Posts by Ruth Weirich:

Have you considered discussing diversity in the workplace by using the lens of economic class?

Employees come to us woven from unique threads of experience based on the environment they grew up in and how they spend their time. From the standpoint of general human experience it is the same, of course, for us. Many of us, however, tend to assume our employees and co-workers…

Motivation starts with developing relationships of mutual respect

By now many of us have read the Gallup survey that shows how actively disengaged employees cost the United States an estimated $500 billion a year in lost productivity. The Dale Carnegie Training and MSW Research also discovered through a survey of 1,500 employees that there are three key drivers…

Boomers and millennials, economic stability and instability; yes, all this diversity can work at work

Most of us tend to be rather quick to categorize, even stereotype, our co-workers by their age and habits. Many baby boomers and millennials, however, are successfully collaborating in the workplace, mixing the potential that comes with high expectations and self-confidence. On the one hand, we have team-oriented millennials who…

Former Bridges trainer at TEDMED: I reduced Utah homelessness by 91%

Lloyd Pendleton, a former Bridges Out of Poverty certified trainer, gave a talk at TEDMED earlier this month. In his presentation, Pendleton detailed his journey from failing to understand homelessness to reducing homelessness in Utah by 91%. From Christina Farr’s original article at Fastcompany.com: Lloyd Pendleton grew up on a ranch in rural Utah, an upbringing that taught him values…

Will #hashtags eliminate poverty? 

@RuthWeirich Possible? Have you joined the 232 million plus active users using Twitter to get their messages across? There are literally millions using this platform as a voice for expressing their interests, passions and desires. Will you join with us in drawing attention to #inequality and #PovertyAwareness, #diversity, the #homeless, #lowincomefamilies, #lowwage employees, and…

Why bother with reframing?

@RuthWeirich When working with those that live in daily instability – well, let’s face it, with any colleague, client, student, family member or friend – it is important to frame the message in a way that is meaningful to the recipient. We are looking for a “win,” and reframing allows…

The tyranny of the moment – how economic class differences impact success in higher education

“The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.” Willem de Kooning quoted in the Richmond, Virginia Times-Dispatch When working with higher education professionals who support under-resourced college students, we start by discussing the mental models of three economic classes (poverty, middle class and wealth). Doing so allows us…

Not a News Flash… Poverty is an indicator of college enrollment and graduation

Examining data from more than 3.5 million high school graduates, a report released by the National Student Clearinghouse states that poverty remains a more important indicator of whether a student will enroll/attend college than other factors. Those of us that work with under-resourced students know that there are two important ways to help your students a)…

Creating Employer Stability by Investing in Employees

Employers are constantly looking for ways to increase productivity and motivation while improving the bottom line. Recently, I’ve read two books on how investing in your workforce creates employer stability. The first book is The Good Jobs Strategy by Zeynep Ton. Ton’s research shows how operational excellence means sustainable wages,…

Parental Involvement of First-Generation Students

I recently read an article that was discussing the challenge of parental involvement amongst first-generation students in higher education. Thinking about this topic led me to a series of questions: How do we educate educators on how economic class impacts the success of first-generation students? How do we understand why…