Marketplace Morning Report

Episode Title: Maybe going into the office isn't so bad?
Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishour (in for David Brancaccio)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the renewed trend of returning to physical office spaces in 2025, particularly in industries like finance and tech. The episode highlights the benefits that office environments offer, especially for younger workers, through both research findings and a personal story from the field. It also covers key economic news: U.S. industrial production statistics, falling manufacturing, supply chain issues, and the impact of tariffs. The show briefly discusses a San Francisco incident with Waymo self-driving taxis and closes with international news about U.S. visa denials for European officials involved in tech regulation.

Main Discussion: The Upside of Office Work

Timestamps: [01:01] – [04:13]

Key Points

• The 2025 Return to Office Trend

  • Companies like JP Morgan, Amazon, AT&T, and Dell have reinstituted five days a week in-person work.
  • Economists at the New York Fed and universities report office attendance benefits, especially for younger workers.

• Younger Workers Want Office Time

  • Many younger professionals view office attendance as an opportunity, not a burden.

Interview: Sky Atondo, Event Coordinator at Milk Studios, LA

• What Sky Does ([01:53])

  • “Primarily like Milk Studios, we are a hub for anything to create a space for you to have an event on the back end... my job is basically to protect space and then at the end of the day just make sure the client's happy.” — Sky Atondo

• Hybrid/Full Office Work Experience ([02:22])

  • Sky is fully online until events, but always in the office: “Up until the event, I’m… fully online but I’m always in office.” — Sky Atondo

• Loving the Office ([02:31])

  • Sky enthusiastically prefers office work: “I love it. I jokingly always say it’s like it gives you a reason, like to put a fit on.” — Sky Atondo

• The Social Side of Office Life ([02:45])

  • “I love the kiki with the boys and girls.” — Sky Atondo, on enjoying being with colleagues

• Career Upsides: Mentorship and Growth ([03:00])

  • “I don’t think without being in person, I would have got the mentorship I got from a lot of these guys within my industry that just take me under the wing. And honestly, it’s like the nuance of send an email. You’re not necessarily getting my personality or what’s necessarily going on, you know.” — Sky Atondo

• Commute and Context ([03:21])

  • Sky’s commute: “Like six minutes…” — Sky Atondo, acknowledging that it makes office attendance easier

• Remote Experience vs. In-Person ([03:37])

  • “Majority of my job is emailing, but at the end of the day, I want to see the person behind it... Like, I really like to just be a part of it rather than outside looking in.” — Sky Atondo

• Job Enjoyment ([03:59])

  • “Honestly, I’m so blessed to say I enjoy what I do because very rarely do we get to do things where we get to make other people happy.” — Sky Atondo

Memorable Moments

• The light-hearted tone about enjoying “putting a fit on” for work and the social aspect of “the kiki with the boys and girls” injects personality into the larger discussion about office culture.
• Insights on mentorship and career opportunity highlight research-backed benefits of in-person work.

U.S. Manufacturing and Industrial Production Update

Timestamps: [04:14] – [05:55]

Key Points

• Industrial Production Stats

  • November saw a 2.1% increase, but mainly due to mining; manufacturing was flat, construction/utilities down.
  • Manufacturing output remains unchanged since July.

• Expert Analysis

  • “US Manufacturing is in no growth mode and has been for months.” — Bradley Saunders, Capital Economics ([04:40])
  • Factory employment has declined since the year's start.
  • Tariffs intended to boost domestic industry are instead raising costs for manufacturers who rely on imported parts.
  • “We’re seeing industrial production bounce along the bottom as manufacturing continues to adjust downward in light of US Trade conflict.” — Joe Bruceuelis, RSM ([04:55])

• AI as an Exception

  • “Outside of the AI buildout, manufacturing should generally struggle as businesses try to adapt their supply chains and figure out what production can be cost effectively reshored back to the U.S.” — Mitchell Hartman ([05:40])

Waymo Self-Driving Taxis Cause San Francisco Gridlock

Timestamps: [05:55] – [06:36]

Key Points

• After a power outage, Waymo vehicles were immobilized, with blinkers flashing, in the middle of San Francisco streets.
• Waymo claims to have instructed cars to pull over, and is “making changes to how self-driving cars work when infrastructure fails.”

Memorable Moment

• The visualization of “hordes of Waymo self driving taxis just stopped in the middle of traffic blinkers on not moving,” capturing a key challenge for self-driving technology.

U.S. Visa Denials for European Tech Officials

Timestamps: [07:06] – [08:13]

Key Points

• The U.S. State Department will deny visas to five Europeans, including former EU tech regulator Thierry Breton.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused them of attempting to coerce American social media platforms to censor U.S. viewpoints.
• The dispute revolves around the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), seen by some U.S. conservatives as a censorship tool, an accusation strongly denied by the EU.

Notable Quote

• “The DSA has become a bitter rallying point for US conservatives who see it as a weapon of censorship against right wing thought, an accusation the EU furiously denies.” — Richard Hamilton, BBC ([07:29])

Episode Recap

• Office Return: The show foregrounds the career and social benefits of returning to the office, especially for younger workers, illustrating the point with real-world anecdotes and personal perspectives.
• Economy: Industrial production remains sluggish, and U.S. tariffs are complicating manufacturing’s recovery.
• Technology: Self-driving cars face real-world challenges in urban infrastructure outages.
• International Policy: The U.S. and EU tech regulation face a transatlantic showdown over digital free speech and governance.