For roughly the first two years of its existence, Munchery, an on-demand food preparation and delivery service, classified its drivers as independent contractors. They were not covered by minimum wage and overtime laws, and were not eligible for unemployment insurance or workers’ compensation. (The New York Times)

Conventional wisdom tells us that the way to foster career growth within a company is to look for the paths to growth and then take steps that have been defined. But Teri Cartensen, president of bank solutions at Fiserv, a $5.1 billion financial-services technology company, says that the best way to climb the corporate ladder is to create your own rungs. (Fast Company)

What’s the impression that others have after an interaction with you? That’s personal branding. Think of it as your own personal calling card, your trademark. In an ever-evolving workplace where competition is fierce, it’s why people will want to work with you, hire you, hear your ideas, support you. So before the ball drops and the champagne pops for the new year, try these seven expert-approved tips for branding yourself in 2016. (Fast Company)

Success almost always requires putting yourself into new situations. To further your career, you must take new jobs, join new organizations, transfer to new office locations, and meet and build relationships with new customers, suppliers, and industry peers. Executives get a lot of advice about how to manage such scenarios: A new hire should negotiate his goals and responsibilities up front. (Harvard Business Review)

At 47, Thomas Sommer sensed it was time to change the way he worked. He had held multiple, challenging roles at Credit Suisse, but after 20 years at the firm, he felt exhausted, fenced in and rudderless. Sommer felt he couldn't make a difference anymore. "The values at Credit Suisse no longer matched my own values. My heart said change something. You aren't able to have an impact in your work," he said. "But my head didn't want to hear that." (BBC News)

Shortly before I graduated from college, I was hired to do a job that required me to work from home. I was glad to have a job at all, given that the Great Recession was in full swing, and I was particularly excited to have this job, which involved developing recipes – something I liked doing. I bought one of Ikea’s cheapest desks and set it up in the corner of my newly rented studio apartment, determined to work regular hours in a space devoted exclusively to my job. (Slate)

According to Yale Professor John Dovidio, "Whites spend a lot of time pretending they don’t see race." But, he said, unconscious bias is pervasive, and unconscious biases by whites impact nearly every aspect of black lives, including vital areas such as health care and employment. (Harvard Gazette)

When Joelle Emerson graduated from law school in 2011, she knew she wanted to use her credentials to take down systemic workplace inequalities. A litigator, she represented women who had already experienced discrimination or sexual harassment and earned them sizable settlements in the process. But, over time, she started to notice worrisome patterns that no one case seemed to break. Sexism, biases, a sea of white faces—these were the facts of even the most innovative workplaces. (Elle)

Africa is hailed as a major growth market for global businesses, but as global companies expand there, they are having a tough time finding leaders to run their operations. That is the conclusion of a new report on executive talent by Russell Reynolds Associates, which surveyed 230 senior leaders and recruiters in Africa. Recruiters say companies are eager to recruit good hires in the region, but find that candidates with traditional management skills – such as the ability to drive change or build teams – are in short supply. (The Wall Street Journal)

Daniel Bapinga enjoys his job at the Magdas hotel in Vienna, where he works at the bar, serves breakfast and prepares rooms. His family fled Congo for Austria six years ago, when refugee flows to Europe were a fraction of those today. He has settled in well, saying that "when you arrive, it is your own duty to integrate, you have to follow the rules." (The Economist)

It’s hard to imagine Warren Buffett, JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon, or hedge fund manger Bill Ackman disappearing without explanation. But that’s what’s been happening to their counterparts in China over the last few months. The latest is that the chairman of conglomerate Fosun, Guo Guangchang, has been out of contact with the company for at least a day, Caixin said. (Fortune)

For Victor Eng, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker in his first year at Columbia Business School, it was demoralizing to see his bank account diminish three months into the school year. "There's something psychologically negative about it," he said. But, he added, spending more than his budget allows is a hard habit to break at business school. (Bloomberg)

Learning a new language is no easy task. Thankfully, there are an endless number of resources and technologies to help you quickly and effectively learn a different language. And while that's really awesome, it also presents a new challenge. Which platform works best for you? (Inc.)

The mission of the National Black MBA Association, Inc. Pittsburgh Chapter is to create economic and intellectual wealth in the African American community. Its vision is to become the premiere Black professional organization in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. In existence since 1984 and working toward its vision the organization has built a membership of over 200 consisting of MBA’s, business students, entrepreneurs and other distinguished leaders in business, education, and sectors in the community. (Pittsburgh Courier)

As you finalized your year-end giving, consider supporting NBMBAA's LOT® Endowment Fund, a campaign that aims to improve scholastic opportunities through funding for Black youth between the ages of 15-18, through charitable support from the NBMBAA’s members, along with its corporate partners, friends and advocates. Help us to foster financial and educational assistance for Black students across the nation through undergraduate scholarships, with the goal of sending them to college at no or reduced cost.

BlackBerry's first Android smartphone, the Priv, is doing wonders for the company's stock price. The stock price popped 7% on news that Walmart and Best Buy sold out of the device online earlier this week. Best Buy did not comment on sales figures, and Walmart did not immediately respond to request for comment. But both retailers seemed to have restocked by Friday. (CNN/Money)

You spend almost all day in a browser, yes? Might as well get some work done while you’re at it. It’s time to turn Chrome into a lean, mean efficiency machine with these free extensions. (Fast Company)

Budding small-business owners have always turned to family and friends for loans. This system has its perks: Money from friends and family can mean fast, interest-free cash, and the social ties mean borrowers might be more incentivized to pay back their loans. For entrepreneurs without the credit histories to qualify for a loan from a bank, this is often the only option – but it’s limited by how wealthy friends and family are. (The Atlantic)

When you’re competing in an extremely crowded marketplace, how do you stand out? That was the question one reader, who owns a print shop, emailed me recently. He counts at least 10 competitors in just a five-mile radius. (Entrepreneur)

Before Lehman Brothers collapsed, pulling the trigger on the global financial crisis, a little-known bond trader was on a hot streak. Over two years, Jonathan Hoffman had brought the megabank more than $700 million in profits. (The Washington Post)

In the age of rising income inequality, the task of preserving America’s middle class has been taken on by politicians across the ideological spectrum. A new report from Pew Research Center shows just how much the economic fortunes of this group have changed since the 1970s. (Bloomberg)

Tony James and Teresa Ghilarducci are unlikely allies. He is president of Blackstone, the giant private equity firm; she’s a labor economist who has long advocated replacing 401(k)’s with a universal, federally managed saving plan. (The New York Times)

Lots of choice only sounds good. When faced with many options people tend to freeze up and do nothing – and that is especially true when it comes to workplace benefits and retirement plans. Simple is best, employers are finding. That means adding automatic features to their 401(k) plan, including auto enrollment, auto investment in age-appropriate assets, and auto increase of employee contributions each year. (Money)

No topic has so dominated public discussion over the past week like Donald Trump’s call to indefinitely ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Editorial pages have raged, talk shows have engaged, even leaders of his Republican Party have forcefully rejected the proposal. One group of national leaders, however, has said little: corporate chiefs. (Bloomberg)

If you haven't bought Holiday gifts for people at work yet, good, because there is distinct etiquette involved in how this works. Of course, if the people in your office think of Weird Al as their etiquette guru, you might want to ignore this and buy custom bobbleheads for all, but otherwise, think about these things. (Inc.)

If asked to define the variously named sharing/gig/on-demand economy, anyone would struggle. Despite the fact that Uber and Airbnb have become household names, most companies that are considered part of this new tech-driven, non-ownership economy do vastly different things. And so do their workers. This nebulousness of these companies makes them hard not only to define, but also to regulate. (The Atlantic)

Over the past three decades at IDEO, I’ve worked with some of the most innovative companies in the world and seen a lot of creative leaders in action. I’ve paid attention to how the best of them operate — how they nurture creativity all around them — and I’ve noticed three things. (Harvard Business Review)

Studies on power posing show that intentionally adjusting your body posture, facial expressions, and voice can help you express your ideas and concerns and win greater influence. This is true no matter what title or position you hold. Simply comporting yourself as if you’re a rung or two higher makes people act more deferentially toward you. Often, they’re not fully aware that they’re responding this way, yet the effect is in full force in any kind of hierarchy, whether it’s based on formal or informal status. (Harvard Business Review)