Tag: additional coverage options

Quiet Quitting and what it means for employers

First, employees left their jobs in droves, but the problems for employers didn’t stop there. In a more optimistic time when the American dream was still the dream and the future was bright, employees wanted to go the extra mile to move up the hierarchy for a better tomorrow. The thought process and your hard work will pay off, and you will be rewarded. However, as inflation increases and wages can’t keep up, many employees have stopped drinking the kool-aid and either want to be compensated for the extra labor or won’t do it. Thus the term quiet quitting, in which you do what’s in your job description, nothing more, no staying late or working outside your predetermined hours or taking on extra work for the good of the company. Quiet quitting isn’t necessarily a new practice. Many compare the concept to coasting. However, I think an important distinction here is that quiet quitting isn’t personal to the company but is rooted in the need for work-life balance or extra in exchange for extra. Work-life balance is more of a private matter; balance means something different depending on the industry and person. 

However, if you’re seeking an extra to exchange for effort, consider offering more incentives to employees. I’m not talking about pizza parties or casual Fridays- nobody sees those as incentives. Instead, employees want incentives to make their lives less stressful to take weights off their shoulders. One significant weight is sure to be the expense of insurance and benefits. With HealthEE by HBG, you can offer your employees more options at more possible rates at no cost to the employer. More than just the affordability aspect, HealthEE by HBG provides a sense of control and choice to employees, something they won’t find elsewhere. It’s not a stretch to consider a piece of the quiet quitting appeal: the sense of control it offers employees. Give your employees the power of choice and the possibility of affordability with the HealthEE by HBG benefit stores. 

 

The Creator Economy AKA the Everyone Economy

 Over the last 20 years, how we consume entertainment and media has drastically changed. Back in the day, we had accepted that the Marilyn Monroes and Elizabeth Taylors of the world were of a different species, unattainable in lifestyle, image, and wealth, only existing behind the gates of MGM to a world now where anyone and everyone with a smartphone can attain status. While I wouldn’t dream of comparing the likes of Emma Chamberlin to Marilyn Monroe, my point is concerning influence and wealth. Many dismiss the concept of content creating or influencing (depending on your audience) as a genuine career. Still, you have to consider the undeniable fact that Miss Chamberlin, at the age of 19, bought herself her first home in West Hollywood for 3.9 Million dollars. Now, of course, Emma Chamberlain is a success story at the most extreme side of the creator economy spectrum, but she is not the only one living on her content creation. 

Content creation refers to the work used to hopefully sway viewers to embrace a trend or purchase a product. There are many kinds of content creators, some of which, like Emma, are personalities themselves influencing viewers because they want to be like her. Others, for example, make UGC or user-generated content that brands can use for “organic” appearance advertisements. While to make UGC, you may be an influencer in your own right; you are more likely just making clean content that marketers hope looks like a natural person using and praising their product. Of course, there is also the degree of influence to consider. With this desire to appear honest and real many marketers look to smaller accounts, dubbed “micro-influencers,” to promote their products. If you haven’t guessed it by now, what makes the creator economy go round is the social media platforms they frequent but more so the brands sending them products and writing checks. Now to be clear, it isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. A tiny portion of the influencer economy is making the big bucks, but just enough people do that everyone else believes they can. A survey by the Morning Consult in 2020 of 2,000 13-38 year-olds found that 54% of respondents wanted to be an influencer, and 86% would be willing to post sponsored content. In other words, the influencer economy isn’t going anywhere. Such a high demand for this career can inspire anyone looking to join in, as well as inform company owners who are either hesitant about the whole debacle or worried they waited too long to jump on the bandwagon. There are many nuances to the creator economy that may feel intimidating to utilize from the outside looking in. Still, you can better understand the driving forces behind many of today’s purchasers by understanding the opportunity of a micro-influencer as a trusted messenger for your product or service. Many are influenced to purchase products or hope to influence others by buying products. Either side of the coin puts anyone unwilling to accept and use the creator economy to their benefit at a severe disadvantage in today’s consumer climate.

Pumpkin banana muffins

In recent years pumpkin spice and consequently pumpkins as a flavor in general have gotten the short end of the stick. Dubbed “basic” by many I thought it was high time we reclaimed the goodness that is pumpkin but this time with a twist. If you’re anything like me you have bananas staring down at you from wherever they are kept in your home, mine are above my fridge just begging to be used. So pumpkin-banana muffins it is! I found the perfect recipe so you don’t have to, all you have to do is bake!

 Not that I needed a reason to love pumpkins anymore than I already do but for my non-believers there are actually several health benefits to pumpkins. For starters they are rich with Vitamin A, which strengthens your immune system, never a bad thing especially in our current climate. Pumpkins are a great source of fiber and along with a whole slew of other vitamins and minerals is high in vitamin C which can be contributed to faster healing. Read on for the fall-in-a-bite vegan pumpkin banana muffins that will turn even the most anti pumpkin person into a pumpkin lover like the rest of us. 

Ingredients: 

  • 2 overripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions: 

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prep your muffin pan by Lining it so nothing sticks and set the pan aside.

Step 2: First in your baking bowl add the bananas, pumpkin pure and brown sugar.

Step 3: Now mix together the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Step 4: Stir in the oil and vanilla extract.

Step 5: While being cautious not to over mix, begin to contribute the flour and gently fold until combined, note the batter is supposed to be thick. 

Step 6: Divide batter into muffin pan equally among the cups.

Step 7: Bake for 18 – 20 minutes.

Step 8: Cool in pan for 10 minutes & enjoy! This recipe makes roughly 12 muffins. 

Enjoy!