Before the pandemic, office life left many of us at the mercy of overpriced meal deals, vending machines, and a rushed lunch break. Research shows only 37 per cent of European workers took a full lunch break when working on-site, while 10 per cent of UK workers skip their lunch breaks altogether. Data suggests that office lunches can lean heavily on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) - quick and convenient, but low in nutritional value.
You check your phone at 3am because your biggest client is eight time zones away. You miss your kid's soccer game because the office "needs" you. You turn down the perfect apartment in Bangkok because your business demands you stay put. Your success has become your prison. Maybe you're the founder who built something amazing but can't leave headquarters. Maybe you're watching friends post from Kyoto while you're stuck in traffic.
The main one is that after IBM acquired Red Hat, and later when I moved to VMware/Broadcom, I didn't always feel comfortable posting on my personal blog or speaking as freely as I would have liked. I was also less involved with my open source projects and busy working on something new that I couldn't actively promote at the time. So, I decided to step away from blogging for a while; I just didn't know how long that would end up being.
The data, which comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, shows that about 21% of San Franciscans reported working from home in 2024, continuing a decline since remote work peaked at a whopping 45% in 2021. Meanwhile, public transit usage has seen the inverse trend: last year, 25% of people reported commuting by transit, up from the 2021 low of just 11%.
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One of Airbnb's most underappreciated competitive advantages is how it has quietly become a home for long-term travelers. In 2024, stays of 28 nights or more made up 18% of gross nights booked, according to company filings. That's not a small niche -- it's nearly one in five stays. This trend aligns with broader shifts in how people work and live.
As the economy wobbles through 2025, one worry creeps into the minds of workers everywhere: Am I going to lose my job? While the White House urges Americans to keep calm and continue spending, one New York-based recruiter says workers should be worried. Joel Lalgee (@the_realest_recruiter) predicts that layoffs are looming. No job is safe during downsizing, but Lalgee suggests that one category may be particularly at risk: remote workers.
In recent years, the rise of solo travel among Americans has been stark. Whether that's a shift into digital nomadism and heading overseas for a better work-life balance, or simply joining a small group trip around Europe, there has been a marked increase in solo travel of late. While there are various reasons behind this trend, it seems like it's here to stay.
Daniel Medved, a single dad of three in Seattle, said his situation limits him to only fully remote roles, which shrinks his application pool. He said his company has been more than helpful when it comes to raising his family. "Flexibility has been the single most powerful retention tool that my company has had," Medved said. He needs to get his two daughters and son ready for school daily and "If you add a commute to that, the math doesn't work."
"Fully remote is very rare now in the U.S.," said Mark Ma, associate professor of business administration at the University of Pittsburgh. "It is getting much more difficult and you need to look for the smaller firms or medium-sized firms ... and those firms do not provide as competitive financial packages as the big firms, but they try to attract talent by providing more flexibility."
Working from home can offer the flexibility to set your own schedule, giving you the freedom to pursue hobbies, work on fitness, or care for loved ones. In theory, you can work in your sweatpants, and come and go as you please. Plus, there is no hassle of a commute. Whether you're a stay-at-home parent, retiree, or just looking for more flexibility in your career,
I've been working from home full-time or mostly full-time for the past 5 years now. When I tell people about my work situation, their first reaction is often, "I'm so jealous! I wish I could hang out at home all day." And, yeah, many parts of working from home are pretty sweet, but truth be told, this lifestyle seriously skews your view of reality. Over the course of months and years of working from home, many odd habits and quirky routines start to feel totally normal.
We help brands hire college-age students, and we built our product to be transparent, low-barrier to entry, and help with imposter syndrome. Our platform is different than a Handshake or other early-talent job boards because the opportunities are very project-based, and they're mostly not full-time roles. Companies use the platform for Gen Z research, product testing, sourcing interns, ambassador programs, and content creation.
The study analyzed cities across 12 different categories (each scored out of 10), awarding the Japanese capital a total score of 91. Pipping Rio de Janeiro, Budapest, Seoul, and Barcelona to the top post, Tokyo ranked highly for its access to Wi-Fi and broadband speed, best-in-class transport network, almost mythical levels of public safety, and storied cultural offerings. This year was the first year Tokyo was included, following the launch of a digital nomad visa targeted at high-earning remote workers from 51 countries,
When we finally paused to ask ourselves why we were living that way, the answer was simple: money. We needed to earn enough to sustain our expensive lifestyle, which meant working jobs that left us depleted, sacrificing our mental health, and rarely having quality time as a family. So we made a bold decision: My wife quit her job, I stayed on in a remote position, and we left the city behind to lower our cost of living .