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Gen Z manager shares the time-off requests she's rejected, and people are here for it

This is a refreshing approach to leadership.

@bunchesofbeggs/TikTok

This Manager thinks PTO is for vacation, not "life changing events."

What does it take to be a good boss? You can answer this a million different ways—by being a clear communicator, earning employee trust, providing constructive feedback, and fostering a positive and supportive work environment while also being open to feedback and recognizing your team's contributions—but really, it all seems to stem from respecting your employees as fellow human beings.

Part of that means acknowledging that these employees have lives that are, frankly, more important to them than the job, and not penalizing them for it. One manager, and Gen Zer no less, seems to fully understand this basic principle, and folks are applauding her for it.

Elizabeth Beggs, who manages a five-person team for a packaging distribution company in Virginia, recently made a TikTok sharing which time-off requests she “rejects. ”You’ll see why “rejects” is in quotes shortly.

One example: when a female rep notified Beggs that she was likely having a miscarriage. After the team member asked how she can file for time off to see to the issue, Beggs immediately responded, “Girl, go to the doctor! We’re not submitting time off for that!”

In Beggs’ mind, PTO is for “vacation,” not medical emergencies. What a concept.

@bunchesofbeggs

Edited to clarify- 1. My team is all salary. 2. These examples are not all recent or from my current position. 3. My team works hard and hits thier KPIs above and beyond. Time off is meant to recharge and be used how you need it, not to handle life changing events #mangers #corporate #genzmanagers #sales #vetstocorporate #veterans

Beggs went on to explain a couple more situations, like when one employee—a parent—was “up all night” with their sick kid. And her last one wasn’t even negative—she had an employee who wanted to work a half-day to do something nice for their anniversary.

“Seriously, if any of these triggered anyone, then you need to evaluate how you run your team as a manager,” she concluded.

By and large, the response to Beggs’ management style has been overwhelmingly positive, and people seem to find it completely refreshing.

“You are not a manager, you’re a LEADER,” one person wrote.

@bunchesofbeggs

Everything you do should be to better your team, not to make your life easier #leadership #ownership #corporatelife #veteran #military

Another said, “The better you treat your employees, the more loyal they will be and the better work they will put out. Most people do not understand how management works.”

A few noted how this attitude seems to be more present among younger leaders. One person commented, "millennial manager here. My team members are human first, employees second. Like just go do what you want but get the work done too.”

Another joked that “Boomer managers could NEVER.”

Beggs would later clarify this doesn’t mean she doesn't have clear productivity expectations for her team (who work on salary). Perhaps if she had a team member not making their KPIs (key performance indicators), there would be an additional conversation surrounding time off, but there is still an inherent respect as a fellow human being. Which, to her, means treating bona fide time off as a way to “recharge and be used how you need it, not to handle life changing events.”

@bunchesofbeggs

If you’re planning does not account for people being human- it’s bad planning #genzleaders #armyvet #militaryvet #genz #corporatelife #corporate #manager #timeoff

Younger generations might get labeled “lazy” or “entitled,” but they are also the ones fighting to change the status quo so that we all may be treated less like cogs in the machine, and more like actual human beings. Its leaders like Beggs who show that operating in new ways doesn't compromise productivity—it, in fact, enhances it. We might not be able to change the global standard overnight, but we certainly aren’t going to get to a better place without leaders who choose to serve their community rather than a bottom line.

This article originally appeared in March.

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These stunning mermaid photos may change how you look at plastic.

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong is determined to make people care about plastic pollution, but he knew he needed to make a big splash to get their attention.

"All I knew was that plastic pollution was a boring topic and I had to find a way to make it more interesting," he explained on his blog.

Inspired by the knowledge that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050, Von Wong came up with an ingenious idea: He'd create a sea of plastic.

Things fell into place quickly after that. A waste management center let him borrow 10,000 plastic bottles. A friend let him coordinate the shoot in his warehouse. A "small army" showed up to help clean the bottles.  

Photos showing thousands of plastic bottles were interesting, sure, but Von Wong knew the shoot needed "something unique and beautiful to truly stand out."

What he needed ... was a mermaid.

Photo via Benjamin Von Wong, used with permission.

Thankfully, he didn't have to go far to find one. His mother knew of a local artist named Cynthia Brault of Cyntault Créations who made silicone tails, among other things. Once she heard about the project, she offered to make a custom one for the shoot.

Photo via Benjamin Von Wong, used with permission.

As for the mermaid herself? Thanks to the magic of hair and makeup, model Clara Cloutier transformed into a living, breathing half-fish, half-human friend-of-Ariel.

Photo via Benjamin Von Wong, used with permission.

"Alone, I was just a photographer — but thanks to the help of amazing individuals we transformed a lifeless pile of used garbage into a message: #MermaidsHatePlastic," Von Wong explained.

Photo via Benjamin Von Wong, used with permission.

The photos are stunning, but Von Wong is hoping to do more than produce a few gorgeous images.

He wants to create a sea change in the way people use plastic, which is why he's encouraging people to take a pledge to reduce the amount of plastic they use.

Photo via Benjamin Von Wong, used with permission.

‌If we don't take action, our plastic waste will continue to be found in places it shouldn't — and not just on beaches either. Plastic has turned up "in the stomachs of more than half the world’s sea turtles and nearly all of its marine birds."

The good news is that people are finding simple and innovative ways to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean.

But it'll take more than one photographer, 10,000 plastic bottles, and a mermaid to combat plastic pollution.

We're all going to have to change the way we look at the plastic we use. Sharing these photos is a good place to start.

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James Gaines explains: 4 epically wrong myths about the HPV vaccine.

America is a bit behind on the HPV vaccination trend. I'll explain why that's a problem.

Remember when I explained how polio isn't really a thing anymore in the U.S.?

A polio victim in 1947. Photo by Sonnee Gottlieb/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

That's because we invented and then distributed vaccines to as many people as possible. Today, polio's gone from a modern scourge to a hazy shadow, infecting fewer than three dozen people in 2015. And even with a recent set back in Nigeria, we're incredibly close to making polio a thing of the past.

Well, thanks to another vaccine, we might be able to drive another disease into the shadows, too.

HPV, also known as the human papillomavirus, is a big family of viruses that live in human beings. Some strains are relatively harmless, causing problems like common warts. Others, however, are much more serious.

Some strains of HPV can be spread through sexual contact and are known to cause several different kinds of cancer, including almost all cases of cervical cancer.  And these cancer-causing strains are incredibly common: About 14 million Americans catch them every year. HPV is basically the common cold of sexually transmitted infections.

10 years ago, however, we got a vaccine for HPV. And the latest numbers show it's been incredibly effective.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

The vaccine, which is meant to be given to kids sometime between their pre-teen years and early 20s, specifically targets some of the strains of HPV known to cause cervical cancer (from here on, I'm going to use "HPV" to specifically refer to these strains, by the way). Early tests on the vaccine showed a lot of promise, and this year those numbers have been seriously backed up.

Earlier this year, a worldwide study suggested an up to 90% drop in infection rates in countries with a high level of immunization.

They also showed an 85% drop in the kinds of pre-cancer signs associated with cervical cancer in those populations.

In the U.S., however, pickup on the HPV vaccine has been a little slow, possibly because of stigma and a few common misconceptions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015, only about 50% of U.S. boys ages 13-17 and about 62% of girls got at least one round of the vaccine (it takes three shots, spaced a few months apart, to become completely immunized). This is great compared to other years — the numbers are rising — but compared to other countries, we're still a bit behind.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

What are some of those misconceptions?

1. "HPV isn't common enough to worry about."

Actually, we know that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Like I mentioned above, each year about 14 million people catch it and about 27,000 cases of HPV-caused cancer are diagnosed.

2. "Vaccines are risky."

Actually, we know that vaccines — including the HPV vaccine — are on the whole pretty damn safe.

3. "You only need the HPV vaccine if you're sexually active, so I don't need to give it to my kids."

It's true that people who've never been sexually active aren't really at risk of HPV, but immunizing a teenager can protect them well into their adult life. Plus, the best time to prevent infection is before they've ever been potentially exposed, so giving it to kids actually makes a lot of sense.

4. "It's only for girls. My son doesn't need it."

Boys can benefit from it too. While it's most well-known to cause cervical cancer, HPV can cause other kinds of cancer too as well as genital warts. Plus, by getting vaccinated, a man can protect any sexual partners he might have!

(This reluctance may also have a bit to do with the stigma surrounding the fact that HPV is an STI, too, but talking about STIs is an important part of sex education and something we shouldn't shy away from.)

We're on our way to putting HPV on the same bookshelf as other extinct diseases, like polio and smallpox.

A girl gets an HPV shot in Honduras. Photo by Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images.

In an article by the BBC, professor Ian Frazer, one of the scientists who created the first HPV vaccine, was quoted as saying, "If we vaccinate enough people, we will eliminate these viruses."

A world without the single greatest cause of cervical cancer? And we get a whole lot of other cancers down at the same time?

Yeah, that sounds pretty great.

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9 texts from Earth so real you'll laugh.

Earth just can't quit us.

You know that moment when you KNOW you should break up with that person you're dating, but you just can't seem to let go?

Imagine how Earth feels. About humans.

Needless to say, there are a bunch of red flags we humans are sending that would make any friend of Earth say, "Earth, I think they're just not that into you."

Every relationship has ups and downs. Even our relationship with our own planet. You've read articles and you've watched documentaries, but we all know the truth comes out strongest in ... text messages.

1. Earth has thing for bad boys.

2. Mixed signals.

Tomato, tomahto — pattern, anomaly — potato, potahto? Let's call the whole thing off.

3. Ghosting.

4. Fear of commitment.


It's like, "I'll look at the rainbow, but don't make me conserve too much water, OK?"

5. Low standards!

6. Burn me once, shame on you...

...burn me twice, shame on Earth?

7. Lack of communication.

Not the text bubble thingeeeee!!!!

8. Lack of boundaries.

9. The final burn.

"What's love got to do with it?" — Earth/Tina Turner

Burn!

The state of Earth-human relations is tough.

Global carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in 3 million years, and some climate scientists are saying that global warming has "supercharged" El Niño, making the winter of 2016 a warm and extra weird one. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Things are bad. But it's not too late to make things better.

One "text" at a time.


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