Marketplace

The concept of “company culture” is saddled with certain imagery in the imaginations of Americans: The trust exercises of decades gone by, the freewheeling indoor playground layout of Google offices, the oppressive pressure to produce at any given law firm. A company’s culture is intangible — and often privately derided as an invention of PR — but it is very real. Has that survived a year of Zoom and Slack communication? Also on today’s show: Retailers are trying to hire tens of thousands of workers, why some companies didn’t sign a statement pushing back against a restrictive Georgia voting law, and boat builders are struggling to meet soaring demand.

Over the past pandemic year, small, rural towns across the U.S. have been inundated with remote workers seeking beautiful landscapes and bigger houses. So common is the trend, the towns in question are being referred to as “Zoom towns.” On today’s show, we visit what may well be the Zoom town capital of California. Plus, why inflation numbers are gonna be wonky for a while, what’s behind the recent surge in retail investors and what happened to America’s public toilets.

It’s been a tough year for small businesses, as many were forced to alter business models and implement extreme safety precautions for employees and customers alike. While most businesses reported declines in revenue and employment, Asian-owned businesses in the U.S. were among the hardest hit. Now, with violence against Asian Americans on the rise, there’s an added economic and emotional toll. On today’s show, we hear from one business owner in Oakland, California, about her experience. Plus, the pushback against vaccine passports is growing, New York created a fund for undocumented workers, and why corporations are betting on “livestreamed shopping” to continue post-pandemic.

Amazon employees at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, voted against forming a union today. For months, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has been trying to organize the approximately 5,800 Bessemer workers. It looked like the union could win, but the “no” vote was no surprise to a couple of experts we talked to, who said U.S. labor law benefits employers. Also on today’s show: Why more countries are scrutinizing foreign acquisitions of homegrown companies, Texas plumbers are still flush with business after February’s freeze and the democratization of fine art.

The Biden administration says its $2 trillion American Jobs Plan will provide jobs and move the country into a greener, better-connected economy. But there’s more to spending on infrastructure, and economists are starting to dig into how the plan could affect U.S. economic growth. On today’s show: the pros and cons of spending on infrastructure. Also, 2 in 5 Americans delayed a financial milestone due to the pandemic, Uber and Lyft are trying to get drivers back on the road, and wrestling might find a new audience on streaming services.

The COVID-19 hospitalization rate among Latinx Americans is three times the rate for whites. And when it comes to vaccinations, disparity persists: 21.3% of the U.S. white population has been vaccinated while only 11.3% of the Latinx population has. Many Latinx Americans perform essential jobs — in agriculture and food processing, for instance, where there have been big COVID outbreaks. On today’s show: a new federal effort to vaccinate essential ag workers in a farming region of Washington. Plus, Americans are spending relief checks on paying down debt, why it’s so hard to strike a global corporate tax deal and why the first reparations program for Black residents is tied to homeownership.

A new coalition of small business advocacy groups wants lawmakers to rein in the behemoth that is Amazon. The group, Small Business Rising, argues that Amazon’s size and market power — which has only grown during the pandemic — effectively block small businesses from competing. One of the ways it does that, the group argues, is by selling its own products alongside those from smaller, third-party retailers. Also on today’s show: The pandemic is making people rethink their careers, “transmigrante” traffic may boost the economy of a Texas border town, and babies and toddlers are feeling pandemic stress, too.

The International Monetary Fund is expected to deliver good news Tuesday: Global economic expansion will be higher than the IMF formerly predicted, at somewhere north of 5.5%. But the global financial institution also has a word of caution: The headline number is hiding a lot of unequal growth. On today’s show: We’re not all getting out of the pandemic at the same time, and that may leave lasting damage. Plus, a new rule is giving patients access to all of their medical records for free, an epidemiologist reflects on her pandemic child care decision and a look at capitalism’s response to school shootings.

In the wake of the fraught 2020 presidential election, as many as 47 states are considering stricter voting laws. Georgia, which went Democratic in 2020, passed a law that imposes new voter ID requirements and limits ballot drop boxes, among other provisions that advocates say disproportionately curtail ballot access for Black voters. In response to these laws, a group of more than 70 Black business executives, led by Kenneth Frazier and Kenneth Chenault, is calling on companies to publicly oppose restrictive voting bills. Also on today’s show: all about that good jobs report, how side hustles are contributing to the growth of peer-to-peer payment apps and airlines might have a hard time finding pilots to hire as the pandemic ends.

Newly vaccinated Americans are ready for a sense of control, and their spending habits reflect it. For some, it means buying new lipstick to be seen in. For others, buying big-ticket menu items at an in-person meal. On today’s show: How consumers are shopping post-vaccination. Also, jobless claims are up but so are job listings, landlords and tenants continue to be at odds over evictions and legality, and many remote workers are advocating for the option to keep working from home.