Automation anxiety reached new heights in 2013, when Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne, researchers at the Oxford Martin School, published a paper estimating that 47% of all U.S. jobs were "at risk" of being computerized over the next two decades. Although the jury is still out about robots stealing jobs, the pace at which AI and deep learning technologies have been advancing isn’t ebbing concerns over a future of disappearing work. As machines increasingly perform complex tasks once thought to be safely reserved for humans, the question has become harder to shrug off: What jobs will be left for people? (Harvard Business Review)

Before Hurricane Katrina, Danny Cook was working three low-paying jobs in New Orleans and struggling to pay rent and tuition for a master’s program in computer science. Now, 10 years after he was rescued by a helicopter in the wake of the storm and boarded a bus headed to Houston, he has built a life here that he said would have been impossible in his former city. He bought a home, started a business and continued his studies. (The Wall Street Journal)

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is back. That’s the message you’ll probably get over the next few days, as the August 29 anniversary of the costliest natural disaster in American history approaches. On Thursday, President Obama will meet with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and residents who have helped resuscitate the city. The president will also deliver remarks on the region’s comeback. When it comes to tourism, that seems at least partly true. (Fortune)

What is it that makes certain people highly productive at work? If the three cups of coffee you drank this morning aren’t doing the trick, it might be time to try a new approach. Here are five ways to make get more out of your workday with a little less anguish. (Fast Company)

The world turns, and most consultants still want to work for McKinsey & Co. The elite firm known by some as the Harvard of consulting beat out competitor Bain & Co. for the top spot in a ranking of consultancies by Vault, a website that researches and ranks companies. McKinsey was voted "Most Prestigious" for the 14th straight year. (Bloomberg)

If you work in a big company, chances are you’re getting more feedback lately – whether you know it or not. Recent revelations about Amazon.com Inc. ’s competitive work culture described a company feedback system in which employees sent gripes to co-workers’ bosses about their performance, sometimes without the co-workers’ knowledge. Invoking a workplace version of "Lord of the Flies," workers said that some used the tool, called Anytime Feedback, to gang up on rivals or oust low performers. (The Wall Street Journal)

The Radius Financial Group, a mortgage lender in Norwell, Mass., recently made a $1 million investment in its future. The outlay wasn’t for technology, marketing or even office space. Rather, the company executives decided the future well-being of Radius depends upon its ability to attract younger employees from more diverse backgrounds. (The New York Times)

China’s rapid growth over the last decade reshaped the world economy, creating a powerful driver of corporate strategies, financial markets and geopolitical decisions. China seemed to have a one-way trajectory, momentum that would provide a steady source of profit and capital. But deepening economic fears about China, which culminated this week in a global market rout, are now forcing a broad rethinking of the conventional wisdom. (The New York Times)

In March 2011, economists Barry Eichengreen, Donghyun Park, and Kwanho Shin released a working paper titled "When Fast Growing Economies Slow Down: International Evidence and Implications for China." The paper focused on the rapid growth of large emerging markets in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and in particular, the double-digit growth coming out of China. Then it asked: When might China’s economic engine slow down? Here’s what they found. (Slate)

Traditionally, we associate spring with fresh starts. As temperatures climb and the landscape turns green, we behold a world renewed with possibilities. For MBAs, this transformation begins in the fall. Bursting with ideas and aspirations, a new class of young professionals stream onto campus as students once again. At first, they will feel overwhelmed, stumble, and wonder if they belong. Like MBAs before them, they will persevere and inevitably shine. (Fortune)

Virginia Murphy borrowed a small fortune to attend law school and pursue her dream of becoming a public defender. Now the Florida resident is among an expanding breed of American borrower: those who owe at least $100,000 in student debt but have no expectation of paying it back. Ms. Murphy pays just $330 a month – less than the interest on her $256,000 balance – under a federal income-based repayment program that has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing entitlements. (The Wall Street Journal)

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Think of an educational tool and you might picture beloved standbys from our Tools of the Trade series, like the abacus and the wooden block. But educators are increasingly turning to software and websites like Khan Academy, Google Apps and Code.org to help them deliver lessons, manage collaboration, do real-time assessments and more. (NPR)

It's safe to say that Turing Award winners know a thing or two about computing, so when they express concern about key trends in the tech world, it's worth paying attention. That, in fact, is just what three award winners did this week at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Germany, where they gathered along with other leading thinkers in the fields of mathematics and computer science. (Computer World)

As a leader of your company you know it's your job to lead your team and keep the company focused on the right things. In fact, in order to successfully scale your company requires that you balance the need to holding a firm focus on those fewer, better things that will make a leveraged difference for your company and your need to maintain your flexibility so you can adjust as you go. (Inc.)

While some professionals have managed to start work on a side business while maintaining their integrity in a nine-to-five job, such a setup has little potential for long-term success. Whether you’ve come up with a new idea or you’re interested in scaling up one that’s already there, eventually you’ll need to quit your job to nurture your dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. (Entrepreneur)

Feeling stuck in your career isn't just frustrating; it can be debilitating. But the notion that we have to choose a single career path and stick with it from beginning to end is simply a myth. Regardless of your age or experience, we all eventually hit a roadblock at some point in our lives when we need to ask ourselves: "What's next?" Career impasses – those moments when you know you're not happy where you are, yet don't quite know what to do next – aren't just common, they're necessary, says Timothy Butler, psychotherapist and senior adviser for career development at Harvard Business School. (Fast Company)

Central bankers are swooping to the rescue of shaky economies, soothing investor panic for now but highlighting a global addiction to easy money. China stepped in to shore up its flagging economy this week after a sharp stock plunge and fears about slowing growth triggered waves of selling across global markets. Authorities cut interest rates – for the fifth time in just nine months – and lowered the amount banks need to hold in reserve in a bid to boost borrowing. (CNN/Money)

Ten years ago this week, a storm gathered spin over the Gulf of Mexico and then let loose onto a city nicknamed the "Big Easy." Hurricane Katrina was by far the most expensive storm in U.S. history: more than $150 billion in damages; hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced; the city of New Orleans broken down in floodwater and churned like bile. Levees that shouldn’t have broken did. Fences floated away. Living room walls took on water to the ceiling – if they remained standing at all. Institutional structures proved similarly weak against the strength of the storm, most notably the insurance that was supposed to protect homeowners. (Money Magazine)

As stocks have become mighty volatile, long-term investors could be induced to become more short-term oriented in their thinking, buying stocks on a single day's rally, or selling after a swift 11 percent decline, such as we saw from Wednesday to Tuesday. Based on the historical performance of the S&P 500, it's that second decision – the fear-based move to sell – that is the more dangerous one. In fact, even if one was the world's worst market timer over the past several decades, one still made money on stocks, according to an analysis done by institutional portfolio manager and financial writer Ben Carlson. (CNBC)

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In March, William Petz departed from his usual routine of logging on to Travelocity or Orbitz to rent a car from Budget or Hertz while traveling on business. A Facebook posting had caught his eye: It was for a rental company called Silvercar, which offered a single kind of car — an Audi A4. It came with GPS, Wi-Fi and satellite radio at no additional cost. Mr. Petz was traveling to San Francisco from New York to open an office for his company, Quiet Events, which organizes dance parties where participants use headphones. The occasion, he said, called for him to make a strong first impression — so why not the Audi? (The New York Times)

The good news for workers, according to data released Wednesday by Aon Hewitt, is that companies' spending on compensation has reached a new high. In 2015, the human resources consultancy reported, workers will see a flat 2.9 percent increase in base pay on average, but they'll also see a 12.9 percent increase in "variable pay" – things like bonuses, incentives and other cash rewards--the highest increase in 39 years. (The Washington Post)

Some people, regardless of what they lack--money, looks, or social connections – always radiate energy and confidence. Even the most skeptical individuals find themselves enamored with these charming personalities. These people are the life of every party. They're the ones you turn to for help, advice, and companionship. You just can't get enough of them, and they leave you asking yourself, "What do they have that I don't? What makes them so irresistible?" The difference? Their sense of self-worth comes from within.

When researchers try to determine the types of workers who are most prone to depression, the focus is usually on the misery of those at the bottom of a company’s hierarchy – the presumed stressors being the menial duties they're tasked with and their lack of say in defining the scope of their jobs. But it turns out that middle managers have it worse. In a new study from researchers at Columbia University, of nearly 22,000 full-time workers (from a dataset from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions), they saw that 18 percent of supervisors and managers reported symptoms of depression. (The Atlantic)

Stress exists in every workplace, and all of us have probably tried a few trendy stress-management approaches. But rather than trying the latest fad, it may be more effective to understand how stress works and where it comes from, so that you can create your own methods for dealing with it. Stress is an emotional response; like all emotional responses, it emerges from the functioning of the motivational system. (Harvard Business Review)

For a sizable portion of nearly two transformative decades, one family surname has competitively dominated tennis and continually inundated its news. Think about how an emerging generation of female players has never known a tour without the headlining Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. Some telling perspective on the subject from Garbiñe Muguruza, 21, who grew up in Venezuela and Spain. (The New York Times)