WASHINGTON (TND) — Ahead of Pride Month, Target has pulled some items from its stores after backlash over its Pride Month collection. As some companies see hits to their business for their marketing strategies, others say LGBTQ people are being attacked in a divided America.
From Bud Light’s partnership with a transgender influencer to Pride merchandise at Target, we’re hearing of more companies facing controversy, not just for products but for who and what is featured in their campaigns.
“Leaders and leadership teams can go ahead and roll out whatever strategies they want to that caters to any demographic or psychographic platform and or group of people they want but they also have to remember the consumers, or the stakeholders, and the court of public opinion, those people in the marketplace have the right to vote with their feet and their pocketbook, and they are,” according to Fallston Group crisis leadership expert Rob Weinhold.
Some have said they believe brands are connecting their products to political beliefs.
In a statement, the founder, president and CEO of Moms for America Kimberly Fletcher said in part, “moms will not tolerate sexualized marketing that targets our children and pushes radical far-left propaganda on them.”
At the same time, organizations like GLAAD said the threats Target received “should be a wake-up call for consumers and is a reminder that LGBTQ people, venues, and events are being attacked with threats and violence like never before.”
Despite a recent statement by Target saying they’ve been offering products to celebrate Pride Month for more than a decade, the quick spread of information through social media has allowed consumers to react quickly, according to experts.
From a business perspective, they point to company boycotts and loss in revenue.
Bud Light’s parent company said earlier this month it will triple its marketing spending this summer in the U.S. as it attempts to boost sales that dipped after its brand partnership.
“Inducing a little bit of risk is good, in fact, that’s how innovation happens, and so they’re going to continue to innovate, they’re going to continue to find new and interesting markets and avenues to try to promote their products but they also have to be aware that if you stumble, those stumbles do have a price,” said professor of Business at the University of the Incarnate Word.
A Bentley-Gallup Force for Good study found Millennial and Gen Z Americans expect more from businesses regarding social and environmental responsibility than older Americans.
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The risks covered by home warranties might be unpleasant, but for most homeowners, … Often, the contractors they send do awful work.
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With interest rates soaring, finding a house is more complicated than ever for first-time buyers.
But some states offer more realistic deals than others for those looking to invest in a little slice of the American Dream.
Moneywise, a financial website, ranked all 50 states based on the median price for houses in each state as provided by Zillow and the average down payment percentage of 13% according to the National Association of Realtors.
Their findings? For one, it might be called the Aloha State, but Hawaii is not very welcoming when it comes to buying a home.
First-time home buyers in Hawaii must shell out an average down payment of $110,360.38 to secure a home, making it the most expensive state for first-home buyers. With limited land for development and burdensome regulations, Hawaii’s median home value is a tsunami of $848,926.
If the surf and sand minus the tasty waves are what you’re looking for, you might want to consider a state like Mississippi, where the average home goes for $157,828 with a down payment of $20,517.64
The number two most expensive state for first-time buyers in California. The Golden State lives up to its billing, with median home prices on Zillow ringing in at $760,800. The average downpayment on such a home is $98,904.
Here’s a list of the priciest places to live.
Courtesy: Moneywise
Related: 9 Places in the U.S. With Small Town Charm and Affordable Home Prices
Most affordable states for first-time home buyers
So where should those looking to buy their first home look? According to this new survey, West Virginia is the best state to invest in, boasting the lowest average down payment requirement of $16,783.39. The median home price in West Virginia is $129,103, a steal compared to the national average of $428,700.
The aforementioned Mississippi is the second cheapest place to buy a home. After that, first-home buyers should look at Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa.
“Armed with the knowledge from these findings, first-time home buyers can make informed decisions when it comes to choosing a state to buy their first home and work their way towards a brighter financial future,” said a spokesperson for Moneywise.
Here is a list of the least expensive states to buy.
Courtesy: Moneywise
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'This is the place that she came from' Work to restore childhood home of Nina Simone in Polk CountyPreservation efforts are underway at the …
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Workers and companies see benefits of remote work
In 2019, about 5% of full-time work was done from home. The share ballooned to more than 60% in April and May 2020, in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University who has researched remote work for two decades.
That’s the equivalent to almost 40 years of pre-pandemic growth virtually overnight, his research shows.
The share of remote work has steadily declined (to about 27% today) but is likely to stabilize around 25% — a fivefold increase relative to 2019, Bloom said.
“That’s huge,” he said. “It’s almost impossible to find anything in economics that changes at such speed, that goes up by 500%.”
Initially, remote work was seen as a necessary measure to contain the spread of the virus. Technological advances — such as videoconferencing and high-speed internet — made the arrangement possible for many workers.
Both employees and companies subsequently discovered benefits beyond an immediate health impact, economists said.
Employees most enjoy having a reduced commute, spending less time getting ready for work and a having a flexible schedule that more easily allows for doctor visits and picking up kids from school, Bloom said.
Some workers have shown they’re reluctant to relinquish those perks. Companies such as Amazon and Starbucks, for example, recently faced a backlash from employees after announcing stricter return-to-office policies.
Employers enjoy higher employee retention and can recruit from a broader pool of applicants, said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. They can save money on office space, by recruiting from lower-cost areas of the country or by raising wages at a slower pace due to workers’ perceived value of the work-at-home benefit, she said.
It’s almost impossible to find anything in economics that changes at such speed.
Nicholas Bloom
economist at Stanford University
For example, job seekers polled by ZipRecruiter say they’d be prepared to take a 14% pay cut to work remotely, on average. The figure skews higher — to about 20% — for parents with young children.
Twitter recently shut its Seattle offices as a cost-cutting measure and told employees to work from home, a reversal from an earlier position that employees work at least 40 hours a week in the office.
“The benefits for employers are pretty substantial,” Pollak said.
Hybrid work model is a ‘win-win’
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Most companies have turned to a “hybrid” model, with a work week split between maybe two days from home and three in the office, economists said.
That arrangement has yielded a slight boost in average worker productivity, Bloom said. For one, the average person saves 70 minutes a day commuting; roughly 30 minutes of that time savings is spent working more, he said.
“Hybrid is pretty much a win-win,” Bloom said.
About 39% of new hires have jobs with a hybrid work arrangement, while 18% of new jobs are fully remote, according to ZipRecruiter. Both shares are up relative to their pre-pandemic levels (28% and 12%, respectively).
“It’s still an evolving trend, but the movement is very much toward increased remote work,” Pollak said.
Of course, not all workers have the option to work remotely. About 37% of jobs in the U.S. can plausibly be done entirely at home, according to a 2020 study by Jonathan Dingel and Brent Neiman, economists at the University of Chicago.
There are large variations by occupation and geography. For example, jobs in retail, transportation, hospitality and food services are far less likely than those in technology, finance, and professional and business services to offer work-from-home arrangements.
Remote work may endure even in a recession
Not everyone agrees that the benefits of working from home outweigh costs.
Evidence suggests employee mentoring, innovation and company culture may suffer if jobs are fully remote, Bloom said. Workers cite face-to-face collaboration, socializing and better work-life balance as top benefits of in-office work, his research finds.
Companies that are fully remote often have in-person gatherings or retreats as a way to build company culture, Bloom said.
Workers have enjoyed a high degree of bargaining power due to a hot labor market characterized by low unemployment and ample job openings. If the economy cools and their bargaining power dissipates, it’s unclear whether some employers would introduce stricter work-from-home policies, economists said.
For one, employers may see remote work as a useful way to trim labor costs in the face of recession, Bunker said. The more likely scenario is on the margin: perhaps three or four days in the office instead of one or two, he said.
The technology sector is a useful indicator, he said. Tech job postings have fallen this year amid industry struggles, but the share of Indeed job ads offering a remote work benefit has remained constant, Bunker said.
“It’s been quite sticky in the face of hiring pullbacks,” he said.
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