Work will never be the same. 

Some COVID-era phenomena have faded – like supply chain shocks or unsustainable year-over-year sales comps. Others are still here – like inflation – but will cycle back to normal eventually. Several others could last for a generation – like hand sanitizer in every room and our heightened appreciation for travel, outdoor activities, and all things well-being. 

The pandemic rewired our values or, at least, brought them back to center. Nowhere is that more evident than in our views on work. Now that people (especially parents with young kids) know what life balance and flexibility feel like, the toothpaste will never go back in the tube.

Oh sure, certain corporate overlords will plow through it, forcing workers back into the office five days a week. You might get away with that when you have a culture of fear or golden handcuffs, for a while anyway. Eventually, you’ll sacrifice talent for obedience. In a flat or shrinking population – and an economy expected only to go up and to the right – talent has the leverage.

COVID’s effect on the workplace goes beyond the obvious. While nobody was paying attention, a new generation of adults joined the labor force en masse. I can never be proven right or wrong, but I believe Gen Z would’ve fundamentally changed the face of work regardless of whether remote culture had been thrust upon us. These kids don’t buy into anything simply because that’s the way it’s always been done. They demand authenticity, fairness, and transparency. They covet mental health. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to be in the office – they do – but only because they believe it has an upside. 

I can’t decide if I pity today’s HR professionals or envy them for the puzzle they need to solve. Old truisms are dead. Power has shifted. The future of work is uncharted. 

All of that’s to say we launched a new service this week, partnering with Idealis, one of the world’s most innovative companies in human resources and leadership science. Combining our data with Idealis’s expert analysis and interpretation, we will be publishing a monthly Pulse of the U.S. Workforce report, examining attitudes and trends among thousands of American workers across an array of industries and positions. As we do with our broader consumer research, our goal is to bring humanity and empathy to the study of work – and to the decisions leaders make.

I’ll probably share highlights here from time to time. But if you’re a CHRO or otherwise in the business of hiring, managing, or leading people, you need more than snippets. Check it out.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

Parents procrastinated in their back-to-school shopping this year. Compared to this time last year, the percentage of U.S. back-to-school buyers who have completed all or even some of their shopping is down appreciably. The economic climate could explain some of it, as parents look for deals after the traditional B2S season. Another explanation might be the continued shift toward electronics as the primary educational supplies (as opposed to notebooks, pencils, erasers, and other relics of our youth). With fewer but more expensive items like tablets and smartphones becoming school essentials, parents might be more prone to wait for holiday discount events (or the release of the new iPhone) to upgrade their kids’ equipment.   

Fewer consumers plan (hope?) to use their credit cards for their holiday spending. Perhaps it’s because their cards are already maxed out or, even with a half-point reduction, interest rates still suck, but a statistically significant share of U.S. adults say they’re more likely to use cash or a debit card for holiday purchases this year. Also notable is that more people expect to use Buy Now, Pay Later programs. Additionally in our 3 Things to Know this week, we looked at rising – if not surprising – concerns over gun violence in September and how fewer driving-age teens are opting to get their driver’s license.

Sticking with our early holiday theme, people don’t seem to be showing any signs of cutting back on travel this year. One-third of Americans say they plan to hit the road (or the skies) during the upcoming holidays, virtually identical to the numbers we saw in September 2023. While some folks who normally travel are choosing not to, an equal number are planning to travel who normally don’t. Midwesterners are the most likely to stay within their state borders and travel by car, while those in the West and Northeast are most likely to leave the country. If you’re hoping for shorter lines at the airport this year, I have bad news for you. 

Hispanic Americans are huge consumers of online content. In our latest study on the media habits of U.S. Hispanics, we uncovered some fascinating insights. For starters, they over-index relative to non-Hispanics in consuming nearly every type of online content, from sports to entertainment news to food and science. They only lag when it comes to weather content. Hispanics are generally more likely to trust news sources, particularly local news, and more likely, on average, to spend $50+ or more for publisher subscriptions. What I found most notable is the extent to which Hispanics DO believe they’re well-represented in the advertising they see. 

Most celebrity endorsements are just Democrats talking to themselves. Lost among all the attention paid to Taylor Swift’s full-throated endorsement of Kamala Harris – and Donald Trump’s petulant response – is the reality of how politically meaningless those things actually are on a net basis (which we highlighted last week). This week, we dug a bit further into the profile of people who say their product purchases are influenced by celebrity endorsements and it’s exactly who you think they are…younger people. Most relevant to the actual outcome of the race (or lack thereof) is that endorsement-prone voters skew dramatically to the left already. 

More awesomeness (if less than usual because we had our company All-Hands retreat this week) from the InsightStore™:

The most popular questions this week:

To what extent do you agree or disagree that making friends is more difficult as an adult than as a child?

Which of the following do you think is your best personality trait?

What’s your preferred style of couch?

How many years do you typically try to hang on to a smartphone before upgrading to a newer model?

When it comes to headphones, do you prefer wired or wireless?

Answer Key: Disagree; Openness/Assertiveness (this is a great one you should answer it); Sectional; Until the next one is free and then beyond because inevitably the kids break theirs before I get one; Wired because I would lose wireless ones in five minutes. 

Hoping you’re well.

JD