DeWitt Law Firm - July 2021

DeWitt Law Firm - July 2021

The

Digest

SUMMER 2021

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THE REMOTE CENTURY A century ago, Americans adapted to a new way of doing business. This resulted from the booming economies in cities. Technology was at the root of this growth, specifically new building technologies that allowed structures to grow larger and taller than ever. Suddenly, more people could live in a single block of space than previously thought possible. As the economy changed, so did the nature of work. Nothing New About the ‘In-Person’ Working Dilemma

If the story of the previous generation had been industrialization with factories, the story of the next generation would be the boom of white-collar workers, especially in Manhattan, which became the blueprint for this new American city. Now, oddly enough, the whole situation is happening in reverse today as white-collar workers flee the cities to find cheaper places to live as a result of remote work becoming a daily reality in the wake of COVID-19. Of course, something similar did happen in the past: the “white flight” of the 1940s and ’50s. But what made those people desire to live in the suburbs was created in part by the automobile industry and public projects like Eisenhower’s interstate system, which allowed white-collar workers to live outside of cities and still make the commute to work. But it didn’t jeopardize the office as being integral to American life. After all, where were all of those suburbanites commuting to? No, like the office itself, the suburban phenomenon is only now really in jeopardy, in our post-COVID-19 world.

On the other hand are the folks who argue for embracing new technologies that could prepare us for necessary changes, just as our ancestors did. White-collar workers didn’t exist before office buildings, and that is 100% the result of technological change. Why shouldn’t we change again with new technologies and embrace a new century’s methods of doing business? This side is bolstered by studies on happiness and efficiency — both of which seem to go up when employees are allowed to work from home. You might expect me to throw in my lot with one side or the other, but I won’t do that. As a businessperson, I’m a pragmatist first and foremost. I’ll follow the trend that works best for my employees, and we’ll either join with the national movements or fly in their face.

The question is: Does any of this matter?

I would say yes, it does. We’re seeing an important shift in the way Americans do business and think about work. It dovetails with other discussions surrounding minimum wage and single-payer insurance systems, but both of those topics are hot-button political issues (some might say dog whistles!) By contrast, the remote work debate is happening by and large off the political stage — which is probably for the best. On the one side, we have those who believe that white-collar workers are more efficient working in offices together — that, barring another pandemic, the best way for people to work is together. There is some evidence that they’re right, since people generally communicate and get along better in person.

That’s just the nature of business, after all.

One parting thought: I do wonder what will happen to the American city, commonly the place of highest real estate value in the nation and the heart of industry, if white-collar workers leave all of those office buildings behind. Something to ponder, no?

– Moe DeWitt

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REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEATYOURSELF. Paraphrasing your last few thoughts out loud can help you remember where you were going. Think of it as retracing your steps: You go back to the last words you remember saying, and more often than not, you’ll find your direction again. TAKE A SHORT PAUSE. Pausing briefly is a great way to make recovering your train of thought seem natural. This hack works really well if you’re answering a question and you need time to think, and you also don’t want to be bogged down by a chorus of “ums” escaping from your mouth. WRITE IT ALL DOWN. This hack works well when you know beforehand that you’ll be speaking with someone or in front of people. Even if you never refer to your notes while speaking, simply writing down a road map for your train of thought can help you recover from a detour and speak more confidently. REMEMBER YOUR OVERALL POINT. The easiest way to drive your train of thought into the weeds is to forget your overall point — or not to have an overriding point at all. Always have a short, overarching point you can use to recenter yourself and get back on track. With these hacks, your brain will have to work a lot harder to make you lose your train of thought! Now you’ll be more prepared to tackle any subject matter, no matter how deep or technical, that comes your way.

Get Your Train of Thought Back on Track

Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, presentation, RECOVERY HACKS or debate, stringing together thoughts in a way you hope is coherent and insightful when — poof! — you lose your train of thought? It’s frustrating. You just want to make yourself understood, but your brain has other plans. What if there were a way to keep your train of thought on track? Well, the good news is that recovering your train of thought is easy with the following hacks in mind.

POOR SAFETY MEETS MOLTEN ENAMEL

Nothing Cold About These Refrigerators

If you don’t knowwhat enamel is, you’ve probably seen it around: It’s the colorful, protective coating that covers tiles and all kinds of fancy cookware. But how does it get on to things? For that, you need heat — enough to melt enamel into a workable, molten-hot liquid. It’s dangerous stuff to work with, which means facilities need to provide extensive training, personal protective equipment, and proper maintenance. The Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, had not met its duty in any of those three areas when Harry Adams, an employee, was working for them in the early 1900s. The company used enamel to line the inside of its refrigerators in a process that involved introducing molten enamel to water, a hardening reaction that had a high potential for disaster. And disaster struck in November 1906 when, in the course of Adams’ normal duties, the holding tank full of molten enamel exploded while he operated it at close distance — at the instruction of his foreman who was overseeing the operation.

responsibility, and Adams was forced into the courts to get some kind of justice. As you can imagine, the judicial system took note of the incident and, after examining everything in detail, came to some groundbreaking conclusions, at least for the day.

The chief one was that Adams’ injury could not have been foreseen by an average person, because although he had experience, he lacked understanding of the materials he was working with — an understanding that his employer had not provided. Molten enamel has similar properties to lava, and an exploding tank full of the stuff is not a hazard anyone should have to deal with in the workplace. The shockwaves of Adams’ near-fatal injury have reverberated for over a century now and provide valuable precedence when it comes to the duty employers have to their employees, whether that person has experience or not, which is why even today, when we attend ongoing, yearly safety training, we benefit from the hard lessons learned in Adams v. Grand Rapids Refrigerator .

It’s a miracle that Adams wasn’t killed, although he lived in severe pain for the rest of his life. His employer attempted to dodge all

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Building Your Self-Confidence

WITH THREE TRIED-AND-TRUE TIPS

“You can do this. I believe in you.” Those words can mean a lot — even if you’re saying them to yourself. After all, who hasn’t tried hyping themselves up with a little pep talk in the mirror at the beginning of a long day? Self-confidence isn’t always easy. Doubt comes a lot more naturally and can overwhelm us. So, in honor of “Compliment Your Mirror Day” (an actual holiday on July 3), here are a few tips for boosting your self-confidence. DON’T PLAYTHE COMPARISON GAME. Someone’s success will always be bigger and better than yours. That’s not a put-down — that’s an immutable fact of life. The

hygiene, eating healthier, or exercising more regularly, will help you feel better physically, which, in turn, will help you think more highly of your self-image. Similarly, when you keep the space that you inhabit clean and free of clutter, it leaves your mental space feeling less bogged down as well. DON’T FEAR FAILURE. You could divide people into two different groups: people who see failures as insurmountable barriers and people who see them as

opportunities to improve. If you often find yourself in the first group, there’s some good news: You can join the second group any time you want! Sure, it can be scary to fail, but you never have to let a failure go to waste. Everyone fails at some point — most people fail countless times. When you fail, you’re in good company. Once you realize that, self-confidence is a cinch.

important thing to realize is that someone else’s greater success does not make your success a failure. Your life is your life, and it’s not a race. When you stop making other people’s accomplishments the barometer of your own success, you’ll realize just how incredible you really are.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR SPACE. Your physical health intertwines with your mental health more than you might think. Taking better care of your body, whether that means practicing better

These steps are at once obvious and incredibly difficult. You don’t have to make it all happen at once. But, if you can do a little bit of one of these steps each day, you’ll be complimenting your mirror

effortlessly in no time.

BREAK TAKE A

The Best Texas- Style Smoked Brisket

Impress guests at your next barbecue with this perfectly smoked brisket. Plus, you’ll have plenty of leftovers!

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• Wood chips • 1/4 cup paprika

1. In a bowl, soak wood chips in water overnight. 2. In a large bowl, mix paprika, white sugar, cumin, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. 3. Rub spice mixture on the brisket and refrigerate for 24 hours. 4. Preheat smoker to 230 F. Drain wood chips and place them in the smoker. 5. Smoke brisket until it has an internal temperature of 165 F. 6. Remove brisket and wrap it in aluminum foil. 7. Smoke brisket further until it reaches an internal temperature of 185 F.

• 1/4 cup white sugar • 1/4 cup ground cumin • 1/4 cup cayenne pepper • 1/4 cup brown sugar • 1/4 cup chili powder • 1/4 cup garlic powder • 1/4 cup onion powder • 1/4 cup salt • 1/4 cup pepper • 10 lbs brisket

Inspired by AllRecipes.com

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The Remote Century

1

Life Hack: How to Recover Your Train of Thought

2

Poor Safety Meets Molten Enamel

2

3 Methods for Building Your Self-Confidence

3

The Best Texas-Style Smoked Brisket

3

The Paddleboard Craze Is Here to Stay

4

THE STAND-UP PADDLEBOARD CRAZE THAT NEVER WENT AWAY

What’s SUP?

Outdoor and exercise crazes come and go almost as fast as hairstyles and popular app games do. But every once in a while, a trend comes along that remains popular — think karate, which spiked in the ’60s and again in the ’80s, and it can still be found in almost every American city to this day. Back in 2013, one such trend arose: the stand-up paddleboard, or SUP for short. The act of standing on a floating piece of wood in a surfboard shape and paddling (or poling) yourself along likely goes back thousands of years, but the SUP craze can be traced back to one man — and he’s not even in his 60s yet! That man is famous surfer Laird Hamilton, a household name in a sport that doesn’t usually generate them. And Laird, along with the Waikiki Beachboys, showed the world a new way to hit the water in the first decade of the 21st century.

Unlike other crazes, the gear was simple and the activity beginner-friendly. To start, you only need a paddle, a board, a life preserver, and of course, a place to go! It’s a new way to see the water, which only boosted its popularity. Even veteran water sports enthusiasts weren’t used to standing on the water instead of sitting in a boat! But according to the industry’s own numbers, that popularity never died down. As it turns out, SUP is a good way to get around, and a lot of folks need that. Many cities, such as San Antonio, feature “paddling trails” that let SUP practitioners see the city in a newway or even commute via their board. How cool is that? If you’re looking for a new hobby this summer, it’s easy to rent a stand-up paddleboard and learn the basics. Take a class, head out into the water, and give it a shot. Who knows, you might be one of the thousands of Americans to discover a lifelong passion!

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