Job Satisfaction Disconcertingly Low

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

You’d think that the lowest levels of job satisfaction would be during the worldwide pandemic of a few years ago. Tons of people out of work and even more trying to wrangle new technologies to work from home. Truly, an unhappy time. But, as it turns out, not the worst of times. People are even more dissatisfied now with their workplaces than they were four years prior. 

The Gallup poll from 2023 found that worker stress is at an all-time high and 80% of Americans are not satisfied with their employment. BambooHR’s Employee Happiness Index calls it the Great Gloom. Though job satisfaction has been steadily declining since 2020, 2023 saw a sharp increase, making it the least happy year yet. So the question is: why is everyone so unhappy?

Employees have identified many reasons. Only recently have wages outstripped inflation and many are still living paycheck-to-paycheck. Others point to the increasing trend of management forcing workers back into the office, even for jobs where office presence is totally unnecessary. However, there may be a deeper issue: that of new hires.

Many people laid off during the pandemic used the ensuing quarantine to find new jobs, sometimes in completely different sectors. It was a time of reflection and people used it to pursue something new. In 2021 and 2022, companies worked primarily on hiring new staff, without sparing much time to situate their hires. It left people feeling like the new pursuit wasn’t a good fit for them or adrift in the new positions. 

How the Cost of Snow Piles Up

5 months ago · 2 minute read

Let It Snow may be a holiday classic, but city officials definitely aren’t singing along. In fact, they’re hoping for the opposite. That’s because snow, while lovely to look at, can cause a flurry of problems. Transportation, like buses, trains, bikes, and cars, grind to a halt in the face of road closures and dangerous black ice accumulations. Plowing and salting roads isn’t just a hassle (especially if you live in a rural area); it’s expensive. 

A single snow plow could run a state between $150,000 – $250,000 back in 2017. For a whole state, especially one where all of the roads need to be cleared, we’re talking millions of dollars to establish a fleet. That doesn’t count yearly maintenance, paying people to drive them, gas, or the salt to make salt brine. A state could easily use thousands of tons of salt and millions of gallons of brine; no cheap feat. It’ll likely come as no surprise that Massachusetts routinely pays the most in the union for their snow plows. 

According to the US Department of Transportation, 70% of our country’s roads are threatened by snow each year. State and local governments frequently spend billions of dollars to clear that snow and millions more in repair once the snowy season has ended, but, unfortunately, money isn’t the only cost. More than 100,000 people are injured every year in accidents when snow or ice is involved. Emergency responders have to take the roads, too, after all. 

Besides the safety issues, it’s also more cost-effective to deal with the snow as it falls than wait it out. If neighborhoods shut down, states could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars each day from salaries, retail business, and taxes. Not to mention how expensive it is when you need to hire contractors for emergency repairs or extra snow plows. 

Just remember all of this the next time you’re dreaming of a white Christmas. 

Google Search Squashes Small Businesses 

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

Wondering why your startup’s new website isn’t getting a lot of traffic? Even if you follow all of the SEO rules perfectly, it may not be on you. It turns out that Google, the most popular search engine, favors big businesses over smaller or newer ones. Not surprising, right? But it’s more insidious than you think.

Since the 2016 election, Google has started interfering more and more with search results, ostensibly to prevent the rampant spread of potentially dangerous misinformation. It’s more than just adding more and more Sponsored results at the top of the results page. Changes to its algorithm favor large businesses like eBay and Amazon even underneath the Sponsored section, leaving less and less page real estate for new entrepreneurs.

Google also takes sweeping measures to supposedly protect its users, which can have dire consequences for small businesses. For example, Google claims that its worry over scams are why independent tech repair companies are forbidden from buying ads. Google effectively banned large swathes of companies from advertising. 

Even when Google isn’t directly interfering, the sheer costs of competing for coveted ad space are often not possible (or not sustainable) for small businesses. Google ads work (for those not in the know) through a bidding system. Companies that can only bid $1 on a keyword simply can’t compete with companies that can afford $10 or $20 for the same keyword. This makes it hard for businesses to get a foot in the door. 

Glassdoor 2024 Workplace Trends

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

Glassdoor’s analysts have looked carefully at the economic and political changes throughout 2023 and put together eight trends they predict for this year. You can read more about individual trends on their website here.

• Gen Z will overtake the Baby Boomers in the full-time workforce. That means employers will need to focus more on Zoomer priorities like transparency and diversity. 
• While they predict that companies will continue to increase wages and salaries, Glassdoor thinks earners will see fewer and fewer additional benefits (stock options, insurance, 401Ks, and other non-cash benefits).
• The competition for skilled workers that boomed right after the pandemic reversed course in 2023 and it’s going to keep cooling off. Nowhere is that more visible than the sudden decline in equity compensation. 
• Employee morale was pretty low in 2023 from all of the lay-offs and Glassdoor sees it only worsening in 2024.
• Middle managers will continue to take the brunt of problems both above and below.
• Companies will continue to use enticements and threats to force employees to return to the office/reduce work from home.
• Employees will gravitate towards smaller companies with more flexible work policies, like allowing them to continue working from home.
• All of the AI chatbots will increase productivity for some employees, but likely frustrate customers.

Gen Z’s Hustle

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

Everyone’s heard about the side hustle, but Gen Z has taken the idea and run. Whether they have a well-paying full-time job or not, Zoomers are increasingly involved with (and financially reliant on) their side hustles. Most of these ventures are online, either as influencers or selling products and/or advice. So, why the sudden rise of side hustling?

Well, between the 2008 economic crash and the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder that young adults are wary of supposedly lifelong careers. They’ve seen hundreds of thousands of workers laid off during the past few years, so it’s easy to see why they don’t believe in job security. Not to mention the fact that many jobs nowadays are requiring more and more credentials and experience.

We’ve all seen entry level jobs that require five years of experience and a BA just to apply. It’s laughable. How is anyone supposed to get their first job? Side hustles, on the other hand, have a very low entry barrier. Obviously, not everyone can be a successful influencer, but there are plenty of jobs out there online that can add a few hundred or thousand to your wallet each month if you’re willing to put in the time. And Gen Z obviously is. 

Firefly the New AI

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

Would you believe your eyes if ten million new AIs were all released? Just kidding. But since its release in March 2023, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen claims that their new AI image generator, Firefly, has created over three billion pictures. According to the website, you can input text prompts in over 100 languages to generate new, unique pictures. But, that’s not all this AI can do.

Unlike other image generators, Adobe’s Firefly can add, modify, or remove existing elements in an image. One example they show is changing the subject’s clothes from a tee shirt to a denim jacket. They’ve got a few things still in the works, like letting artists create 3-D images and using AI to render them. 

Another step that Adobe has taken to benefit artists is its training platform. Recent allegations and lawsuits against AI companies have proven that what the AI is trained on really matters. Adobe specifically trained Firefly on Adobe Stock images and public domain content. That means everything you make with Firefly is available to use commercially without worrying about copyright infringement. 

Bindery

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

Have you been thinking about publishing something? It’s great if you’re a writer, but what if you aren’t? That’s where Bindery comes in. As an influencer, you get to read through proposed manuscripts and pick the ones you like best to be published and funded by you. Bindery calls these people Tastemakers and they get their own micro communities on the website.

Essentially, only paid subscribers can access these micro communities so they can follow their favorite influencers and see what they like to read. Bindery has plenty of options to make your community more enticing for followers like author livestreams, early copies of the books, and sometimes the ability to be featured in the book’s acknowledgements. 

So, what’s in it for the Tastemakers? Well, they get 50% of their monthly subscription fees and 25% of the book’s earnings. Plus, it links to other, previously published books they’ve talked about, and they can keep all of the affiliate revenue. For authors, Bindery gives you a $10,000 advance and 50% of royalties. That’s a pretty great deal all around!

Planning a Trip? You Might Not Need to Leave

5 months ago · < 1 minute read

What do you think of when you imagine an airport? Someplace boring, annoying, and uncomfortable, right? Long lines, hard chairs, and overpriced food. Something you have to deal with to start and end your trips. But what if it could be better?

Airports have been making a real effort since reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic to spruce things up. All travel services suffered during the lockdown, but airports were especially keen to entice people out and about. So, what was their big idea? Enhancing traveler experience.

Places like Orlando International Airport have started new Visitor Pass Programs. These passes give travelers access to areas (after going through security and checking in) where visitors can relax and have a good time before they board. These areas boast dining and shopping opportunities.

One of the best parts is that assuming everyone is approved, you can go hang out with someone who is on a later flight, even if you aren’t flying. Normally, you need to leave when they go through security, but with this pass, you can stay. This is a nice opportunity for parents who are sending their kids to fly or meet up with friends during a long layover. 

Orlando isn’t the only airport letting unticketed visitors come to hang out. The John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA, and ten other airports have similar programs. It’s not clear whether there’s enough to make people want to go there if they wouldn’t otherwise head to the airport, but only time will tell.