Steutel, also the Head Coach for the British Mens Basketball team, lives and breathes. I also think this is key for any successful business as culture is everything.

We look for people who are in it for the long-game, positive people who want to play for the badge and want to make Newcastle their home.

We are the best supported club in the league and we want our players to fall in love with the city as well as the sport this all plays into a winning mentality.

If you have someone in your team who isnt engaged with the wider vision and instead see their role as a stepping stone you dont get the player trying to win a trophy, you get an individual looking after their own stats.

Creating a strong culture within your business will give your team the motivation they need to work together.

In my playing days my vision for success started with getting on the court in the first place, by being chosen to play the game in a tournament, then the majority of games in the season. It was a process and I had to work hard at each step.

I never got to where I wanted to be in basketball but back then there wasnt as clear a pathway as there is today.

My love for the sport never faltered though, and I didnt let this blip in my vision get me down. I adapted and moved over to the business side of the sport, shifting my vision and realising the opportunities ahead.

Newcastle Eagles encompasses multiple businesses the club, the foundation and the arena we play in.

Even though I am passionately invested in club games I am also involved in the day to day running of all three businesses.

If we lose a game at the weekend even though I really struggle to get over losing games I must find a positive mindset to approach the tasks that need doing for the other businesses on Monday morning.

Remaining positive is a key pillar to winning and staying on the path to achieving your vision. The same applies in business, especially an industry like property where things can change quickly. There are always wins to be found and although its important to look at how we can improve, its not productive to dwell on the negatives.

As long as the changes you make have a purpose, youre on the right path.

Paul Blake is owner of basketball team, Newcastle Eagles. Read more in the latest issue of Iampropertys Tech of a Life

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BLOG: Here's the surprising link between sport and selling homes - The Negotiator

Washington Examiner op-ed editor Kaylee McGhee White discusses the work habits of the zoomer generation on 'Making Money.'

Gen Z employees have made headlines recently over their issues with the 9-to-5 work schedule, which has prompted sympathy from peers, as well as criticism from superiors who argue America's younger generation needs to toughen up and adapt to the working lifestyle.

Research shows Gen Z, Millennials and Boomers all have different approaches to their workday, including attitudes toward the traditional 9-to-5 work schedule that Gen Z employees take issue with. But, experts who spoke with Fox News Digital argued it's less about their willingness to work and more about their approach to work, which differs from older generations.

Ted Jenkin, the CEO oXYGen Financial in Atlanta, told Fox News Digital that the issue isn't with Gen Z's work ethic, but with expectations.

"Generation Z expects higher pay for fewer hours and more paid time off," he said. "Thus, Generation Z workers don't feel they need to work after 5 PM to earn a higher income. What kids are being told out of college is that they should immediately be making $75,000 to $100,000 a year with their college degree, but the law of supply and demand is really what dictates your salary."

GEN Z HARDEST GENERATION TO WORK WITH, ACCORDING TO SURVEY: THEY LACK DISCIPLINE AND LIKE TO CHALLENGE YOU

In regard to a traditional 9-to-5 job, a recent global study conducted by Adobe, titled "The Future of Time," looked at work preferences of different generations and found Millennials and Gen Z workers, specifically, value flexibility in their schedule.

"Approximately three-quarters of younger generation employees say they would switch jobs for better work-life balance, two-thirds would switch for the option to work remotely, and around 70 percent would take a different job to have more control over their work schedule," according to the study.

Younger employees, including 68% of Gen Z and younger Millennials, report feeling stressed and burnt out a lot of the time, according to a Gallup poll. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

For example, more than twice as many Gen Z and Millennial workers, at 26% and 18% respectively, reportedly said they preferred working late hours from 6pm to 3am, while only 13% of Gen Xers and 6% of Boomers agreed.

Demographic strategist and futurist, Bradley Schurman, is the Founder and CEO of Human Change, which works with leaders to anticipate and solve the challenges of demographic change, agreed with Jenkin. He explained that even though Gen Z approaches work completely differently than older generations, it "doesn't necessarily mean they have a work ethic problem."

GEN Z WANTS LESS SEX IN MOVIES AND TELEVISION; EXPERTS SAY TECHNOLOGY AND DELAYED ADULTHOOD COULD BE WHY

Younger employees, including 68% of Gen Z and younger Millennials, report feeling stressed and burnt out a lot of the time, which can lead to the "job hopping" phenomenon Gen Z is known for, according to a Gallup poll. The study also found that younger generations value flexibility in their jobs, including greater work-life balance and the opportunity to work remotely, which can be an important consideration for employers as Gen Z and Millennials now make up 46% of the full-time U.S. workforce.

Schurman viewed these sentiments as indicative of the way Gen Z grew up.

"Like the generations before them, Gen Z is a product of the environment they grew up in: - Gen Z lived through 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - They saw the economic pain inflicted on their parents during the Great Recession - And they began working during the pandemic when flexible or remote work was the norm," he said.

A majority of younger generation employees say they would switch jobs for better work-life balance and schedule flexibility. (iStock / iStock)

"Gen Z is also the first generation to talk openly about their problems with their managers, including physical and mental health," he added. "Gen Z is also working in the tightest labor market since the end of World War II, which puts them in a unique bargaining space with their employers. They can get more from their employers because demand is high and supply is low."

Gen Z reported various factors that made it harder to work, including mental health issues, a hostile work environment, access to transportation, physical health issues and access to housing close to where they work, according to a McKinsey survey of 18 to 24-year-old Americans.

For example, 55% of Gen Z respondents reported having either been diagnosed with or having received treatment for mental illness, compared with 31% of respondents ages 55 to 64, according to the study. In addition, Gen Z respondents also reported "alarming levels" of negativity about themselves, their confidence in the future and their ability to be happy in American life, citing concerns that the pay they receive for their work will allow them a good quality of life, which was exacerbated by the pandemic that ushered in a period of economic instability.

GEN Z OPTING FOR TEXTING DUE TO PHOBIA OF PHONE CALLS, RESEARCH REVEALS

Piper Hansen, a Gen Z employee at the YMCA, lamented in an essay published by Business Insider that her day job is rewarding, but "difficult" because it takes up too much of her time. Hansen graduated from college in spring 2023 and while she has only been working full time for a few months, she said it is depressing to work a 9-to-5 schedule.

Hansen explained that she wakes up around 7 a.m. for her 10-to-7 job, but by the time she gets home, she barely has time to walk her dog and make dinner before it gets dark.

"How can I make sure I'm eating well and seeing my friends and taking time for my hobbies?" she asked. "How am I supposed to fit my whole life into a 9-to-5 work schedule?"

"Generation Z workers don't feel they need to work after five pm to earn a higher income," one expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock / iStock)

"Then I have to make sure the coffee pot is ready for the next morning, and I have something to take for lunch the next day," she wrote. "I'm home for just a few hours before I get ready to go to bed by 11 p.m."

Hansen mentioned the viral video of another Gen Z employee who posted a tear-filled rant where she complained about the demands of a 40-hour work week. While some viewers were sympathetic to her complaints, others believed her sentiments were a larger indication of the weak work ethic and attitude of the younger American generation.

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In the TikTok, the young college graduate questioned how people are supposed to make time for friends or to date.

"I want to shower, eat my dinner and go to sleep," she said. "I don't have time or energy to cook my dinner either. Like, I don't have energy to work out, like that's out the window. Like, I'm so upset. Nothing to do with my job at all, but just, like, the 9-to-5 schedule in general is crazy."

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Gen Z attitude toward 9-to-5 job sparking debate about the difference in generational work ethics - Fox Business

Updated Nov 25, 2023 | 08:00 PM IST

Optical Illusion Personality Test: What You See First Reveals Whether You are Carefree or Reserved (Picture Credit - Instagram)

This optical illusion personality test claims to reveal others' perceptions of you and your life perspective.

The vibrant, eye-catching optical illusion invites a brief glance at an image where you'll spot either garments on a washing line or a farm animal like a horse or cow relaxing in a meadow.

Depending on whether you first notice the clothes or the farm animal, the illusion aims to indicate whether you lean towards a positive or negative outlook and how this influences your trust in others.

This intriguing optical illusion was initially introduced in a social media video by Mia Yilin, an expert in the field, who has gained online popularity for her engaging and swift psychological imagery.

Optical Illusion Personality Test: What You See First Reveals Whether You Are Carefree or Reserved (Picture Credit - Instagram)

Clothes

Spotting clothes hanging on the lines first suggests you generally have a positive outlook, rarely allowing life's challenges to overwhelm you. Your caring demeanour and vibrant personality make it easy for you to connect with almost anyone. You tend to focus on living in the moment, steering clear of dwelling on the past or fretting about the future.

However, this laid-back attitude might lead to feelings of being overwhelmed when facing significant decisions, and you could easily become stressed when pushed out of your comfort zone. It's observed that you might hesitate over minor details but maintain an optimistic view, always looking for the best in every situation.

Animal

Seeing a farm animal first indicates a tendency towards a more negative perspective on life. You are practical and prefer to depend on yourself, preparing thoroughly for any of life's challenges. While you may come across as stoic, you possess a kind heart and are always willing to assist others, as you dislike seeing people in distress. Nonetheless, it's crucial to guard against being taken advantage of or placing trust in someone who might not deserve your compassionate nature.

You're known to be easily trusting and sometimes a bit naive. Additionally, you often lean towards pessimism, habitually bracing for the least favourable outcomes.

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Optical Illusion Personality Test: What You See First Reveals Whether You Are Carefree or Reserved - Times Now

Unravelling a story of transition from a sheltered life to my name becoming an international brand, Shahnaz Husain rose to fame formulating customised beauty care, with a personalised style, based on individual needs and problems. Husains adoption of the concept of herbal care and cure resonates with the larger Indian populace, making her a household name, withstanding the changes of the modern skincare industry. Excerpts of the interview are as follows

Q: Hello Shahnaz ji. Tell us about you, your story, and how you established your brand name?

SH: My story is one of a lone woman in a fiercely competitive arena. I was married at 15 and became a mother at 16, yet, I braved all the odds and made my dreams come true. I was interested in beauty and in making others beautiful. I trained at leading beauty training institutes of the West. While training in London, I learned about damage caused by chemical treatments and it changed the course of my life and career. I wanted to find a safe alternative and knew that I must have my own enterprise in order to translate my ideas into reality.

So, I opened my first herbal salon in the verandah of my own home after borrowing Rs. 35,000 from my father. I started making my own formulations, using plant products and natural ingredients. I made the products at night, filled them in jars, wrote labels by hand and stuck them on the jars. I adopted the concept of herbal care and cure. It was a totally unique, path-breaking concept. Today, the formulations have become internationally renowned in Ayurvedic beauty care. Today, we are also known for our therapeutic products and treatments for problems like acne, hyper-pigmentation, scars, premature ageing, dandruff, hair damage, and hair loss. I have taken the Ayurvedic beauty movement worldwide through my franchise system is one of unprecedented success, much more than I ever dreamed.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing demand for natural and organic beauty products?

SH: For the last five decades, my efforts have been focussed on the benefits of organic substances and the harm caused by chemical ingredients. We have formulated skin and hair care products containing herbal and plant ingredients, essential oils and natural substances. They are not only safe and without risks, but have powerful healing properties and beauty benefits. With the back to nature and the total well-being trends influencing the beauty world over the past few decades, organic products have become the popular choice.

Formulations made with organic plant products are purer, free from chemicals and richer in nutrients, because they are richer in vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and enzymes. Organic products also have specific curative and beneficial properties that actually enhance the beauty of the skin and hair. They help improve the normal functions of the skin and scalp, including that of cell renewal. Thus, they have the power to revitalise and rejuvenate.

An important advantage is the element of safety. Synthetic preparations and chemical ingredients, on the other hand, can cause allergic and irritative reactions. They can also cause a build-up of toxins in the system, over a period of time. The human body responds extremely well to organic substances, while it has in-built resistance to synthetic ones. We use organic ingredients in our formulations, like herb, flower and fruit extracts, essential oils, minerals, gems and other natural substances that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. We choose the ingredients according to the Ayurvedic system and according to the herbs and their healing properties.

Q: Can you tell us of a beauty routine that you believe is beneficial for overall health?

SH: If you wish to acquire, maintain and preserve beauty, you have to take some common factors into consideration. These are physical fitness, nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress control and regular external care. Consistency is the keyword. Yes, you do not have to be born beautiful. You can acquire it, because beauty is the outcome of good internal health and regular external care. Internal health and external beauty are closely related. For flawless skin and shiny hair, good health must be on top of the list.

The food we eat affects the skin, hair, eyes, teeth and nails. Some form of daily exercise is necessary for fitness and good posture. Exercise, together with a balanced diet, can work wonders. Not only does it build up stamina and strength, but improves blood circulation to the skin and scalp. Adequate sleep is also essential to beauty. Sleep is a way of restoring energy to the body and is natures best cure. It is a beauty treatment in itself.

Along with internal health, it is necessary to give your skin and hair external care by selecting products which are suited to your individual skin and hair type. In fact, regular care has assumed more importance today, due to increased exposure to pollutants. The right kind of daily care reflects on the skin and hair over a period of time. It also helps to delay the signs of aging. A positive mental attitude is also important, because the mind and body are closely related. Indeed, the finest foundation for beauty consists of these common factors, which we often overlook.

Q: With changing times, how do you think the need for a skincare routine has increased?

SH: Pollutants in the air are making our cities increasingly hostile to our good health and well-being. Chemical pollutants also affect beauty, as the skin and scalp bear the brunt of pollutants, which not only attack the skin surface, but also lead to an accumulation of toxins. Chemical pollutants cause oxidation damage, which leads to the manifestation of premature ageing signs on the skin, like wrinkles, loss of elasticity, dark patches and spots. They also disrupt the normal balances of the skin causing dryness, sensitivity, rashes, acne, allergic reactions and related conditions.

All of us who live and work in urban areas need protective beauty care. Cleansing of the skin assumes more importance in order to get rid of the impurities and pollutants that are deposited on the skin. Look out for products according to skin type and containing ingredients like sandalwood, eucalyptus, mint, neem, tulsi, and aloe vera when you buy cleansers. If the skin is prone to eruptive conditions like acne, pimples, rash, it should be protected with specialised creams containing sandalwood, neem and clove. After cleansing, wipe the skin with chilled rose water, to complete the cleansing process and refresh the skin. Green tea also makes a good skin toner. If there is a rash or eruptions, add a little rose water to sandalwood paste and apply on the face. Wash off with plain water after 15 minutes. Anti-pollution cosmetics help to provide protection and reduce the damage caused by environmental effects. These are basically cover creams that form a barrier between the skin and pollutants. We formulated a sandalwood protective cream, for this very purpose, to protect the skin from environmental effects.

Q: Is there any celebrity who has used your products? Are there any success stories you would like to share?

SH: On principle I never divulge the names of my clients. I believe that beauty is a personal matter and it is not ethical to discuss the names of our clients, whether they are celebrities or not. Many celebrities have used our products regularly and still do. The late Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi used my sandalwood protective cream. I have also mentioned that I created Shamoist for her. A few who went on record to mention me, I have spoken of. The most celebrated was Princess Diana, for whom I created a special line. She used our Shaeyes kajal. There was also Dame Barbara Cartland, the famous author. She became a great friend of mine, because we shared our interest in herbs, nature and natural living. She flew down to Paris at my request to launch my Flower Power range at Galeries Lafayette and spoke at the press conference. Goldie Hawn, the famous Hollywood actress, came to India specially, for the Shahnaz experience. She spent an entire day at our salon in Delhi. In India, we have a special line called Shahnaz Star Range for film and television stars and models. It is a specially reinforced line to counteract the demands of heavy make-up and exposure to bright arc lights, the sun and elements.

Q: How important is it for aspiring youngsters to look a certain way, who may be looking for careers in the corporate and non-glamorousprofessions?

SH: Both men and women know that appearance counts in the workplace. Looking ones best imparts self-confidence, very necessary in todays competitive career world. In general, there is the feeling that beauty bias does exist in the career world; that people react more favourably towards a good-looking person; that with good looks, one has more chances of being hired at job interviews! I believe that one of the most important aspects of personal appeal is personal hygiene. You may have attractive features but lack of personal cleanliness can really put people off. As it is a time tested theory, a well groomed person always stands out from the crowd.

Q: What do you think is the future of Ayurveda in the beauty industry?

SH: Ayurveda is both the healing and the beauty systems of the future. The world is looking at Ayurveda with enlightened eyes due to the worldwide interest in holistic healing. Indeed, Ayurveda, our ancient system of herbal healing, is a holistic system and has been flourishing for centuries. Today, modern research has upheld Ayurvedic healing. Ayurveda views good health as total well-being of body, mind and soul. The modern world has woken up to the fact that it needs a holistic system like Ayurveda. In fact, it can be most relevant to our modern lifestyle, in terms of counteracting the degenerative processes, environmental pollution, toxic build up and mental stress. We cannot ignore the fact that the human body responds positively to Ayurvedic remedies, while it has a resistance towards synthetic and chemical ingredients. We also cannot overlook Ayurvedas long history of safe human usage. Today, we are combining Artificial Intelligence and Ayurveda for customized beauty care. In fact, Ayurveda is not only the beauty system of the future. It is also Indias gift to the world.

End of Interview

After completing five decades in the beauty and wellness industry, the Shahnaz Husain Group is the largest organisation of its kind in the world, with franchise ventures worldwide and 380 Ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair and body care. Husain has been recognised and honoured with prestigious international and national awards, including the Padma Shri Award. Based on the notion that beauty is not just about how you look, but also how you feel, Husain elevated the beauty industry many notches higher and gave the average Indian aspiration, dream and belief, by redefining beauty standards.

(Interviewed by Dr. G L Mahajan)

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In conversation with the flag bearer of beauty secrets, Shahnaz Husain - The Shillong Times

Most studies on willingness to PDS are limited to health professionals or students [43,44,45,46], although some reports have focused on other populations, such as blood donors [47], registered body donors [30], ethnicities [48], patients, and relatives [49]. With respect to Mexico, as far as we know, there is only one PDS willingness study, which was limited to the staff and students of an anatomy department [37]. The hypothesis that a small proportion of the northern Mexican population is willing to donate their post-mortem body to science and that non-health-related persons might be more willing than health-related professionals seemed accurate for a cohort recruited online from a private university community.

A promising result was that 70.7% of the responder cohort was willing to PDS. Another Mexican study on PDS willingness reported a similar proportion [37]. This latter cohort differed from ours in population and recruitment strategy. Rather than a study population limited to students and staff of an anatomy department, our population included students and personnel from an entire university community. With respect to recruitment strategy, rather than an invitation in a working or study environment, our online convenience strategy presented limited control and less social pressure for the study population. The convenience recruitment strategy seemed to yield a self-selected cohort with a double bias, altruism, and interest in the topic, which is discussed further in the profile section.

The proportion of our cohort willing to PDS represented 0.78% of the target population. A relatively high number in comparison to 0.17% of the Mexican population registered as organ donors at the federal transplant registry [20, 50]. It is also high in comparison to a progressive society, such as the Dutch, where 0.1% of the population was registered as a body donor in 2013 [51]. The comparison of survey with registry data is awkward because of the well-known discrepancy between willingness and behavior [21]. Two relevant aspects of these low proportions are the following: 1. The proportions tend to below the significance threshold, indicating that PDS willing people are significantly different from the general population. Most countries and cultures have a small, distinctive cohort willing to PDS [51]; 2. Low proportions tend to be sufficient; high proportions may generate an undesirable surplus of bodies [51]. Thus, a willingness rate of 0.78% for the university population may seem small but may be sufficient for successful PDS programs, especially if it also occurs at a national level.

With respect to the profile of respondents willing to PDS, age had the strongest impact in our well-educated cohort at a private university. Mature adults were more willing toward PDS than younger adults. A similar age effect was reported from a PDS survey among staff and students from an anatomy department at a public university in northern Mexico [37] and is consistent with most international data [52, 53]. In contrast, a POD survey among the general population in central Mexico found that older participants had a less favorable attitude [54]. In the latter study, lower levels of education among older people may have been a confounding factor. Indeed, less education has been associated with more misconceptions, more psychological barriers, and less willingness [22]. Education at high school level or beyond is an important factor for a positive attitude toward PDS [31, 52]. The importance of age and education has been reported repeatedly in a variety of cultures [29, 31, 52,53,54,55], including Mexico [54]. As the education level of our cohort was relatively high, the impact of lower education was not evident. Hence, in our cohort, mature age was the most distinctive sociodemographic trait among people willing to PDS.

Among the young adult respondents (up to 40years old), academic interest had a strong correlation with PDS willingness. Those with an academic interest in the humanities and social sciences were the most willing, while those interested in technology and business were the least willing to PDS. In contrast, a survey among Indian registered body donors found that engineers and businesspeople were more abundant than donors from the humanities and social sciences [31]. These contrasting findings may in part be due to cultural differences. The relatively low rate of PD behavior among medical physicians across different countries and cultures is notable [31, 52, 56]. Willingness to self-donate tends to decline after dissection experiences, while a positive attitude toward PDS by strangers remains intact [57,58,59]. This phenomenon was not found in the single study on PDS willingness among Mexican anatomy students [37]. However, an aversion due to dissection experience could explain why our respondents from the health sciences did not have the highest PDS willingness rate. In our cohort, all respondents from health sciences were in favor of POD, but only 50% reported being registered as such. Respondents from the social sciences had the highest consistency rate, with 70% reporting being registered as POD. The relationship between career choice, PD willingness, and consistent behavior is complex and beyond the scope of this study. To summarize, our university cohort showed a higher willingness to PDS among respondents from the humanities and social sciences, who also had the highest rate of self-reported consistent behavior toward PD.

Socioaffective characteristics, such as social responsibility, benevolence, altruism, empathy, social responsibility, and trust have been reported worldwide as motivators for blood donation, POD, and PDS [60,61,62], including for a Mexican POD study [38]. Our cohort appeared to have an altruistic bias. An unexpectedly large proportion of respondents had previously donated blood (49.0%) and/or self-reported being a registered POD (44.8%). Although there are no reference data available for the target population, there is circumstantial evidence. Mexico is known for low rates of altruistic blood donation [63], and this also applies to Nuevo Len [64], the state where most of the respondents came from. Although this study did not distinguish between altruistic and family-motivated blood donation, the relatively high proportion of blood donors in the respondent cohort suggests an altruistic bias. The proportion of registered organ donors in our study (44.8%) was higher than that reported in a Mexican POD survey among nursing and medical students (1135%) from public and private universities in central Mexico [65]. In contrast to this latter study, where the POD registry was supported by physical evidence, our anonymous online study relied on self-reports. Although there was no social pressure in our study, over-reporting of actions considered socially desirable cannot be ruled out. Our recruitment method may have favored the self-selection of a cohort with an interest in the topic and an altruistic bias. The POD registry proportions are much higher than data from the federal POD registry (0.17%) [20, 50], probably due to their higher accessibility as they are linked to the issuance of a drivers license. Altogether, our self-selected cohort seems to present an altruistic bias, which may explain the high proportion willing to PDS.

In our cohort, the proportion with willingness to POD (90.9%) was higher than that with willingness to PDS (70.7%). This is a common finding [58, 59, 66]. What determines these differences? People may imagine a greater disfigurement of the post-mortem body when it is destined for PDS than for POD. Mutilation of the post-mortem body, fear, and family considerations are strong contributors to POD and PDS aversion [57,58,59, 66], also in Mexico [38]. People may think that saving a life-saving POD is a better cause than PDS. Indeed, the utilitarian motive has been recognized for general PD willingness, including in Mexico [21, 38, 67]. In the free comments section of our survey, post-mortem usefulness was mentioned in a positive sense. However, for one POD-positive respondent, the uselessness of science was an argument against PDS, which still underscores the importance of the utilitarian motive. The most common positive terms in the comments were interesting and social awareness. Social awareness and interest are helpful first steps toward body donation as they motivate a search for information [21]. Importantly, the willingness rate tends to be higher than the rate of compliant behavior, as we noticed in the compliance of POD donors. The willingness-behavior discrepancy is not limited to PD but has been observed in many areas [68, 69]. A profound sociopsychological analysis of this phenomenon, although interesting, goes beyond the aims of this study.

With respect to cultural aspects, Mexico is portrayed for its idiosyncratic, ludic feelings toward death as an entity. The stereotype of Mexican death cults is accurate as an identity marker, but inaccurate because it is a one-sided exaggeration that fails to describe the full range of emotions that every human being experiences when confronted by death. Indeed, few Mexicans display ludic stoicism toward their own death and illness [70]. As in most countries and cultures, Mexicans vary not only individually but also by class, ethnicity, and region. As in most countries, in Mexico there is a minority willing to PD. A worldwide profile can be summarized as follows: PDS-willing people are a minority characterized by the following motivators: altruism and usefulness which seem to increase with age and education. On the other hand, fear, mutilation, and family considerations are demotivators. In general, Western world cultures have a higher prevalence of PDS willing people, but willingness to PDS exists in a minority in almost all cultures.

Valid responses represented only 1.1% of the target population. Web-based recruitment may not have reached the target population completely. Additionally, the tendency to not participate when holding a negative attitude towards PDS may explain the low participation rate. Due to the low response rate, the results are not representative of the target population and only describe the responder cohort. Recruitment difficulties for a PD survey have been reported previously [71]. Additionally, there is probably a nonresponse error, as 76.7% of visitors to the survey site did not proceed beyond the informed consent. This group was likely interested in the topic but discouraged for unknown reasons at the first step. Reasons for discouragement could be: i) the length or content of the informed consent, and ii) the time investment required, among others. Furthermore, 17.3% dropped out before completing the questionnaire. These dropouts may have been due to technical reasons, the length of the questionnaire, being disgraced by certain items, or other reasons. In the study design and during the pilot study, it was determined and verified that the questionnaire could be completed within 15minutes. This is important, as it is known that data quality declines with longer surveys [72]. Furthermore, it is probable that the responder cohort had a sampling bias, with community members who were less attentive to the institutional sites and news board being underrepresented. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, an altruistic bias was perceived in the responder cohort. An incentive might have diminished this sampling bias. The altruistic bias may be smaller than it seems in case blood donation and POD registry were over-reported, as they may have been perceived as desirable answers. Overall, convenience recruitment and online surveys generate several reliability issues that are common in online surveys [73]. Because of recruitment issues, the 70.2% PDS willingness cannot be extrapolated to the target population, and can be extrapolated even less to the Mexican population. However, the existence of this nonrepresentative, small (0.78%), altruism-biased, PDS-willing group is relevant and promising as it may be extrapolatable to the Mexican population. Future studies will verify that.

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Willingness toward post-mortem body donation to science at a ... - BMC Medical Ethics

Lawyers told CNA that Muslim women who may have been mistreated in polygamous marriages may decide that a divorce would be the best course of action.

In Malaysia, polygamy is allowed for Muslims and permission must be granted by the Shariah courts.

Some men (in a polygamous marriage) may not really invest time, energy and effort into the first or second wife when there is a third and fourth to look after.

In those kind of scenarios, the older wives may not want to tolerate it anymore (and seek) other options such as being independent. They know their rights and they seek a share of the assets or maintenance, Ms Goh told CNA.

She added that she has handled cases where the second wife is made to be the wealth generator while the husband does not not contribute to the marriage.

I see sometimes the husband goyang kaki (idles) and the wives are the ones looking after the house and working because they have to put food on the table and put the kids through school. And these wives are sometimes abused physically, sexually and emotionally, said Ms Goh.

So these women (decide that) this is not acceptable and say I would rather be independent and be free of all this abuse than to be in an unhappy and abusive marriage.

Sisters In Islam - a local civil organisation which promotes womens rights within the framework of Islam - noted in its 2021 findings that the top concern raised by women in a polygamous marriage was that their husbands did not provide them any maintenance.

Data gathered from the organisations legal clinic also found that the second most recurring issue was that their husbands had entered a polygamous marriage without their permission, followed by unregistered polygamy.

Mr Gomez noted that in civil marriages, couples can only seek a divorce after two years of marriage. Meanwhile, Muslim men are allowed to declare the talak three times for an immediate divorce.

The utterance of the word "talak", which means to release or untie in Arabic, is a method of divorce recognised by the Shariah court, though Islamic law varies from state to state. In the east coast state of Terengganu, for example, the declaration of the "talak" must be made thrice in court for the divorce to be recognised.

Ms Jazzmine Khoo, a managing partner at Jazzmine Khoo & Associates, also noted the quick process for a Muslim divorce.

A Muslim (couple) can get a divorce done within a short amount of time - a few hours only or less than that. (Meanwhile), a non-Muslim divorce would still need a few months to get done, she said.

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43% spike in Malaysia's divorce cases last year due to effects of ... - CNA

Remember when children were seen and not heard? This medieval proverb applied to young women until it stuck to children, designed to silence them or admonish them for making a scene. Its interesting then, that 500 years later, children are still struggling to get their voices heard, or their rights acknowledged. While we might not say that phrase much anymore, the action is very much still alive.

This week marked World Childrens Day, the theme of which is For every child, every right. Around the world, communities are working to raise the voices of children, calling for adults to listen to children on major issues like climate change, mental health and education. The recent atrocities in Israel and Gaza, which have resulted in more than 6000 Palestinian and Israeli child deaths highlights the very critical need to value the rights of children.

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Ditch medieval attitude that kids should be seen, not heard - The West Australian