Tech:NYC Digest: May 17

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Tuesday, May 17, 2022 

In today’s digest, NYC now on “high” COVID-19 alert status, how to order additional at-home test kits from the federal government, and tech’s latest response to RTO-resistant employees. 

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By the numbers:  

• New positive cases statewide: 8,647 

  • New positive cases, NYC: 4,342

• NYC Positivity Rate: 5.2 percent (+0.5 percent)

• Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

  • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.4 percent

  • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.2 percent

In today’s latest:

• NYC officially entered the "high" COVID-19 alert level today due to rising hospitalization rates in the city. Health officials are strongly recommending people wear masks in public indoor settings. (Gothamist)

  • The new advisory also encourages New Yorkers to avoid high-risk settings and crowded indoor events. 

  • Officials are now also requesting masks be worn by all students and staff in NYC schools, but stopped short of reinstating citywide masking or vaccination mandates.

• Americans can now place a third order for free COVID-19 tests from the federal government by visiting COVIDtests.gov. The US Postal Service will deliver up to eight free rapid antigen tests per household, double the four sent in previous rounds. (NPR)

• The FDA has authorized a Pfizer booster dose for children ages 5 through 11 years old at least five months after receiving their initial shots. The approval follows research showing a third shot can help boost protection for this age group and that the benefits outweigh the risks. (CNBC)

• Pres. Biden greeted Gov. Kathy Hochul in Buffalo today to deliver remarks and greet victims’ family members following the mass supermarket shooting. See their remarks here. 

In other reading:

• How big is the latest US coronavirus wave? No one really knows. (Washington Post)

• Is It COVID or Flu? New At-Home Test Spots Multiple Viruses (Bloomberg)

• The Best Bagels in the World? They Might Be on Long Island (Grub Street)

After many false starts, tech companies are telling remote workers it's finally time to come back — this time for good — or at least commit to showing up part of the week.

But as companies ramp up RTO enforcement, they’re being met with even more resistance from their workers, writes the Wall Street Journal.

• In a competitive job market, more workers feel confident they can wave goodbye to office life permanently if they choose. Instead of being forced back, those workers are willing to quit and find a new role at a more remote-friendly company.

• Two-thirds of workers said they would find a new job if required to return to the office full-time, according to an ADP Research Institute survey. 

Eager to stay competitive and keep employees from leaving, companies continue to accommodate workers’ preferences and, in some cases, walk back requirements or expedite new incentives:

• Apple announced today that it has (once again) delayed plans to require employees to return to the office at least three days per week, citing new spikes in COVID-19 cases. (New York Times)

• Google has approved 85 percent of the more than 14,000 requests it’s received from employees requesting to remain fully remote or transfer to a new office location. (Reuters)

• Microsoft is doubling its global budget for merit increases, as well as increasing the range for stock-based compensation by 25 percent for employees under the senior director level. (Protocol)

• Amazon doubled its maximum base compensation from $160,000 to $350,000 earlier this year, and doled out a record number of stock grants. (CBS News)

Our takeaway: With remote work now a non-negotiable requirement for many employees, companies moving forward with RTO plans will have to either compromise or offer even more attractive perks to retain talent.

In other reading:

• Work & Life: The Surprise Joys of Being Back in the Office (Wall Street Journal)

• Shiftsmart CEO Aakash Kumar: Ditch the annual review and do this instead (Fast Company)

• The payroll data showing hybrid work is here to stay (Protocol)

• A.Team, a NYC-based members-only network for creating workplace teams, raised $55 million in Series A funding. Tiger Global Management, Insight Partners, and Spruce Capital Partners co-led the round and were joined by investors including Jay-Z’s Rocnation, Adam Grant, and others. (TechCrunch)

• Candor, a NYC-based professional network, raised $5 million in venture funding. Participating investors include Contrary Capital, Afore Capital, Worklife, Village Global, Global Founders Capital, and Banana Capital.

• Evaluate.Market, a Brooklyn-based NFT portfolio management platform, raised $4 million in seed funding. Rho Capital led the round and was joined by Drive by DraftKings, Castle Island Ventures, Arca, Notation Capital, Flamingo Capital Syndicate, Dapper Labs, Visary Capital, Niche Capital, and Dan Nova. (Businesswire)

• Glisser, a NYC and London-based hybrid meetings and events platform, raised $4.9 million in funding. Downing Ventures led the round and was joined by Gresham House. (Glisser)

• May 18: Virtual: The Future of Work: The Gig Economy, with TaskRabbit CEO Ania Smith. Hosted by the Washington Post. Register here.

• May 19: Virtual: What’s Next for New York State’s Budget, with City & State City Hall bureau chief Jeff Coltin and deputy state politics reporter Rebecca Lewis. Hosted by ABNY. Register here.

• May 24: In-person: The Collision Between Web3 and Consumers, with Unlock VP of business development Patrick Workman and Fenwick partner Vejay Lalla. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. Register here.

• May 25: In-person: The Business of Biodesign, with AlgiKnit CEO Tessa Callaghan, TomTex chief scientific officer Ross McBee, and Werewool CEO Chui-Lian Lee, and others. Hosted by Newlab and the Biodesign Challenge. Register here.

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