Breaking Job News: New Unemployment Data, Hybrid Work Demands, And AI-Driven Shorter Work Weeks

In today's job market update, host Pete Newsome explores the continuation of hybrid work, new unemployment claims data, and significant legal rulings. Highlights include a decline in new jobless claims, the steady adoption of hybrid work models, and employer control over remote work arrangements. Insights from staffing companies suggest a positive job market trend, while new hybrid work behaviors like 'polyworking' and 'coffee badging' emerge.

Additionally, a CEO's optimistic views on AI potentially leading to shorter workweeks contrast with concerns about job displacement. Pete concludes by discussing a court ruling that reinforces employer control over work arrangements and how businesses can effectively navigate remote work policies.

News Articles: 
1. Unemployment claims: https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
2. Owl Labs State of Hybrid Work Report:  https://owllabs.com/state-of-hybrid-work/2025
3 HR Digest Shorter Work Weeks: https://www.thehrdigest.com/could-ai-be-the-path-to-a-shorter-workweek-zoom-ceo-yuan-believes-it-could/
4. CBIA Court Ruling: https://www.cbia.com/news/hr-safety/court-remote-work-ruling-backs-employers

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Episode Transcript

Pete Newsome (00:02):
Today's job market headlines include a new study
showing hybrid work is here tostay, a court ruling on working
in the office that backsemployers, and a CEO that says
soon we may not need to work inthe office five days a week
anyway.
But first, last week's initialunemployment claims have been
released by the Department ofLabor.
For the week ending September20th, the initial jobless claims

(00:24):
came in at $218,000, which isdown 14,000 from the prior
week's revised levels of232,000.
The four-week moving averagealso came down.
Continued claims are holdingsteady with about 1.93 million
still receiving unemploymentbenefits.
So what does this mean?
Well, the number suggests thatdespite fewer jobs being created

(00:44):
recently, we aren't seeing bigcuts, and that's a good thing.
So although many job seekersare having a tough time right
now, we know that they are,fewer people losing their jobs
last week versus the prior weekis always a good thing.
It just is.
I mean, that is a trend in theright direction.
Now, from my personalexperience, and although this is

(01:05):
anecdotal, September seems tobe trending really well.
I've had conversations in thepast week and a half with seven
staffing company owners, andwith that exception, they've all
seen their job orders start tospike over the past couple of
weeks.
And my own team is seeing thesame thing.
So I don't want to countchickens yet, but I won't be
surprised if we see a big jumpin the right direction when the

(01:28):
new job numbers come out nextweek, both from the federal
government, and yes, we knowthere's reason to be skeptical
about those, as well as the ADPNational Employment Report,
which comes out just about thistime next week.
So we look forward to seeingthose numbers and hopefully
those are positive next.
Out Labs has released their2025 State of Hybrid Work

(01:49):
Report.
It's based on a survey of 2,000U.S.
workers.
The big takeaway is that hybridwork is here to stay.
It's not going away, it's alasting shift.
73% of companies haven'tchanged their hybrid or remote
policies in the past year.
And that's a good thing becauseflexibility, it seems, is
non-negotiable with employees.

(02:09):
If companies rolled back remoteoptions, 40% of employees said
they'd start job hunting rightaway.
22% would demand a raise, and5% say they would quit outright.
Only 10% said they wouldn'tmind losing that flexibility.
And it sounds like employeesare willing to back that up too,
saying that they'd trade anaverage of 8 to 9% of their

(02:30):
salary for more flexibility.
The report also highlights newtrends like polyworking, where
28% of employees have a secondjob.
When do we stop calling thatside hustle?
Do we need another term for it?
I guess we we have one whetherwe want it or not.
Also, coffee badging issomething that 43% of hybrid
employees admit that theysometimes do, which is where

(02:53):
they just show up at the officelong enough to be seen.
Another thing the survey showsis how much crossover there is
between work and life, with 59%scheduling personal appointments
during business hours.
I suspect that number hasalways been about that.
It seems like it's been acommon thing throughout my
entire career.
But 65% are interested in microshifting.

(03:14):
And that's where they wouldbreak their day into short
nonlinear work blocks based ontheir own personal energy levels
and productivity patterns.
So definitely something thatemployers should uh consider
doing if it allows theiremployees to be happier and get
more work done.
That's a win-win uh if thereever was one.
But stress remains a big issue.

(03:35):
Nine in ten surveyed say thatthey're stressed right now at
work, and 39% report that it'sgotten worse over the past year.
So that's an awful trend tosee.
And that is a big jump yearover year.
And I suspect it probably hasas much to do with everything
else going on in the world andthe state of the job market and
the economy than it does withwhat's happening in their actual

(03:57):
office.
I would love to see that numberturn around next year for sure.
And then finally, on the AIfront, 80% of employees say
they're using or experimentingwith AI at work, but more than
half are open to the idea of anAI avatar attending meetings in
their place.
I would love that too.
I would like if my AI avatarcan do everything work-related

(04:19):
for me so I can hang out on thebeach instead.
That sounds great.
I don't think we're quite readyfor that yet.
Maybe next year, stay tuned,we'll have to wait and see.
And speaking of AI, let's shiftto an equally optimistic view
of its potential.
According to HR Digest, ZoomCEO Eric Yuan believes AI could
pave the way for a shorter workweek.
He recently told the New YorkTimes if AI can make all of our

(04:42):
lives better, why do we need towork for five days a week?
Every company will supportthree days, four days a week.
I think this ultimately freesup everyone's time.
Yes, it would free upeveryone's time.
Sounds great, but let's not getahead of ourselves.
Every company, no time soon,will be supporting three days a
week, four days a week.
I would say most won't, butit's a nice thought.

(05:04):
And he's not alone in thinkingthat.
Bill Gates has alluded to thepotential for a two or three-day
work week based on what AI cando to enhance productivity.
And NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang haspretty much said the same
thing.
So he's not alone in thinkingthat, that's for sure.
And but these views are vastlydifferent than the doom and
gloom scenarios we often hear,where AI is seen primarily as a

(05:27):
job destroyer.
That is a concern that I havefor sure.
But listen, let's hope thatthey're right in this.
And there are pilot programsthat have been tested over the
past few years that indicate afour-day work week has some
really positive signs.
Employee satisfaction goes upfor sure, and there doesn't
appear to be a drop in output.

(05:47):
But here's a rub for me.
AI can reduce busy work and itcan free us up to spend our time
on more meaningful tasks, butthere's no question that that
potential could displace entirecategories of jobs.
And Yuan did acknowledge that.
He said some entry-level rolesmay vanish while new ones will

(06:09):
emerge, but I don't think that'san if.
To me, that is happening rightnow.
So that's where I'm strugglingwith articles like this.
I mean, it's great.
AI can has all the potential inthe world for us and can
enhance our lives and give usfewer days in the office.
That's awesome.
But the us is what I strugglewith, right?
Fewer days in the office forthose who remain, but a lot of

(06:32):
people won't as a result of AIcompletely replacing what they
can do.
So look, we'll see what happensover time.
It is way too early.
This is such a moving target,but we know that the AI train
has left the station and itisn't slowing down.
So what I the message I alwayswant to give is it is up to
everyone individually to figureout if there's going to be a

(06:53):
place for them on that train.
So pay attention to what ishappening, how it's going to
affect your individual job, howit's going to affect your career
over time, and then make surethat you are adjusting as
necessary.
Finally, for today, theConnecticut Business and
Industry Association reports ona new appellate court ruling
that gives employers moreauthority to deny fully remote

(07:16):
work arrangements.
The case centered on anadministrative assistant who
requested to work entirely fromhome due to health concerns.
The employer argued thatin-person tasks like notarizing
documents and retrieving fileswere essential to what this
person did.
And the court sided with theemployer, affirming that full
remote work was not a reasonableaccommodation under the law

(07:39):
because it eliminated essentialduties.
The judges emphasized thatemployers deserve considerable
deference in defining what'sessential to a role.
So for business leaders,especially the ones considering
adjusting your remote workplans, if you're bringing people
back to the office, this rulingunderscores the importance of

(07:59):
documenting job requirementsclearly when it comes to offer
letters and job descriptions.
So take care of that up front.
And if in-person work isessential, spell it out clearly.
That'll protect against legalchallenges and will set a clear
expectation for both sides.
And this ruling reallysolidifies that the employer
winning is meaningful for themin this case.

(08:23):
But if you're more loose aboutit, you may not be successful if
that's a route you end uphaving to pursue.
So look, if you've gotten thisfar, also think of the survey I
talked about earlier.
That's worth considering.
Employees don't want to go backto the office.
So yes, you could force them todo it.
The question is, should you?

(08:44):
And that's something that everyemployer, every company will
have to answer for themselvesand then answer to their
employees as a result.
So those are the top storiesfor today.
But before we wrap up, here'syour fun fact.
There was a title in medievalEngland, a job called Gong
Farmer.
And that was a person paid toempty and clean out cesspits and

(09:05):
latranes.
So fun fact maybe for us.
Definitely doesn't sound like afun job for those who were gong
farmers.
Sounds pretty awful, but Iguess someone had to do it.
So there you go.
Thank you for listening today.
I appreciate it.
Please like, share, andsubscribe.
And if you have any comments orfeedback, I'd love to hear that

(09:27):
too.
Talk to you tomorrow.