Tag: News

• We've lived in our house for 19 years and have had the same dishwasher. 
• It's so loud but still works perfectly and I'm convinced it's because of how I load it. 
• I actually enjoy figuring out how to get the most out of each load. 

Maybe it's the long line of engineers in my family that molecularly imprinted my desire to load dishes with the precision of an Olympic decathlete.

If dishwasher loading were an Olympic sport, I'd be on my way to Paris this summer.

We've had our dishwasher for almost 2 decades

This year will mark my family's 19th year in our New Jersey home. I am surely about to awaken the appliance gods by announcing that the originally installed Maytag Performance dishwasher has been working without incident since the day we moved in with our 2-year-old and 6-week-old babes.

It's so loud. I once answered the phone while it was running, and my friend asked where I was going because it sounded like I was on the turnpike.

I'm convinced ol' May has lasted this long because we are a household of well-trained rinsers. An occasional re-rinse is necessary in the case of, say, traces of dried oatmeal, which are stronger than cement and impenetrable by any inside dishwasher forces. There's no scraping and then depositing directly into the dishwasher with spaghetti sauce or other stray blobs of food over here. I am ready to acknowledge and embrace my kitchen control freak status.

Anyone who's discovered cheese dried onto a fork or spoon after the dishwasher cycle has ended when it's been jackhammer-proofed onto the surface knows what I'm talking about. The commercials for today's dishwashers featuring smiling users cavalierly placing food-covered pots and plates in and letting the machine do the rest trigger me and raise the question, do people really do this?

Does the appliance come with teams of tiny scrubbing hands that magically appear when turned on? And where does all of that gunk go? While I am aware that many of today's dishwashers come equipped with hard food disposer systems that miraculously disintegrate and remove food particles, it seems almost too good to be true.

I will reload after family members have tried to load the dishwasher

Once items have been properly rinsed (anticipating comments about water waste), it's time to load. This is where Olympic competitors in my imaginary dishwasher loading event will put their spatial awareness skills to the ultimate test. My dear and helpful husband, a former fighter pilot who could land a F/A-18 Super Hornet on an aircraft carrier, which has been likened to landing on a postage stamp, does not possess this skill in domestic life.

With regard to the now viral meme which likens partners in dishwasher loading to either a Scandinavian architect or a raccoon on meth, I am, literally, the Scandinavian minus the degree in architecture. My husband is more raccoon-leaning.

I see the prongs of different heights and instinctively understand that the short ones are meant for smaller pieces. The engineers at Maytag designed them this way for a reason, right? I like to load the dishes from back to front. The bottom rack is reserved for large glasses, mugs, plates, and silverware. Small glasses, bowls, cooking utensils too big for the silverware section, and anything plastic go on the top rack.

I enjoy figuring out how to get the most out of each load. My husband takes a much simpler, pile them in with no rhyme or reason approach. I've tried to explain that if you pile things on top of each other, they won't get clean. This logic typically opens me up for a good family roasting. The running joke in our house is that if Dad loads the dishwasher, Mom will inevitably rearrange it.

I marvel at the hundreds of times I've plonked the dishwashing pod under the bottom rack, raised the door, and turned the knob to the "Normal" wash setting before firmly pressing the door closed and hearing her faithfully roar to life.

It's one of life's small luxuries I'm thankful for daily, along with being married to a helpful guy who does his own laundry. I may not be headed to Paris for the games this year, but I will continue to train with vigilance just in case domestic sporting events involving packing skills become a thing.

• Humanoid robots appear to be the next big bet for Big Tech — and the market could be worth billions.
• Tesla, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia are piling cash into the futuristic technology. 
• BI met Ameca, the robot with realistic facial expressions, to see what all the hype is about. 

Interest in humanoid robots has surged in Silicon Valley this year, with one Nvidia research manager even declaring 2024 as the year of the humanoid.

Major tech firms are investing heavily in the futuristic machines, with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia all backing the $2.6 billion robotics startup Figure AI, while Tesla already has its Optimus robot working on its factory floor.

Goldman Sachs has estimated that the global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035, although it notes that "the viability of such machines hasn't been proven yet."

Curious about the hype, I visited Engineered Arts' lab — the company behind the viral robot Ameca.

The company's headquarters are in the town of Falmouth, Cornwall, but it also has offices in Silicon Valley and London.

As I entered the reception, I could see Ameca in a conference room with its head moving around.

I was taken aback by how cool it was to interact with in real life. It has cameras built into its eyes, which can recognize objects in a room, and it's powered by a chatbot that lets it "speak," enabling it to answer questions.

When I asked how old Ameca was, it responded: "Age is a bit tricky for me. I was activated not that long ago, but my experiences are timeless."

I told Ameca I was curious about it, and it instantly responded that it was flattered and asked what I wanted to know.

Ameca is, so far, mostly used for entertainment purposes. For example, one of the robots greets visitors at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

But Jackson said that he could see them being used in the care industry and in some customer service roles in the next few years thanks to the speed at which AI is developing.

He predicted that robots would be in grocery stores and airports within three years and relatively commonplace in cities within five years.

"There are all these practical problems that people are glossing over, but there are some really compelling use cases for humanoids and I think care is one of them, and social interaction is doable now," Jackson said.

But the robotics boss doesn't see them being used to help with chores around the house anytime soon — or at least for another decade — as there's still a way to go to ensure the machines are completely safe around people.

So while investors seem confident that humanoid robots have a big future, significant challenges remain before that vision has a chance of becoming reality.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daria Rose, a 27-year-old lawyer who interned at Ray Dalio's hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, in 2017 and 2018. Her employment has been verified and the following has been edited for length and clarity.

The first time I ever watched the "Black Mirror" episode "Nosedive" — about a world in which people constantly rate one another — I thought, wait, I've worked for a place like this before.

The summer after my sophomore and junior years at Harvard University, I interned at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. Its intense culture is not for everybody. Founder Ray Dalio once said around 30% of employees quit within the first 18 months.

And while I definitely see parallels between my time at Bridgewater and that "Black Mirror" episode, I look back fondly on my time there. If I hadn't gone to law school, I 100% would've returned to work there full-time.

I was drawn to Bridgewater's tenet of meaningful work

In my sophomore year, I heard about Bridgewater from another student in a social club I was in at Harvard. She'd been recruited as an investment associate and was looking for other people interested in working there.

I did some research and was drawn to the fact that one of Bridgewater's main tenets is about meaningful work and meaningful relationships. She told me about a management associate position and helped forward my résumé.

After applying, I had to take a Myers-Briggs Personality Type test and several other screening tests. Next, we had a full-day interview at the Bridgewater campus in Westport, Connecticut.

Authenticity is a big thing at Bridgewater, so I went into the interview wanting to be completely myself.

I was first put in a room with other applicants for a moderated debate-style interview. The rest of the day was spent in multiple rounds of interviews with managers. Some were case studies — kind of similar to consulting — and others involved deep intensive questions about who I was as a person. How did you grow up? Are you an only child? How do you think this affected you? How do you think this impacts your working style on a team? What wakes you up in the morning? How do you deal with criticism?

The interviewers I had were incredibly empathetic, and our conversation felt real and vulnerable.

About a week or two later, I got a call that I got the job. When I saw my offer package — I was like, whoa, this is a lot of money — and the great perks like housing, transportation, and a signing bonus, it was really a no-brainer. I thought, I'm 100% working there.

The internship was incredibly fun

Most of the interns lived together in dorms for the summer, which was really cool and special. To help us bond, we did fun activities like group dinners, our own version of Tough Mudder, and a scavenger hunt.

Every day, we would arrive at the campus by around 8 a.m. and leave around 7 p.m. I was a management associate intern in the office of the CEO, and we did basically any special project the CEO needed. I worked on a lot of diversity initiatives, figuring out how to make Bridgewater more streamlined and accessible to employees.

At the time, Dalio's book "Principles: Life and Work" wasn't out yet, so one of our tasks was to read the manuscript and give feedback on it.

Ranking each other was a big part of Bridgewater's culture

We ranked people daily using numbered "dots," a real-time check-in of how everyone was doing.

In each meeting, we'd each have an iPad in front of us, showing a list of everyone else present. Throughout the meeting, we'd give people dots for things like humility, composure, willingness to touch a nerve, openmindedness, and assertiveness. By the end of the meeting, our whole screen would just be filled with dots — some red, some green. It could get distracting sometimes — like, who gave me a three? — but we'd try to ignore it and stay in the moment.

Because we were constantly being evaluated on what we said, people were way more conscious when speaking. Instead of talking just to talk, people tried to make their points succinct and easily understandable, or they'd get a negative dot.

This criticism wasn't just limited to peers or supervisees. We were also encouraged to give dots to our bosses, managers, and even CEOs.

Dot outcomes went onto our "baseball cards," which had information about each employee's role and their strengths and weaknesses, to create a more vivid picture of what each of us was like.

Everything was recorded

Radical truth and radical transparency were very important at Bridgewater. Everything was recorded. If I wanted to go back and see why I got a certain dot, I could go back to the recording and listen to what I'd said. I could even look up my friends' dots and see how they were doing each day, even if I wasn't in the meeting.

One time, my friend threw her water bottle in the trash rather than recycling it. I don't know who saw her, but someone gave her a negative dot. It made me realize, wow, people really do care on a microscopic level and they're paying attention to you.

Pain + reflection = progress

Getting so much constant feedback was difficult at first. At times I was like, oh, that's harsh. It's never great to hear that you didn't do something right or that someone didn't like something you said. We had a button on our iPads that we could press whenever we felt pain, and then we'd write a reflection about the situation. The idea was that pain plus reflection equals progress.

Depending on the severity of the pain or what had happened, sometimes we'd have a diagnostic session to get to the root of the problem, such as if someone's ego got in the way of them asking for help. These sessions could sometimes be uncomfortable, but ultimately were really helpful and led to growth and better day-to-day operations.

I was really good at receiving constructive feedback and was always really high on the humility scale. I like to improve and have a growth mindset rather than taking things personally. On the days when I felt a little bit more sensitive or more emotional, I didn't want to hear the more critical feedback. But when I was able to look back at it from a less emotional standpoint, I was like, oh, okay, they had a point here.

Dalio wanted us to try to take our egos out of our work as much as possible and really look toward a higher self. From time to time, we'd have to do something called "force rankings," where we ranked our team members based on who was the most and least helpful. It never felt good to be at the bottom of that scale, which happened to me multiple times.

A lot of smart people who go to elite schools are used to being the best at everything and being on top all of the time, but that's not realistic. There are going to be days where you're super on it, and then there are days that you might not be.

At Bridgewater, there was no hiding that fact.

Gossip was not allowed

It was a no-gossip environment. We weren't allowed to talk about other people behind their backs — a huge principle was that you speak up, say it to the other person's face, dot them, and be transparent.

If you were talking about someone in the context of work, you'd have to send that tape to them afterward. When I got my full-time offer to join Bridgewater, my manager sent me the tape of them deliberating and I got to hear what they genuinely thought about me while I wasn't in the room.

I think that's really valuable, especially these days when some corporate environments involve fakeness and niceties to your face and people aren't upfront about what they actually think about you and your work.

At Bridgewater, there was none of that. It sounds counterintuitive, but the constant recordings did encourage us to be more open and put everything on the table — there's no incentive not to.

I really appreciated the candidness. Now working in law, we have so much going on sometimes that we don't necessarily get direct feedback all the time. As with most companies, feedback usually happens during an annual or semi-annual review, and sometimes by that time, it's become a bigger problem.

With the dot system at Bridgewater, if there was an issue, we'd know that day, and it'd be diagnosed that week. I miss that part about it.

The best ideas won

We were really encouraged to push back on supervisors and superiors, because one of the tenets was that we were an idea meritocracy and the best idea will rise to the top, not based on the seniority of the person who put it forth.

Because debating and disagreeing with each other was encouraged, I learned so much from my colleagues. I had my viewpoints challenged and I challenged theirs. I can't imagine another workplace like that that allows for that type of growth and honest feedback.

My experience made me who I am today

I think Bridgewater's culture might be a little bit different now, especially because Ray Dalio isn't there anymore. But I can't emphasize enough how transformative and eye-opening my experience was. It helped shape who I am today, especially how I think about feedback, work, and the relationships I have at work.

I've never worked with a more brilliant group of unique people. There were poker stars, musicians, and people who wrote comedy. We all did so many different things but were united under this Bridgewater umbrella and really brought our full selves to work and gave it our all.

The experience prepared me for life, even more than just for a corporate career. It helped me grow a thicker skin; not a lot fazes me now.

A few years after working at Bridgewater, I was on "The Bachelor." People scrutinized me and said so many mean, horrible things.

My Bridgewater experience prepared me to understand that everyone will have judgments or perceptions about you, but you don't have to take them all in. We'd always say, "It's just one dot."

One dot doesn't make up the whole picture. You're going to get thousands and thousands of dots; take that criticism for what it is.

A representative for Bridgewater Associates declined to comment.

If you experienced a uniquely demanding workplace culture and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at janezhang@businessinsider.com.

• The 332 miles between London and Edinburgh takes a similar amount of time by plane or train.
• I took both modes of transport and timed how long it took from the center of each city.
• The train was only slightly longer, but cheaper, more comfortable — and more convenient.

The 332 miles between London and Edinburgh show a particularly narrow difference when traveling via train or plane.

While the flight takes about an hour compared to a nearly five-hour train ride, there's also time spent traveling to the airport and waiting to board.

I grew up near London, and because my dad is from Edinburgh, we visited the Scottish capital every summer. We flew once or twice, but it was typically easier to take the train.

Last month, I visited Edinburgh for a press event and took the opportunity to time my journeys. I traveled north on an LNER Azuma train and returned the next day on a British Airways Airbus A320.

The contest was indeed close, and even though the train took longer, it was cheaper and more enjoyable.

I started my stopwatch at Trafalgar Square in the heart of London.

A plaque here reads: "On the site now occupied by the statue of King Charles I was erected the original Queen Eleanor's cross, a replica of which stands in front of Charing Cross station. Mileages from London are measured from the site of the original cross."

Similarly, the center of Edinburgh is traditionally measured from a now-demolished post office near the train station.

Already, this highlights the main benefit of traveling by train — especially in a city like Edinburgh where the main attractions are in a compact area.

It was only a short walk to the nearest Tube station, and I was on a train within 8 minutes.

I arrived at King's Cross Station about 20 minutes before my train departed, which gave me plenty of time.

There was an unusually big crowd of people for a Wednesday afternoon because some other trains had been delayed. Luckily, mine was on time.

It was only a short wait before our platform number was announced and passengers flooded toward the ticket barriers. We departed on time, 37 minutes after I left Trafalgar Square.

In Edinburgh, I took a 35-minute tram journey from the center to the airport. The security line was pretty speedy.

I arrived at the airport an hour and 50 minutes before my flight's departure time.

With time to sit around, I had lunch in a Wetherspoons pub. Given my experiment, I found all the train memorabilia ironic — but this also signals the strong history of British railways.

I'd been at the airport for an hour by the time the gate opened — then another 25 minutes before I boarded.

Unfortunately, my flight was delayed by 45 minutes. I adjusted for that on my timer, but we still wouldn't have taken off until two-and-a-half hours after I left Waverley station.

All the plane timings in this piece exclude the delay.

London to Edinburgh is clearly a popular route for BA, as before the safety demonstration, the pilot said: "I know many of you are probably frequent fliers."

For those regularly making this journey, there's the benefit of loyalty points which you wouldn't get on a budget airline or a train.

By the time we took off, my train had almost reached York, its third stop on the East Coast Main Line, and roughly halfway to Edinburgh.

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But the flight itself would take just over an hour, traveling at roughly 300 mph versus the train's top speed of 125 mph.

The only true high-speed rail in Britain goes between London and the Channel Tunnel. A second line on the West Coast, known as HS2, is planned to be Europe's fastest — but construction has been delayed and cut down.

On the other hand, the train is far better for the environment given that it carries more people. I traveled on a Class 801/2 which has 611 seats compared to the plane's 180.

Soon after takeoff, the flight attendants offered passengers a free bottle of water and either peanuts or cookies.

The LNER has a café car on board, but wasn't serving any hot food on my journey. You can also order via a QR code on the seatback.

However, I found the legroom and seat width to be less than ideal, even at 5-foot-9.

I flew on a British Airways Airbus A320 for $195. It's definitely better than flying budget.

On the train, I was comfortable with plenty of room — plus an extending tray table for my laptop.

The free Wi-Fi wasn't great, but I wrote a Business Insider article. I spent the rest of the journey reading or taking in the views.

After three and a half hours total, the plane landed at a sunny Heathrow Airport, but it took another 20 minutes to leave, with time to deplane and a long jet bridge walk.

The timings were aided by the fact that I only had hand luggage.

I took the Elizabeth Line and the Tube back to Trafalgar Square, arriving 4 hours and 52 minutes later.

No budget airline uses Heathrow, so it would take even longer to reach the center if you flew with easyJet or Ryanair.

By train, I reached the center of Edinburgh after 5 hours and 21 minutes.

If you have checked bags or were traveling with a budget airline, the plane would take just as long, if not longer.

I found the train to be more comfortable and convenient. Plus, if you book in advance, it would likely be cheaper than a budget airline.

The LNER starts at £49 ($62). While a Ryanair flight starts at £17 ($21), the price of a checked bag — plus the train into London from Stansted Airport — would bring that up to £65 ($82).

So, if you're visiting the UK and want to visit both cities, the train would be cheaper since luggage is free.

Plus, there's the added benefit of seeing so much of the countryside, and some great seaside views too.

• Up until this year I had never been on a cruise before. 
• I decided to take my 10-year-old son over Spring break. 
• The cruise desperately needed some TLC and we lost power twice. 

Until this year, I'd never been on a cruise — and I swore I never would. As someone anxious in general, I had plenty of reservations. What if there was a norovirus outbreak? What if I got seasick? What if the ship hit an iceberg, sinking like the Titanic? But as I brainstormed potential Spring break destinations with my 10-year-old, I reconsidered.

As a single mom, I don't love navigating new places alone, and organizing a weeklong vacation felt overwhelming. Setting sail on a fun-packed cruise ship where everything was pre-planned was the perfect solution.

I booked a five-night Key West and Bahamas cruise through Celebrity, leaving from Miami. To avoid feeling trapped, I chose a stateroom with a veranda. We could sit outside in the salty ocean air and enjoy the stunning views.

Our pitstop in South Beach

To keep things stress-free, I bookended our trip with a full day and night in South Beach. Neither of us had been there, and the day before our cruise, I splurged on The Miami Beach Edition. The 5-star property, with private beach access, ocean-facing pools, and an on-site ice rink and bowling alley, did not disappoint.

We chose Estiatorio Milos for Easter dinner, a Greek seafood restaurant where fish flown in fresh from the Mediterranean are displayed. The experience included a chef visiting our table to discuss the day's offerings. Our trip was off to an incredible start.

Our cruise experience wasn't great

Boarding our cruise ship, the Celebrity Summit, went smoothly, and we went right to our stateroom, which appeared as advertised. On the balcony, we watched the sunlight dance on the water's surface. I relaxed, letting my worries slip away.

But when I went inside and opened the bathroom door, the musty smell of mildew overwhelmed me. During that night's shower, I discovered why as the water collected in a pool at my feet. From then on, we wore our flip-flops and showered fast.

We made our first port and explored the delightful city of Key West. But our boat couldn't dock the next day due to high winds, so we missed our second destination, Bimini, Bahamas. Disappointed, we explored the boat, looking for fun diversions. But other than gambling and drinking, there wasn't much to do.

The pool was rusty and dirty, and the "arcade" consisted of two Xboxes in a small room. The ship, built in 2001 and refurbished in 2016, desperately needed some TLC. Chipped tile, stained carpets, and broken faucets were a few of its glaring issues. My son checked out the gift shops while I grabbed a coffee. A salesperson put a $2,000 watch on his wrist, encouraging him to make the purchase. Luckily, he knew better.

We even lost power

During a several-hour power outage, our imaginations took over. We discussed the possibility of onboard pirates — zero communication from the crew didn't help. At one point, dark sludge crept up through our shower drain, and our toilet stopped working. When the power came back on, the $270 Wi-Fi didn't, and it remained spotty for the rest of the voyage.

The ship went black again during dinner the next day. The staff served our meal in the dark like nothing was amiss. At that point, we wanted off. The next day, we docked in Nassau, Bahamas, where we played in the ocean. I let my son take me on a Jet Ski ride, which was the highlight of his trip.

The following morning was debarkation day. We couldn't get off the boat fast enough.

We enjoyed another beautiful day at South Beach, sinking our toes in white sand beaches and exploring the outdoor Lincoln Road Mall.

Though our cruise experience was probably an outlier, I won't chance it again. But South Beach? We're in love.

• A California millennial began secretly working multiple remote jobs to save for retirement.
• He earned over $100,000 in 2023 and said he might be able to retire by age 50. 
• He shared why he decided to not look for a new job when his second role came to an end this year. 

Adrian, a California-based data analyst in his 30s, began secretly working multiple remote jobs in July 2023. For a while, it was well worth it.

Last year, he earned about $110,000 across his two jobs, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. Thanks to this overemployment, he believes he'll be in a financial position to retire in the next five to 10 years and move somewhere abroad with a lower cost of living than the US.

But by the time Adrian's contract for his second job came to an end in March, a big part of him was relieved, he said. He has little desire to be overemployed again.

"I did make a lot more money than I've ever made before, I think it was a smart idea, and it was kind of fun to tell friends about — but life is better now," said Adrian. His identity is known to BI, but he asked to use a pseudonym because of his fear of professional repercussions.

Adrian is among the Americans who have worked multiple jobs — often in secret — to boost their incomes. BI has interviewed roughly 20 of these job jugglers, many of whom work in the IT and tech industries and use the extra money to pay off student debt, save for retirement, and afford vacations and weight-loss drugs. While some companies may be OK with their workers having a second job, doing so without approval could have negative repercussions.

Recently, however, intense competition for remote roles, return-to-office mandates, and burnout have made the overemployment lifestyle unsustainable.

Adrian shared how and why he first became overemployed, his top advice for making it work, and why he's happy to be back to only one job.

Retirement fears led to overemployment

While some Americans are struggling to save for retirement, Adrian is among those who have taken unique earnings and savings measures to retire early.

Last year, when a recruiter messaged him on LinkedIn about a remote, full-time, contract role, he decided to hear them out.

As he went through the interview process, Adrian realized he might be able to balance both roles. He asked for the highest end of the new job's pay range: $70 an hour.

"If I was going to take something on the side I wanted to be sure it would be worth it," he said.

A few years ago, Adrian would never have made a career decision that was so focused on maximizing his income.

He always believed, "If you love your job, you'll never work a day in your life." He never worried much about his financial future or how much money he was making. It's this philosophy that led him to pursue an "amazingly enjoyable" job — one in an entirely different industry than his current role — that he said paid less than $40,000 a year.

"I didn't really care about making money because I never really thought about retirement," he said. "I just kind of assumed that you work until you're old, then you retire, and it somehow just works out."

But a few years ago, Adrian said he experienced a personal "transformation" that led him to begin prioritizing his financial health and future.

"I would never actually be able to retire by working my old job," he said. "But I never really thought about that, and I did love the life I was living."

He started by looking for a different career path. He went to graduate school, and after a roughly yearlong job search that nearly exhausted his savings, he landed the job he still has now.

Next, he started saving whatever money he could. He and his wife took up house and pet-sitting for a year, which he said allowed him to avoid paying rent as they bounced from home to home every month or so. He also began maxing out his 401(k) and Roth IRA, investing in low-cost index funds, and trying to live in low-cost-of-living areas while keeping his "high-cost-of-living area salaries."

When the opportunity to work multiple jobs came last year, it was just another way he could improve his finances.

What to look for in a second job — and why he's happy to no longer be overemployed

Adrian said that his second employer knew he had a primary job but "didn't care," in part because they were happy with the quality of his work. He never told his primary employer that he took on a second gig, but he doesn't think they would have cared either because he was a "top performer."

Adrian said that before taking on a second job, one should be "very comfortable" with one's main role.

"You need to be comfortable enough with your first job that you feel like you actually have extra time to accomplish other work," he said. He added that it's helpful if both jobs are flexible, independent, and don't have many meetings.

It's also important to make sure you're prepared to have your personal life impacted by your extra workload, he said. This is perhaps the biggest part of job juggling he wasn't fully prepared for — and why he hasn't looked to replace his second job ever since his contract came to an end in March.

While his workload varied, Adrian said he often worked more than 40 hours a week across the two jobs, including on some evenings and weekends. It was manageable, but it began to take a toll.

"Too stressful, too much time away from my partner, can't get outside or go to yoga — not worth it," he said of his overemployment. "I made a bunch of money this past year, but my goals for 2024 are not to maximize my income."

Instead, Adrian said he wants to prioritize his health, social ties, his partner, and "having fun." While he's still much more focused on his finances than he used to be, he said working a second job eventually proved to be a bridge too far.

Even without the extra income coming in, Adrian said he's still in the position to potentially retire before age 50. While he wouldn't rule out pursuing a second job again someday, he said the workload would have to be quite low. For now, he's happy to just have one job again.

"The reduction in stress and time commitments is well worth it," he said.

Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to provide details about your pay and schedule? Are you a manager who has experience with overemployed employees? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.

• Cracker Barrel's CEO recently said that the chain is "not as relevant" as it used to be.
• The restaurant chain is well-known for its vintage decorations and store full of kitsch.
• I went to a Cracker Barrel outside of Washington, DC, to see what's going on.

Cracker Barrel restaurants are at a crossroads — literally and figuratively.

You'll often find the chain right off freeway exits. For decades, that's made them appealing to people making long drives searching for a hot, sit-down meal and a break from the road.

But that strategy hasn't worked well over the last few years.

"We're just not as relevant as we once were," CEO Julie Masino told investors on a call last month.

Masino added that the chain is "refreshing and refining" several aspects of its operations, from marketing to the atmosphere in its restaurants.

So far, that's included offering dinner specials in the late afternoon to appeal to diners who want to eat earlier.

Cracker Barrel is also testing a new layout for its locations that is "lighter, brighter, fresher and cleaner," Masino said. The layout includes bookcases instead of the chain's traditional momento-covered dividers. The company has also added booths to its seating options.

But for now, most of its stores still have the old-timey decor and wooden seats that many people associate with the brand.

To better understand what eating at Cracker Barrel is like these days, I visited one of the brand's restaurants in northern Virginia, outside Washington, DC. Here's what I found.

I visited this Cracker Barrel restaurant in Sterling, Virginia.

This particular Cracker Barrel location is just north of Washington Dulles International Airport. It's also near the intersection of multiple major highways and freeways.

One of the first things I saw were these rocking chairs on the patio outside.

The chairs were for sale — buying one of them will set you back $240. Of course, you can also try them out if you have to wait to get a table at the restaurant.

I didn't have to wait to get seated.

I visited this restaurant on a Monday at 9:30 a.m. I didn't have to wait for a table since the restaurant was only about half full.

The vintage decor immediately caught my attention.

My table was right next to one of these dividers, so I had plenty of time to admire its decorations.

Some decorations seemed to nod to the DC region where the restaurant is located.

This antique ad for "White House"-brand melons was an obvious nod to Washington, DC, about a 40-minute drive from this restaurant.

Overall, though, I was confused about whom this sort of decor is supposed to appeal to.

I love antiques, but as a millennial, none of the decorations are nostalgic for me. Many seemed to be from the 1930s or 1940s, meaning that they wouldn't mean anything to the vast majority of patrons, including baby boomers.

I was also confused by this light fixture hanging above my table.

This light was designed to look like a lantern but had a modern light bulb attached to the bottom.

The menu included lots of breakfast options.

My waiter told me that Grandma's Sampler Breakfast is his location's most popular breakfast order. But I wanted to try Cracker Barrel's fried chicken, so I opted for Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast instead. I also added an order of the Biscuit Beignets and a drip coffee.

I was surprised by the range of drinks that you can order at Cracker Barrel.

If it had been a weekend, maybe I would have ordered a mimosa or a glass of wine.

My breakfast showed up about 15 minutes after I ordered.

Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast includes a piece of fried chicken covered in gravy, two eggs, hash browns, as well as two biscuits with gravy.

The fried chicken wasn't anything special.

Maybe it was because I went out for soul food the weekend before, but this fried chicken seemed average. The breading wasn't very crispy, probably thanks to the gravy that was smothered on top.

The biscuits and gravy were also average.

I'm used to biscuits served with the gravy on top, but at Cracker Barrel, they come separated — which confused me — with the gravy in its own little container and not much room to pour it out.

I had to dip the biscuits in a cup of gravy.

The biscuits reminded me of the ones you buy in a cardboard tube and twist to open. The gravy, meanwhile, didn't taste very fresh.

After a bite of biscuit on its own, I started dipping it in the gravy, which felt wrong.

The biscuit beignets were my favorite part of this visit to Cracker Barrel.

My server didn't put in the order for the beignets until my breakfast came, but that worked out fine since they came out fresh from the fryer right as I finished my main meal.

They were fresh and tasty, especially considering they use the same dough as Cracker Barrel's biscuits.

Lots of foods taste better fried; the same was true for the biscuit beignets. These are made out of the same dough as Cracker Barrel's buttermilk biscuits, the restaurant says on its website. It just cuts them into smaller pieces, fries them, and coats them with cinnamon sugar.

Overall, this Cracker Barrel breakfast was fine, but not memorable.

The food tasted okay, but the textures weren't always right. The hash browns, for instance, were soggy.

I felt that breakfast would've been at least as good, and potentially better, if I had gone to Denny's or IHOP.

With breakfast finished, I headed to the Cracker Barrel store.

Old-fashioned snacks were a major offering at Cracker Barrel's "Old Country Store." Like the vintage ads and knick-knacks in the restaurant, they harkened back to the early 20th century.

You can also buy some of the same foods that are served in the restaurant.

If you were a big fan of what you ate at Cracker Barrel's restaurant, you could buy some to make at home.

And if you need a skillet to cook your at-home meal, the store has you covered.

Some of the cast iron skillets were made by Lodge specifically for Cracker Barrel.

Cracker Barrel's store sells a lot more than food and cooking supplies, though.

The more I looked around the store, the more confused I was about what the unifying theme was.

There was beach-themed home decor, even though this Cracker Barrel is far from the ocean.

This selection of items would've been right at home in a TJ Maxx, though the prices were much higher than you'd likely encounter at that store.

It was also an odd mix of items for a Cracker Barrel located hours away from the nearest beach.

There was also a surprising selection of vinyl records for sale.

Lots of music memorabilia was on offer, such as this vinyl of Journey's greatest hits.

The old-time, vaguely rural decorations also continued in the store.

You couldn't buy them, but the various old ads and farm tools contributed to a cluttered feel in the store.

Overall, I definitely saw what Cracker Barrel's CEO was talking about.

With mediocre food, lots of very old decorations, and an eclectic store, I was confused about what Cracker Barrel is trying to be. There was lots to look at, eat, and buy, but none seemed worth returning for.

I won't be coming back until Cracker Barrel rolls out some big changes.

I'm not sure that replacing the partitions with bookshelves will be enough. But it's clear that the Cracker Barrel restaurant and store I visited needs an update.

There were so many examples of attractions that trade on nostalgia. In order for that to work, the attraction needs to offer something that people recognize — consider a ride at Disneyland modeled after your favorite childhood movie, for example.

It felt like Cracker Barrel was trying to remind patrons of a bygone era. But I'm just not sure that it's resonating with enough people anymore.

Do you work at Cracker Barrel or another restaurant chain and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

• A severe housing shortage has made both buying and renting increasingly unaffordable.
• But those lucky enough to own a home are struggling, too. 
• Harvard report finds cost-burdened homeowners rose by three million from 2019 to 2022.

You may have heard it's a terrible time to buy or rent a home. A severe shortage of housing, high mortgage interest rates, and strong demand from a growing number of new households have made it increasingly unaffordable to put a roof over your head.

The only group that seems to be faring well through this housing crisis are homeowners who locked in low-interest mortgages before rates began soaring two years ago. The average rate for mortgages that homeowners currently hold is just about 4%, while the current 30-year interest rate for those who want to buy a house now is around 7%, according to a new report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies on the state of US housing.

"Having locked in fixed rates with lower monthly payments, homeowners as a whole are paying less on housing debt service as a percentage of income than at any time since 1980," the report found.

As home prices soar, property owners are sitting on historic levels of home equity. The average homeowner's equity has soared by $28,000 just over the past year — growing to an average of about $305,000, according to Corelogic.

But even many of those lucky homeowners are increasingly struggling with the rising costs of home insurance premiums, home repairs, and property taxes. And they can't afford to move.

Lower-income, older people, and people of color are among the most vulnerable. Their options for moving or downsizing are increasingly limited with high mortgage rates and a scarcity of smaller, accessible homes.

The number of cost-burdened homeowners — those who spent more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities — rose by about three million people between 2019 and 2022. Most of this increase was among those who make less than $30,000 a year. A full 30% of Black and 28% of Hispanic homeowners are cost-burdened, compared to 21% of white homeowners, the Harvard report found.

"The all-in monthly costs of the median-priced home in the US are the highest since these data were first collected more than 30 years ago," the Harvard report found.

Insurance costs have risen dramatically in communities across the country — a result both of increasingly severe climate issues, including flooding and fires, and the elevated cost of home construction and repairs. Nationally, average home insurance premiums rose by 21% between May 2022 and May 2023, Policygenius found.

"Even if they're not paying a lot on the mortgage or property taxes, the maintenance, both in costs and labor, are often quite a burden on these households," Jenny Schuetz, an expert in urban economics and housing policy at the Brookings Institution, told Business Insider earlier this year.

• Having work friends has perks for workers and employers alike.
• Gallup's Ben Wigert said people's best friends at work "create a sense of trust, belonging, and connection."
• From work acquaintances to "work spouses," connections have changed amid hybrid and remote work.

Back in the pre-pandemic, full-time office era, Erin Mantz, 54, often had someone at work she could trust, commiserate with, count on, and have fun with — her "work spouse."

"It's not like a dating app," Mantz said. "I wasn't actively out there being like, 'Who can I pick?' It just sort of happened organically."

But now Mantz doesn't have a work spouse at Zeno Group where she's the vice president of employee engagement. While working a hybrid model could be a reason, Mantz speculated it also could be because she's part of an older generation "in a company that skews probably younger," working from a smaller office than many of her coworkers, or because of her level at the company.

With the rise of remote and hybrid work following the pandemic, work relationships have forever changed. Experts told BI that while workers tend to value more flexibility in the workplace — which remote and hybrid work allow — younger workers might gravitate toward in-person roles in the hopes doing so will facilitate social connections and deeper relationships. If they can't, they'll be more likely to experience loneliness.

A lack of work friends can be bad news for workers and employers. Ben Wigert, director of research for Gallup's workplace management practice, said in a written statement that people's best friends at work "create a sense of trust, belonging, and connection."

"Humans need each other and collaborate more effectively when they have real relationships," Wigert said. "If you're worried that a friendship will prevent people from being candid and productive, you have bigger underlying problems on your team. Great teams will attest who you work with makes all the difference."

Wigert noted "disruptive changes from where we work to the pace of work, how we serve our customers, rampant turnover, and a lot of restructuring." It could mean that employees and employers alike need to go the extra mile to build up that camaraderie. Mantz found that it's up to each person to reach out, chat with people, and make an effort to get to know them better.

"Because in this world, this hybrid world — and even if you're not a remote worker, but maybe your company has offices all over the country or all over the world — you're not going to organically be sitting next to someone where you can just chat," Mantz said. "So I think you have to push yourself a little bit to be a little bit more outgoing and interested in people."

How workplace connections have changed

With remote work, developing a work-spouse relationship is much more difficult due to limited in-person interactions.

Vicki Salemi, career expert for job-search site Monster, said in a written statement that this type of connection may be less close when working remotely full-time compared to when working a hybrid model or always working from an office.

"Plus, part of the work spouse relationship involves having that person to have your back, navigate office politics together and more and when you're remote, there are fewer opportunities to interact in person with social dynamics of the office," Salemi said.

Julianna Pillemer, an assistant professor of management and organization at New York University, told BI that the rise of remote work meant we are losing out on the key places that often facilitate closer relationships.

"This might look like the water cooler, the photocopier room, the break room, the hallway where people gather, any space that's just kind of like where people serendipitously bump into each other," she said. "That has traditionally been really important for fostering personal connections between employees."

Still, Pillemer said, relationships aren't all lost with remote work. Connecting through online interfaces like Zoom can allow coworkers to see each other's living spaces and pets, which can often be more intimate than a water cooler chat. The issue often arises when virtual social events end up being a mandatory, overplanned burden; it's not the same as spontaneously deciding to get drinks after work.

"A reason why I think Zoom happy hours backfired so hard is people don't want to feel forced," Pillemer said. "It's mandatory fun."

While some might discount water cooler chats as shallow small talk, Pillemer also noted it could help spark professional development. If a person is frequently in the office and actively looking to connect with others, they might be considered first for a promotion or a big project over someone who is fully remote.

Wigert noted that work best friends, work spouses, and similarly strong work connections can lead to being "more engaged, productive, and committed to their organization."

What work friendships and spouses look like for younger and older workers

Another challenge with the modern workplace is differing demands among generations. Joseph Fuller, a professor at Harvard's Business School and co-leader of the school's Managing the Future of Work Initiative, told BI that while older workers tend to be "a product of routine" and are more comfortable with the pre-pandemic fully in-person work schedule, younger workers are used to the flexibility of the workplace and are less likely to give that up.

But still, Fuller said, "If you are working hybrid a lot, you're not forming friendships, you're not broadening your personal network, you're not meeting people to socialize with, date, whatever else. And so you see in 20-somethings, in a lot of industries, an actual desire to go to the office."

Mantz finds the pros of having a work spouse outweigh the cons and said while it depends on the company and work culture, she thinks people in younger or older generations relative to Gen X don't really have this connection.

"I see a lot of the younger generations having a lot of really great, positive, friendly working relationships with people at the office," Mantz said. "A lot of folks who they work with, they would even call friends, but I think Gen X felt a need to really form alliances. So, while it was important to be friendly with everyone, I think we were a bit more cynical."

If you're new to the workplace and don't want to feel lonely in the workplace or just hoping to make some friends at work, Mantz suggested looking into company offerings, such as mentorship programs or even workplace book clubs. Mantz also advised people to reach out to people outside their generation.

"I think that that's a really important thing to do and not discount, well, that person doesn't seem like me, so I'm not going to make an effort if you will, because it really is a lot about forming relationships and alliances," Mantz said. "Kindness and interest go a long way, and I don't think that changes across the generations."

What is your experience with work friendships, work spouses, and loneliness at work? Reach out to these reporters to share at mhoff@businessinsider.com and asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• When I was younger, I was competitive and ran marathons. I also cycled and enjoyed rock climbing.
• As I've gotten older, I've let go of the need to prove myself. 
• Now, I focus on getting movement in different ways, including paddleboarding and yoga. 

In 1987, I ran the Big Sur Marathon, whose inspired pitch, "Run Along the Edge of the Western World," was irresistible. It was my personal best of the three marathons I had run at the time, clocking in at 3:56.

Running races was typical for me in my 30s when I was highly competitive, achievement-oriented, and needed to prove myself.

I focused on running, cycling, and rock climbing when I was younger

My husband Barry and I also bicycle-toured for years in Europe. I remember how fun it was one year in the Pyrenees, cycling in and out of France and Spain, climbing up to one pass, enjoying the breathtaking views, then zipping down to a charming village. The only trouble was that after our glorious descent, we'd face yet another hill to climb. We cycled uphill and down for two weeks straight. I'm glad that era is over!

Same with climbing Mt. Shasta in northern California, where, as I trudged up the intimidatingly steep icy slope in ill-fitting borrowed crampons, I seriously wondered if I might fall off the face of the earth. "I think I'll pass on Everest," I said to the other hikers when I reached the summit. Their laughter was the best part of the whole climb.

And I'll never forget the women's rock climbing class taught by a lithe, silver-haired woman named Annie. We were climbing a rock face above McCabe's Beach in Marin County. About halfway up the rock, I glanced behind and noticed we were the only clothed humans in sight. A bunch of nude men were playing volleyball and waving at us. Later, we realized it was not only a nude beach, but a gay hangout, because we couldn't see any other women besides ourselves.

Now I have a very different approach to fitness

During my 60s and 70s, I developed a radically different set of priorities. First, I do whatever I can to avoid falling. Three broken joints are more than enough. The first is a seriously compromised ankle from an excruciating landing while skydiving near Mt. Rainier 40 years ago. After my surgery, the orthopedist told me, "I put together everything I could recognize."

Thirty years later, another surgeon said that based on my X-rays, he assumed I'd be on crutches, but because I was so active, my ankle was pretty healthy, despite virtually no cartilage. "But no more running!" he added.

The other two falls were less traumatic. I fractured my pinky when I fell while running down a trail and my wrist when my Teva sandal got caught in a sidewalk crack.

Despite my active lifestyle, I have osteopenia, so I do strengthening yoga, weight-bearing exercises, and the Alexander technique, a mind-body modality that promotes good posture.

I still do hard things

The fact that I'm no longer competitive doesn't mean I'm just lying around. I subscribe to the message of a popular book titled "Do Hard Things." If I'm cycling up a hill, I tell myself, "Don't give up til your legs do!" Or if I feel like heading home while on my stand-up paddleboard, I'll say, "Come on, girl! You're not done yet!"

I spend more time in the water

I used to do most of my movement on land. But in recent years, I switched from running to open-water swimming, which morphed into paddleboarding, now one of my favorite fitness activities. It feels more like a spiritual practice than a form of conditioning, though.

I wander around Humboldt Bay, two blocks from our apartment in Eureka, California, and greet the seals (who look skeptically at this strange vertical being), admire herons, and, during high tide, paddle through an otherworldly slough with tiny crisscrossing waterways. Water is the ideal place to be when "the world is too much with us," as Wordsworth said.

Above all, I keep moving

If I had any advice to offer, it's this: do whatever it takes to keep moving. For myself, I increasingly want to be active outside, preferably in places of natural beauty. One exception is wandering for hours (alright, an hour!) along the over 3,000 windy, souk-like alleys in Guanajuato, the Mexican city where Barry and I live part time. I love these streets so much that I take people on tours.

Like the centenarians whose lifestyle I emulate, I avoid "exercise," which is a modern concept: artificial, timed, and structured. Instead I do what the body longs to do, which is navigate my environment on foot. Heading to the library, the bank, or yoga class, I stride along, singing childhood songs like "I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and "I Love to Go A-Wandering." Walking relaxes me when I'm tense, focuses me when distracted, and wakes me up when lethargic.

After all, what is a brisk walk but following in the steps of the ancients, joining the long line of bipeds before us, who headed outside, putting one foot in front of the other? The timeless practice of walking steadies and sustains me.