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As the economist Milton Friedman once said, Only a crisisactual or perceivedproduces real change. Humanity has of course been faced with countless crises, leading to profound and often unexpected change. These crises define and differentiate generations and leave lasting impacts for years to come. In 2020, a crisis that would change everything hit the world seemingly overnight. Everyone remembers where they were the day the world shut down. Offices stood empty. Cars, previously stuck in traffic on daily commutes, sat parked in driveways. Trains and buses ran empty, if at all. The bustle of Times Square turned silent and Broadway went dark. As smog cleared from cities like Los Angeles and Mumbai, people started to see views lost for decades. Billions of meetings switched to virtual platforms. For many people across the globe, work would never be the same again. Even before COVID-19, the rapid rate of transformation in the workplace was extraordinary. In the 1970s there were typewriters, landline phones, and filing cabinets. In the ’80s, the fax machine became an office staple. Before long, some lucky people got their hands on a mobile phone. Then, the “information superhighway” arrived, and with it, email, social media, cloud storage, and collaboration software became the new normal. Desktop technology gave way to mobile working. Digital natives were the majority; digital nomads were on the rise. There were apps for everything. Flexible working and work-life balance became hot topics. But, in many ways, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a devastating period for so many people across the globe, has been remarkable. It has compressed the impact equivalent to all the changes of the previous half a century into a few short years and it has been to the great benefit of both companies and their people. The office as a digital construct With rapid advancements in technology, where work is conducted is no longer confined to a singular place. The workplace is now a digital construct. The office is on the cloud, and people are increasingly linked by technology. All the information, resources, and connectivity that billions of us need to do our jobs are distilled into a single portable device and people can now use an app to find their workplacefor the hour, the day, or the week. This shift is radically transforming how and where people work, and a companys head office no longer has the monopoly on where work can take place. As a result, hybrid and more flexible ways of working have become more common for a significant proportion of white-collar workers, with companies enabling their employees to work across multiple locations. Stanford University Professor Nicholas Bloom’s groundbreaking research has shown that hybrid working is very profitable for firms. His compelling findings have highlighted that hybrid working has no negative effect on productivity while significantly reducing costly employee turnover. This is why some 80% of Fortune 500 companies embrace hybrid working for managers and professionals. The office isnt dead Over the past few months, there has been a lot of news about more rigid Return-to-Office (RTO) mandates and how theyve been gaining significant momentum amongst companies of all sizes. The trend is unmistakably taking place with companies prioritizing time for their teams to collaborate in person on a regular basis. However, where and how people work is actually far more nuanced than a binary choice between working from a traditional city center office or from home. Theres a third option: working out of a local coworking space or office, near to home, with other like-minded people. In fact, most white-collar employees are working from a combination of all three of these locations and this is evident in our network at IWG, with our centers in the heart of the suburbs and local communities showing the strongest increase in demand from across the network, while cities also continue to thrive. Better for the bottom line and better for the planet A very clear advantage of todays hybrid revolution is a reduction in costs, for businesses and employees alike. Independent research from Global Workplace Analytics reveals that reducing their traditional property footprint by adopting hybrid working enables companies to realize average annual savings per employee of $11,000. The financial implications of more localized work are also sizable for employees. Research conducted by IWG and Development Economics has shown that workers could save as much as $30,000 per year if they switch from commuting to a city center daily to working locally four days a week. This is particularly relevant for younger, lower-paid workers facing the challenging combination of student debt and the stubbornly high cost of living. Even these wins fade into insignificance when compared with the savings that reduced commuting will make to the environmental price our planet is paying for those who are able to reduce their commutes and work closer to home. Businesses can also cut energy usage by a fifth (19%) because of the more efficient use of office space or by providing teams access to flexible workspace. Furthermore, International Workplace Group research conducted with sustainable development consultancy Arup has shown that a hybrid working model that combines a local flex space and home produces fewer carbon emissions than any other permutation of working. The study found that, in cities in both the U.S. and the U.K., the reduction in emissions brought by this model could be as high as 90% in the U.S. (Atlanta) and 80% in the U.K. (Glasgow). The productivity gains of hybrid working and tackling proximity bias The recent shift to more flexible ways of working has resulted in some instances of what academics describe as proximity bias. This is when business leaders and senior managers treat workers who are physically closer to them more favorably, stemming in some instances from an outdated assumption that those who work remotely are less productive than those who work from a companys headquarters. All business leaders should remember that what your people are doing and how youre managing them are by far the most important factors in performance and productivity. If work isnt being carried out effectively, its not the fault of the location. Its generally the fault of management not making job expectations clear or setting good KPIs. Those problems will be the same whether your teams are sitting 10 feet away from you, or a local office or even 1,000 miles away. A number of convincing studiesincluding those conducted by Professor Bloommhave shown productivity increases (3% to 4%) and reduced quit rates (35%) as a hallmark of hybrid working. International Workplace Groups own research with business leaders backs up these findings. In a recent survey of more than 500 business leaders in the U.S. and the U.K., more than 6 in 10 cite improved productivity as one f the key business benefits, while 7 in 10 CEOs highlight that employee happiness has increased through the adoption of hybrid working. Looking to the future When nearly 20 years ago, I first made a comment about the rise of hybrid and more flexible ways of working, I could have never predicted the precise forces that would bring it about. In years to come the COVID-19 pandemic will rightfully be seen as having one of the most transformative impacts on the world of work as any other event in the past 100 years. It compressed the impact equivalent to all the changes of the previous half a century into a few short years. We are now seeing companies rapidly learn how to manage dispersed workforces using the latest technology and new management techniques while improving the happiness and the work-life balance of their teams. I can safely say that the office will always play a crucial role in corporate life. Headquarters have evolved to become hubs of creativity and connection, with intentional spaces and activities to maximize collaboration. At the same time, companies are increasingly empowering their teams to stay productive by working closer to home in workspaces near where people actually live. These permanent shifts are providing incredible momentum for the flexible workspace sector. We are seeing the most rapid growth we have experienced in our 35 years of operations. All of this confirms the reality. The office isnt deadand never will beits just moved to a much more convenient place.
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E-Commerce
Alphabet may have hoped that Donald Trump winning the White House would quell talk of a Google breakup, but that doesnt seem likely. In a filing late last week, the Justice Department reiterated its suggestion that Google be forced to sell the Chrome web browser following a verdict last August that determined the company to be an illegal monopoly. Thats a setback for Google, and it could signal trouble ahead for other companies, as the government continues to take an aggressive stance on Big Tech. In some cases, that could be financial trouble. Google pays handsomely to be the default search engine for Safari, Apples Web browser. In 2022, Googles revenue share payment to Apple was estimated at $20 billion. That worked out to 17.5% of the companys operating profit that year. With that sort of money at risk, Apple asked to intervene as a defendant in the governments case against Google last year, saying it didnt want to lose the ability to defend its right to reach other arrangements with Google that could benefit millions of users and Apples entitlement to compensation for distributing Google search to its users. (Last month a judge denied that request.) Last week, however, the DOJ did agree to let Google pay Apple for services that were unrelated to search. The ripple effect could go well beyond finances. While Google was the only Big Tech company with a judgment against it, the Federal Trade Commission had expressed grievances against several other companies during the Biden administration. And the fact that the DOJ is not standing down on Google has executives worrying they might be next. Meta, for instance, is set to go on trial next month in a case that could see it forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. That case, originally filed by the FTC in 2020, alleges Meta overpaid for the two apps in an attempt to maintain a monopoly on personal social networks. Another judge set October 2026 as the start date for the FTCs antitrust suit against Amazon. Apple is not immune from legal action either. The DOJ, along with 16 state and district attorneys general, sued the company last March for monopolizing the smartphone market. This is . . . the first signal of the Trump Justice Department’s approach to antitrust litigation, said Damian Rollison, director of market insights at AI-powered marketing solutions company SOCi. The willingness of the Trump Justice Department to reinforce and continue prior actions against Big Tech has dangerous implications for Meta and Apple as well, given the cases they face in the next several months. Federal officials are targeting each of these companies for something different, but there are some similar threads in the prosecutions. While Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta all operate in different parts of the technology world today, they share a common focus: artificial intelligence. These are not firms anymore; theyre platforms, says Ram Chellappa, professor of information systems and operations management at Emory Universitys Goizueta Business School. As these platforms become bigger and their knowledge of the user increases and ownership of user data increases, they all . . . want to be the platform from which you do things. . . . Meta didnt buy Instagram for the tech. They bought it [in 2012] for the user base, [and] their data. The future will boil down to who has the best training data for AI. With the looming threat from the DOJ (as well as other threats made during the presidential campaign), the CEOs of major tech firms have been cozying up to Trump since he was elected. Google and Microsoft both donated $1 million to Trumps inauguration fund. Meta did as well, and agreed to pay the president $25 million to settle a lawsuit for suspending his social accounts in 2021. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also contributed to the inauguration fund and has radically overhauled the opinion page of The Washington Post to reflect libertarian viewpoints and exclude opposing points of view (as well as killing a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris during the campaign). It’s unclear so far how effective those actions have been in shielding their companies from further scrutiny from the DOJ or FTC.
Category:
E-Commerce
Were only in the third month of the year and already there have been a number of bizarre food trends go viral on TikTokfrom a $19 strawberry to feeding babies spoonfuls of butter. The latest is a yogurt, called Coconut Cult, that costs $39 for a 16 ounce jar. On many a for-you-page, you can find influencers incorporating a scoop of the super-live probiotic yogurt into their morning routine and instructing viewers how to properly eat it. Ive never looked hotter, one user posted, adding her stomach has never been flatter. (Not everyone on the platform was impressed with the results, however, and some weren’t fans of the reportedly sour taste.) @clararpeirce why is it spicy #coconutcult son original – Reverse.Soundeffects – Reverse.story Available in three standard flavors (Original, Chocolate Mousse, and Harvest Strawberry) and limited, seasonal releases, Coconut Cult is not a regular yogurt you snack on. According to the California-based brand, it is meant to be consumed more like a daily probiotic supplement. The website claims that two tablespoons a day is enough to experience less bloating, more regularity, improved mood and mental health, better digestion and skin, and boosted immunity,. (The brand warns against double dipping into the same jar with a dirty spoon to avoid interfering with the live bacteria.) This is the most probiotic-rich coconut yogurt you will find on the market in the grocery store, one nutritionist weighed in on TikTok. The certified nutritionist, NTP, BFA, who goes by Claire The Nutritionist, did disclaim that people with certain conditions, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, might be best avoiding the product as it can worsen the symptoms. For the everyday yogurt enthusiast, however, the difference between this yogurt and other options, according to founder Noah Simon-Waddell, is that many yogurts are pasteurized after fermentation to be shelf-stable, despite the fact this process can reduce or eliminate live cultures. (Some manufacturers may add them back in after the process as probiotics need to be alive and active in order to do their job in creating a healthy environment in the gut.) Packaged with roughly 50 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) per ounce (plain yogurt typically contains at least 1,000,000), Coconut Cult is certainly not lacking in that department. “Fifty billion CFU per ounce is extremely high for food-based probiotics, health creator Brooke Harter, who is currently pursuing her Masters in nutrition, told Delish. While high doses may be beneficial for some, excessive amounts could lead to digestive distress like bloating, gas, and diarrhea.” She added that research also says a lower-dose of well researched and specific probiotics is better than a higher-dose of mixed dose of strains, like those found in Coconut Cult. However, thanks to the glowing endorsements, jars of the stuff are flying off the shelves at Whole Foods and the website is experiencing shipping delays up to three weeks due to demand. Coconut Cult is reportedly producing five times as many jars as they were in 2024 to keep up with demand. I created this yogurt as part of my healing journey, as a way to heal myself and my gut, which was really sick, founder Simon-Waddell posted on TikTok in 2022. I didnt create this yogurt as some kind of genius startup business plan to sell incredibly expensive yogurt. And at approximately $10 per 8-ounce jar (the brands website, thecoconutcult.com, sells 16-ounce jars for $39 with a two-jar minimum purchase), it certainly costs more than your standard Chobani.
Category:
E-Commerce
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