Russians fleeing from repression

It isn’t just Ukrainians who are fleeing. Russians are leaving their homeland too. Harsh sanctions, growing isolation and fear of President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly repressive rule are driving thousands of Russians out of their country. While the numbers pale compared with the millions who have fled Ukraine, they could be the front edge of a wave of people leaving due to shrinking political freedom and economic hardship. Many of those leaving are professionals and well-to-do Russians, along with journalists, activists and cultural figures. Precise data on how many Russian nationals have left in recent weeks wasn’t available, and it isn’t clear that everyone who crosses a border will stay away long term. However, data shared by different countries suggests the figure is in the thousands. About 44,000 people crossed the Russian border into Finland in February, up from some 27,000 in the same month last year, according to the Finnish Border Guard.

(Adapted from “Russians Rush To Leave As Sanctions Bite And Putin Clamps Down On Dissent Over Ukraine War,” by Sune Engel Rasmussen and Alexander Osipovich, published on March 9, 2022, by The Wall Street Journal)

Pak-Sri Lanka Trade

The Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSLFTA) between Pakistan and Sri Lanka has been effective since June 12, 2005. There are various issues hindering trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka under the FTA. Sri Lanka currently faces a foreign exchange crunch which is leading to delays in payments. Sri Lanka’s imports from Pakistan face non-tariff barriers including those relating to regulatory clearances and the time taken in product registrations, some of which can take up to a year. Trade disputes are a major and frequent issue since most traders prefer not to use banking channels and therefore, informal trade exists. Pakistani authorities do not issue import permits for importing agricultural products from Sri Lanka. On the Pakistani side, exports of agricultural products at times lack proper globally acceptable certifications. The trade in textiles between the two countries is difficult to increase primarily due to a difference in design preferences.

(Adapted from “Third Review of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement,” by Samir S. Amir and Hasan Abbas, published in March 2022, by The Pakistan Business Council)

College class for ‘Swifties’

For nearly two months, 20 New York University students met for 2.5 hours every Wednesday night to study Taylor Swift. They discussed her impact on the music industry, her songwriting style, her feud with rapper Kanye West and whether Jake Gyllenhaal has her scarf. Most of the students in the class are self-professed Swifties, the nickname for Swift’s biggest fans. So is the teacher, Brittany Spanos, a 29-year-old journalist who has written extensively about the artist as part of her job at Rolling Stone magazine. NYU said students, many of whom want careers in the music industry, were expected to develop their writing, critical thinking and research skills, but also learn about Swift’s creative process and her business sense. Students listened to Swift’s genre-spanning albums, read articles or watched old interviews and performances. Every class started with a quiz. A 2,000-word paper was due at the end of the course.

(Adapted from “NYU Shakes It Off With Taylor Swift Class,” by Joseph Pisani, published on March 15, 2022, by The Wall Street Journal)

Are you burned out?

Burnout isn’t simply about being tired. The following factors can contribute to your burnout: 1) Workload: assess how well you are doing in planning, prioritising, delegation, saying ‘no,’ and letting for of perfectionism. 2) Perceived lack of control: step back and ask ‘what is causing me to feel this way?’ and consider what you can do to shift this situation. 3) Rewards: if the job’s extrinsic and intrinsic rewards don’t match the time and efforts you put in, you’re likely to feel like the investment isn’t worth the payoff. Determine what you need and ask for it. 4) Community: burnout can be contagious so to elevate your engagement, you must shift the morale of the group. 5) Fairness: Reflect whether you are acknowledged. If you feel inequality exacerbates burnout, start by pointing it out to decision-makers. 6) Values mismatch: if you highly value something that your company does not, your motivation can drop.

(Adapted from “6 Causes of Burnout, and How to Avoid Them,” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders, published on July 05, 2019, by the Harvard Business Review)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, April 4th, 2022