Business

Sigal Barsade of the Wharton School said the “Great Resignation” is driven in part by a shift in cultural attitudes toward work online. “When people say, ‘I’m going to quit my job,’ their family and peers aren’t responding ‘Have you lost your mind?’” she said. “They're actually saying, ‘Yeah, we feel that way too.’”

Nancy Rothbard of the Wharton School said the pandemic drove many people to reevaluate their careers and priorities. “Being at home also allows for a wholistic assessment of personal and social roles or identities,” she said.

Jonah Berger of the Wharton School said the viral popularity of free COVID test kits is driven by the same thing that motivates consumers to order off “secret” menus: the thrill of passing along hidden information.

PIK Professor Herbert Hovenkamp said Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard would likely invite antitrust challenges. “The agencies might be applying closer scrutiny given that they have been attacked for being somewhat under deterrent with respect to mergers over the last decade,” he said.

Wilglory Tanjong, an MBA student in the Wharton School, launched a successful luxury handbag company in February 2020. “I wanted to get an MBA because I wanted to build the company while also learning how to build a company,” she said.