'Culture can rarely compensate when a company can't adapt'

'Read this before you shed a tear for Southwest'

Bill Saporito at The Washington Post

People are "bemoaning what's happening to the beloved carrier because the company is doing away with free checked bags," but Southwest has "finally had to react to market realities," says Bill Saporito. Southwest is "convinced that the two-free-checked-bags policy, essentially a discount, is no longer a compelling competitive advantage." If Southwest were "attracting enough passengers at high enough fares to earn robust profits, it wouldn't be attracting the attention of activist investors."

Read more

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

'Welcome home from far above the world, astronauts. We're glad SpaceX gave you a ride.'

Chicago Tribune editorial board

Two astronauts' "long-anticipated ride" to Earth "came courtesy of SpaceX," says the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Whatever you "think of Musk's political activities on behalf of the Trump administration, all Americans can and should be glad that these astronauts could catch one of Musk's jet-propelled Uber rides home." We "doubt you care whether you landed in the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America, as long your spaceship knew which way to go and got you both home."

Read more

'What America can learn from Finland's workplace culture'

Miika Mäkitalo at Newsweek

While the "concept of being 'more happy' than other countries is amusing to us Finns, our outlook on life plays a key role in shaping our workplace culture," says Miika Mäkitalo. In "Finnish society, displays of happiness are often discouraged to avoid seeming boastful." This "extends to Finnish workplace culture," where people "prefer a more reserved approach to self-promotion" and let their work speak for itself, with "teamwork and collective success valued over individual recognition."

Read more

'The far-right's pretend fight against antisemitism is a perfect political strategy'

Rachel Shabi at The Guardian

The "added horror-show twist" to the Trump administration's "assault on free speech is that it is being done in the name of Jewish people under the pretense of tackling antisemitism," says Rachel Shabi. Most "American Jews didn't vote for Trump and don't back his crackdowns," but "students protesting Israel's decimation of Gaza have faced relentless bipartisan furor over antisemitism." The "far-right has found in its pretend fight against antisemitism the perfect political strategy, a way to divide progressives."

Read more