"Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave," President Obama said during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address. "It’s the right thing to do." That might not seem like a very controversial statement. As a business owner, you want your employees to stay home when they're ill, so they don't infect the rest of your workers and hurt overall workplace productivity as a result. (The Washington Post)

The World Economic Forum kicks off in the Swiss ski resort of Davos with the goal of "improving the state of the world." In practice, it's a massive networking event that brings together 2,500 heads of state, business leaders, philanthropists and artists. Here are some glimpses of what's happened Wednesday at Davos. (Inc.)

It happens after every recession. A downturn keeps people in jobs they’ve outgrown (or never liked much in the first place). Then the economy revives, and the job market looks like a giant game of musical chairs, with all the players scrambling to find their next seat. This time, the "jobless recovery" having been longer and grimmer than usual, the pent-up demand is stunning. (Fortune)

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to announce a huge bond-buying programme later on Thursday, aimed at revitalising the eurozone economy. Reports suggest that asset purchases could be €50bn (£38bn) per month until the end of 2016 - double the amount previously expected. The programme would in part be designed to counter low eurozone inflation. (BBC News)

For young professionals, when and how to ask for a raise is a source of constant conversation. And that makes sense – after all, salary growth should accelerate as resumes and careers grow. However, these conversations are often awkward, for a variety of reasons. First, some people are uncomfortable talking about money among friends, and yet there's still a human temptation to benchmark earnings against those of one's peers. (The Atlantic)

It’s just not fair. There’s always too much to do. Everyone just keeps piling more work on me. I feel so helpless. Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Many people feel like they have a crushing number of requests coming at them from every side that make them a victim to their circumstances. They see forces outside themselves as the reason that they don’t have time to exercise, can’t leave work at a reasonable time, or just generally struggle to get everything done. (Harvard Business Review)

In a culture that expects us to be able to do more with less time, to be available 24/7 and take on heavier workloads than ever before, it should come as no surprise that many of us suffer from perfectionism. With more research showing the strive to be perfect can lead to health concerns including stress, depression, strained personal relationships, and eventually poor work performance, it’s clear we need to take another look at what it means to be perfect. (Fast Company)

James S. Kunen, 66, teaches English as a second language at the Center for Immigrant Education and Training at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. When he was let go as the director of corporate communications at Time Warner during a round of layoffs, Mr. Kunen confronted the core questions: What is it he could do? Where did his skills translate to a job, one that made him feel some sense of purpose? And who would hire him, given his age? (The New York Times)

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, under pressure at home to end his country’s financial bailout regimen, sought help last spring from German Chancellor Angela Merkel about relieving some of Greece’s debt. Ms. Merkel asked an interpreter to translate the phrase "debt relief," according to people familiar with the meeting. Then she told Mr. Samaras: "It doesn’t sound as good in German." The retort was an early sign Greece could expect little clemency from its German-led creditors. (The Wall Street Journal)

For decades, the economies of Africa were the world’s economic laggards. They aren’t anymore. Over the last decade, Africa’s per capita income has grown at a rate nearly identical to that of the rest of the world. It’s reasonable to imagine that the continent is in the early stages of a trajectory that could mimic that of Latin America or, more ambitiously, parts of Asia. With the world experiencing one of the greatest extended reductions in poverty on record, Africa has finally become part of the story. (The New York Times)

Technology is radically altering employment and the influence of big data is changing the key skills required in today’s job market, according to one of the authors of a global employment report compiled by INSEAD, a leading international business school. INSEAD has released its annual Global Talent Competitiveness Index, which measures a nation’s competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain. (Business Because)

Waiting until the last minute to apply to business school used to mean the candidate was disorganized, undesirable or both. That is no longer the case. Now, applying in later rounds of the M.B.A. admissions cycle might signal that a candidate is an offbeat catch. The cycle typically is divided into at least three rounds, with deadlines spaced throughout the fall, winter and spring of an academic year. Some schools have rolling admissions during the cycle or a final rolling round. (The Wall Street Journal)

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. A dream of equality in social status, politics, and even in business. If you have a dream for a new business, you could get help making it come true on Martin Luther King Day. Chisa Pennix-Brown is president of the Piedmont Triad chapter of the National Black MBA Association. And they're hosting an event to help people follow their dreams. (WFMY-News)

Khan Academy has helped to usher education in the 21st century, with thousands of videos and exercises in math and other subjects available for free online to students of all ages. But for its revamped iPad app, which has a new, streamlined look, the new-fangled nonprofit’s engineers and designers took inspiration from two decidedly old-fangled sources to help shape its navigation and input design: public libraries and paper scratch-pads. (Fast Company)

I'm reluctant to say this, and there’s a very good chance I’ll end up regretting it. But on first glance, at least, Microsoft’s new operating system actually looks ... kind of ... well ... good. Looks can be deceiving, of course. When it comes to carefully staged demos of new tech products, they often are. But after the debacle that was Windows 8, I get the sense that Microsoft has poured everything it has into making sure its next major operating system does not disappoint. (Slate)

In the worlds of information technology and manufacturing, the concept called "channel capacity" is very straightforward. It's a measure of how much can flow through a given passageway – network bandwidth in information technology, or a particular part of the supply chain for a manufacturer. The ability of the overall system to function is limited to the channel capacity of the system at its weakest point. (Inc.)

I believe anyone can accomplish great things. Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, if you have an idea, you can make it happen. This approach to life has helped me to achieve goals and accomplishments far beyond the NFL, including starting my own business while still playing football. I used my power approach, not the same power I might have used on the field, but a simple five-step mantra to help anyone start a business. (Entrepreneur)

At this stage in Obama's presidency, ambitious tax proposals to soak the rich are the political equivalent of desert rain dances – sometimes impressive, often well-meaning, always doomed, and essentially ceremonial. The administration's latest tax-modification ritual would raise taxes on wealthy estates and large banks to pay for larger tax breaks for middle-class households, particularly those with two working parents and kids. The plan is Piketty-lite, skimming the wealth of the 1 percent to redistribute among the incomes of poorer workers. (The Atlantic)

Prices at the pump have dropped every day for 118 consecutive days to levels unseen in years. U.S. gas prices are on the verge of dropping below $2 per gallon, much to the pleasure of drivers everywhere. An average gallon of regular unleaded fell to $2.05 Wednesday, more than a $1.20 cheaper than a year ago, according to AAA. (Fortune)

The bond market is a complicated thing, and it is understandable if most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. But even for Americans who don’t want to spend any mental energy on yield curves, convexity and term premia, there is one simple thing to know about the current tumult in the multitrillion dollar market: It’s time to think about refinancing your mortgage. (The New York Times)

If the only hawks you care about seeing Super Bowl Sunday have wings and feathers, there’s a good chance your wish can come true – for cheap, no less. Thanks to the one-third of the U.S. population that will be parked in front of their TVs watching football on February 1, it will be easier for the rest to snag discounts at zoos, ski resorts, spas, and other attractions – not to mention score seats at otherwise unavailable shows and restaurants. (Money)

Hotels and resorts have long catered to travelers who cannot disengage from their jobs. But increasingly there is a new option for those who need to work, but who also want the benefits of a vacation. These new centers are an offshoot of co-working spaces, which offer the benefits of an office environment on a temporary basis. (The New York Times)

Four in 10 U.S. college students graduate without the complex reasoning skills to manage white-collar work, according to the results of a test of nearly 32,000 students. The test, which was administered at 169 colleges and universities in 2013 and 2014 and released Thursday, reveals broad variation in the intellectual development of the nation’s students depending on the type and even location of the school they attend. (The Wall Street Journal)

The civil rights movement knocked down voting restrictions, segregated lunch counters, employment discrimination and whites-only public schools. But fair housing has remained a far more elusive front for the last half-century. American communities are still deeply segregated by race. And not only has there been meager progress, but segregation that has long divided U.S. cities is now emerging in the suburbs. (The Washington Post)

When it comes to financial stability, black Americans are often in much more precarious financial situations than white Americans. Their unemployment rate is higher, and so is the level of poverty within the black community. In 2013, the poverty rate among white Americans was 9.6 percent, among black Americans it was 27.2 percent. And the gap between the wealth of white families and black families has widened to its highest levels since 1989, according to a 2014 study by Pew Research Center. (The Atlantic)

Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and author, speaks at the Inc. 5000 conference about how to dramatically improve your leadership skills for a stronger business and a happier life. (Video) (Inc.)

That smartphone in your pocket? It’s nearly doubling the amount of time you spend working. A 2013 survey by the Center for Creative Leadership found that the typical smartphone-carrying professional interacts with work an average of 72 hours a week. No wonder we’re all so stressed out. "Year after year, people complain of being more overwhelmed than they were the year before," says Scott Eblin, author of Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative "It’s an epidemic that needs to be addressed." (Fast Company)

Taking the family on vacation? Shop for one ticket at a time and you may save a lot of money. Airline reservations require that everyone on the same reservation pay the same price. So if you search for four tickets together, you’ll be offered all four seats at the highest price even if there are one or two seats available at a cheaper fare. (The Wall Street Journal)