Tech:NYC Digest: May 23

Tech:NYC Digest: May 23

May 23, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

In today’s digest, what’s left to do to approve NYC’s next city budget, one of the first post-pandemic workplace surveys reveals how employees feel about their jobs, and the three interview questions recruiters are asking right now.

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  • NYC pledged that no public school will enter the next school year with less funding than they did this year, even if they’re projected to enroll less students. (City & State)

  • Not to alarm you, but … NYC is sinking. A new scientific paper says the city sinks two to four millimeters per year under the weight of its own buildings. That’s a tiny measurement, but coupled with rising water levels from global warming, the changes could more quickly impact coastal and flood-prone neighborhoods. (New York Times) 

  • If you’d like to weigh in on what the city should do with its nearly $107B budget, tomorrow is your (only) chance. The City Council hearing will be the only time anyone can publicly submit testimony on the executive budget ahead of the July 1 deadline. (Gothamist)

In other reading:

  • Are empty Manhattan offices an opportunity for Long Island? (Newsday)

  • New York’s Newest Wedding Hot Spot Is … Roosevelt Island? (New York Times)

  • The QR-Code Menu Is Being Shown the Door (New York Times)

The new “normal” workplace is still in flux — or maybe that flux is the new normal. (Washington Post) A new poll of 1,110+ workers takes a fresh look at how workers really feel about their jobs, now that virtually all pandemic-era rules have been lifted. The results aren’t so black and white:

  •  About 8 in 10 workers said they are satisfied with their jobs, even as over 6 in 10 say work is stressful, according to the poll.

A lot of the pandemic-era trends that ignited the “Great Resignation” have carried through — demand for flexible work, better pay, and opportunities for advancement — but it’s not all about the benefits and perks. Here’s a few other notable insights from the survey:

Pay is still (and always will be) a top priority, but so is having a good boss: 

  • When asked to rank the most important factors in a job, having a good boss came in second (14%), even above health benefits and amount of PTO. 

Younger workers more strongly prioritize advancement: 

  • Gen Z and younger millennials are more likely to say opportunities for promotions are important to them — a trend that resonates especially for young people who entered the workforce during the pandemic when those opportunities felt out of reach.

  • For this group, paths for career advancement rated higher health benefits, vacation time, or even the ability to work from home.

Everyone still wants a “work bestie”: 

  • Despite concerns about disconnection with the onset of remote work, 55% of workers say they have “close friendships” at work.

In other reading:

  • 3 interview questions recruiters are asking rights now, related to the future of work (Fast Company)

  • A Movement to Make Workplaces 'Menopause Friendly’ (New York Times)

  • Where to Focus Your Company’s Limited Cybersecurity Budget (Harvard Business Review)

  • Shutterstock, a NYC-based image, video, and music content provider, agreed to buy Giphy, a platform of shareable animated images and microvideos, from Meta for $53 million in cash. (Wall Street Journal)

  • May 25: In-person: Building with A DEI Lens, featuring Mathison founder Arthur Woods and The Venture Collective general partner Cat Middleton. Hosted by Company Ventures. Register here.

  • May 30: Virtual: Investors Unscripted: Crisis Management, with Mercury CEO Immad Akhund, Primary Venture Partners general partner Cassie Young, Outcast SVP Amanda Duckworth, and Sapphire Ventures partner Paul Levine. Hosted by Mercury. Register here.

  • May 30: In-person: FoodNiche Summit 2023, with NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy executive director Kate MacKenzie, Tastewise CEO Alon Chen, AgroFresh CTO Duncan Aust, and more. Hosted by FoodNiche. Register here.

  • June 1: Virtual: The Future of Clean Tech Innovations, with Sol Systems CEO Yuri Horwitz, Arcadia COO Kate Henningsen, and GRAIN Ecosystem co-founder Jason Dodier. Hosted by Savills. Register here.

  • June 6: In-person: Newlab Resilient Studio Showcase, with ElectricFish, Orenda Power, Urban Electric Power, WATTMORE, and Yotta Energy. Hosted by Newlab, NYCEDC, and ConEd. Register here.

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