Author: Editor

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Margaret Burke, 62, who lives in Taiwan and is caring remotely for her 91-year-old mother in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Burke, who works as a patent attorney, said this arrangement has allowed her mom to age well in a condo while she can live independently and save for her own long-term care. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I have lived in Asia for 18 years, working as a patent attorney. During the tech crash in the early 2000s, I was working for a startup. I wanted to get…

It’s a tough real estate market no matter where you live, but some parts of the US are faring better than others.Realtor.com released its annual housing report card on Monday, grading all 50 states and Washington, DC, from A to F based on how affordable homes are there and how much new housing is being built.Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told Business Insider that homebuilding is an important indicator of a housing ecosystem because it signals how affordable homes will be over time.”Without new homes being built, affordability will suffer under constrained home supply,” he said.Once again, the…

The growing push to restrict Americans from using federal food aid to buy certain processed or sugary products is creating a new challenge for some of the biggest U.S. food and beverage companies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture as of May had approved food restriction waivers for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in 23 states, affecting roughly one-third of all SNAP participants, according to Numerator. The research firm estimates the restrictions could reduce food and beverage sales by as much as $830 million this year as consumers either shift spending to approved products or cut back overall. Kroger CEO Greg…

Daniel is making more money than ever juggling two full-time jobs — but pulling it off has never been harder.He’s on track to earn roughly $330,000 this year, but a growing list of workplace obstacles is creating headaches and threatening his overemployment setup. Daniel, who is in his 40s and lives in Texas, is one of several workers who asked to use a pseudonym, and Business Insider verified their identities.Daniel said he used to average 40 to 50 hours a week across his roles, but is now regularly approaching 60 hours per week. Both of his jobs used to be…

Passion trumps pay when it comes to choosing a career, Ben Cohen says.Speaking on the sidelines of the SXSW London festival earlier in June, the Ben & Jerry’s cofounder shared with Business Insider his advice for young people worried about affordability and AI.”I was going to say, learn how to be an Uber driver, but Waymo is taking over that shit,” Cohen quipped.On a serious note, he said people should pursue a career “because you love the work, not in order to make money.”Aspiring entrepreneurs should “find a small niche in the market, a void, and fill it,” he continued.Employees…

There’s much to debate about what makes a real New Yorker.Maybe it’s being born in the five boroughs. Or it could be knowing the subway routes without a map, being an all-weather Knicks fan, and braving the demoralizing walk to a laundromat in the rain.But, really, the most typical NYC experience is being a 30-something with an above-average salary and an eye-watering rent bill. Business Insider looked at the data. The average Big Apple resident is in their 30sOften, to be a New Yorker is to be a millennial. Data from a NYC Planning analysis of the American Community Survey…

A fear of phone calls may be costing young workers raises and career opportunities.A new survey of 2,000 Gen Zers and millennials by the self-improvement app RiseGuide found that 42% don’t answer phone calls, while 58% script or rehearse conversations before making them.The consequences may extend beyond anxiety. Among respondents who avoid spoken conversations, 78% said the habit has cost them earnings or opportunities.The findings come as anxiety around phone calls appears to be growing. RiseGuide coined the term “callergy” for the reluctance to speak over the phone and finding workarounds like texts, emails, and social media messages.Jaimee Campanella, a…

Every brand wants Gen Z to think it’s cool. KFC’s design chief thinks that’s the wrong goal.”It’s all about Gen Z, Gen Z, Gen Z,” Christophe Poirier, KFC’s global chief concept officer, told Business Insider.As KFC rolls out a sweeping global overhaul spanning new menu items, drinks, restaurant designs, and branding, Poirier said the fried chicken chain isn’t trying to become a Gen Z brand.”Gen Z won’t stay Gen Z forever,” he said, “At some point, the Gen Zs will be like me.”Instead, the goal is to stay relevant across generations. “We need to be in constant evolution to be…

That AI slop can’t hurt you, according to Figma’s top executive.Figma CEO and cofounder Dylan Field said creative people — like the graphic designers who use his company’s tools — should find the AI era “a great time to be creative.”AI models, he said, are trained on the “distribution of data” and typically create designs that people recognize as “average.”Humans, on the other hand, can make something that hasn’t been seen before, Field told The New York Times’ “Hard Fork” podcast.”If you’re in distribution, and you’re not actually pushing the bounds, I think that you’re in a worse shape than…

It’s easy for job seekers to feel stuck in an AI doom loop.Chatbots have overhauled white-collar 9-to-5s, agents are rewriting the rules for basic tasks, and C-Suite leaders can’t stop talking about productivity gains. If you’re struggling to land a new role right now, however, new research found that technology likely isn’t the main culprit.An analysis by Yale Budget Lab found that AI has had a modest impact on America’s job market since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. So far, AI has changed jobs more than it has eliminated them, the researchers said — a pattern similar to the…