What egg freezing, learning stipends, and ClassPass all have in common

What egg freezing, learning stipends, and ClassPass all have in commonWhat egg freezing, learning stipends, and ClassPass all have in commonWith unemployment at historic lows and employees leaving their jobs or even ghosting them for greener pastures, companies are getting creative with perks to retain the employees they have and attract new ones. And with good reason cheaper than cash, they tend to provide that much sought-after work-life balance.But companies have been tailoring their perks towards specific groups of people its not just one-size-fits-all on-site gyms or even free meals anymore.1. Cherry lets startup employees choose their own perksInstead of handing out a standard perks package that only a few people use, Slackbot marketplace Cherry is letting employees take their zupflmmel of the benefits they get from their company, reports TechCrunch. Options arent standard try pricey workout subscriptions like ClassPass and Peloton, food delivery services like Postmates, and creature comforts like Netflix and Spotify Premium.CEO Gillian OBrien told TechCrunch that companies were wasting money and could save by just giving everyone this budget and letting them choose perks for themselves.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more2. A select few employers will help you pay off your student loansIts a great perk if you work at the handful of companies that are offering loan repayment, says Fast Company. Unfortunately, only about 4% of companies do this. Other employers, however, offer cheaper, yet still helpful, options, like student loan consolidation and refinancing. According to a survey of 5,000 Millennials by LaSalle Network, what they want the most from their benefits package is direct financial help, either in the form of a 401k with a company match or student loan assistance.3. Learning stipends are a hot perk because they promote career growthMoney th at you use to grow and learn is very attractive, reports Forbes. The more you know, the more it adds to your skill set and potential career growth. Always wanted to learn SEO? Wouldnt it be nice if your company paid for a course so you could add it to your resume or use it to help get a vorrcken?4. Companies fight to retain new moms with posh perksIf theyre not given support by their job, new mothers are in danger of dropping out of the workforce. Inc. reports that some companies have stepped up to back them to the max during that crucial time, with perks like breast milk shipping for moms on business travel. Qualcomm offers discounts on the teched-out Snoo crib that lets the infant and the mother sleep, and Patagonia offers paid travel for caregivers for mothers on business trips.5. Kindbody is a low-cost fertility startup offering egg freezing and IVF to companies who want to offer it as an employee perkFreezing your eggs typically costs $10,000, and the founders of Kindbodys m ission is to make it more affordable for both private individuals and the companies who use their egg freezing services as an employee benefit, according to Inc. Theyve got the cost down to $6,000 currently.Perks keep people happy and encourage work-life balance. In some cases, they may just be the tipping point on whether to stay or go. As companies know too well, losing people is expensive according to Harvard Business Review, replacing an employee who leaves costs about 21% of their annual pay.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius

Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius, one of Europes elite theoretical physicists, welches born in Kslin, Poland, in 1822. He received an excellent education, both at a small private school his father founded and Gymnasium in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), from which he graduated in 1840, at age 18. By all accounts he was a popular, well-respected student. His brother Robert wrote that all intimate with him learnt to esteem his reliability and truthfulness... The greatest confidence and trust were placed in him. His judgment was highly valued.Clausius enrolled at the University of Berlin, where he studied mathematics and physics with other students who became noted scientists, including Gustav Magnus, Jakob Steiner, and Johann Dirichlet. After graduating in 1844, he attended the University of Halle, where he received his doctorate in 1847 for studying the optical effects of the Earths atmosphere. His thesis proposed that the mu ltiple colors of the sky were a result of the refraction and reflection of light.In 1850, the year Clausius was appointed hochschulprofessor of physics in the royal artillery and engineering school at Berlin, his first paper on the mechanical theory of heat was published. Entitled On the Moving Force of Heat and the Laws of Heat which May Be Deduced Therefrom, the paper explained his advanced ideas on heat and work, including the discrepancies he thought existed between Carnots principle and the concept of conservation of energy.In all cases where work is produced by heat, a quantity of heat proportional to the work done is expended and inversely, by the expenditure of a like quantity of work, the same amount of heat may be produced, he wrote.Clausius also stated the assumptions supporting the popular concept of caloric theory were wrong and redefined the two laws of thermodynamics to overcome this contradiction. He also provided explanations of the nature of free heat and latent he at. This paper drew considerable attention and greatly elevated his standing in the scientific community.From 1855 to 1867 he served as professor of physics at ETH Zrich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zrich. These 12 years were a tremendously productive time for Clausius. He expanded the existing gas-kinetic model and provided a theoretical framework that explained translational, rotational, and vibrational molecular motions. He also introduced the concept of mean free path.In 1865, Clausius presented the first mathematical explanation for the concept of entropy, which he also named. One of his tenets was entropy can never decrease in a physical process and can only remain constant in a reversible process. He also stated the First and Second Laws of thermodynamics in the following forms 1) The energy of the universe is constant, and 2) the entropy of the universe tends to a maximum.Living in Bonn in 1870, Clausius organized an ambulance corps of Bonn students to serve in the Franco-Prussian War. He was wounded in battle, leaving him with constant pain and a lasting disability. He was awarded the Iron Cross for his services at the battles of Vionville and Gravelotte. In 1875 his wife died in childbirth, leaving him to raise their six children alone. Although he continued to teach, his health issues and parenting responsibilities left him less time for research. Clausius died in Bonn in 1888.Clausius brought a mathematical approach to solving some of the most challenging problems in molecular physics. His revaluation of Carnots groundbreaking work with steam engines to create a mathematical model for heat, as well as his concept of entropy, advanced the field of thermodynamics and laid a broad foundation for the next generation of scientists.Mark Crawford is an independent writer.In 1865, Clausius presented the first mathematical explanation for the concept of entropy, which he also named.

How honest should you be in your exit interview

How honest should you be in your exit interviewHow honest should you be in your exit interviewIve worked at universities, research labs, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. In most cases, when I left my job I welches given an exit interview. In some cases I left because of frustration with the job, organization, or leadership. In others I was bored and couldnt find a good challenge where I was. In still others I was moving for personal reasons, such as getting married and needing to relocate.When youre frustrated, its natural to try and settle scores or give heart-felt advice on how the company should change at the exit interview. You should absolutelynotgive in to this desire.Negative feedback generally changes nothing.The exception is if theres a trend theyve already noticed, it can confirm that trend, such as leaving from under-pay. Even in these cases you are painted in a negative light for abandoning ship rather than helping fix the problem.The world is small.If youre working in tech and move around, youll likely bump into the same people over and over again. On several occasions Ive left in frustration at a particular leader, only to wind up working for or with them again years later. Sometimes at the same company, sometimes at other companies, or even across the world. Theres no upside to giving negative feedback that might find its way back to them it changes nothing except their opinion of you, and the opinions of those who listen to them.Nobody likes a complainer.Full stop. Who do you respect more when youre deckenfries in a job, someone who complains all the time and drags everyone down, or someone who rolls up their shirt sleeves and tries to do the best they can?The bottom lineExit interviews are mostly a formality, a reminder of policies, and (in some cases) a threat of legal action if you dont take policies and agreements seriously, especially for recruiting.Dont mistake the exit interview for anything more personally meaningful than that, bec ause 99 times out of 100 its not. You accomplish nothing by giving honest reasons for leaving or negative feedback, and it can hurt your future.This article first appeared at Quora.