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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

Apologies for those wanting to talk about GameStop or AMC stocks this week.  Having a discussion on shorting stocks, floats, and squeeze plays is better served for Reddit, Discord, or whatever other form of stock discussion your prefer.  This week I read through some thought provoking articles.  One in particular that caught my eye dealt with employers giving their employees a set amount of “free time” (or autonomy time”) each week to work on projects of their own choosing.  As the below article points out, this might have a lasting positive impact for both employers and employees alike.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Autonomy Programs Have Worked At Big Tech...Why Not Try Elsewhere?

Autonomy programs have been in place at several big tech companies for years, including 3M, Google, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Apple, among others.  While these autonomy programs differ a bit from each employer, they generally allow employees a set amount of time each week to work on projects of their own.  As the article from Fast Company notes, this has produced a host of several developments, including Google Maps and Gmail.  Studies have found that allowing workers the freedom to work on projects of their own choosing has led them to be more productive and motivated.  While I am not suggesting that all employers give their employees a set amount of time each week to go off and do what they want, carving out some time for employees to tinker with their projects might end up paying dividends in the log run.


Walmart CEO Suggests Higher (Regional) Wage Hikes Might Be Appropriate

Bloomberg published an article last week in which it noted that Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon, recently suggested that while the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25/hour is too low, regional economics should be taken into account when considering a federal minimum wage hike.  McMillon pointed out that a wage hike that took into account “geographic differences” and “small business” would be vital to ensure the viability of many businesses around the country.  If the federal minimum wage rate was increased to $15/hour, as a growing number of members in Congress have started to call for, it would likely have a detrimental impact on some areas of the country in which employers could not manage the surge in labor costs.  McMillon’s comments are noteworthy, in part as it is coming from the head of a nationwide employer that has over 1.5 million employees.


Amazon Pushes For In Person Union Election

Readers may have heard some of the hoopla recently over Amazon arguing to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) that an upcoming election at one of the company’s facilities in Alabama should be conducted in person, rather than by mail.   The union election, set to start February 8th and run for seven weeks, would allow approximately 6,000 workers at the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon location to vote by mail on whether to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.  Amazon has appealed a prior ruling on the matter to the NLRB arguing that NLRB’s pandemic voting policy is flawed therefore making mail in voting an unrealistic option.  Will Amazon succeed in its attempt to have an in person election?  While the NLRB might move back the planned start to the election by a few weeks, I would be surprised if the election was ultimately switched to in person voting.

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