4th Quarter 2020 |
In this issue:
Despite Reopenings, Many Employees Will Work Remotely Into 2021 and Beyond
How the Pandemic Has Changed Americans' Spending and Saving Habits
Getting Your Vehicle Ready For Winter
| Despite Reopenings, Many Employees Will Work Remotely Into 2021 and Beyond | |
 A majority of North American employers expect that most of their furloughed workers will return to work by the end of the first quarter of 2021. Nevertheless, more workers will continue working from home on a permanent basis than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a July survey of 283 large employers conducted by consultancy Willis Towers Watson. The responding companies employ 4.4 million workers.Those workers permanently laid off due to the pandemic, however, are less likely to return to work than those temporarily furloughed. Just 1 in 6 employers expect to rehire most of their laid-off workers by March 2021. Employers expect that the proportion of their full-time employees who are working from home will level off at around 19 percent, which is less than half of early July levels (44 percent) but nearly three times what it was in 2019, before the pandemic (7 percent), Willis Towers Watson reported. While employers expect to have significantly more remote workers in the future compared with last year, many have yet to develop policies to encourage working from home. The survey showed:
|
|
How the Pandemic Has Changed Americans' Spending and Saving Habits |
|
 For millions of Americans, the economic effects of the pandemic have been devastating, resulting in job loss, food insecurity or threat of eviction.But for many of those who are still employed - or who have a spouse who still is - it has changed how they use their money. Some have cut expenses and increased savings, paid off debt, or donated more to help those in need. Others have spent more on impulse purchases, made big life moves or postponed them. CNN Business asked readers how the pandemic has changed their spending and saving habits. Here's what some of them had to say. To continue reading, click here. |
|
| Getting Your Vehicle Ready For Winter | |
|
|
It's foolhardy to head out in a poorly maintained vehicle in the dead of winter, of course, but even vehicle owners in temperate zones need a car care check as the days grow shorter, note the pros with the nonprofit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), an independent group that tests and certifies the competence of auto technicians.