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Ben Sweeny, the salesman-turned-comedian behind that online persona Corporate Sween, says that bosses should waterboard their employees. Some companies drown their employees with boring surveys and useless questionnaires, he proclaims in a satirical video posted to LinkedIn a few months ago. I drown my employees with two to three gallons of water, an incline table, and a hand towel. Though the clip may seem racy for LinkedIn, a social network thats earned a reputation as a reliable if buttoned-up venue for job networking, it has to date earned over 5,000 views and has reached over 7,000 unique members. And for Sweeny, its success is no surprise: Why shouldn’t job hunters appreciate a little slice of comedy? Theres no reason for comedians not to post on LinkedIn, Sweeny tells Fast Company. Comedians want to perform on every stage they can, and LinkedIn is another stage. Sweeny is not alone in that sentiment: Online and stand-up comics have begun to flock to LinkedIn to expand their reach. (In fact, Sweeny says hes noticed his LinkedIn usage growing substantially among his comedy peers and says it may reach a point where it becomes inundating.) While LinkedIn doesnt have data on comedy specifically, the platform has seen a general surge in video: The job networking site says video creation is up 36% this year, growing twice as fast as any other post format. Humor is part of how we connect at work and helps us develop bonds, says LinkedIn editor-in-chief Dan Roth. For leaders, humor helps you show that you also make mistakes and dont take yourself too seriously. So, we think humor has to be a part of LinkedIn. However, Roth adds that LinkedIn pushes for the humor to focus on developing workplace bonds, rather than just corporate memes or viral videos. For many of the online comics, LinkedIn is more than just a new platform; it can also be a powerful networking tool for creators navigating their career. A number of comics tell Fast Company theyve had brands reach out to them on the platform for collaborations and sponsorshipsa large source of income for any full-time content creator. One newcomer in LinkedIns expanding comedy scene, Boston-based stand-up comic Joe Fenti, says LinkedIn isnt just the best platform for workplace based jokes; its also inherently the funniest platform because of its super serious, buttoned-up default. LinkedIn is very devoid of fun, Fenti says. Everyone puts on this very professional face, and they forget that you can laugh and have fun. People take the platform too seriously when it’s just a bunch of showboating, gloating, and bragging. After finding success on other social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, Fenti started posting his content onto LinkedIn a little over a month ago. His material often riffs on familiar corporate situations, like a boss hemming and hawing over the color background of a PowerPoint slide deck. He says half his LinkedIn posts pop off and the other half dont really get noticed. Fenti enjoys adding humor to the platform where sometimes all he sees is someone saying theyre humble and grateful for a new job or position. Why cant we just talk like human beings? he asks. Both Fenti and Sweeny have long focused on workplace humor, even before joining the work-based social media platform. Thats because their career background is corporate, rather than strictly comedic. Sweeny may have performed improv and stand-up in college, but he worked in sales before turning to comedy full time. Fenti similarly began his postgrad career as a consultant before pivoting to professional humor. These comedians dont always create material specifically for LinkedIn; rather, the platform fits the humor they already produce. The Venn diagram between videos that Fenti posts on TikTok and LinkedIn is almost a circle, he says. The LinkedIn comic Your Average Finance Bro (and who declined to share his real name) says he sometimes turns his preexisting jokes into text-based posts on LinkedIn. Oftentimes, those posts perform better than his videos. Different comedians take different approaches to LinkedIn, says Your Average Finance Bro. Some people post content that traditionally would not be accepted on LinkedIn. My approach is more creating something you could send your coworker as a joke, and you could message each other and be like: thats funny. Sweeny, for his part, likes to play the villain on social media by spoofing corporate bosses. Those characters can evoke big (sometimes shocked) reactions from online audiences. Sweeny says the best audience is those who dont get the joke. In response to those cartoonishly evil boss videos, Sweeny says that every once in a while a commenter will get really offended. People on LinkedIn can get really passionate about work, Sweeny says. So from my perspective, it’s obvious that I’m kidding. But I have people that comment all upset and tell me I shouldnt be treating employees that way. And thats the funniest thing I could ask for.
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One of the most effective factors in containing the spread of HIV has been the widespread availability of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). A PrEP regimenwhich has grown to include daily pills or injections every few monthscan decrease the chances of HIV infection by up to 99%. To build on those gains, in 2021, the federal government, under the Affordable Care Act, mandated that health insurers fully cover PrEP, as well as clinical visits and the labs required every three months. But an upcoming hearing before the Supreme Court could upend that mandate. The casebrought by six individuals and two companiesis focused on whether mandating coverage of PrEP violates the religious freedom of certain business owners. Braidwood Management, one of the companies, is arguing PrEP coverage facilitates and encourages homosexual behavior, intravenous drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman,” according to the organization’s petition to the Supreme Court. HIV doesnt just impact the LGBTQ community, says Kate Steinle, chief clinical cfficer at Folx Health, a healthcare provider focused on the queer community. Removing this coverage [would] affect so many people. There are currently 1.2 million people in the United States with HIV. While HIV infection rates have decreased over 75% since the mid-1980s, in 2022 there were at over 31,000 new cases of HIV infection in the US. About 20% of the new cases are women, 83% of whom were infected during sex with men. Without insurance coverage, generic PrEP could cost up to $60 a month, not including lab-work and clinical visits. At Folx Health, cash prices for an initial visit to get PrEP costs $159, follow-up visits cost $79 each, and labs run $97 a year. If you have good insurance, the out-of-pocket costs might not prevent you from getting PrEP, says Edwin Corbin-Gutierrez, a senior program advisor at NASTAD, a nonprofit that represents public health officials focused on HIV and hepatitis. However, it can be a big burden for some people and the biggest impact will be on lower income people and the most marginalized. A 2024 study found that a small price increase from $0 to $10 a month for PrEP would double the rate of people who dont use PrEP. The study also found that the rate of new HIV infections among people who dont have a PrEP prescription was double or triple the rate of new HIV infections for people who use PrEP. Companies who sell PrEP are now scrambling to come up with a plan that protects public health should coverage fall through. Were in wait and see mode, says Daphne Chen, cofounder of TBD Health, a telehealth company that offers PrEP and sexual health services. Were hopeful that the government doesnt want an HIV epidemic on its hands. Both TBD Health and Nurx, another telehealth company that prescribes PrEP and treats other health conditions, have said that theyll work to keep costs as low as possible and to partner with nonprofits to help fund people who won’t be able to pay for PrEP without insurance. Nurx says approximately 15% to 20% of its patients are not using insurance to pay for PrEP. This comes at a really unfortunate time when were making great strides in the fight against HIV, says Neil Parikh, chief medical officer at Thirty Madison, Nurxs parent company. Well do whatever we can to make this affordable and connect patients to assistance programs. However, its not always as simple as wanting to make healthcare accessible. Blue Cross Blue Shield filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in which it argued that if some insurers drop PrEP and other preventative service coverage, other insurers will feel pressured to follow suit in the interest of keeping costs down and remaining competitive. Preventative care isnt just a health policy issue, its a business issue, says Elizabeth Kaplan, director of health care access at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School. According to a 2021 study, the cost of treating HIV can range from $400,000 to $1 million per person over the course of their life. Kaplan also points out theres a new treatment for PrEP on the horizon: an injection that can last for six months (some existing injections last for three months at a time). This could further reduce HIV transmission rates for had to reach people facing housing insecurity or addiction issues who may struggle with PrEP in the form of a daily pill, or with the three-month testing requirement. Kaplan adds that a ruling that ends required coverage of PrEP doesn’t have to spell the end of it. “Companies can still choose to cover PrEP without copays, she says. We urge them to do so. Its the right thing to do.
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When it comes to how optimistic we are as a country, the glass is more than half full. According to a recent Marist Institute for Public Opinion poll, 56% of Americans feel optimistic about 2025, while 43% are pessimistic. You may feel like optimism and pessimism is an inborn personality trait, but which side you fall on is actually a choice. While it sounds surprising, Sumit Paul-Choudhury, author of The Bright Side: How Optimists Change the World and How You Can Be One, consciously decided to be an optimist after the death of his first wife. It was initially black humor, he explains. I was saying, Things are really grim right now, but I’ve decided that they’re going to be better, and I’m going to act as though they’re going to be better. Unknowingly, Paul-Choudhury started doing things that nurture and direct optimism, and it worked. It was moving me towards a brighter future than the one I had at the moment, he says. I realized I’d always been an optimist. I’d always tended to assume that things would work out well for me, but I thought of it as a personality trait that didn’t really mean anything. I came to the conclusion that optimism is quite powerful in the way that I was responding to my situation. Why Optimism is Important Humans as well as the animal kingdom are set by default to be optimistic. Paul-Choudhury says there are evolutionary arguments as to why optimism is important. The most compelling is because we don’t always have the information we need. We need something to prompt us to act, he says. Doing nothing from an evolutionary sense is not usually a path to success. You’re more likely to find solutions to your problems or new opportunities if you act. There are varying levels of optimism, though, and people who are more optimistic are likely to search for ideas that will change the world, says Paul-Choudhury. They are more likely to persevere in trying to realize those ideas, he says. Optimists tend to cope better with setbacks. They tend to be a bit more tenacious in pursuit of whatever the goal is. Optimists also have social clout. Youre going to hang out with somebody who tells you that things are good or are going to get better, rather than someone who’s going to say the opposite, says Paul-Choudhury. That means that optimists can also accrue considerable social and economic power. The combination of a readiness for new ideas, the drive to pursue them, and the ability to draw others to your cause adds up to a formula for creating change, says Paul-Choudhury. How to Become More Optimistic Optimism can be learned, says Paul-Choudhury. One step is looking at how you frame failure. An optimist, for example, explains away failure by citing temporary external factors unrelated to their own ability or personality and reasons that are not likely to be repeated. A pessimist, on the other hand, will point to their own aptitude and determine they have failed before they even began. For example, Paul-Choudhury failed his driving test and chalked it up to a technicality and the persnickety personality of the inspector. A friend also failed her test, but she took a pessimistic stance, deciding that she was a bad driver. Another way to cultivate optimism is to practice a best-possible-self exercise, invented by Laura King, a professor of psychology at the University of Missouri. Spend 15 minutes a day writing about the version of you in the future where everything has gone right. Then spend five minutes imagining the future. Paul-Choudhury realized he had inadvertently stumbled upon this approach during his period of mourning. He wrote daily blog posts, describing a better future and attempting to explain what had happened. They were all informed by the desire to work out who I could be now that such a large part of my life had suddenly been rendered irrelevant, he says, adding that he continues to use this exercise when he feels hes at a crossroads and needs a reminder to be optimistic. The downsides of optimism Too much optimism, however, can backfire, and Paul-Choudhury offers some cautions. You can become overconfident about goals that are not achievable, for example. You can become very selective about your use of information. Overconfidence can also skew your judgment, because it’s strongly tied up with the human urge to pay attention to information that suits your worldview. If things are not going right, you may not notice, because you’re too busy collecting the pieces of information that tell you that they’re going well, says Paul-Choudhury. And being overly optimistic can prompt you to pick too many goals, because you see opportunity everywhere. Thats called goal conflict, says Paul-Choudhury. You don’t pick one thing to focus on and stick with, or you try to do too many things at once. That usually leads to an inability to manage all or any one of them. A healthy level of optimism can better your life. Once you’re conscious that you are optimistic, direct it to the things that you want to change. Being able to always find the bright side can be a welcome safe harbor when life brings you a storm.
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