Author: Peter McGraw, Professor of Marketing and Psychology, University of Colorado Boulder

In 1960, 72% of adults were married, and over 90% would go on to marry. HR policies and management practices back then catered to nuclear families with a lone, male breadwinner. Today, dual-career couples and working mothers are common, largely due to the growth of women in the workforce in the second half of the […]

Every February, Valentine’s Day amplifies what single people already know – that public life is built for two. Restaurants roll out prix fixe menus for couples. Hotels promote “romantic getaway” packages designed for double occupancy. A table for one still invites the question, “Just you?” Yet there’s irony that’s hard to miss. While Valentine’s Day […]

On Nov. 11 each year, a curious holiday takes over China. What began among Nanjing University students in the 1990s as a tongue-in-cheek counter to Valentine’s Day has exploded into the world’s largest shopping event: Singles’ Day. The date, 11/11, was chosen because the four ones resemble “bare sticks,” Chinese slang for singles. Today, the […]

How can you get ahead in your career and still enjoy the ride? One solution offered in business books, LinkedIn posts and team-building manuals is to use humor. Sharing jokes, sarcastic quips, ironic memes and witty anecdotes, the advice goes, will make you more likable, ease stress, strengthen teams, spark creativity and even signal leadership […]

Tax Day is right around the corner – an annual reminder that without the option to file jointly, singles pay more per dollar earned than married people. Tax advantages are just one of over 1,000 legal and economic benefits married couples enjoy, a disparity worsened by marketplace and employer practices. Despite its disadvantages, single living […]