THE BIG STORY

Zoom Shifts to Hybrid Work

Zoom, whose video communications app allowed employees to work from home or anywhere in the world during the pandemic, has now joined the list of companies that want their own employees back in the office, the Washington Post reports. Employees who live near an office must work in person at least twice a week.

The mandate would apply to people living within 50 miles of a Zoom office, Business Insider reports.

"If you are paying for office space and high Bay Area salaries it makes sense to operate on a hybrid schedule," observes Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies remote work. His research shows that working from home rose fivefold from 2019 to 2023, and even with return-to-office mandates, 40 percent of U.S. employees still work remotely at least one day a week.

Many comments and memes posted in response to Zoom's decision were biting, Mint reports. “You know WFH is over when Zoom refuses to continue using Zoom," one user wrote.

‍

BUSINESS

Chip Designer AMD Expands in Monroe County

California’s AMD, a high-performance semiconductor designer, will create 165 jobs in Monroe and Dutchess counties over the next couple of years, the Rochester Beacon reports. The company has established state-of-the-art research and design facilities at Linden Oaks Office Park.

‍

BUSINESS

WeWork Posts Loss, Warning on its Future

Flexible-space provider WeWork, which once had a market value of $47 billion, this week posted a second-quarter net loss of $397 million and said that “substantial doubt exists about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” TechCrunch reports. The company has been trying to reinvent itself since co-founder Adam Neumann stepped down as CEO in 2019 amid allegations of toxic arrogance and poor management.

‍

SECURITY

New York Rolls Out First Cybersecurity Strategy

New York State debuted its first cybersecurity strategy, including plans to modernize government networks, provide digital defenses at the county level and regulate critical infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cyberattacks have battered New York, with the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services responding to 57 cyber incidents in 2022.

‍

SPONSORED

‍

‍

QUICK HITS

• Nearly nine out of 10 marketers and communications professionals have used or experimented with artificial intelligence tools for at least one application, according to a benchmark survey by the Conference Board.
• In a new poll 82 percent of Americans say they don't trust tech executives to regulate AI and 56 percent support creation of a federal agency to do the job.
• Slack this week announced a redesign featuring a simpler interface with a dedicated view for all direct messages and quick access to tools to boost productivity, like canvas, workflows and apps.

‍

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‍

"There is a growing divide between big tech and small tech when it comes to flexible work options, and it doesn’t bode well for the future of large tech firms."

—Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts

‍