Tech:NYC Digest: August 3

Tech:NYC Digest: August 3

August 03, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 

In today’s digest, what Gen Z wants, vibe curators, and yet another reminder to get those boosters. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 7,487   

    • New positive cases, NYC: 4,282 

  • NYC Positivity Rate (Daily): 8.2%

    • NYC Positivity Rate (7-Day Average): 8.0%  

In today’s latest: 

  • President Biden has tapped Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former New York City Department of Health official, as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator. (New York Times)

  • The Board of Elections sent 17,000 voters registration updates that contained incorrect congressional and state senate districts — three weeks before primary races in those districts. (Gothamist)

  • If you aren’t up-to-date on your COVID vaccines or booster shots, Dr. Anthony Fauci has a stark warning for you: Get those doses now, or prepare for a harsh COVID fall and winter. (CNBC)

  • And something to make your heads spin: Earth seems to be spinning faster “than usual” and had its shortest day ever. Apparently this could lead to a “negative leap second” and has the potential to create IT headaches. (CBS News)

In other reading:

  • (From speed zones to tardiness) How New Yorkers Push the Limits (New York Times)

  • Meet New York City’s Foremost Vibe Curators (Vanity Fair)

  • Why So Many Cars Have Rats in Them Now (New York Times)

We spend a lot of time covering the future of work (aka right now). But the future future of work rests on the shoulders of Generation Z, soon to be the most populous and diverse generation in history. (Forbes) 

  • Currently, Gen Z only makes up 11.6% of the US workforce, but estimates put that figure at 30% by 2030. 

Their entrance into the workforce is changing employers’ and workers’ old social contracts, as they have different expectations for the atmosphere, culture and support at work.

Therefore, an increasing number of companies are pinning their long-term talent attraction efforts to what most appeals to younger workers. (

)

  • These initiatives consist of permitting piercings, tattoos, and colored hair; experimenting with a four-day workweek; allowing employees to work from home and any part of the country; offering temporary offices upon request; outlining career paths for their employees; and providing extensive mental health benefits and financial advice.

Employers hope to take advantage of Generation Z's dynamism and inventiveness as well as alleviate a severe labor shortage by hiring them. But younger personnel must not only be recruited but also kept in their positions, which is no small task. 

  • Younger workers are more accustomed to changing jobs than older workers, according to surveys. LinkedIn data shows that in the US, Gen Z workers are already quitting and changing jobs 40 percent more than last year.

In other reading

:

  • How to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work Here?” (Harvard Business Review)

  • Remote work ate your vacation. ‘The lines between work and life have become increasingly blurred’ (Fortune)

  • I’m a boss, and I say we should work less (CNN)

  • ANIMO Ventures, a NYC-based early stage venture capital fund, raised $78 million for its Fund II, focused on pre-seed and seed deals in the US.

  • Balbec Capital, a NYC-based investment firm, raised over $1.5b for its fifth global credit fund.

  • August 9: Virtual: Silicon Valley Bank Fundraising Workshop: Enterprise SaaS Edition, with Work-Bench co-founder and general partner Jonathan Lehr and Silicon Valley Bank managing director Andrew Oddo. Register here.

  • August 11: In-person: Climate and NY: What’s Next in Politics, Policy, and Tech, at the Brooklyn Grange. Hosted by the New York Climate Tech Meetup and the Spring Street Climate Fund. Register here.

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