As vaccination efforts ramp up nationwide, businesses are figuring out how to plan a return to the office for employees who have worked from home over the past year. Office-sharing giant WeWork is partnering with the Chambers of Commerce for the five boroughs of New York City to help ensure companies make a smooth transition back into the office.
"So if somebody's a member of one of the chambers, what they do is they apply to us, and we're able to give them some enhanced terms to be able to participate in our spaces," said Shyam Gidumal, chief operations officer at WeWork. "That's a central part of people being able to get back into the work environment."
Gidumal said WeWork has developed programs in other cities and has plans in development for national programs. He added that the company has the tools to make spaces safe and comfortable as workers also do their part in making their way back to workplaces.
"I think what we are also starting to see is a real pick-up as the vaccines have rolled out and people have become a little more accustomed to wearing masks and doing the basics that the CDC and the like have been recommending, that people are becoming much more comfortable coming back into the offices," he told Cheddar.
WeWork also has collaborated with businesses on new office layouts and designs, implemented distancing between workers, and installed sanitizing stations.
While companies consider their future work models as they try to get reacclimated to office life, Gidumal said the hybrid option, part work-from-home, part in-office, could be an option. A unique feature about WeWork's offerings is the flexibility it can provide businesses when it comes to in-office operations.
"For us, we solve all of those needs. So if people want to bring back their employees in a big way, that's great. We have space for them. If they want to create flexibility, they want to have flexibility so that people can come into the office part-time, that's fine," Gidumal said, explaining that WeWork's All Access program will allow people to work from any of its locations.
Meanwhile, as businesses recognize International Women's History Month in March, WeWork, in partnership with SoftBank, has launched the Women for Tomorrow campaign and has carved out a special program for women-run companies that will allocate $5 million among businesses, throughout the Americas, to provide flexible workspaces.
"Women, in particular, have been hit hard and differentially hard by the pandemic and the impact it's had on the workforce. So one of the things that we really wanted to lean into was to provide some support for them, and I'm really proud of what we've been able to put together," he noted.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
