Current Events in September 2020

A new study conducted by researchers from New York University explored how the teen-parent relationship can impact the likelihood of cyberbullying. The findings revealed that when teens feel supported and encouraged by their parents, there is a smaller chance of them cyberbullying others.

“While our study doesn’t prove that a lack of parental support directly causes cyberbullying, it does suggest that children’s relationships with their parents might influence their bullying behaviors,” said researcher Laura Grunin. “These relationships should be considered when developing interventions to prevent cyberbullying.” 

The importance of parental support

The researchers analyzed over 12,000 responses to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey, which assessed teens’ family situations and their interpersonal relationships with their peers. 

The study showed that cyberbullying was most likely to happen when teens felt like they were lacking the love and support they needed from their parents. Those who said they lacked parental support were six times more likely to engage in cyberbullying behaviors compared to those who said they felt supported by their parents.

“Our findings point to the importance of emotional support as a factor that may influence whether teens cyberbully -- and more importantly, it is how teens perceive the support they receive from their parents,” said Grunin. “I would stress to parents it is not necessarily if they think they are being supportive, but what their adolescent thinks. Parents should strive to discern their teen’s perception of parental emotional support as it might be associated with youth cyberbullying behavior.” 

Being mindful in the future

The researchers also cited two important factors to consider when thinking about teens and cyberbullying moving forward. For starters, this survey was conducted a decade ago, and social media and smartphones have only increased in popularity. The researchers say this could certainly have an effect on these findings. 

Secondly, the researchers say that cyberbullying should be a major focus as many schools reopen virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, cyberbullying could become more prominent in this type of online learning environment. 

“Understanding what factors are related to a young person’s cyberbullying of peers is important for developing ways that families, schools, and communities can prevent bullying or intervene when it occurs,” said researcher Sally S. Cohen. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Indiana University explored how being generous can affect how others perceive you. Their work revealed that not only are more generous people typically viewed as more attractive, but the opposite was also true: Those who were seen as more attractive were more likely to be more generous. 

“Poets and philosophers have suggested the link between moral and physical beauty for centuries,” said researcher Sara Konrath. “This study confirms that people who are perceived as more attractive are more likely to give and givers are seen as more attractive.” 

People are attracted to generosity 

To understand how attractiveness and generosity are linked, the researchers analyzed results from three different studies that included responses from participants of all different ages. The researchers’ overarching goal was to have participants rate other people’s attractiveness without knowing anything about their background or personality. Their second goal was to assess whether attractive people are more or less likely to be altruistic. 

Participants were also asked about which traits they typically find attractive in other people, which helped the researchers determine how physical attractiveness stacked up against other attributes. 

Regardless of age, the findings showed that attractiveness and generosity are undeniably linked. The study revealed that consumers are more likely to expect people they find attractive to be more generous, and being generous, regardless of physical appearance, was an attractive trait to the majority of the participants. 

Researcher Femida Handy explained that “despite being conducted at different times, using different participants, and using different methods and measures,” the outcome was clear across all three studies. 

The next beauty trend?

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these findings spark a new wave of generosity among consumers. Considering how highly so many of the participants rated generosity as an attractive trait, these findings could ignite positive changes for the future. 

“Our findings suggest that beauty products and procedures may not be the only way to enhance an individual’s attractiveness,” Konrath said. “Perhaps being generous could be the next beauty trend.” 

Target is throwing a first birthday party for its Good & Gather line by giving the chain’s number one-selling food brand another 600 items to tempt consumers with.

Target says Good & Gather’s appeal is in its wholesome approach, which eschews artificially pumped up, sweetened, and colored products. The move in that direction has proven to be a boon for the retailer, helping it to take in more than $1 billion in food-related sales in its first year. 

“Food plays such an important role in our guests’ lives,” says Stephanie Lundquist, executive vice president and president, Food & Beverage, Target. “And now, as guests are eating and cooking at home—and appreciating good value—more than ever, Good & Gather’s delicious, high-quality assortment and affordable price continues to set Target apart.”

What’s new to Good & Gather

When Target first launched Good & Gather, there were 650 items in the brand’s arsenal -- mostly dairy, produce, pantry staples, and ready-made pastas. Over the course of the first year, Target started sprinkling in plant-based meats, yogurt, and even oat milk. 

With the newest 600-item additions, consumers who favor whole and natural foods will find hummus, frozen zucchini spirals, meatless burgers and other items holding true to the commitment of no artificial flavors, sweeteners, synthetic colors, or high fructose corn syrup.

Because of Good & Gather’s growth, Target is making it the store’s main private label grocery brand. That also means a sunsetting for two of its other brands, Archer Farms and Simply Balanced. 

COVID-19’s recipe for success

Slowly and quietly, Target has been building an emphasis on its food and beverage business over the last few years. And, in the company’s opinion, the pandemic actually helped its food business grow.

Lundquist says that consumers are consolidating their shopping trips in the new shopping landscape that COVD-19 has created. The company says its order pickup and drive-up options, coupled with its same-day delivery service, haven’t hurt either.

United Airlines said Wednesday that it plans to furlough 16,000 jobs due to low air travel demand and a lack of new federal aid. 

In a memo to employees, the airline said that its “heart-wrenching” decision to cut jobs will come ahead of the expiration of payroll restrictions tied to a federal bailout set to end October 1. Congress has been working on another coronavirus relief package, but it doesn’t currently appear to include anything for airlines. 

The airline said it "cannot continue with staffing levels that significantly exceed the schedule we fly” and that it doesn’t expect things to return to any level of normal “until a vaccine is developed and widely administered.” 

An extension of the CARES Act “would be the one thing that would prevent involuntary furloughs on October 1 and hopefully delay any potential impact on employees until early 2021," the memo said.

Struggling to stay afloat

The cuts will shave nearly 17 percent off the airline’s workforce. However, United noted that the figure is significantly less than it thought it would have to cut back in July. The lowered total was made possible by the thousands of volunteers who accepted buyouts, early retirement packages, and other forms of temporary leaves or reduced schedules. 

United and other airlines are currently trying to win back public support. In the absence of a vaccine, United CEO Scott Kirby said air travel demand this year will likely top out at just half of what it was in 2019. 

United recently announced that it would permanently scrap a $200 ticket-change fee for passengers. Shortly after the airline made its announcement, Delta, American, and Alaska Airlines announced that they would also be doing away with the $200 fee. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it’s extending a program that provides free meals to kids due to the coronavirus pandemic and the “unprecedented situation” it’s caused.

The program normally ends at the end of the summer, but the USDA has chosen to extend the program through December 31 in light of the health crisis. 

“The flexibilities allow summer meal program operators to continue serving free meals to all children into the fall months,” Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement. “This unprecedented move will help ensure – no matter what the situation is on-the-ground – children have access to nutritious food as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Keeping children fed

Perdue said the extension of the summer program will help ensure that all children are “fed and ready to learn, even in new and ever-changing learning environments.” 

The USDA will also be expanding access to the program. Under the changes announced Monday, meals will be distributed "in all areas and at no cost." Meals will also be served outside of the typically-required group settings and meal times. 

Additionally, parents and guardians will be allowed to pick up meals for children -- a change intended to increase the safety of children and family members at a higher risk of catching COVID-19. 

“Over the past six months, partners across the country have stood up nearly 80,000 sites, handing out meals at a higher reimbursement rate than the traditional school year program,” the USDA said. 

The recently announced extension and expansion of the program will help ensure that meal options are available to all children under all circumstances during the pandemic, the USDA said.

While COVID-19 wreaked havoc with some retailers, forcing them to shut down completely, the department store chain Macy’s was able to weather the pandemic thanks to its digital business and a reduction in staff. 

Now that its stores have reopened, the company is preparing for the future. In its crystal ball, Macy’s sees potential in taking a unique route of playing two ends against the middle -- being more selective about which malls it’s in and testing out the upside of smaller stores away from the bustle of shopping malls.

“We continue to believe that the best malls in the country will thrive,” Macy’s Chief Executive Jeff Gennette told analysts on Wednesday. “However, we also know that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s have high potential [off]-mall and in smaller formats.” 

Gennette went on to say that Macy’s immediate priority is accomplishing a successful 2020 holiday season. In 2021, the retail chain will start putting its attention on smaller stores and better malls.

“We plan to invest in fashion, digital and omnichannel, work with agility, and galvanize the resources of the company to serve our customers and move the Macy’s, Inc. business forward,” Gennette concluded.

The prognosis for department stores

Department stores were on the ropes before the coronavirus pandemic emerged, and COVID-19 did Macy’s no favors.

“Though Macy’s is a traditional titan in the U.S. retail sector, it’s struggled to adapt for years. And the pandemic has only exacerbated its issues — though the data shows shoppers are returning, the recovery has stalled,” Ethan Chernofsky, VP of Marketing at Placer.ai told ConsumerAffairs. He noted that foot traffic has been down more than 40 percent year-over-year every week since late June.

Placer’s data shows that the pinch on Nordstrom is even greater than Macy’s. Placer’s reasoning is that Nordstrom stores are often in dense urban centers, the areas most heavily impacted by the pandemic. “As a result of that, Nordstrom’s foot traffic has remained effectively kneecapped,” Chernofsky said, pointing to data showing Nordstrom in-store shoppers down almost 43 percent from 2019 levels for the week of August 10.

In spite of the economic uncertainty created by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, consumers were big spenders when it came to new cars last month. They might have bought fewer vehicles, but they paid more for them.

The average transaction price (ATP) on new cars and trucks in August was an estimated $38,635, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB). That’s a 4 percent increase over August 2019 and just slightly higher than July’s ATP.

"New-car transaction prices flattened from last month. It is interesting to note, this is consistent with seasonal trends from 2017 to 2019, despite volatility earlier this year," said Sara Richards, an analyst for KBB.

Impressive rebound

It’s a pretty impressive rebound from the spring of this year, when car-buying -- and spending on everything but toilet paper and canned goods -- came to a screeching halt. But Richards says it remains to be seen if the rebound will extend into the end of the year.

"Supply and inventory are still expected to be a challenge in high demand segments going into the fall, due to factory shutdowns this past spring,” Richards said. “Additionally, a potential second wave of shutdowns during the fall and winter seasons remains a concern."

Consumers spent the most freely on GM brands, selecting more expensive models and option packages. GM’s ATP jumped 3 percent from July to last month.

Other automakers showed big gains year-over-year. Hyundai-Kia, Subaru, and Toyota all posted ATP gains over 4 percent. Ford and Fiat Chrysler are both up more than 6 percent year-over-year.

Big demand for trucks

A big reason for the significant rise in what consumers paid for vehicles is the increase in pickup truck sales. But even in that more expensive category, consumers increased what they were willing to pay. Major contributors to this increase include the GMC Canyon, Ford F-Series, and GMC Sierra. 

Consumers also spent more on non-luxury vehicles, with transaction prices rising about half a percent from last month; they are now up more than 4 percent year-over-year. KBB said SUV sales contributed to the increase, but this trend could reverse if dealers begin to run short of that vehicle body type.

Electric vehicles, led by Tesla, produced a 4.6 percent year-over-year gain in price. In this time of economic uncertainty, consumers appeared more wary of luxury cars. The ATP for entry-level luxury brands dropped 0.2 percent and plunged 5.6 percent for high-end luxury vehicles.

General Motors is recalling 7,071 model year 2020 Chevrolet Corvettes.

Despite visual and audible warnings, the vehicle can be driven with the front trunk lid unlatched.

An unlatched hood can open when the vehicle is driven above a certain speed, obstructing the driver's forward view and increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the software in the vehicle's Body Control Module to limit the vehicle speed to 26 mph when the hood is not completely closed and latched free of charge.

In addition, the operation of the hood release on the key fob will be modified to reduce the likelihood of inadvertent hood release actuations.

Owners also may allow the vehicle to be remedied via an Over-The-Air software update.

The recall is expected to begin October 3, 2020.

Owners may contact GM customer service at (866) 522-9559. GM's number for this recall is N202311160.

With Congress still deadlocked over providing additional aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers are struggling to stay financially afloat. Because of the desperation that has spawned from this crisis, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it’s even more important to be aware of scammers who are looking to take advantage of the situation. 

In a recent blog post, FTC investigator Diana Shiller said that one of the latest schemes to look out for involves supposed money offers that are being made by companies on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. She says consumers are reporting seeing messages from many well-known companies that offer money to those who may be in need. 

“People have reported seeing messages that seem to be from Pepsi, Walmart, Target, and other big-name brands. These messages all offer money to people who need it -- through grants, coupons for food support, or other giveaways. But they’re all fake, and not from those companies at all,” Shiller warned. 

Online phishing scams

Shiller says what scammers are actually doing with these offers is running a phishing scam that’s intended to collect personal information. Although the thought of receiving help from a benevolent company might be nice, the fact of the matter is that there is no actual assistance being offered. In fact, receiving the message through a friend isn’t even a guarantee that you’re not being played.

“There’s no money to get, and no help to be had. Just scammers. It could have been a real (and hopeful) friend who forwarded that message to you -- but it could have been a scammer who hacked your friend’s account,” Shiller said.

The FTC says that consumers who receive a suspicious offer should submit a complaint on the agency’s website. Aside from that, it’s important to not click or share any links that were included in the messages. If you have any doubts, the agency says to simply delete the messages and directly contact the person who messaged you in the first place to see if they actually sent you the information. Given the damage these scam offers could inflict, it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

A good news/bad news story for taxpayers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) came Tuesday, the first day of President Trump’s payroll tax deferral.

The good news is that American workers who signed up and took part in the program will see a temporary bump up in their take-home pay. 

The bad news is that they’ll probably see smaller paychecks in early 2021.

Who’s affected?

Under the order, affected workers would be:

• Employees who will be compensated for any work between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020; and 

• Employees whose pretax, bi-weekly paycheck is less than $4,000.

Those workers have an obligation to pay a 6.2 percent Social Security tax on each paycheck, with their employers picking up the responsibility for a separate 6.2 percent. Both workers and employers will also split a 2.9 percent tax to support the Medicare program. 

Get ready for the rollercoaster

Experts had previously criticized the deferral as being vague, but there are some salient points every applicable taxpayer needs to know because this deferral could also be called a rollercoaster ride.

Until the end of the year, employees who take part in the deferral can count on an interim boost in their take-home pay, but they may be shocked come January when they see that bump headed the other way. 

The simple reason is that employers have to start paying the payroll tax effective January 1, 2021. Those employers have until April 30, 2021 to pay the “applicable taxes” or interest and penalties will begin to pile on. 

And that might create a sticky wicket that taxpayers may not like. According to the order, to fulfill the obligatory taxes, the employer “may make arrangements to otherwise collect the total Applicable Taxes from the employee.” 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 6,036,569 (6,002,615)

Total U.S. deaths: 183,689 (183,203)

Total global cases: 25,533,086 (25,259,201)

Total global deaths: 851,647 (847,107)

Pandemic takes toll on Americans’ emergency savings

Besides the rising toll on Americans’ health, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has delivered a major hit to Americans’ emergency savings. A SurveyMonkey poll finds that about 14 percent of consumers say they’ve exhausted their savings since the pandemic began.

But the economic pressure has had a positive effect as well. When asked to classify themselves as “savers” or “spenders,” nearly half of both groups say they are now putting the emphasis on saving.

The survey also found that six out of every 10 Americans now consider themselves to be “savers,” an increase of six points from a year ago.

GM to keep turning out ventilators 

GM and Ventec Life Systems are nearing the completion of their contract with the U.S. government to build ventilators at a GM facility, but the automaker expects the work will be extended to help the government stockpile the lifesaving equipment.

GM said it will lease a building on its Kokomo, Indiana campus to Ventec, the company that partnered with GM in April to produce a total of 30,000 ventilators. 

“The entire GM team stepped up and contributed for the greater good, but clearly our focus needs to be on automotive-related manufacturing,” GM spokesman Dan Flores told CNBC. “Ventec is the expert here. We’re going to step back and they’re going to assume responsibility once the contract is filled.”

Here’s what’s holding up another stimulus package

Republicans and Democrats have been at an impasse on a new round of pandemic relief measures for nearly a month. Until lately, there’s been little sign of a breakthrough. But it turns out the two sides may agree on a lot of things that could help Americans.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows says the biggest stumbling block is the issue of federal aid to states and municipalities. The Democrats have proposed $900 million while the Republicans have offered just $150 million.

In a broadcast interview, Meadows said the two sides agree on most of the other proposals, including another round of direct payments to Americans. Meadows said Republicans would offer a bill next week that includes just the items the two sides agree on, but Democrats have opposed that.

COVID-19 is shaping the future of education

When the pandemic hit, schools had to suddenly shift gears by closing classrooms and setting up online instruction almost overnight. Experts say that’s likely to have a lasting impact on education.

The start of the fall term has been marked by tense debates between parents, who want their children back in class, and teachers, who are worried about health issues and want an extension of online instruction.

Bradley Marianno, a University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education professor and expert on teachers’ unions, says unions have led the fight against reopening classrooms in response to member concerns. He says educators will be required to resolve the inequities inherent in an online learning system since many low-income students lack the necessary resources.

Watch your language, you could be spreading COVID-19

Many factors undoubtedly determine how the coronavirus spreads, but a linguist from RUDN University has offered a novel explanation. The number of COVID-19 cases in a country might be related to the existence of aspirated consonants in its main language of communication. 

Languages heavy in words beginning with “p,” “t,” and “k” tend to expel more droplets into the air. If the person is infected with the coronavirus, that can cause its spread. Georgios Georgiou, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at RUDN University, says the data can help create more accurate models to describe the spread of COVID-19.

He said it could explain why some nations have a lot of cases and other nations are less affected. "Although no clear relationship was observed, we do not rule out that the spread of COVID-19 can be partially due to the presence of aspirated consonants in a country's main language of communication,” he said.

Around the nation

• New York: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio squashed hopes this week for an early return to indoor dining in the city. In fact, at a press briefing Monday, the mayor suggested that a return to some semblance of normal may have to wait until there’s an approved vaccine.

• Florida: The state has reached a milestone of sorts. On Monday, the state department of health reported 1,885 new cases of the coronavirus. It was the first time since June 15 that the daily count had been under 2,000. For much of July and August, the state recorded 5,000 new cases per day.

• South Dakota: With its sparse population, South Dakota has avoided the spikes in coronavirus cases that some states have experienced -- until recently. State health officials say the number of positive tests has skyrocketed, mainly among college students who returned to campus two weeks ago.

As expected, Walmart has announced the launch of a membership program similar to Amazon Prime. The program, Walmart+, costs $98 per year and launches September 15.

Details of the program leaked in July, and today’s announcement confirms most of them. Members get unlimited free delivery from Walmart stores, fuel discounts, and access to a range of tools designed to speed up the shopping process.

Payment options include the annual fee of $98 or a monthly charge of $12.95. The program is being introduced with a 15-day free trial.

“We are a company committed to meeting our customers’ needs,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer at Walmart. “Customers know they can trust us and depend on us, and we’ve designed this program as the ultimate life hack for them.”

What’s included

Walmart says members will receive:

• Unlimited free delivery: Delivery will be as fast as same-day on more than 160,000 items from nearby stores. It replaces Delivery Unlimited – a subscription service that allowed customers to place an unlimited number of deliveries for a flat yearly or monthly fee. Current subscribers will automatically become Walmart+ members.

• Scan & Go: When members are in a Walmart store, they can unlock Scan & Go in the Walmart app and use it to scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay. 

• Fuel discounts: Members can fill up and save up to five cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will soon be added to this lineup.

Not included are items purchased from Walmart.com. However, Walmart already offers free shipping on most orders of $35 or more.

Competing with Amazon Prime

It’s no secret that Walmart+ is aimed at Amazon Prime, another subscription service designed to make the online retailer top-of-mind with consumers.

Prime costs more -- $119 a year -- but offers additional perks like music and video streaming platforms that are included in the monthly fee. Most recently, it added AmazonFresh grocery delivery for customers who have a Prime subscription.

Walmart’s ad slogan is “always low prices.” With the introduction of Walmart+, it’s going after consumers who also value convenience.

“Life feels more complicated than ever,” said Whiteside. “Walmart+ is designed to make it easier – giving customers an option to not have to sacrifice on cost or convenience.” 

For many consumers, having their phone nearby has become a normal part of their daily routines. However, a new study is exploring the fear that arises when consumers are away from their phones for an extended period of time. 

According to researchers from Ohio State University, it’s not uncommon for consumers to experience fear or stress when they’re away from their phones, and such feelings could be linked to obsessive compulsion. 

“It is that fear, that panicky feeling, of ‘oh, no, I left my phone at home,’” said researcher Ana-Paula Correia. 

Understanding the fear

The researchers surveyed nearly 500 young adults for this study, gauging their overall anxiety and stress levels, and also measuring how much time they spend on their phones. 

The study revealed that nomophobia, a term coined by Correia that refers to the fear of being away from one’s smartphone, was higher for consumers who generally spent more time using their phones. 

Similarly, the researchers learned that overall stress levels and symptoms related to obsessive-compulsion heightened the fear associated with being away from a phone. In terms of behaviors, this translated to the participants double or triple checking that they’ve done certain things. When it came to their phones, more compulsive participants tended to verify a WiFi connection or check to see if they missed any messages or calls. 

Finding a healthy balance

With more and more consumers experiencing addiction related to technology, these findings serve as an important reminder of the stress and anxiety that crop up when consumers spend a lot of time on their phones. However, the researchers also stressed that not all time spent on smartphones is linked to an addiction or to symptoms of anxiety or general fear. 

“This concept is about more than just a phone,” said Correia. “People use it for other tasks, including social media, connecting, knowing what’s going on with their social media influencers. So being away from the phone or the phone having a low battery can sort of sever that connection and leave some people with feelings of agitation.” 

On Tuesday, Amazon opened a new online-only Whole Foods store in Brooklyn. 

The company said it started working on the store a year ago, but grocery delivery has now become even more important due to the pandemic. 

“Grocery delivery continues to be one of the fastest-growing businesses at Amazon,” the company said in a blog post announcing the store. “We’re thrilled to increase access to grocery delivery. It’s never been more important.”

Hundreds of employees have been hired to facilitate grocery delivery at the new store, which is located in Brooklyn’s Industry City complex. 

Filling online demand

The interior of the new online-only facility features long aisles of shelving where team members can shop for products and prepare orders. Produce will be stored in a refrigerated cooler. 

Going forward, Amazon says it will be continuing to evaluate ways to increase grocery delivery since there’s clear demand for it. Compared to this time last year, online grocery sales have tripled. Amazon said it increased grocery delivery capacity by more than 160 percent to meet a spike in demand. That surge was fueled largely by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Delivery is here to stay. People like options and this is an option that they really love,” a company spokesperson told USA Today. 

Amazon is also endeavoring to expand its footprint in the brick-and-mortar grocery industry. In August, The company opened the first location of its new chain of Fresh grocery stores. The e-commerce giant already operates more than 500 Whole Foods stores. 

In addition to those stores, Amazon has also opened a number of cashless convenience stores called Amazon Go. The stores rely on technology that enables consumers to skip the checkout process. 

Staying motivated at work is crucial for employees’ long-term career success, but having the right attitude is also key for both personal and employment-related advances. 

Now, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have found that being aggressive at work doesn’t always lead to the best results. According to their findings, being more aggressive at work at the expense of others can hurt both personal and professional outcomes. 

“I was surprised by the consistency of the findings,” said researcher Cameron Anderson. “No matter the individual or the context, disagreeableness did not give people an advantage in the competition for power -- even in more cutthroat, ‘dog-eat-dog’ organizational cultures.” 

Finding the right attitude

To understand how consumers’ attitudes can affect their career gains, the researchers surveyed groups of undergraduate and graduate students in the business world to gauge their personalities. The researchers then tracked their professional growth over more than 10 years and also surveyed the participants’ coworkers to better understand how they were viewed in the office environment. 

Like Anderson explained, being selfish and trying to get ahead wasn’t effective in attaining professional growth. Those who were kinder and more generous were more likely to gain more prestigious roles in their companies at a faster pace. 

The researchers fear that more aggressive personality types can hinder both personal and professional accomplishments. Though those who were more selfish were able to succeed professionally, coworkers were less likely to think favorably of them, which can harm their personal relationships. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that those in the highest positions of power take these findings into consideration so they can be more selective about who gets promoted and improve workplace dynamics. 

“The bad news here is that organizations do place disagreeable individuals in charge just as often as agreeable people,” said Anderson. “In other words, they allow jerks to gain power at the same rate as anyone else, even though jerks in power can do serious damage to the organization.” 

Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines have joined United Airlines in the change fee waiver dance line.

Delta and American's policies are pretty much a carbon copy of United’s -- eliminating the $200 change fee on domestic tickets. But there are exceptions travelers should look for before popping the cork.

Caveats among airlines

Delta is permanently scrapping change fees for tickets purchased for travel within the domestic U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands in Delta’s First Class, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin. However, Basic Economy tickets are not exempt from a change fee.

Like Delta, American’s fee waiver also includes all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It also tacks on Mexico, the Caribbean, and Canada as fee waived destinations. American also waives change fees in the Main Cabin, Premium Economy, Business Class, and First Class, but it does not waive the change fees in Basic Economy.

Unlike other airlines, American’s fee waiver is not permanent. When ConsumerAffairs contacted American to see if there was an end date on the waiver program, we were told that unless the airline extends the waiver, Basic Economy fares that are purchased starting on January 1, 2021, will not be changeable.

Like Delta, Alaska Airlines’ says its change is permanent. Its new change-fee policy applies to all tickets except for Saver fares. As far as destinations are concerned, Alaska has included every place it flies both domestically and internationally.

What’s the catch?

Is this a too-good-to-be-true maneuver, or are the airlines going to start showing some long-forgotten consumer love? 

“In this case, there’s probably not (a catch),” Skift’s Brian Sumers said. “Airlines are hurting, and they need to win public support and attract new business. They’re not likely to waste the goodwill they generated this week and turn around and institute a new fee on something else next month. They will stick with passenger-friendly policies for a while.”

Sumers goes on to predict that the airlines will eventually find other revenue-making angles once they pay back the U.S. government for the bailout loans. “Still, they likely will be smarter about what they implement, perhaps adding new fees passengers understand and respect,” he said.

Cisco has warned of a high-severity zero-day security vulnerability affecting its networking devices. 

In an advisory published Saturday, the company said the new security flaw affects its Internetwork Operating System (IOS), which ships with its networking gear. Cisco said the flaw was being actively exploited as recently as last week and that it’s still in the process of developing a patch. 

The networking device manufacturer said the flaw, dubbed the CVE-2020-3566 exploitation, could enable an unauthorized party to remotely execute an attack that exhausts process memory and creates instability in other processes running on the device.

"The vulnerability is due to insufficient queue management for Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets,” Cisco explained. “An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IGMP traffic to an affected device.” 

Exploitation attempts discovered

Cisco said it discovered exploitation attempts last week but didn’t provide details on what, if anything, the exploit attempts accomplished. The company only said what the flaw could allow an attacker to do. 

“A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause memory exhaustion, resulting in instability of other processes,” the company said. “These processes may include, but are not limited to, interior and exterior routing protocols."

Although Cisco didn’t provide an estimate of when a patch will be released, it did promise that one is on the way. 

While a patch is in the works, the company is urging users to rely on mitigation techniques, such as implementing either a rate limiter or an access control entry to an existing interface access control list. Details of these defensive strategies can be found in the company’s security advisory. 

Despite some businesses reopening offices for employees and a steady rise in gasoline demand, rush hour traffic still isn’t what it used to be. A new survey by ValuePenguin found around 30 percent of consumers with a car aren’t using it to commute to work.

But as of August, 26 percent of employed Americans are back to their daily commute, including essential workers and those whose employers reopened their offices. That said, some are using their cars more than others.

People with children are more likely to be on the road at least once a day. And oddly, people who live in New England are driving more daily than people in other regions of the country.

The older you are, the less driving you’re likely to do. Only 22 percent of baby boomers and nearly the same percentage of the silent generation said they were using their cars daily in August.

The decrease in traffic that began in late March has affected consumer behavior and had an impact -- mostly favorable -- on consumers’ pocketbooks. Twenty-six percent of drivers said they no longer fill up with gas on a weekly basis, compared to before the pandemic.

Buying less gasoline

In January and February, 43 percent of drivers said they filled up at least once a week, but just 32 percent said they did in August. At the same time, the number of drivers who gas up less often than once per month doubled from 4 percent to 8 percent.

That probably means very stable gasoline prices heading into 2021. The Wall Street Journal reports that after rising in the early summer, gasoline demand has begun to drift lower again.

Because people were expected to drive less during the economic shutdown, just about every car insurance company temporarily cut insurance rates for drivers, expecting to pay fewer claims because of fewer accidents.

Those discounts are beginning to expire, but the survey found that many consumers have taken the opportunity to shop around for even less expensive insurance coverage. More than a quarter of drivers made changes to their auto insurance during the pandemic to save money. 

Changes to insurance policies

Of those, about half switched to another provider to get a better rate. The other half reduced the amount of coverage since they are driving less.

"Some savvy consumers are using their decreased driving to their advantage and are paying less for gas and auto insurance," said Matt Timmons, a research analyst at ValuePenguin.com. "While they may need to roll back those changes as driving returns to normal, most consumers don't expect normalcy to return anytime soon -- meaning it may be worth drivers' while to assess their auto insurance and other car use related expenses and consider making changes."

The pandemic has also reduced the use of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft. About one in six consumers who had been using ridesharing before said they’ve stopped completely because of the pandemic. Another 13 percent said they’re still using those services but a lot less frequently.