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Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 Key Signs You're Truly Middle Class — It's Much More Than Your Paycheck
In recent years, defining the middle class has become a slippery issue for economists. That's largely because the income range that institutions use to define this cohort is so broad. Find Out: For You: According to the Pew Research definition of middle-class income being two-thirds to twice the median income., a household of four earning between roughly $52,000 to $156,000 a year is considered middle class. However, that's a pretty big wage gap as you can do a lot more with $156,000 than you can with $52,000, surely. And then, what if you're making $100,000 in, say, West Virginia, while another family is making $70,000 in San Francisco? To define the middle class solely by income range is weak and unreliable, because there are just too many other variables to consider. Here are some signs you have landed yourself squarely in the middle class. One of the biggest chunks of your monthly expenses typically falls under your rent, mortgage or housing payments. So whether or not you are considered middle class is largely determined by the context of where you live and the cost of living. The most obvious marker of someone who's middle class is if the majority of their net worth is tied up in their home. Simply put, if your home makes up around 80% of your assets, you likely find yourself in the financial middle. This is especially true when you have high mortgage payments or property taxes, as that keeps you from growing your wealth steadily. But hey, at least you're not paying rent. Up Next: If the amount owed on a mortgage signifies whether one is middle class, what does that mean for renters? It means, usually, that they're beneath the middle class or on the lower end of it. This also depends on where you live, though, and the housing market in your area. Even a middle-class income may not be enough to buy a house in some places. However complex the issue of defining the middle class may be, some indicators of this status are almost obvious. For instance, in an emergency, most of those in the middle class are financially prepared enough to handle it. So, if you have at least some savings set aside for unexpected expenses such as job loss or medical bills, it is a middle-class status symbol of sorts. Earning and saving money are important, but if you can invest it as well, this is a key sign you're in the middle class. This means that not only do you have a sufficient salary, but you can also live comfortably with a higher risk tolerance. Knowing it takes more than a savings account to grow your retirement fund, and investing as such, is a crucial factor for this social and economic class. Those who participated in the phenomenon dubbed 'The Great Resignation,' wherein they quit their jobs for another, may also be considered middle class. This is not only because they had the luxury of being able to quit, but because they recognized that they had only themselves to rely on. If you feel the freedom to act on job dissatisfaction by leaving your current employment, that confidence typically stems from a middle-class core. Another factor to consider when assessing whether one is middle class is how affected they are by debt. Everything from student loans to car payments can make growing your wealth difficult, but if you are covering your cost of living and then some, you are probably comfortably in the middle class. If you have the ability to provide a college education for your children, that's a pretty solid indicator that you exist within the financial parameters of the middle class. In fact, being able to afford higher education in general is a sign of that status. The expense of a college education for a child can range from the low tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the university, so this is no small financial feat. Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? Mark Cuban Tells Americans To Stock Up on Consumables as Trump's Tariffs Hit -- Here's What To Buy 5 Little-Known Ways to Make Summer Travel More Affordable 6 Big Shakeups Coming to Social Security in 2025 This article originally appeared on 7 Key Signs You're Truly Middle Class — It's Much More Than Your Paycheck Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Workplace power balance: Are we entering ‘The Boss Era?'
Employees may not like it, but analysts say the workplace is shifting back in favor of employers. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a few trends over the last few years, like work from home, quiet quitting, and The Great Resignation. But those are fading away, according to experts. Now we're entering what some are referring to as 'The Boss Era.' It's a philosophy that retiree Joan Coggins knows well. 'You don't have the privilege of a job. You work for it, earn it,' Coggins said. Nick Juravich, a professor of labor studies, co-edited the book 'The Pandemic and The Working Class,' and he says the pressure on workers has 'really ratcheted back up.' 'I think bosses have really wanted to reassert control, whether that's surveilling people through their computers if they're working remotely, or getting them back in the office, or demanding that they be part of increasingly sort of rigorous and intensive forms of on-the-job surveillance and tracking,' Juravich said. Greg Stoller, a lecturer on business topics at Boston University, says layoffs and a volatile stock market have changed the workplace dynamic. 'This is not a drill, this is not a blip,' Stoller said. 'Right now, I think the pendulum is shifted back to the bosses being able to call the shots.' Stoller says workers need to step up their game to ensure they continue to have a job. 'I think the onus is on the employee to work harder, so if you're working from 9-5, I'm telling people to come in at 8:30, stay until 5:30,' Stoller said. Some workers, like Joel Veilleux, see it a little differently. 'Us in the construction industry, we didn't get the luxury to work from home. We were in the middle of it all.' Still, he told me he can sympathize with those facing a new workplace reality. 'Nobody wants to go back to the office, nobody,' Veilleux said. Stoller says employees should 'try to go into the office as much as possible.' 'I think the pendulum has shifted that nobody owes you the right to work at home,' Stoller said. A survey two years ago by the software company Beautiful AI said 60% of managers reported that if layoffs were needed, they'd start with remote workers. (VIDEO: Truist Bank says time's up for remote work)
Forbes
23-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Great Stay Isn't Over. What's Next For The U.S. Workforce In 2025?
Job insecurity is at its peak since the aftermath of COVID-19 After the mass resignations of 2021, leading to the trend dubbed The Great Resignation, millions of professionals are doing the exact opposite of what we saw a few years ago. Not because they love their jobs, but because they're too afraid and worried about the economy and threats to their job security to leave. This most recent workforce trend has been called The Great Stay, and it kicked off in late 2023 to early 2024. Recent data from MyPerfectResume's State Of The Labor Market report notes that the trend is continuing, and employees have valid reason to be worried. The report notes that four in five workers are anxious about losing their jobs this year, and the numbers reveal the extent to which professionals are losing faith in the job market, painting a stark picture of the U.S. workforce today. The survey, which polled more than 1,100 U.S. workers revealed that about 76% of workers anticipate more layoffs this year, with 63% expecting more businesses to close compared to last year. More than half predict burnout rates to worsen. And job insecurity has been cited as the leading cause by 43% of respondents. Indeed, 2025 has had its fair share of labor market turbulence. February saw the highest number of layoffs since the pandemic, and ongoing negotiations in the trade war between the Trump administration and other countries has set off tariffs and counter-tariffs, meaning more factories and plants are forced to shut down and lay off their workers. So of course U.S. professionals in the traditional workforce have cause for concern. But with this backdrop, what can workers expect or prepare for during the rest of the year? With more workers staying put in their jobs--even in roles they hate or at employers that are toxic--the side effects of taking such a course could worsen. The Great Stay can result in skill atrophy, especially if your role does not provide room or space for you to grow and expand. You end up settling for less-than-ideal rather than quitting your job because you have nothing else to fall back on, and since your skills are under-utilized, you lose enjoyment, fulfilment, and satisfaction in your career. This inadvertently impacts your mental health and overall wellbeing. Staying in a job that is not healthy for you can also lead to other disastrous consequences such as missed income potential, and losing any drive or self-motivation for your life. Perhaps this is why, simultaneously, many U.S. workers are opting for freelancing and taking up side hustles as a means of not only boosting their income (relieving over-reliance on their primary job) but also as a way of exploring their interests and skills and enjoying their work, outside the confines of their jobs. Instead of staying idle, many are exploring ways to make money online and build passive income streams. Professionals who continue to stay in their jobs this year, even when they would have moved otherwise, intend to use their spare time to upskill so they can not only retain their roles but so they can also be of use elsewhere and increase their value in the job market. The MyPerfectResume report states that '61% of workers plan to upskill in 2025 to remain competitive.,' which is certainly a positive upside to this labor market trend. Overall, while staying in a job because of fear may feel secure, it's not the safest route, as far as your mental and physical wellbeing are concerned. Neither is it a smart move if you don't have a back-up plan, because the past few months have shown us that your job is still at risk of being eliminated regardless of your role's hierarchy level. True job security in 2025 comes from positioning yourself for opportunities before they're needed; learning on the go; creating additional income streams; and strategically protecting your mental health and refusing to succumb to burnout. This means taking a break when you feel you need it, standing your ground for your rights at work, listening to your body, setting clear boundaries at work, and allocating time for upskilling each week. If a job does not offer you room to grow, you've got to provide your own options Who knows, 2025 might pave the way for a new workplace trend: one where employees are empowered to take back control of their careers and create opportunities for themselves independent of employers?
Fox News
02-04-2025
- Business
- Fox News
COVID 5 Years Later: Impact on the Workplace
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on American workplaces, reshaping where we work, how we do our jobs, and employee priorities. According to Glassdoor's Lead Economist, Daniel Zhao, "there's more flexibility in today's workplace, whether that means remote or hybrid options." Once uncommon, remote work has become the norm. When the pandemic struck in 2020, offices quickly adapted to allow employees to work from home, forever altering how business operate. However, not everyone believes this shift should be permanent. C-E-O and founder of Vox Funding, Adam Benowitz argues it's time to return to in-person work, saying, "I think everyone benefits from in-person work and coming in and collaborating. Decision making is more is quicker. Friendships are made; bonds are formed that are hard to form when everybody's working in their house." Benowitz, is not alone in his belief that over the next five years, businesses will return to a pre-pandemic work model. Major companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple are already requiring employees to return to the office. Benowitz adds, "People are, by and large, realizing the that people need to be together. And we're moving back toward that.... I think you're going to see more things like four-day weeks with a little flextime." But not everyone agrees with this perspective. Zhao believes remote work is here to stay, noting, "It's just an important reminder that even though there might be some big companies that are making changes, a lot of Americans are employed at small to medium businesses, and there's a lot of experimentation from those smaller and medium sized businesses where they might get more benefit from being able to hire all the way across the country." What both sides do agree on is that the future of work is likely to be hybrid. In 2021 and 2022, we experienced "The Great Resignation." Coming out of that, offices began prioritizing overall well-being. And, both employee and employer are focusing on work-life balance. As Zhao observes, "There's certainly more awareness now about the power and possibility of flexibility in the workplace. That also means flexibility around hours and allowing workers to pop out of the office early if they need to go pick up their kids." This shift is especially beneficial for younger Americans. In 2024, 84% of millennials and 74% of Gen Z expressed a desire for more remote work options. Still, some, like Benowitz, believe working in an office is more valuable, "Those are the generations that need it the most, that are on their way up there trying to learn. Learn new skills, learn who they are, make new friendships think we are cheating those younger generations if we're not bringing them into the office and they'll regret it later." While hybrid schedules offer numerous benefits, such as eliminating the commute, reducing stress, and providing more time at home. Companies also benefit by downsizing office space and tapping into a broader talent pool.
