Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Ocean plastic is a huge problem, blockchain could be part of the solution
The world’s oceans are awash in plastic, and the problem is only getting worse. Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastic debris ends up in the oceans, and that’s on top of the 150 million metric tons already in marine environments. The debris ensnares seabirds, starves whales Read More...
Denmark has the flattest work hierarchy in the world
Denmark may be the birthplace of the Lego tower, but its workplace hierarchy is the flattest in the world. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018, the nation tops an index measuring “willingness to delegate authority” at work, beating 139 other Read More...
Lyft is introducing a U.S. subscription service
The inevitable business model singularity has arrived, which is to say the Netflix for Ubers has arrived via Read More...
New smartphone app can find out whether or not its users are depressed
A startup in California is trying to use our obsession with the technology in our pockets to treat depression. When a patient installs the startup's app, it monitors things like the way the person types, taps, scrolls while using other apps. These seemingly mundane interactions with your phone can Read More...
British billionaire boycotts Saudi Arabia over disappearance of journalist
Richard Branson and his space tourism venture Virgin Galactic have rejected the $1 billion investment it was set to receive from Saudi Arabia as a way of showing solidarity for The Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. The reporter, who was an outspoken Saudi critic and opinion writer, hasn’t Read More...
Zum, an Uber-like service for kids, is expanding—and parents can’t wait
Over the last three years, Zūm has safely driven more than 500,000 children over 3 million miles—no parents required. The Uber-like service ushers kids ages 5 and up to and from school or to after-school activities, making it easier for busy parents to juggle Read More...
Why the cooperative model needs to be at the heart of our new economy
In 1903, an American entrepreneur, Charles Boettcher, founded the Great Western Sugar Company in Colorado and opened two beet sugar refineries outside of Denver. Over the course of the 20th century, the company expanded, adding more facilities in Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska, and encompassing Read More...
At West Bank factories, keeping the peace is a mutual interest
An Israeli-run factory in the West Bank asks its Jewish employees on military reserve duty not to drop by in uniform so the Palestinian workers won’t feel occupied, according to one Israeli manager. In the Barkan Industrial Park, one of several Israeli-run commercial zones near Jewish settlements Read More...
Study: Automation makes the three-day weekend more common
A new study conducted in Britain suggest that employees in the UK could enjoy shorter work weeks thanks to automated machines and their ability to make work more efficient. Currently, workers in the UK are laboring longer hours on average than in most other European countries. New technologies Read More...
How a Middle East startup took on Uber—and won
Uber was supposed to take over the world. Investors dueled to stake billions in the company on the assumption it would become the global market leader—the Google- or Facebook-style winner-take-all of the ride-hailing Read More...