Even though most American workers feel happy with their coworkers and managers, only half are satisfied with their jobs, according to new polling from Pew Research Center. There are various reasons, including how much they are paid and opportunities for promotion; however, the same survey asked employees whether they use all of their vacation days.

The amount who do? Forty-six percent. Quite a coincidence!

Reasons cited for leaving vacation days on the table include lack of need, worrying about falling behind at work, and guilt about increasing colleagues’ workload. However, this sacrifice isn’t always a good thing for employers. Paid leave can benefit a business by increasing productivity, lowering burnout and boosting employee morale. That’s why it pays to construct a clear PTO policy — and if you notice that a worker never leaves their desk, maybe drop a hint that beach season is coming.

TikTok: How creators are preparing for the (possible) end.

American Girl: Dolls embrace ‘90s retro — and Pizza Hut.

Parks Project: A company helps restore U.S. national parks.

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(Source: Shutterstock)

As TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance, with Congress threatening an outright ban — or forcing its sale to a U.S. company — top marketers and creators are left wondering if they’ll have to migrate elsewhere.

Advertisers devote $5 billion annually to the China-based app, which U.S. government agencies have warned poses an intelligence threat. With millions of young American users all but addicted — and many small businesses depending on it to find customers — could TikTok really vanish?

Some influencers head back to YouTube

An estimated 50,000 major influencers post on TikTok — and now they’re facing a potential career crisis.

DIVE DEEPER:

• How to Get Your Business on TikTok Before It’s Too Late
• Paid vs. Organic Social Media: How to Strike the Right Balance
• How New-Age Social Media Marketing Is Changing and What You Need to Know

John Eringman, who talks to young people about financial independence, started uploading TikToks at the end of 2019. Today, Eringman has 1.3 million TikTok followers, but he’s been trying to diversify his following for months; he’s also on Instagram (107,000 followers) and YouTube (16,500 subscribers).

Now he might go live on TikTok and answer an incoming question by saying, “Hey, look at this thing I’ve created on YouTube. Check it out.”

The crossover isn’t easy, Eringman tells b. It’s harder to grow on YouTube and there’s far more competition in financial content. On the other hand, he feels YouTube’s payout is two or three times greater — and the demographics are less dominated by Gen Z. “It’s a better monetization strategy [and] I feel like I can tap into anyone there,” Eringman says. 

Will TikTok Be Vine 2.0?

TikTok influencers’ fears have internet precedence. Vine launched in 2013, becoming the app for hundreds of millions of young people by 2015 — its short video loops were as creative and weird as TikTok’s are today — and then died in 2016.

Vine’s evaporation, and the wipeout of Facebook influencers from an algorithm change that drastically limited brand pages’ organic reach, highlight the industry’s impermanence.

“Platforms don’t really care if you are successful at monetization, I’ll be completely honest,” admitted former TikTok executive Sean Kim at SXSW in March. “North-star metrics are 100% focused on retention, [daily active users], publish rates, active days. Monetization of creators is not even on there. It’s like way, way, way down here. It’s like a little afterthought.”

If all your followers can disappear overnight, did you ever have a following at all?

You can be sloppy at work if the BBQ food truck is parked outside your office for lunchtime, or if it rains during a company hiking trip — but you can never be sloppy when it comes to payroll.

That’s because 1 in 6 employees say they would quit their job after a single inaccurate paycheck, and nearly 25% have received one, according to an Intuit survey. What’s more, employees at small businesses report they’re 14% less likely to always be paid on time. Payroll mistakes destroy morale and retention, and that’s before the potential tax penalties.

With QuickBooks Payroll, business owners can confidently make fast unlimited payroll runs and get automatic tax calculations on every paycheck in all 50 states. Employees can even access pay stubs and W-2s, and safely view PTO balances and withholding allowances online. 

QuickBooks Payroll delivers big business benefits on a small business budget, and 24/7 callback support means you’ll get answers anytime — even if you’re standing in line for that BBQ food truck. Save 50% for three months when you buy now.

(Source: Mattel)

Mattel’s American Girl dolls have always looked to history for inspiration, but the 1990s are a lot closer to us than Colonial Williamsburg.

Nevertheless, the beloved brand has introduced 18-inch twins Isabel and Nicki Hoffman, one of whom is “pink and preppy” while the other loves “alternative rock music, skateboarding, and making zines,” according to a product description. Oh, their desktop computer (with floppy disk drive) is having some trouble with the Y2K bug.

But the millennial nostalgia doesn’t end there. In a crossover promotion with Pizza Hut, the sisters are bookworms in exchange for personal pan pizzas through the (real-life) BOOK IT! reading incentive program. For an extra $32, you’ll get era-appropriate Pizza Hut accessories including a red transparent cup, a BOOK IT! “free pizza” certificate, and — in an especially meta twist — a “doll-sized version of Super Slumber Parties, an American Girl® book for girls released in 1997,” the product description says.

If millennials are horrified that their childhoods are now material for a doll collection most associated with the 1700s and 1800s, at least they can swallow this bitter pill along with a slice of pepperoni.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, and Grand Teton have seen record visitation in recent years, placing stress on park infrastructure (roads, utility systems, etc.) that already needed billions of dollars in repair costs.

That’s where the clothing, lifestyle, and homegoods company Parks Project comes in. Merging vintage flair and a kitsch aesthetic, Parks Project is a Certified B Corporation that donates a portion of sales to U.S. national parks. Since 2014 the company has raised more than $2.5 million through collaborations with REI and National Geographic, funding wildlife restoration projects and volunteer programs.

That amount isn’t enough to cover a federal budget shortfall, of course, but raising millions for a good cause is never a walk in the park. So the next time you need a hiking shirt, consider purchasing one that helps out the trail.

(Source: Twitter)

Written by Elizabeth Barton, Shannon Simcox, and Carolyn Neuhausen.