Category: The Conversation

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

The midterm elections for Congress won’t take place until November, but already a record number of members have declared their intention not to run – a total of 43 in the House, plus 10 senators. Perhaps the most high-profile person to depart, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, announced her intention in November not just to retire but to resign from Congress entirely on Jan. 5 – a full year before her term was set to expire.

There are political dynamics that explain this rush to the exits, including frustrations with gridlock and President Donald Trump’s lackluster approval ratings, which could hurt Republicans at the ballot box.

Rather than get swept away by a prospective “blue wave” favoring Democrats – or possibly daunted by the monumental effort it would take to survive – many Republicans have decided to fold up the beach chair and head home before the wave crashes.

As of now, two dozen Republican House members have either resigned from the House or announced their intent to not run for reelection in 2026. With only two exceptions – Republicans in 2018 and 2020 – this is more departures from either party at this point in the election calendar than any other cycle over the past 20 years.

There is also growing concern within the House Republican caucus that Greene’s announcement is a canary in the coal mine and that multiple resignations will follow.

As a political scientist who studies Congress and politicians’ reelection strategies, I’m not surprised to see many House members leaving ahead of what’s shaping up to be a difficult midterm for the GOP. Still, the sheer numbers of people not running tells us something about broader dissatisfaction with Washington.

Why do members leave Congress?

Many planned departures are true retirements involving older and more experienced members.

For example, 78-year-old Democratic congressman Jerry Nadler is retiring after 34 years, following mounting pressure from upstart challengers and a growing consensus among Democrats that it’s time for older politicians to step aside. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker who will turn 86 in March, is also retiring.

Sometimes, members of Congress depart for the same reasons other workers might leave any job. Like many Americans, members of Congress might find something more attractive elsewhere. Retiring members are attractive hires for lobbying firms and corporations, thanks to their insider knowledge and connections within the institution. These firms usually offer much higher salaries than members are used to in Congress, which may explain why more than half of all living former members are lobbyists of some kind.

Other members remain ambitious for elective office and decide to use their position in Congress as a springboard for another position. Members of the House regularly retire to run for a Senate seat, such as, in this cycle, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan. Others run for executive offices, including governor, such as Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

But some are leaving Congress due to growing frustration with the job and an inability to get things done. Specifically, many retiring members cite growing dysfunction within their own party, or in Congress as a whole, as the reason they’re moving on.

In a statement announcing his departure in June, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., mused that “between spending another six years navigating the political theater and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with my family,” it was “not a hard choice” to leave the Senate.

What’s unique about 2026?

In addition, there are a few other factors that can help explain why so many Republicans in particular are heading for the exits leading up to 2026.

The shifting of boundaries that has come with the mid-decade redistricting process in several states this year has scrambled members’ priorities. Unfamiliar districts can drive incumbents to early retirement by severing their connection with well-established constituencies.

In Texas, six Republicans and three Democrats – nearly a quarter of the state’s entire House delegation – are either retiring or running for other offices, due in part to that state’s new gerrymander for 2026.

All decisions about retirement and reelection are sifted through the filter of electoral and partisan considerations. A phenomenon called “thermostatic politics” predicts that parties currently in power, particularly in the White House, tend to face a backlash from voters in the following election. In other words, the president’s party nearly always loses seats in midterms.

In 2006 and 2018, for example, Republican members of Congress were weighed down by the reputations of unpopular Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Trump. Republicans had arguably even greater success in midterm elections during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Currently, 2026 looks like it will present a poor national environment for Republicans. Trump remains highly unpopular, according to polls, and Democrats are opening up a consistent lead in the “generic ballot” question, which asks respondents which party they intend to support in the 2026 midterms without reference to individual candidates.

Democrats have already been overperforming in special elections, as well as the general election in November in states such as New Jersey and Virginia, which held elections for governor. Democrats are on average running 13 points ahead of Kamala Harris’ performance in the 2024 election.

As a result, even Republicans in districts thought to be safe for their party may see themselves in enough potential danger to abandon the fight in advance.

Retirement vs. resignation

One final, unique aspect of this election cycle with major consequences is not an electoral but an institutional one.

House conservatives are quietly revolting against Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership style. That members may be frustrated enough not just to retire but resign in advance, leaving their seats temporarily vacant, is a notable sign of dysfunction in the U.S. House.

This also could have a major impact on policy, given how slim the Republicans’ majority in the lower chamber is already. Whatever the outcome of the midterms in November, these departures clearly matter in Washington and offer important signals about the chaos in Congress.

Charlie Hunt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Who thinks Republicans will suffer in the 2026 midterms? Republican members of Congress – https://theconversation.com/who-thinks-republicans-will-suffer-in-the-2026-midterms-republican-members-of-congress-271285

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Madeline Kneeland, Assistant Professor of Management, Babson College

What do you do when an announcement about an “offsite” hits your work inbox? Chances are you might sigh and begrudgingly add the event to your calendar.

These events, also called retreats, bring colleagues together for a mix of structured activities and free time – freeing them from their regular work obligations. For one or two days, employees take a mandatory break from their normal routines at work and at home. Participants spend a lot of that time making small talk with colleagues, as well as engaging in structured interactions that may include awkward icebreakers.

Although networking is one of these events’ main purposes, some people find that networking for the purpose of meeting professional goals can feel transactional, uncomfortable or even dirty. Unsure about whether it will be worth the time and effort, you might ask: What’s in it for me?

We are management professors who study how professional networks help information and resources move across organizations and create opportunities. Our research findings suggest participating in an offsite could be well worth the time and hassle.

And it might quietly reshape your working relationships in unexpected ways.

Taking time and costing money

While these gatherings have become relatively common, we were surprised to learn how little research there is on whether they work. In particular, few scholars have dug into their effectiveness in helping people forge new connections.

Offsites can help with strategic planning, team development and goal setting. They’re often held once or twice a year. The timing varies from one employer to the next. But the period from December through March is becoming more popular.

They tend to bring people together who rarely interact through their work – particularly at large employers with offices spread across the country or even the world, and in organizations with remote-first work arrangements.

Retreats help people get better acquainted in many informal ways, whether it’s sharing meals, exchanging ideas or chatting in hallways. Those interactions and the more structured ones, such as brainstorming exercises conducted in previously assigned groups, make it easier to connect with colleagues.

After years of remote work when people mainly gathered over Zoom, employers continue to look for ways to rebuild connections and to address a surge in disengagement.

These retreats for professionals have apparently become more popular following the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the larger rebound in business-related travel. A survey of 2,000 full-time employees from a range of industries found that the percentage of companies hosting no offsites at all fell to 4% in 2024, from 16% in 2019.

Further, many companies are allocating larger budgets for offsites and budgeting more time during off-site retreats for social purposes, the same survey found.

Mapping a law firm’s networking patterns

When we spoke with managers from several large firms about their off-site practices, we were surprised that they simply assumed collaboration was an inevitable outcome.

To test whether that was true, we studied the working relationships of more than 700 partners in a large U.S. law firm, which we agreed not to name to access its data. Over eight years, from 2005 to 2012, these partners attended – or skipped – the firm’s annual retreats.

We tracked the partners’ attendance and their collaborative work for the firm’s clients before and after the offsites. Because lawyers at this firm – and elsewhere – record their work in 6-minute increments, it was possible to analyze billing records for the partners’ collaboration on client projects.

The results of this mapping exercise surprised us. And they may change your feelings about whether retreats are worth your time and energy.

Helping partners get noticed

We found that after participating in an offsite, partners were more likely to reach out to other partners whom they had not worked with previously.

To our surprise, we found that even workers who didn’t attend an offsite acted more collaboratively afterward. Having received the message that collaboration is important to the firm, they made up for missing out by finding other ways to start collaborating with more colleagues.

But building a successful career also depends on something harder to control than whether you reach out to new colleagues and clients: You need your colleagues to think of you when opportunities arise. And that likelihood can increase when you participate in offsites.

Getting 24% more requests to collaborate

We found an increase in newly formed connections across the law firm after these events. New collaborations on billable work increased, generating more revenue for the firm. And the targets of these new collaborations tended to be the people who took part in the offsite.

The partners who attended the offsite became more visible and had 24% more new requests to collaborate on work for a client in the two months following the retreat than those who did not. Importantly, these relationships were not superficial. Almost 17% of these new working relationships continued over the next two years.

While we analyzed only the relationships that formed shortly after the offsite, it is likely that colleagues remember those they meet at these events. The people who attend them continue to reap network-based benefits beyond what we found in the data.

We also found that offsites helped attorneys forge connections with lawyers in the firm’s other practice groups more than with those on their own team.

Overall, lawyers who went to an offsite made more new connections – about one per month – after an offsite than the ones who didn’t go.

Bridging silos at work

In the course of day-to-day work, people tend to interact most with the colleagues they already know.

This pattern seems to be even stronger in remote work. Offsites helped to break that pattern by giving professionals opportunities to engage with colleagues they don’t know. Sometimes, they end up eager to collaborate with people they meet this way.

These more distant connections can help people obtain diverse information, resources and perspectives and create opportunities to productively brainstorm.

When you work for a big employer, it can be hard to meet colleagues on other teams. Offsites may provide a significant opportunity to build networks and stand out among peers.

While offsites may never be your favorite way to spend a few days, our research shows that they can serve an important function for employers and employees alike.

Madeline Kneeland received funding for this research from The Strategic Management Society.

Adam M. Kleinbaum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Resolve to network at your employer’s next ‘offsite’ – research shows these retreats actually help forge new connections – https://theconversation.com/resolve-to-network-at-your-employers-next-offsite-research-shows-these-retreats-actually-help-forge-new-connections-270762

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Vinaya Gogineni, Obesity Medicine Fellow, Vanderbilt University

You’re in your mid-40s, eating healthy and exercising regularly. It’s the same routine that has worked for years.

Yet lately, the number on the scale is creeping up. Clothes fit differently. A bit of belly fat appears, seemingly overnight. You remember your mother’s frustration with the endless dieting, the extra cardio, the talk about “menopause weight.” But you’re still getting your periods. Menopause should be at least half a decade away.

So what’s really going on?

We are a primary care physician with expertise in medical weight management and an endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist. We hear this story nearly every day. Women doing everything “right” suddenly feel like their bodies are working against them.

And while lifestyle choices still matter, the underlying cause isn’t willpower. It’s physiology.

Most women expect the weight struggle to begin after menopause. But research suggests the real metabolic shift happens years earlier. During the multiyear transition to menopause, women’s bodies begin processing sugar and carbs less efficiently, while their metabolism slows down at rest. That can drive weight gain – especially around the midsection – even if a person’s habits haven’t changed much.

There are physiological processes that begin long before menopause itself, but weight gain around the menopause transition isn’t necessarily inevitable. Recognizing this early window makes it possible to intervene while your body is still adaptable.

The silent shift before menopause

Menopause is officially defined as 12 months without a period. But the body’s hormonal transition, which comes from changes in signaling between the brain and ovaries, begins years earlier during a stage called perimenopause. This phase is when estrogen and progesterone start to fluctuate unpredictably.

Those hormonal shifts ripple through nearly every metabolic system. Estrogen helps regulate fat distribution, muscle repair and insulin sensitivity. When levels swing wildly, the body begins storing fat differently, moving it from the hips and thighs to the abdomen. Muscle protein synthesis also slows down.

The result is gradual muscle loss and increased insulin resistance, even when habits haven’t changed. At the same time, these hormonal changes can disrupt sleep, influence cortisol levels and alter appetite.

Just as those physiological changes are revving up, intensive caregiving and other demands are often increasing too, leaving less time for exercise, sleep and other basic self-care.

What’s most striking isn’t the number on the scale, but rather the change in body composition. Even if weight stays the same, women often lose muscle and gain belly fat. This deeper fat surrounds vital organs and is linked to inflammation and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and sleep disorders.

Why perimenopause is the real turning point

A study called the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation has been tracking women of different backgrounds in many parts of the U.S. since 1994 to investigate the physiological changes that occur throughout a woman’s midlife years. One of its key findings was that fat mass begins increasing and lean muscle declines during perimenopause, long before periods stop.

Once this accelerated redistribution plateaus during menopause, reversal becomes much harder, though not impossible.

That’s why perimenopause should be viewed as a window of metabolic opportunity. The body is still adaptable; it’s responsive to strength training, high-quality nutrition and better sleep routines. With the right strategies, women can offset these hormonal effects and set themselves up for a healthier transition through menopause and beyond.

Unfortunately, most health care approaches to the menopause transition are reactive. Symptoms like hot flashes or sleep issues are addressed only after they appear. Rarely are women told that metabolic risk reduction starts years earlier, during this hidden but critical phase of life.

What most women haven’t been told

The usual advice of “eat less, move more” misses the point for women in their 40s. It oversimplifies biology and ignores hormonal context.

For example, for exercise, cardio alone is insufficient for weight management and optimal metabolic health. Strength training, which is too often overlooked, becomes essential to preserve lean muscle and maintain insulin sensitivity. Adequate protein intake supports these changes as well.

Sleep and stress regulation are equally vital. Estrogen fluctuations can disrupt cortisol rhythms, leading to cravings, fatigue and nighttime awakenings. Prioritizing sleep-hygiene practices such as limiting screen time before bed, getting morning sunlight, avoiding late-night eating and exercising earlier in the day helps regulate these hormonal rhythms.

Understanding why these habits matter gives important context for strategizing sustainable modifications that fit each person’s lifestyle.

How women can take action early

The decades of one’s 30s and 40s don’t need to be a countdown to decline, but instead, an opportunity to build metabolic resilience. With awareness, evidence-based strategies and proactive care, women can navigate perimenopause and the menopause transition with confidence and strength. Here are a few strategies to start with:

Lift weights. Aim for two to three sessions of resistance or strength training per week to preserve muscle and boost metabolism. Work on progressive overload, which refers to the gradual increase in stress placed on your muscles.

Prioritize protein. Include adequate protein in every meal to support muscle, increase satiety and stabilize blood sugar. There is a growing body of evidence indicating a need for a higher protein requirement than the current Recommended Dietary Allowance guidelines. Aim for 0.55 to 0.73 grams of protein per pound (1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram) of body weight daily to reduce the risk of age-related muscle loss.

Sleep smarter. Sleep hygiene and stress management help regulate cortisol and appetite hormones. Aim for between seven and eight hours of quality sleep each night.

Ask different questions. During annual checkups, talk to your clinician about body composition and metabolic health, not just weight. And preemptively discuss the risks and benefits of menopause hormone therapy.

Your metabolism isn’t broken; it’s adapting to a new stage of your life. And once you understand that, you can work with your body, not against it.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Midlife weight gain can start long before menopause – but you can take steps early on to help your body weather the hormonal shift – https://theconversation.com/midlife-weight-gain-can-start-long-before-menopause-but-you-can-take-steps-early-on-to-help-your-body-weather-the-hormonal-shift-271070