Tech:NYC Digest: November 15

Tech:NYC Digest: November 15

November 15, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Monday, November 15, 2021

In today’s digest, all adults now eligible for booster shots in NYC, Biden signs $1T infrastructure bill, and addressing the Great Resignation in tech.

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  • The NYC Dept. of Health has authorized COVID-19 booster shots for all adults. (Gothamist)

    • You can schedule your booster dose here if it’s been six months since the completion of your Pfizer or Moderna series, or two months after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

    • The FDA and CDC have yet to authorize boosters for all adults, but Dr. Dave Chokshi, the commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, says the city is making them all booster-eligible anyway as case counts begin rising ahead of the holidays.

  • The MTA has postponed planned fare hikes on subway, bus, and commuter rail systems thanks to funding from the federal infrastructure bill. (New York Times)

    • Gov. Hochul said service cuts planned for 2023-2024 are also off the table, but MTA acting chair and CEO Janno Lieber didn’t provide a specific timeline for the freeze in fare costs.

  • Ten of New York state’s mass COVID vaccination sites are now open to children five to 11 years old. So far, more than 50,000 children in the state have received at least one shot since the CDC approved Pfizer's vaccine for the age group over two weeks ago. (CBS News)

  • NYC has officially ushered in the holiday season with the arrival of a 79-foot Norway spruce that will serve as one of the world's most famous Christmas trees, in Rockefeller Center. The lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 1. (NPR)

  • And lastly, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill is (finally!) signed. (Wall Street Journal)

In other reading:

  • How Does This End? It’s Time for COVID and Normalcy (New York Times)

  • Getting Back To Normal Is Only Possible Until You Test Positive (The Atlantic)

  • How Long Will Boosters Last? (Bloomberg)

According to the most recent Labor Department data, workers resigned from a record 4.4 million positions in September, and new polls suggest that low-wage workers, employees of color, and women outside management levels are the most likely to shift employment. (Wall Street Journal)

The most comprehensive workforce trends we see written about tend to focus on the two ends of workers’ careers — when they start an entry-level position or when they make moves as an executive.

  • But the pandemic should push us to look more closely at mid-level employees.

A new report by Qualtrics surveyed 3,600 US workers and found interest in job changes particularly grew among women:

  • Some 63 percent of female middle managers said they intended to stay in their jobs next year, down from 75 percent in 2021.

  • 58 percent of women in non-managerial roles said the same.

In tech, those numbers are bigger: Employee training startup TalentLMS’s latest worker survey found 72 percent of tech workers are thinking about leaving their jobs in the next 12 months.

To get them to stay, tech workers said employers need to focus on two things: Learning and development opportunities and remote work options. 

  • 91 percent of tech workers said they wanted more training opportunities from their employers — especially ones that future-proof their skills for the job market.

  • 66 percent said they thought new skills in machine learning and AI achieved that, with second and third choices going to cloud-native development (49 percent) and blockchain (46 percent).

In other reading:

  • What you’re probably getting wrong about the future of work (Protocol)

  • Burnout at work: The 5 most common warning signs (Fortune)

  • Which Generation Is The Happiest At Work? (Forbes)

  • ALEX, a New York City-based DeFi platform on Bitcoin, raised $5.8 million in new funding. White Star Capital led the round and was joined by Cultur3, GBIC, and OK Blockchain Capital. (CoinDesk)

  • Daily Harvest, a New York City-based frozen food startup, raised $77 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at over $1 billion. Lone Pine Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors. (Bloomberg)

  • Zoomo, a New York City and Sydney-based electric last mile delivery vehicle maker, raised $60 million in Series B funding. Grok Ventures, Skip Capital, and ArcTern Ventures co-led the round and were joined by AirTree Ventures, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Contrarian Ventures, Maniv Mobility, and Viola Group. (TechCrunch)

  • November 16: Virtual: The Electrified Future, with Verizon senior vice president Elise Neel, Fermata Energy co-founder John Wheeler, and others. Hosted by Newlab. Register here.

  • November 18: Virtual: The Hunt for Talent Post-COVID, with Schmidt Futures head of talent Tony Woods, Eden Health chief people officer Chloe Drew, and The RealReal chief people officer Zaina Orbai. Hosted by Savills. Register here.

  • November 18: Virtual: AI Tools for Media & News, with Lede AI co-founder Jay Allred, McClatchy managing editor Cythia DuBose, and Sophi.io vice president Gordeon Edall. Hosted by NYC Media Lab. Register here.

  • November 30: Virtual: #notapitch: Unofficial Feedback on Your Idea/Prototype from a VC, with Brooklyn Bridge Ventures partner Charlie O’Donnell. Register here.

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