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Forget a diamond ring, the latest symbol of commitment now comes in the form of wearable tech. The RAW ring, created by the dating app RAW and Queens Tech, allows couples to track each others emotions, both good and bad. Coming as a pairone for you, one for your partnerthe rings track the wearers heartbeat, use bio-sensors to track their vitals, and detect voice and emotional cues for changes. Think, a digital mood ring, but for someone elses emotions. Keep you and your partners hearts beating as one. Feel their emotions, share your vibe, and stay connected in ways that go beyond words, reads a statement on the RAW website. Marriage evolves, and so does loyalty. Sacred vows go digital. RAWs mission? Making true love trackable. The rings makers claim that the device can identify emotional states such as stress, anxiety and arousal. When somethings up, youll know. Simple as that, adds Marina Anderson, RAW cofounder. Tracking your partners emotions comes with some obvious pitfalls. While the company claims that the ring understands contextsuch as telling the difference between a spike in heart rate from exercise versus emotional arousalthings could still get awkward. If your synced ring suddenly flashes purple-red (a signal for arousal) in the middle of the workday, thats probably not a conversation youll be excited to have when you both get home. While for some couples, sharing their location is quickly becoming a modern relationship milestone, is it really healthy to know every tiny fluctuation of your partners emotions throughout the day? As technology becomes increasingly woven into our daily lives, the line between convenience and control is growing increasingly blurred. Granting your partner access to your intimate emotions is a recipe for disaster if jealousy is a pre-existing issue in the relationship. In extreme cases, abusers have also been known to use tracking technology to stalk and surveil their partners. For those who are eager to test out the Raw ring, the device has yet to hit the market but is likely to be made available to purchase in late 2025 or early 2026. Details on the price have yet to be announced.
Category:
E-Commerce
Over the last month, Jamie Dimon has rapidly emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of the return-to-office movement. During a recent appearance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, the J.P. Morgan Chase CEO could not help but complainagainabout workers who were pushing back on RTO policies. When fielding a question about his recent colorful remarks on RTO, Dimon noted that it was only “people in the middle” who were unhappy about going into the office. “If you work in a restaurant, you’ve got to be in. You all may not know this, but 60% of Americans worked the whole time,” he said, seemingly in reference to the pandemic. “Where did you get your Amazon packages from? Your beef, your meat, your vodka? Where did you get the diapers from?” “You got UPS and FedEx and manufacturers and agriculture and hospitals and cities and schools and nurses and sanitation and firemen and military. They all worked,” he added. “It’s only these people in the middle who complain a lot about it.” Dimon has had a lot to say about workers who are reluctant to return to the office. This month, J.P. Morgan started requiring that employees come into the office five days a week, officially ending its hybrid work policy. The new mandatewhich was announced at the start of the year and echoes a broader shift across corporate Americastirred up discontent among the company’s workforce and even prompted an online petition making a case for hybrid work, which has since drawn nearly 2,000 signatures. Dimon, however, was quick to dismiss employee concerns. “I dont care how many people sign that fucking petition,” he said during an internal meeting, according to a recording obtained by Reuters. Dont give me the shit that work from home Friday works. Dimon added that the company would not allow managers to approve or make decisions about in-office requirements. There is no chance that I will leave it up to managers, he said. Zero chance. The abuse that took place is extraordinary. He also argued that employees did not pay attention during Zoom meetings and called for J.P. Morgan to increase efficiency by 10% through through cutting down on training sessions and the number of documents produced by the companyas well as meetings. (J.P. Morgan was not immediately available for comment.) Like plenty of other CEOs, Dimon has embraced a full return to the office under the pretext of promoting collaboration and productivity. But Dimon has been far more blunt and outspoken than some of his peersnot to mention more dismissive of dissent from employees. While he later apologized for the language he used in the internal meeting, noting that he should “never curse” and “get angry,” Dimon has continued to double down on his stance that employees should work from the office full-time. “I completely respect people that dont want to go to the office all five days a weekthat’s your right,” he told CNBC recently. “But they should respect that the company is going to decide whats good for the clients [and] the company, not an individual. So they can get a joband Im not being meanthey can get a job elsewhere.” Dimon also referenced the petition again, though he struck a different tone than he did when speaking to his staff. Theres a petition, he said. And they have the right to feel that way. But were not going to change. Were going back to the office. Of course, as J.P. Morgan employees have returned to the office this month, they have reportedly encountered many of the same issues facing workers at other companies, from limited workspace to noisy colleagues. And despite his open disdain for remote work, Dimon does seem to believe in its efficacy for certain workersnamely, the people staffing J.P. Morgan’s call centers. We did it to see if theyd be effective, he said at the Stanford event. Theyre highly effective. They work from home.
Category:
E-Commerce
Employees across industries are feeling increasingly insecure about their jobs. One in three American workers say they have layoff anxiety and one in four say they feel insecure in their job, according to a recent study. In recent weeks, tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have been fired, and federal agencies are expected to lay off thousands more. For now, its unclear whether federal job cuts will have a ripple effect on the private sector, particularly on firms that rely on government contracts. U.S. tariffs can also have an impact on the job market. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs may want to take steps to shore up their finances. Recent surveys find that many Americans dont have much saved for a rainy day. Nearly half (43%) of Americans say they would need to borrow money to pay for an unexpected expense, such as $1,000 bill for an emergency room visit or car repair, according to Bankrates Emergency Savings Report. In addition, 13% of Americans have no savings, according to the Clarify Capital study. If youre concerned about losing your job, make a list of every nonnegotiable monthly expense, suggests Bobbi Rebell, personal finance expert at BadCredit.org. For example, list how much you pay for housing, your phone bill, electricity, and food. Add those up and then compare that amount to whats in your emergency fund and figure out how much runway you have to live on with only that money, she says. If youre coming up short, here are five financial moves to make now to prepare for a layoff. While youre still working, live as if you lost your job Commit to only spending money on essentials, even though you are still getting a paycheck, and put the extra money into your emergency fund. There are a lot of things that we don’t consider discretionary that very much are discretionary, Rebell says, listing expenses like buying new clothes, going out to dinner, or happy hour with friends. Rather than treating yourself to a new dress, treat yourself to more money in your emergency fund, Rebell says. Practice politely declining invitations, Rebell says. For instance, if youre invited to a fancy birthday dinner and you dont want to chip in for drinks, dinner, and a gift, just tell the host that you cant make it, you dont need to give an excuse, Rebell says. Cut back on retirement savings There is no question that saving for retirement is important, however financial experts caution that if youre looking at potentially being unemployed for six months, nine months, or even a year, the funds youre putting into your employer-sponsored retirement fund might be more useful in your bank account. If youre worried about losing your job, you might want to prioritize current cash flow over retirement plan savings and temporarily scale back on your 401k contributions so you have more available income, says Tracey Spivey, partner and private enterprise lead at KPMG, a global professional services firm that specializes in audit, tax, and advisory services. Rebell agrees that if youre facing a potential layoff, you might not want to have all your savings in a retirement fund. However, she says, make sure you are still putting enough money into your 401(k) to get the employer match. Keep in mind if youre 55 or older and you are fired or laid off, the IRS does allow you to access your 401(k) without paying the 10% penalty. However, Rebell says, you will need to pay taxes on any 401(k) money you access, and any funds used now obviously wont be available when you retire. Audit subscription services One of the easiest ways to find extra money is by auditing subscription services, says Said Israilov, a financial planner and wealth manager at Israilov Financial in San Francisco. We frequently uncover $80$100 in monthly subscription costs that provide no to minimal value, he says. Categories to look at include: Trial subscriptions that have been converted to paid plans. This can include mobile games and streaming services. Redundant music and video streaming services. Typically, its more expensive for family members to have individual accounts rather than subscribing to one account and paying for multiple users. Annual subscriptions that auto-renew. This could include mediation or diet apps as well as software subscriptions. Expensive gym and fitness memberships. Consider replacing the cost of high-end gym membership with a low-cost membership to a community recreation center. Consider replacing all your entertainment subscription services with a free library card, at least temporarily, says Erika Kullberg, an attorney and personal finance expert and host of the podcast Erika Taught Me. Most libraries offer newsletters, magazines, audiobooks, and even games and movies. Remember, these cuts are temporary, so see what you can do to save money now, so you have some extra cushion in the event a job loss does transpire, she says. Negotiate a better rate Lower your bills by calling your insurance, internet, and utility providers and asking whether you can save money by changing the plan youre currently on. Insurance bills often present opportunities for savings, Israilov says. Ask about bundling discounts and usage-based insurance programs for low-mileage drivers, if you drive less than 625 miles a month, he says. If you do lose your job and you owe money on a mortgage, car loan, or credit card, call the financial institution that holds that debt and ask about forbearance, says Derik Farrar, head of personal deposits at U.S. Bank. Your lender may offer a reduction or pause in payment during a temporary hardship like being laid off, he said. In addition, ask about ways to lower your interest rate, he says. Consider selling high-value items We all have items we no longer use. Take inventory of your possessions to determine if you still use them and whether others might value them. Rebell recommends selling gold jewelry that doesnt have sentimental value, designer handbags, and designer clothes you no longer use. However, if you plan to sell these items through ThredUp or The RealReal be aware that some websites take a percentage of the sale, which could eat into your profits. Consider selling your items at a local consignment shop to avoid fees, she says. Some of these lifestyle changes will hurt more than others. While you can go back to your normal spending and saving habits when you are employed again, some degree of frugality is usually a good idea.
Category:
E-Commerce
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