Fast Company Digest

This week, writer Ryan McCarthy looks into the recent media layoffs. His bleak conclusion after speaking with economists, experts, and journalists themselves? The industry might be suffering from a complete market breakdown. And next, with the unique challenges faced by caregivers and working mothers more apparent than ever, employees need more flexibility and compassion at work. Here are four suggestions for how managers can help.

This week, writer Sam Becker explains the "great wealth transfer," as some baby boomers pass their assets to Gen X and millennials. The generational transition comprises some $84 trillion in wealth. And Haystack plans to expand their AI-generated weather reports to 100 locations over the next two weeks, and every U.S. city in the next few months. The service uses text-to-speech and an image generator that can churn out new forecast videos every hour.

This week, confirmation that it's not just your imagination—Google search results are getting worse. A team of German researchers googled over 7,000 search terms once a week for a year, and concluded that the site is losing the war against spam. And a new analysis of the cost of a global transition to clean energy says that reality may be much cheaper than predictions, because most estimates don't fully take into account the corresponding decrease in fossil fuel spending.

This week, Oxfam International’s annual inequality report carries some bleak news: As the world’s poorest continue to get poorer, we can expect to have the world’s first trillionaire by 2034. The report offers suggestions for curbing growing global inequality. Also, with the rise of large language model (LLM) generative AI tools, the role of prompt engineer is set to be one of the most in-demand new careers. What exactly do prompt engineers do, and who’s hiring?

This week, it looks like the long "crypto winter" has come to an end, with Bitcoin up over 160% since the start of last year. Author Jeff Wilser interviews experts about what investors can learn from the last bear market. And parts of the U.S. finally saw snow this past week after a record 700-day snow drought in the northeast. Senior writer Adele Peters explains what the long term trends mean for a future of wetter and browner winters.

Boll & Branch is one of several retailers now offering high-touch experiences in an effort to lure customers, like coming to your home to make the bed after you buy its luxury sheets. And Amishi Jha, a professor of psychology and author of ‘Peak Mind,’ explains the building blocks of a mindset shift that allows you to reclaim your time.

This week, David Rock of the Neuroleadership Institute outlines five leadership trends for 2024 to address the pushback against DEI initiatives, tension over return to office, and low employee engagement. And senior writer Adele Peters shares 10 examples of new solutions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, from jet fuel made from CO2 to a cargo ship powered by food waste.

This week, contributor Ursula Mead details workplace trends for 2024 in recruitment, pay, remote work, well-being, and more. And fast fashion company Shein has grown at lightning speed with over $22 billion in revenue last year, and announced their IPO days before the COP28 conference—where critics called for regulation to limit the fashion industry's environmental impact.

This week, a new trend in productivity called "monk mode" – a more mindful approach to work aimed at breaking free from the digital noise. And we examine how the pandemic changed the way Americans drink, from the rise of the canned cocktail to the death of the downtown happy hour.

This week, with new plans from the Environmental Protection Agency to require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines to over 9 million Americans, editor Kristin Toussaint writes about how to detect lead contamination in your drinking water. And with more live events, schools, and other places creating no-cell phone zones, a company called Yondr that makes locking cell phone pouches has seen a 150% spike in 2023.