Florida's climate exodus
Hi, I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Today's Sunday edition, a roundup of our top reads of the week.
On the agenda today:
- Allegations of sexual abuse, hard drugs, and violence at a top insurance agency.
- Air travel has become an absolute nightmare.
- Florida's Great Displacement has already begun.
- The stock market is headed for a second wave of pain.
But first: Economy reporter Madison Hoff explains why "quiet" is the workplace word for 2023.
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This week's dispatch
Whisper it, but "quiet" might just be the workplace word for this year, Insider's Madison Hoff writes.
Most of us know about "quiet quitting," which is doing the bare minimum at your job without leaving. Experts worry this trend will only get more prevalent as companies conduct layoffs and implement hiring freezes. Increased responsibilities for the employees left behind could exacerbate the issue of people checking out at work.
Then there's "quiet hiring," one of the workplace buzzwords of 2023, which is all about focusing on internal talent without increasing head count. And although it doesn't use the word "quiet," there are related workplace terms floating around like "Bare Minimum Monday" and "Try Less Tuesday."
As Insider's Rebecca Knight and Tim Paradis wrote: It's "the TikTokian progeny of 'quiet quitting.'"
Why "quiet" is the workplace word for 2023
Read more:
The industry #MeToo forgot
Simon Arias III is a life-insurance-sales machine. His firm ranks among the most profitable agencies under the Globe Life umbrella. But Arias Agencies is now at the center of an explosive lawsuit that alleges a pattern of unchecked sexual assault and harassment. One of Arias' top lieutenants faces claims that he touched himself in front of a female direct report and sent a graphic Snapchat message.
In interviews with Insider, the plaintiff and 13 other former agents described Arias Agencies as a cesspool of sexual harassment, violence, and drug abuse.
Read our full investigation here.
Why flying sucks
Mass cancellations. Airline meltdowns. A million mishandled bags. A US-wide ground stop caused by outdated equipment. The past year has been a total nightmare for air travelers, with no signs of a long-term fix.
Experts say air travel's decline boils down to shortsighted decisions that prioritized efficiency and price cuts over quality and comfort. And there's no incentive for airlines to reverse course.
Go inside the miserable flying experience.
Read more:
- An airport worker says she dealt with lines of crying passengers and around 70 items of lost luggage every day during the holiday period
- I ended my career as a flight attendant after 5 years. It felt like my personal life would always be second fiddle to protecting the schedule.
Climate change hits the Sunshine State
Today's hurricanes tend to be stronger, wetter, and less predictable than those of the last century. As global warming continues to ratchet up the temperature of our oceans, we can expect more devastating hurricanes.
The danger to the Florida Keys doesn't end with hurricane season, either: The climate-crisis bill is coming due. As residents decide to pack up and leave, their current calamity offers a glimpse into the nation's future.
What to know about Florida's climate exodus.
Read more:
- Moving to Florida could save you on taxes — but cost more overall
- 6 reasons why moving to Florida can be a major disappointment
Wall Street's false sense of security
The stock market has started off the year in a state of euphoria. But according to Insider's Linette Lopez, elite investors are privately warning that this complacency will make the coming reversal more excruciating.
Rapid US economic growth makes inflation harder to kill and means the Federal Reserve has to continue hiking interest rates to tame rising prices. That combination breeds volatility and uncertainty across the markets. And it means a recession is still on the table. The stock market is still deep in the woods — and there are bears in this forest.
What investors are saying in private.
Read more:
- Reddit-loving day traders are making their chaotic presence felt again - and their risky behavior is fueling a stock rally that doesn't look sustainable
- Inside Wall Street's gloom-and-doom racket
This week's quote:
"At first I was shocked at their outspokenness about their work-life balance. I heard, 'No, I'm not going to take a super-early-morning call,' and 'This is when I sign off at night.'"
- An anonymous manager who manages Gen Z coworkers — and is inspired by the way they set boundaries.
More of this week's top reads:
- The new Bing is acting all weird and creepy — but the human response is way scarier.
- Furious Amazon employees are petitioning against the company's return-to-office plans.
- Ex-Bon Appétit editor Marissa Ross says the wine world ruined her. Now she's ready to give it hell.
- Wealthy Americans are racing to get the EU's last remaining "golden passports."
- A couple got a house for free — and they're renovating it into their "forever home."
- How one woman has made $126,000 in passive income through Etsy so far this year.
- A real-estate investor officially retired by "reverse engineering" his financial freedom.
- How a woman made $1.7 million in revenue on Fiverr in under two years.
- After driving 22 electric cars, these are the three our reporter would steer clear of.
Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Dave Smith and Lisa Ryan. Sign up for more Insider newsletters here.