🚴 The Great 'Reshuffle', GenZ and Sustainable Commuting, Employee Owned Businesses

Hi and welcome to the first edition of 2023! 👋

Thank you to all those that have filled out the survey to help me improve the newsletter (for those who haven’t yet - you can find it here).

Here’s some of this week’s top news:

🔧 Labor Shortage and The Great ‘Reshuffle’

The labor market in the US has been facing significant challenges due to ongoing labor shortages that have been affecting companies in various industries, including food service, entertainment, hospitals, manufacturing, schools, airlines, and tech. In the summer of 2021, 50% of American small business owners reported at least one unfilled position, with 35% citing labor quality or cost as the most important problem facing their business.

However, the labor market has also seen strong wage growth and employment growth in the last two years, leading to high levels of inflation that are now causing concern for the Federal Reserve. The "Great Reshuffling," or the rate of Americans leaving their jobs for better opportunities, has contributed to the labor shortage, as many workers have transitioned to higher-paying industries.

Also consider that while desk-based workers have been able to use technology to improve their work-life balance, around 80% of global workers are "deskless" and need to be physically present to do their jobs. A survey found that 37% of deskless workers in seven countries were considering leaving their jobs within the next six months due to a lack of flexibility or work-life balance.

🔮 a16z Predictions for Blockchain in 2023

As every year, a16z has provided its list of predictions for 2023 specifically on Blockchain technology. Here’s some interesting takeaways:

Mobile - Blockchain technology will become more accessible to users through their smartphones in the coming year with the use of "light" clients that offer similar functionality to running a full node.

Zero knowledge systems - which can improve blockchain scalability and privacy-preserving applications, and multi-party computation, which allows for private data to be processed by multiple parties, will also continue to be significant developments in the field.

More Developers - The improvement of programming languages and the proliferation of educational materials for zero knowledge systems will likely result in more application developers working with these systems.

Gaming Industry focus - The use of blockchain in the gaming industry, particularly the adoption of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is also expected to continue to grow.

🚵 GenZ and the Sustainable Commuting

New research suggests that Gen Z, the youngest generation in the workforce, is leading a sustainable commuting movement. A study by e-bike engineers Swytch Technology found that:

• 37% of Gen Zers in the UK walk or cycle to work 

• 43% said they would change to an electric-powered mode of transport in the next few years because fossil fuels damage the environment.

A 2021 study led by the University of Oxford's Transport Studies Unit estimated that "active travel" – cycling, e-biking, and walking – could save up to a quarter of personal CO2 emissions from transport. The study also found that those who switch just one trip per day from car driving to cycling reduce their carbon footprint by about 0.5 tonnes over a year, representing a substantial share of average per capita CO2 emissions.

❄️Metaverse Winter

The nnumber of VR and AR deals declined from $18.9 billion across 311 deals in 2021 to $5 billion across 283 deals in 2022, indicating a decrease in investment and interest in the metaverse. Experts predict that AI will play a crucial role in the development of the metaverse in 2023. Qualcomm has released the specifications for its next-generation AR headsets and there is speculation that Apple will also enter the market. Some analysts have warned that the tech sector's market uncertainties, including energy shortages and the aftermath of the pandemic, could lead to a "metaverse winter."

🤝 Rise of Employee-owned Businesses

The number of employee-owned businesses in the UK has increased significantly in recent years, with nearly 500 employee ownership trusts established in the 12 months ending September 2022, up from 235 in the previous year and just 56 the year before. In the US, there are over 6,400 employee-owned companies.

Employee ownership trusts (EOTs) have become particularly popular as they offer a range of benefits including tax advantages, greater employee engagement and improved company performance. EOTs are particularly beneficial for service businesses as they place employees at the heart of the company and help to retain skilled staff.

On top of the financial benefits, employees report feeling more motivated and having a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. Sound familiar to DAOs?