PPB May 2022

DimaBerlin / Shutterstock.com amount of scams and fraud in the NFT space is overwhelming,” and follows with, “We implore you to reconsider.” Last year, the popularity of NFTs soared as the market topped $24.9 billion worldwide, and simultaneously so did the amount of fraudulent activity. In mid-February, NFT marketplace Cent temporarily suspended most of its NFT activities due to fraud, which primarily involved sellers exchanging NFTs that didn’t belong to them. Diving into NFTs would place Salesforce right in the midst of rampant fraudulent activity, yielding a host of new challenges coupled with the financial concern, and distracting from the company’s core mission. Lesson No. 3 Employee Feedback Counts Inspired by a sabbatical Benioff took to Hawaii in the late ’90s, the company embraces a sales culture of “Ohana,” a Hawaiian term used to describe a person’s friends and close social groups as extended family. However, the oversight of these employees’ perspectives outlines an atmosphere that suggests otherwise. In addition to the employee who expressed plans to quit, the letter shared that moving forward with the NFT Cloud “could result in increased attrition.” In response to the pushback, Salesforce scheduled a listening session with employees to collect their input. However, there’s no telling, as of now, what direction Salesforce will take. Salesforce’s decision to pursue NFT Cloud, by the looks of employee reaction, is rushed; a hastened effort to get on board with competitors. Sustainability was recently announced as a core commitment, but with this news it appeared as a mere afterthought, and one that immediately went from a core concept to being out of focus. Employees were rattled by the switch in focus and wanted Salesforce to reconsider how this investment, from both a financial and operational standpoint, would impact brand perception. With hundreds of employees pushing against the response, and some even threatening to leave the company, it’s a startling enough response to suggest an alternative plan. WATER COOLER Employees Cite Different Reasons ForWorking Remotely A new survey by Pew Research Center reveals that two years after the pandemic, many Americans are working remotely by choice. Two years since the onset of the pandemic, many Americans are still working from home, though transitions are increasingly underway, according to the Pew Research Center. In a new survey of more than 10,000 U.S. adults, “COVID-19 Pandemic Continues To Reshape Work In America,” 59% of adults who said they are able to perform their jobs from home are doing so all or most of the time; a 12%-reduction from October 2020. Among those who continue to work from home, the survey, which collected data in January, found that most (61%) say it’s because they choose to; 38% say it’s because their workplace is currently unavailable. The reasons prompting U.S. workers who can work remotely to continue doing so have changed, with three-quarters of them (76%) saying it’s a matter of preference; up from 60% in 2020. Fewer remote workers are concerned about coronavirus exposure—42% cited concerns compared to 57% in 2020—and more have reported relocating (17% compared to 9% in 2020) as a reason for remaining remote. Most Americans (57%) say that working remotely was something new for them, and for those with jobs that can be done remote, 60% say it’s something they’d like to continue. A majority of remote workers (64%) are finding an easier time managing their work-life balance and 44% feel that working from home has made it easier for them to manage their workload. Simultaneously, 60% of remote workers also feel less connected to their coworkers now, suggesting a possible area of concentration for businesses in a hybrid or remote work structure. | MAY 2022 | 71 THINK

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