Heading Back to Work? Here’s What You Need to Know; US retail sales smash expectations with 1.9 percent jump, and other C-Virus Updates
Heading Back to Work? Here’s What You Need to Know
As companies reopen their offices and we shift away from WFH, there’s a lot to think about—from the post-pandemic dress code to whether your boss can force you to get a vaccine. We’ve tackled it all
SINCE MARCH, many American professionals have been hunkered down at home, juggling labor and life in new and occasionally exhausting ways. Now, however, some companies are beginning to bring us back to our corporate offices, with all the attendant anxieties (elevators!) and opportunities (a defensible reason to escape the kids again!) that brings.
With the return to work—or at least to a hybrid of work and WFH—new issues are surfacing. In this collection of popular stories that The Wall Street Journal has published in recent weeks and months, we look at a few such issues, from what to wear to the office in this odd post-sweatpants moment to more serious matters, like whether to tell your boss about the toll the pandemic has taken on your mental health. But first, we examine a fixture of professional life from the before-times: happy hour and why some people are reclaiming the tradition even before they’re fully back in their cubicles.
As the coronavirus has forced many to work from home, it’s also disrupted a fixture of office life—afterwork drinks. While virtual happy hours have helped keep colleagues in touch, many are gingerly trying to get back to traditional socializing and the informal networking that Zoom meetings can’t replace. Keeping that camaraderie going, some say, is “incredibly important.” —>READ MORE HERE
 |
| Universal Images Group via Getty Images |
US retail sales smash expectations with 1.9 percent jump:
US retail sales accelerated their recovery from the coronavirus crisis in September as consumers splurged on clothes, hobbies and restaurants, the feds said Friday.
Retailers raked in a total of $549.2 billion last month, a 1.9 percent increase from August’s levels that smashed economists’ expectations for a 0.7 percent rise, US Census Bureau figures show.
The data indicate Americans ramped up spending as kids returned to school and adults hunkered down to keep working at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month’s growth improved from August’s 0.6 percent rise even though expanded unemployment benefits and other stimulus measures have run dry in recent months.
“Despite unemployment benefits expiring for millions of Americans, today’s retail sales figure shows us there is still some gas in the tank for the consumer,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. —>READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to related stories and resources:
Dr. Fauci Tells Americans to ‘Bite the Bullet and Sacrifice’ Thanksgiving
Federal judge rules prison inmates are eligible to receive coronavirus stimulus checks
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
If you like what you see, please “Like” us on Facebook either here or here. Please follow us on Twitter here.
Comments are closed.