Category: Your Career (Page 3 of 62)

Hybrid work trends cause Amazon and Meta to adjust office expansion plans

July 18, 2022 / Staff

The trend towards hybrid work is controversial with some companies while others are embracing it.

Amazon has paused work on new office space in Bellevue, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee as it grapples with the desire for employees to have hybrid work options. Amazon stressed with this was not an indication that planned hiring would slow down, but rather that hybrid work will impact plans for office space in both locations.

“The pandemic has significantly changed the way people work … Our offices are long-term investments and we want to make sure that we design them in a way that meets our employees’ needs in the future,” said John Schoettler, vice president of Global Real Estate and Facilities at Amazon.

Amazon and Meta also pulled back on office expansion plans in New York City.

How companies handle trends around hybrid work and remote work will be one of the more important strategic decisions companies will make over the next decade, and approaches will vary widely. Many workers are expecting hybrid or remote work options, while some companies are insisting that employees return to the office.

The economic slowdown will impact these decisions as well. Some classes of employees will be losing leverage if layoffs accelerate. Meanwhile, some companies are realizing the opportunity for significant cost savings by switching to remote and/or hybrid models.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Workplace

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Changes to business travel post-COVID

April 18, 2021 / Staff

As we try to get back to “normal” following the Covid pandemic, it’s apparent that some things have changed for good.

One industry facing a reckoning involves business travel. Ask consultants and they will explain that business and margins boomed in 2020 as they were able to dramatically reduce travel, which lowered those expenses for clients, who plowed those savings back into billable hours for the consultants. The clients got more value for their money, while consultants made more. So there’s no incentive on either side to get back to “normal.”

That’s just one industry. Of course, there will be an appetite to get back to in-person contact. Conferences in particular should see lots of interest as networking doesn’t translate as well to Zoom calls and virtual conferences.

But, as explained in this post, businesses are starting to rethink what qualifies as “necessary travel.” This could have a huge impact on the travel and hotel industries and related jobs.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Workplace

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Protesting student debt

May 17, 2020 / Staff

This video is another example of the student debt crisis we face in this country.

One fundamental issue is that we’ve created an incentive structure to push students into borrowing money in order to get an education. The rational decision would be to pick an affordable school, but those options are limited. The college experience is so ingrained in our culture that many families want that for their children.

Also, we have young people making bad financial decisions, and too many parents aren’t helping. You shouldn’t take out a big student loan to go to a small, private college if you can pay much less at a state school. Also, if you’re going into a field with little earning power, this decision is even more important.

This video also discusses the Debt Collective, which was born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement and helps people dispute debts with a goal of cancelling their loans. It currently has over 700 people who are planning to never repay their loans.

Your Career, Your Education

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Leisure and hospitality jobs are hardest hit

May 14, 2020 / Staff

This article gets into which jobs have been lost due to the Coronavirus by sector, and not surprisingly the Leisure and Hospitality sector leads the way. It’s hard to imagine these types of jobs coming back soon as many people will be afraid to travel and congregate until a vaccine is available.

The other challenge will be slower economic activity in general. Jobs tied to consumer spending will have trouble rebounding if the overall economy is still in recession.

Your Business, Your Career

job market leisure & hospitality jobs recession

Some post-pandemic workplaces will be a “hybrid model”

May 13, 2020 / Staff

How soon will workplaces return to normal? In many cases, will there be a new normal?

Not surprisingly, the answers will vary sector-to-sector and business-to-business.

Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins said the following: “I think you’ll see many employees that will continue to work from home, you’ll have many that will get back to the office and then you’ll have some that’ll do a little bit of both.”

Companies that navigate this successfully will have a huge advantage over companies who don’t adapt, and this can lead to greater productivity and also reduce overhead costs such as expensive office space in the future.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Team, Your Workplace

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