WebCE Weekly Wrap-Up: Jan 3, 2025
WebCE Staff
By
January 3, 2025
Welcome to the first Weekly Wrap-Up of 2025!
With the busy holiday season, staying on top of the latest news developments can be tough.
To help you get a strong start to the year, we’ve compiled some big news stories you may have missed over the holidays as well as latest news from the first few days of 2025.
Top 10 News Stories Heading into 2025
Generation Beta Has Arrived (Morning Brew)
These kids, whose parents will mostly hail from Gen Z (born 1995 to 2009) and the youngest millennial (born 1980 to 1994) ranks, represent the second generation born entirely in the 21st century, and many of them may live to see the 22nd.
Research: Do New Hires Really Understand Your Policies? (Harvard Business Review)
“In an organizational context, consent is more than a formality — it’s the foundation of a trusting, productive relationship. However, our research shows that people in charge of soliciting consent in organizations often overestimate how informed employees feel when they agree to policies, contracts, and even take on extra work tasks. This miscalculation can have direct costs for organizations in terms of employee disengagement and turnover.”
Seven Essential Hybrid Work Tips for Leaders in 2025 (MIT Sloan Management Review)
The hybrid work model can deliver productivity and talent-retention benefits — if leaders navigate the challenges nimbly. Use these expert tips to build stronger hybrid teams in 2025.
What to Expect from Insurance Trade in 2025 (CNBC)
Joshua Shanker, senior insurance analyst at Bank of America Securities, joins CNBC’s ‘The Exchange’ to discuss his outlook on insurance trade for 2025, his best ideas to trade, and more.
2025 Underwriting Profit and ‘Shop-a-Palooza’ Predicted for Auto Insurance (Carrier Management)
J.D. Power analysts noted that soaring insurance prices sent customers shopping throughout 2024. By the third quarter, auto insurance shopping rates had reached a record high. “However, with virtually every carrier increasing rates, all those shoppers had very few alternatives and many stayed put.” But they predict, “Now, that’s all about to change."
What Issues Top Consumers’ List of Financial Goals for 2025? (InsuranceNewsNet)
As the new year approaches, Americans are prioritizing financial health in their resolutions and goals, with many of them focused on debt reduction and money management, according to CFP Board’s latest research, Debt and New Year’s Resolutions Report.
25 New Year's Resolutions for Real Estate agents in 2025 (Inman)
From prospecting tips to pushing past your limiting beliefs to stop putting your health last, here are 25 actionable steps to help you thrive in 2025.
What Our Readers Were Talking About Most in 2024 (REALTOR® Magazine)
Adapting to practice changes, leadership in turbulent times, flexible design choices—and cicadas? These are the real estate stories that were most popular this year with REALTOR® Magazine readers.
Future-Proofing Real Estate: Why Developers are Turning to Modular for Sustainability and Resilience (HousingWire)
Modular construction provides housing developers with the opportunity to engage in sustainable building practices while dialing back on traditional cost increases – making it the ideal solution for industry leaders who are looking for greater resiliency in the face of unpredictable material and labor costs, evolving regulatory requirements, and the destructive impacts of increasing extreme weather.
Important Update: EPA Releases Final Risk Evaluation on Formaldehyde (National Funeral Directors Association)
Although the findings reaffirm the draft’s key conclusion—that using formaldehyde for embalming is exempt from TSCA—funeral service may still be affected by possible regulations under other laws and agencies.
Top Podcast of the Week
Wellness 2.0: Be Yourself (from Hidden Brain)
We’re often drawn to people who appear to be true to themselves. Yet showing our authentic selves to the world can be terrifying.
The latest episode of Hidden Brain takes a deep look at how we can approach our lives with a sense of meaning and purpose with researcher Erica Bailey, who studies authenticity and what it means to truly be ourselves.
As host and Executive Editor Shankar Vedantam says, “We’ll go beyond the angst surrounding New Year’s Resolutions and answer a deeper question: What does it mean to live well?”
Weekend Wind-Down
This week, a funny reminder that not everyone is an insurance pro!
