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Six hundred employees just packed up their desks and quit their jobs at Paramount Skydance. The mass exodus happened after the company, formed by Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount Global, told employees that they were instating a five-day back-to-office mandate, set to begin on January 5. The company, led by new CEO David Ellison, let staffers know that if they didn’t plan to come back to the office, they could take a buyout deal starting on September 15. However, the media giant likely didn’t expect to be handing out quite so many severance packages. According to company disclosures filed on Monday, around 600 employees in the Los Angeles and New York …

Discovering that a colleague with the same job title is earning more than you is never fun, though it is quite common. According to a global survey of 1,850 workers by résumé building platform Kickresume, 56% have discovered that someone with the same job at their company is earning more than them, and another 24% have their suspicions. “People are much less willing to discuss their salaries than we thought they would be—there’s still quite a stigma around it,” says Kickresume’s head of content Martin Poduska, who helped conduct the study. “The weirdest thing is that we didn’t identify a good reason for it.” Poduska explains that compensation is far from a pre…

Forty-three days later, the U.S. government shutdown has come to an end. While it wreaked havoc on government services, flights, and paychecks for federal workers, stock market appears to have come through it unscathed. In fact, by some measures, it improved. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 46,441.10 on the first day of the shutdown. Since October 1, it has grown over 4%, reaching over 48,000 for the first time on Wednesday, November 12. While the record number came as the shutdown’s end became a sure thing, the Dow had continued to rise throughout the period. The S&P 500 also followed a mostly upward trajectory throughout the shutdown. It …

Last June, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky took on a second job. Microsoft, the social network for business professionals’ owner since 2016, expanded his responsibilities to include Microsoft 365—the suite still better known by its former name, Microsoft Office—and its Copilot AI assistant. The role charges him with making AI useful in a productivity context, a goal that’s still very much a work in progress. But Roslansky also remains in charge of LinkedIn, a place whose entire reason for being springs from the network effect of its billion-plus members. Their unique connections, learnings, and willingness to help other people can’t be fed into an LLM and reprocessed into the…

After years of living on the street and crashing on friends’ couches, Quantavia Smith was given the keys to a studio apartment in Los Angeles that came with an important perk—easy access to public transit. The 38-year-old feels like she went from a life where “no one cares” to one where she has a safe place to begin rebuilding her life. And the metro station the apartment complex was literally built upon is a lifeline as she searches for work without a car. “It is more a sense of relief, a sense of independence,” said Smith, who moved in July. She receives some government assistance and pays 30% of her income for rent — just $19 a month for an efficiency with a fu…

Disney reported $22.46 billion in revenue for the quarter, which just missed analyst expectations and resulted in a 5% drop in premarket trading on Thursday. The entertainment division—which includes the company’s streaming, linear networks, and theatrical business—saw a 6% drop in revenue. Streaming did see some gains: Disney+ and Hulu ended the quarter with 196 million subscriptions, an increase of 12.4 million subscribers from the previous quarter. However, Disney’s linear networks dropped 16% to $107 million, compared to this time last year, while operating income fell 21%. The company’s theatrical releases also saw declines with both the drop in linear …

Verizon is planning to cut about 15,000 jobs in the telecommunications company’s largest-ever layoffs as part of a restructuring under its new CEO, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The layoffs, affecting about 15% of its workforce, are set to take place as soon as next week, the person said. Verizon’s shares rose about 1.4% on the news. They have largely stagnated over the last three years, with a gain of 8% compared with the S&P 500’s near-70% rise. A Verizon spokesperson declined to comment. The cuts, following the appointment of former PayPal boss Dan Schulman as CEO in early October, are aimed at its non-union management …

Every workplace seems to have one. A manager who goes silent for days, then suddenly reappears in the team chat the moment senior leadership checks in. They’ll swoop in to take credit for the work they hadn’t touched, and say, “Oh yes, we’ve been addressing that.” This type of boss shows up when there’s an audience, then vanishes as soon as the higher-ups leave. I’ve started calling them the performative manager, because that’s exactly what they are. The rise of the performative manager To performative managers, actually leading isn’t really the point. All they care about is looking like they’re leading. Performative managers care more about optics than outcome…

Is there such a thing as being too attractive? For fitness influencers, it turns out there might be. Contrary to popular belief, new research suggests that being too good-looking can actually be a disadvantage, particularly in the online fitness space. The study, coauthored by researchers at the University of Dayton and University of Oregon, found that the more attractive the influencer, the lower the engagement they received on their social media posts. The reason? It all comes down to a sense of relatability, and what researchers have termed the “beauty backfire effect.” In the study, researchers showed 299 U.S. adults mock Instagram posts featuring …

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to powdered dietary supplements. According to the latest update from the agency, the outbreak has sickened almost a dozen people, with three hospitalized. The outbreak has also sparked multiple product recalls. Here’s what to know: What’s happened? On Wednesday, November 12, Brooklyn-based Food to Live voluntarily recalled its “Organic Moringa Leaf Powder” and “Organic Supergreens Powder Mix” products due to a risk of Salmonella contamination. These products were distributed through retail and wholesale channels nationwide. The FDA publishe…

A reader writes: I have a new employee who is refusing to do some parts of her job. She hasn’t done this with me directly, but when I left for a week’s vacation, I gave very clear guidance on what she should be working on. That included learning to use some of our equipment, practicing her job skills, and reviewing training videos with the team. Unfortunately, while the other team members were focused on the training videos, she was watching personal videos on her phone. Each team member later told me separately that when they asked her to participate, her response was, “No, I’m not going to do it.” What should I do now? Minda Zetlin responds: Unless your …

It’s not often that headlines about customer “brawls” end up morphing into good news for a brand. But that’s arguably what’s happened to Starbucks thanks to the bungled rollout of its limited-run “Bearista” cups becoming the first new craze of this holiday season—even including good-natured copycat tributes from the likes of Aldi and Walmart. At first, the Bearista debut on November 6 seemed like a black eye. The 20-ounce glass tumbler, shaped like a cute bear sporting a Starbucks beanie, sparked immediate viral demand, with customers at some locations lining up at 3 a.m. to score one. This apparently caught the company off guard, and supplies of the $30 object ran ou…

Transitioning to a new industry often seems like a daunting prospect if you feel like you have to start from scratch, but that’s not necessarily the case. There are numerous strategies you can employ to navigate career changes, including translating existing achievements into relevant terms, finding unique opportunity gaps, and leveraging transferable skills in meaningful ways. Take it from professionals who have personally experienced this transition (or have helped others through it): you can build forward from experience rather than starting over. Build Forward From Experience, Not From Scratch When I was transitioning from more than 20 years in corporate roles …

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drug company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, is now offering the drugs at lower prices for self-pay patients. On Monday, the company announced it would offer both medications, Ozempic (the weight loss version of the drug) and Wegovy (the version that addressed diabetes), at a discounted rate of $199 per month for a limited time. The introductory offer goes from now until March 31, 2026. The announcement noted that the pricing is only good for the first two months of treatment, and at the lowest doses of the medications. After the initial months of treatment, the payrate will move to the new monthly self-pay rate of $349 per month, down from $4…

The most enduring leaders aren’t the ones with flawless résumés. They’re the ones who’ve been tested, humbled, and reshaped by failure. From an early age, I trained intensively to become a professional ballet dancer. Ballet wasn’t just a passion. It was my identity, my future, my entire world. Until an audition in Vienna changed everything. A sudden injury ended the career I had spent years building. That moment could have marked the end of my story. Instead, it became the beginning of a new one. I pivoted into finance and marketing, building a career at American Express and Amazon. Today, I advise boards and CEOs on succession, governance, and talent strategy at …

The most anticipated quarterly earnings of the month will be announced on Wednesday, November 19, as AI chip giant Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) reveals financial results for its 2026 fiscal third quarter. A lot is riding on these results—and not just for Nvidia. Investors are increasingly on edge about a possible AI bubble, and if Nvidia posts good or better than expected earnings, it could give those investors faith that AI infrastructure is on solid ground and has plenty of room to grow. But if Nvidia’s earnings disappoint—or show signs of upcoming weakness—it could spell bad news not just for NVDA stock, but for the stock prices of all companies opera…

Roblox is stepping up its age verification system for users who want to privately message other players and implementing age-based chats so kids, teens, and adults will only be able to message people around their own age. The moves come as the popular gaming platform continues to face criticism and lawsuits over child safety and a growing number of states and countries are implementing age verification laws. The company had previously announced the age estimation tool, which is provided by a company called Persona, in July. It requires players to take a video selfie that will be used to estimate their age. Roblox says the videos are deleted after the age check is …

Do your office, inbox, and calendar feel like a ghost town on Friday afternoons? You’re not alone. I’m a labor economist who studies how technology and organizational change affect productivity and well-being. In a study published in an August 2025 working paper, I found that the way people allocate their time to work has changed profoundly since the COVID-19 pandemic began. For example, among professionals in occupations that can be done remotely, 35% to 40% worked remotely on Thursdays and Fridays in 2024, compared with only 15% in 2019. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, nearly 30% worked remotely, versus 10% to 15% five years earlier. And white-collar e…

Country music fans have something extra to be thankful for each November beyond turkey. Traditionally, the Country Music Association Awards—aka the CMA Awards—take place during the second-to-last month of the year. Wednesday, November 19, is the big day in 2025 for the 59th annual event. Let’s get you up to speed on everything you need to know about “country music’s biggest night” so you can confidently two-step your way through the evening. What’s the venue for the 2025 CMA Awards? The 59th CMA Awards will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Who’s hosting the 2025 CMA Awards? Lainey Wilson is back to emcee the awards. Last year, sh…

When it comes to podcasting, it’s Joe Rogan’s world. The Joe Rogan Experience was the most popular podcast of 2025, according to Apple’s just-released rankings. This is the first year Rogan has topped the Apple charts. Last year, he took the bronze medal, behind The Daily and Crime Junkie (both of which still made the Top 10 this year). Two years ago, he didn’t make the list (thanks to an exclusivity agreement with Spotify, signed in 2020—where he also currently holds the No. 1 spot). Rogan’s podcast certainly had head-turning guests this year, including a much-listened-to interview with Elon Musk. The Daily, from The New York Times, was Apple’s second-most popula…

For its 2026 postage stamps, the U.S. Postal Service is going colorful and graphic. USPS gave a first look at some of the stamps set to be released next year, including the latest edition of its Love stamp, stamps commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S., and stamps depicting figures including a boxer, a martial artist and actor, and a pair of published poets. The stamps will be released on a rolling basis beginning in January and available at Post Office locations and online. “This early preview of our 2026 stamp program underscores the Postal Service’s commitment to celebrating the artistry and storytelling that make stamps so special,” Stamp Services dir…

Instead of teens simply putting down their phones to take a break, TikTok wants them to use the app’s new breathing exercises and affirmation journal to improve their well-being. Over the past couple of years, a growing number of legislators have been proposing or enacting laws to restrict or limit minors’ access to social media apps in order to protect children’s and teens’ mental health. TikTok has other ideas on how to boost well-being—without ever leaving the app. This week, it launched a Time and Well-Being space within users’ account settings, replacing the existing screen-time management page. New features in the space include an affirmation journal …

Google has 44 data centers in operation or in development around the world, but as demand for AI and the need for compute capacity grows, the company is getting started on three more. This latest batch is destined for Texas, where Google already has a pair of data centers in operation just south of Dallas. One of the new centers will be located outside of Amarillo in Armstrong County, with the other two headed to Haskell County, about three and a half hours west of Dallas. The $40 billion investment in the Lone Star State will help the company build additional infrastructure for its cloud and AI units. The company expects the centers to be operational by the end o…

Jon Armstrong never intended to create the booming live-commerce platform Stacked Golf. All he wanted was to join the local golf club, but his wife, Ashley, gave him an ultimatum: Yes, he could join, but only if he could find a way to pay for it himself. His solution? Start a YouTube channel reviewing golf balls. The problem was that he didn’t even have the money to buy balls to review, so he scoured the woods at his Daytona Beach golf club for lost balls and started making videos comparing the Titleist Pro V1 balls he plays to whatever he found in the rough. Zero budget. Zero business plan. Just a guy with a phone and a hunch that people might search for golf ba…

As it faces a growing number of lawsuits alleging it helps facilitate child sexual exploitation, online gaming platform Roblox has unveiled a new age verification system. That system, however, could open it up a different sort of criticism. The popular app, which has roughly 151 million users, announced last week that it plans to require a facial age check for all users who utilize the Roblox chat system. User verification can be accomplished by either submitting a government ID or by submitting a selfie, which AI will examine to estimate the age of the user. The verification will begin rolling out in early December in select markets (which do not include the U.S.…