The romantic holiday is the one time of year that its totally normal to send your significant other a huge heart-shaped balloon to their workplace. 

But while Hallmark may want you to confess your undying love for your partner, perhaps these declarations are best left inside a cardand well away from the ears of your colleagues.  

Really, constantly gushing about your spouse or new romantic interest in the office can be cringe-inducing for your coworkers. Especially if Valentines Day has long gone and youre still detailing their perfect personality and beautiful eyes. 

Niraj Kapur, LinkedIn trainer, TEDx speaker, and author of Business Growth: Lessons Learned from Divorce, Dating and Falling In Love, breaks down exactly how much workers and managers should be talking about their loved ones at work.

Is talking about your partner in the office tasteless?

It depends. 

Kapur says that is absolutely fine to praise a significant other for being a marvelous partner and parentbut in small doses. 

For example, on a Monday morning when peers are discussing their weekend, it would be natural to mention your loved one and anything interesting you got up to outside of work. The same rule applies on a Friday with the weekend approaching, Kapur says.

Or if youre a boss who misses the chatter that takes place at workers desks, bring up your partner when its genuinely relevant to a conversation youre already having with your team.

At the end of the sales month, when staff were unsure if they could hit target due to lack of belief, I would talk about my now ex-wife and her journey. She came to England as an immigrant with no qualifications and went on to have tremendous success, Kapur recalls.

Why? She was resilient and always believed in herself. I wanted my staff to know they could also achieve anything with the right attitude, so that story is relevant, he adds.

When its never okay to talk about your loved one

While praising your partner in small doses is generally acceptable, its never okay to publicly put them down. 

Kapur suggests avoiding getting cheap laughs at the expense of your partner, for example by pointing out that you dont like their fashion sense or that you think their political views are naive. 

Plus, there are three topics you should avoid at all costs when talking about your loved one: sex, politics or religion.

No one wants to hear you brag about how good your love life is. Meanwhile, dissing (or praising) your loved ones religious or political beliefs could cause discomfort among team members who agree or disagree with those views. 

Ultimately, sometimes saying nothing is better than saying anything silly, Kapur advises. 

How much should people talk about their love life at work?

Human beings are always worried about being judged. But nobody is judging you as much as youre judging yourself, Kapur insists. 

Still, if youre worried all of your workers or peers are sick of hearing about your loved one, then theres a simple formula you can follow going forward: The 80:20 rule.

When youre in a professional setting, 80% of your chatter should be centered around work and the remaining 20% can be personal. 

Business is becoming more personal since nearly 3 in 5 people are struggling with their mental health, says Kapur.

So talking about your private life, including the people in it, can encourage others to open up, create a culture of trust and bring a more human element to workplace interactions. 

Kapur points out that when he has shared details about the loneliness of life after divorce it has worked out well for himself and his business because people want to know the person behind the job title. 

He says that this vulnerability makes him more relatable and trustworthy, than someone who projects a bullet-proof image of themselves.

If someone is scared, I give an example of a time I was scared, like when I first spoke on stage or when I first became a manager, he says

I talk about how I overcame that by having my partner believe in me and tell me it was possible, he adds.

Its a good example of how to talk about a loved one in the office, Kapur concludes because its not done for the sake of gossip, but moral support.

Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.

The post-pandemic talent crunch is challenging and isnt ending anytime soon. Increasing the participation of women in the workforce is one of the key solutions to this challenge, but barriers remain. 

In the U.S., equality in the participation rate between women and men would add almost eight million employees to the workforce, according to a new report released on Thursday by global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR). However, the cost of childcare in the U.S. is currently a major headwind that will likely require a major overhaul, the report on macroeconomic trends finds.

Fortunes Megan Leonhardt looks into this issue. Millions of Americansmostly womengrapple with the financial breaking point of childcare, Leonhardt writes in a new report. Around 4.5 million Americans remained unemployed in January because they were caring for children not in school or daycare. And as of January, There were 217,000 fewer women in the labor force than in February 2020, she writes. 

Leonhardt spoke with women whove decided to drop out of the workforce rather than put more than 25% of their paycheck toward the cost of care. For example, Jennifer Parks worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing until the birth of her oldest seven years ago. Parks left the workforce because she couldnt find affordable childcare. When we started running the numbers, there was basically no way that we could really cut childcare that made it cost under $100,000, she told Leonhardt. (You can read the complete report here.)

A recent World Economic Forum report explains how the pandemic negatively impacted women much more than men: While women constituted approximately 39% of the global workforce, they suffered 54% of the job losses. The report suggests that employers look at increasing childcare subsidies and expanding childcare coverage to all parents with children up to the age of 18.

Over the next 10 years, labor issues will be more of a concern than inflation or supply chains and cost inputs, predicts Henry McVey, chief investment officer of KKRs Balance Sheet, and author of the report. Worker tenure and rate of turnover will be important benchmarks for companies to monitor, McVey says.

Or, heres an idea: Maybe more job offers should come with a health plan, 401(k), and yes, a childcare subsidy.

Quick note: Following the release of CFO Dailys Guide to Becoming a CFO last week, Ive heard from some readers who wanted recommendations for books on leadership. Is there a book that deeply resonated with you on your career journey? Let me know. Ill compile a list and share it.

Have a great weekend. See you on Monday.

Sheryl Estrada
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Big deal

Cybersecurity remains a top concern. Just over a third (34.5%) of executives surveyed by the Deloitte Center for Controllership said that accounting and financial data at their companies were targeted in a cyber event. Within that group, 22% experienced at least one such cyber incident, and 12.5% experienced more than one. About half (48.8%) of executives expect the number and size of cyber events to increase in the year ahead, the report found.

Going deeper

The new Bing is out. A Microsoft exec weighs in on how it will make money by Jessica Mathews 

How private equity whiz Weijian Shan went from penniless in the Gobi desert to orchestrating a takeover of one of Chinas biggest banks by Shawn Tully 

Middle managers are so burned out that nearly half want to quit within the next year by Will Daniel

The 4 best diets for healthy aging that experts say will keep your brain sharp and your body healthy by Jodi Helmer

Leaderboard

Michael Wolcott, VP of finance, was promoted to SVP of finance and CFO at Seneca Foods Corporation (Nasdaq: SENEA), effective April 1. Wolcott will succeed the companys current CFO, Tim Benjamin, who will retire, effective March 31. Benjamin will remain with the company until June 30 to support the transition. Wolcott rejoined the company in July 2022 as VP of finance after earning his MBA. Before that, he held various finance and operations positions within Seneca during his six-year tenure. Before working at Seneca, he spent two years in the financial services industry at Barclays PLC in New York.

Tina Hultkvist, CFO at Volvo Group, is resigning from her role, effective immediately. Hultkvist has served as CFO since March 2022 and has 25 years of experience at Volvo Group. Jan Ytterberg, previously Volvo Group CFO and currently in the role of Volvo Group senior advisor, will step in as acting CFO.  Volvo Group has begun the recruiting process for a successor.

Dennis L. Laraway was named CFO at the Cleveland Clinic, a health system, effective March 13. Since 2017, Laraway has served as EVP and CFO at Banner Health, a health system based in Phoenix that operates in 32 hospitals. 

Leigh Burnside was named CFO at Little Caesars, a global family-owned pizza chain. Burnside joins Little Caesars with 30 years of experience in the accounting and finance industry. Most recently, she served as SVP, chief accounting officer, and CFO U.S. at The Wendy's Company. Burnside will replace outgoing CFO Darrell Snygg, who recently retired after 34 years at the company. 

Christopher Neczypor was named EVP and CFO at Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC), effective Feb. 17. Neczypor, who currently serves as EVP, chief strategy officer, will succeed Randal Freitag, who is leaving the company. Neczypor joined Lincoln Financial in 2018 as head of investment risk and strategy. He was named chief strategy officer in 2021. 

Jason Godley was named CFO at Xactly, a provider of cloud-based, incentive compensation software. Godley most recently served as president and CFO at Booster and previously served as the CFO of both IO Data Centers (acquired by Iron Mountain) and Fastaff Travel Nursing. 

Teri Gendron was named CFO at Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL), a financial holding company, effective March 20, succeeding Jeremy Noble, who became president of Markel's insurance operations earlier this year. Most recently, Gendron was CFO of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Darlyn Phillips was named CFO at Invariant, a bipartisan government relations and communications firm. Phillips joins Invariant from Next Fifteen Communications Group plc, where she served as CFO and head of operations for the portfolio brand Outcast. 

Overheard

"The economy right now is as hard to read as any time that I can remember in the 40 years Ive been following it."

Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, told Bostons NPR news station, WBUR, on Wednesday. I still think the risks are very large that we either dont get inflation down durably or the economy tips into recession," Summers said. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the latest data is indicative of disinflation in some key segments of the economy, Fortune reported. 

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The sportswear brand cut ties with the designer and musician following offensive and anti-semitic marks he made last year. At the time, Adidas estimated the move would cost the brand $246 million but said it would not tolerate antisemitism or hate speech.

Now that figure has risen substantially. Despite immediately closing down production of Yeezy productsand axing any financial links with Yes other businessesAdidas has got vast volumes of stock in its inventory.

In new financial guidance that accounts for the significant adverse impact from not selling the existing stock, the sportswear giant lowered expected revenues by around $1.3 billion and operating profit by around $536 million this year alone, meaning its operating profit is expected to be around break-even levels.

Wore for Adidas, the massive drop in revenue and profit come without the company making the decision to write off the existing Yeezy inventory entirely. Adidas said that doing so would hit operating profit by an additional $536 million this year. It said it would also face one-off costs of up to $214 million.

The numbers speak for themselves, said Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden. 2023 will be a year of transition to set the base to again be a growing and profitable company. We will put full focus on the consumer, our athletes, our retail partners and our adidas employees. Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful: A great brand, great people, fantastic partners and a global infrastructure second to none.

We need to put the pieces back together again but I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.  

Shares in the company sank more than 11% Friday morning as traders reacted to the update.

Who else has cut ties with Ye?

Adidas is not alone in being left to pay the price for a relationship with the Bound 2 singer.

Ye and his previous wife Kim Kardashian had long enjoyed a close working relationship with design house Balenciaga. Kardashian filed for divorce in February 2022 and by October Balenciaga moved to distance itself as well.

In a statement to WWD the brand said: Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist. The business also removed images of Ye from its website, which showed him opening the designers 2023 fashion show.

West had also signed a ten-year contract with Gap Inc in 2020 which he terminated in September 2022. Posts on social media revealed a strained relationship with Yeezys brand partners, before the rapper alleged that the company violated the terms of an agreement between the two parties. The Wall Street Journal reported letters sent from Wests lawyers claimed Gap was not sticking to release schedules or opening stores as planned.

Wests Twitter and Instagram accounts have also been locked because of his antisemitic outbursts. Spokespersons for Twitter and Instagram parent Meta said in October that Ye posted messages that violated their policies.

The LA Times also reported that West had been dropped by leading talent agency CAA, and a newly-completed documentary was shelved by MRC entertainment with the production company stating it cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.

Ye has also suggested slavery was a choice and called the COVID-19 vaccine the mark of the beast, among other comments. He also was criticized during Paris Fashion Week 2022 for wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt to a show and putting models in the same design.

Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.