The long-awaited end of the green bubbleNurPhoto via Getty ImagesRepublished on December 9 with new FBI encryption warning that could mean the end of blue bubbles as well, a game-changer for all iPhone users.Apple seems all set to launch iOS 18.2 next week, bringing the long-awaited release of feature-rich Apple Intelligence tools held back from iOS 18s launch in the fall. But the next iPhone firmware release also brings the most surprising update in yearsa change to how your iPhone works andfinallyan end to those pesky green bubbles.The saga of green bubbles versus blue bubbles is very much an American thingthe US has been the only significant market which has held WhatsApp at bay, and clearly when your entire social network moves to WhatsAppwhether on iPhone or Android, all users look the same. Its refreshingly democratic and socially leveling.That said, Americans are trying it. Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrated WhatApp hitting the 100 million US users milestone in the summer, and those of you in the US will have noticed the billboards and Modern Family ads pointing out the benefits of seamless, secure cross-platform messaging.None of which actually killed the green bubbles. It seems that this will come down to two government playersChinas Ministry of State Security and Americas FBI. The Chinese started itnot actually MSS themselves, but one of its arms length hacking groups which managed to infiltrate US telco networks. The FBI then understandably warned that US citizens should stop sending unsecured text messages.MORE FOR YOUThats what those green bubbles are of course. They werent actually designed to distinguish social standing amongst teen and gen-z users. What they actually highlight it a lack of end-to-end encryption. To put it simply, blue is secure and green is not. It doesnt matter if its old school SMS green or new kid on the block RCS green. Blue is still secure and green is still not. And so, when the FBI warns Americans to stop sending unsecured text messages, they mean green bubbles.Cue Apple and that surprising update. iOS 18.2now expected next weekwill allow iPhone users to change default apps for the first time. Importantly, this includes your phone dialer and messenger, the very two apps the FBI and CISA have pointed out should be encrypted if at all possible. As youll all know by now, given the headlines over the last 72-hours, standard network calls or messages between Androids and iPhones are never end-to-end encrypted.And so, following the logic, iPhone users should change their default dialer and messenger to WhatsApp or Signal or other fully secured options. Apple offers FaceTime for calls and iMessage for texts, but both only secure iPhone-to-iPhone, so that doesnt work. In one respect, the timing of iOS 18.2 could not be better, but in anotherperhaps for Apple and for Googles RCS push, it could not be worse.Not everyone will do this, of course. But many will. Especially given the FBI warning making headlines across the US in the wake of Salt Typhoons ongoing Chinese hacks, and with no firm end in sight. If some users do change, if enough users do change, then perhaps we can end the green bubble nonsense once and for all. The bubbles would still be green if texting Android to iPhone from iMessagebut if youre using a fully encrypted platform as your default instead, this becomes irrelevant.As we entered 2024, I suggested that it would be the year messaging changed forever, but I did not expect it to run quite like this. We really are in uncharted territory, and will watch with interest to see what happens through December as users respond to the network hacking news and the fallout that will inevitably follow.What we really need is the green bubbles to turn blue, for RCS to be fully secured as another option for users. But despite the GSMA and Google working on this, its not yet in sight, unlike iOS 18.2 which is now just days away.While this is straightforward for Apples US iPhone users, there was a risk it was about become more complex for users in Europe. Fortunately that risk seems to have just diminishedthis has huge implications for the future of secure messaging.As I have reported before, the EUs so-called Chat Control would mandate the operators of messaging and other communication platforms to screen/scan private chats to flag material suspected of being CSAMchild sexual abuse material. While this singles objective is hard to argue, once end-to-end encryption is breached in this way, any material can be screenedpolitical, moral, ethical, sexual, etc.Chat Control dropped out of the news agenda some months ago, but then returned this week with fears that there was a renewed push to find a working majority of EU governments that would support pushing this forwards to policy.Thankfully, as TechRadarThis is important, because had the EU pushed this forwards, it would have provided the new US administration with some impetus to do the same. When the FBI warned users to switch from text messaging to secure platforms, they referred to responsible encryption. This essentially means encryption with black doors for law enforcement to use to monitor content when warranted, rather than find themselves in the dark.Interestingly, EFFs warning on responsible encryption, issued when it was first touted in 2017, has an interesting twist on this weeks news. By definition, when the customer sends end-to-end encrypted messagesin any kind of reasonably secure implementationthe carrier does not (and should not) possess the information necessary to decrypt them. Hard to argue against that given Salt Typhoon.Should Chat Control ever succeed, there would be no such thing as a blue bubble. And now, more worryingly, the FBI has clarified its wording, suggesting that blue bubbles might disappear for everyone anyway, at least in what they signifiy today.Apple assures its 2 billion users that Apple doesnt log the contents of messages or attachments, which are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can access them. Apple cant decrypt the data.This is critical, and Apples deployment of multi-device, end-to-end encryption sets an industry standard. When a user turns on iMessage on a device, the device generates encryption and signing pairs of keys for use with the service. The private keys are saved in the devices keychain and only available after first unlock. The public keys are sent to Apple Identity Service (IDS) where they are associated with the users phone number or email address, along with the devices APNs address.Apples entire approach to iMessage is content security and user privacy. If the iMaker had bowed to public pressure and developed an Android client for iMessage, then it would have arguably the best cross-platform messenger, but it hasnt and theres no sign that it ever will. And when third-parties try to do the same, they are fairly quickly shut down on security grounds.But end-to-end encryption is a binary, content is either secure or its not. Thats why Apple emphasizes that it cant access content and what it has ended the vulnerability whereby it stored user keys in iCloud backups that it could accessthats no longer the case, and users can ensure absolutely no access to iMessage content bar an endpoint compromise of one of their devices.Cue the FBI and a critical clarification on what could be coming for iPhone users. The Bureau has now confirmed to me that the deliberately phrased responsibly managed encryption in its stop texting warning means that law enforcement supports strong, responsibly managed encryption. This encryption should be designed to protect peoples privacy and also managed so U.S. tech companies can provide readable content in response to a lawful court order.This is a game-changer for Apple, and goes beyond iMessage into its industry-leading iCloud encryption which can now protect almost all iPhone content, including from Apple itself, and even protects that content in the event of a cloud breach.Responsible encryption has been pushed by since 2017, when then Deputy U.S Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that while encryption is a foundational element of data security and authentication the advent of warrant-proof encryption is a serious problem The law recognizes that legitimate law enforcement needs can outweigh personal privacy concerns. Our society has never had a system where evidence of criminal wrongdoing was totally impervious to detection But that is the world that technology companies are creating.Rosensteins comments were made during the first Trump administration, and speculation is now rife as to what might happen under the second one. There is a perfect storm building, with U.S. encryption warnings, EU chat-control proposals and a new lawsuit claiming harm from Apples failure to scan content for illicit CSAM, again as a result of its end-to-end encryption.Applealongside Meta and Googlewill fight hard to maintain the encryption status quo and prevent monitoring or backdoor access from being mandated. And so it should. The stakes are frighteningly high. Once the encryption bubble is burst, it wont come back. It will be good to see green bubbles go, but it now seems that blue bubbles may also be more under threat now than ever before.

In brief: As investors search for ways to stabilize Ubisoft following years of poor financial performance, buyout talks with major shareholder Tencent are progressing. Although multiple options are on the table, the founding Guillemot family struggles to retain control of the company. Anonymous sources have told Reuters that multiple investors, including Tencent, are discussing options for funding a buyout of Ubisoft. The Guillemot family wishes to retain control over the company, but Tencent wants more decision-making power.People familiar with the matter say the Chinese media giant wants further control over Ubisoft's financing if it backs the deal. However, the Guillemot brothers, who founded the company and retain the controlling share 20.5 percent haven't agreed to the terms. Tencent is patiently waiting for the family to come around.Click to enlargeAlthough the company wants to avoid a hostile takeover of Ubisoft, it still hasn't decided whether to increase its 9.2 percent stake in the game publisher or its 49.9 percent ownership of Guillemot Brothers Ltd the Guillemots' holding company.Ubisoft's stock closed 13 percent up following news of continuing buyout discussions. Prior reports of negotiations caused a record-breaking one-day spike of over 30 percent. Although Ubisoft attempted to downplay excitement by saying it examines buyout proposals regularly, the developments could be sorely needed given the publishers' recent steep decline. // Related StoriesUnfortunately, the years following the pandemic have wiped out a decade of Ubisoft's stock gains. The company has struggled to develop and ship ever-larger games, and its recent releases haven't met market expectations.After announcing plans to shut down the free-to-play online shooter XDefiant next year, Ubisoft closed its San Francisco and Osaka studios and laid off almost 300 employees. The game's failure adds to the publisher's troublesome year after Star Wars Outlaws suffered a lukewarm reception and Assassin's Creed Shadows got pushed into next year.Additionally, Ubisoft stoked controversy and attracted a lawsuit after shutting down servers for The Crew and pulling the game from users' libraries. Charging $70 on top of microtransactions for Skull and Bones, which spent around seven years in development, also drew ire.Despite the setbacks, Ubisoft remains committed to releasing more live-service games. A buyout isn't the only solution the Guillemots are discussing to stabilize the company. Shareholders, including AJ Investments, have proposed privatization or acquisition by a strategic investor.

Facepalm: If you picked up an Anker Bluetooth speaker from Amazon last year, you'll want to check if it's affected by a recent safety recall. The company is pulling specific models off shelves due to potential battery issues that could cause overheating, smoke, and even small fires. Anker has recalled its Soundcore A3102 speaker (the black model only) and the AnkerWork A3302 PowerConf S3 speakerphone device. The affected model numbers are A3102016, A3302011, and A3302031. These gadgets ranged from $28 to $130 on Amazon last year.On Thursday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that Anker received 33 reports of incidents involving the overheating of lithium-ion batteries in these speakers. Consumers experienced devices smoking or catching fire. Although the fires were small, there was one minor burn injury related to an overheated unit.The CPSC warned that the speakers pose a real "fire hazard" and advised owners to stop using them immediately, power them down, and unplug them from any power sources.Anker estimates it sold around 69,000 faulty speaker models in the US and another 9,764 units in Canada through Amazon last year. Consumers may have purchased a limited number of Soundcore A3102 speakers through early June 2024. // Related StoriesThe Chinese company traced the problem to "manufacturing conditions" with specific speaker batches produced in March and April 2023. Newer Soundcore models, such as the red and blue color variants and the Soundcore 2 and 3 speakers, do not appear to be affected by these issues.If you own one of the recalled speakers, Anker has launched official recallsites with instructions on identifying the affected model numbers and requesting a free replacement unit. Amazon and Anker have already notified known purchasers about the issue. However, if you have not been contacted but suspect you might have an affected device, enter its serial number on Anker's website to see if you need to request a replacement.Anker isn't alone in this problem. Earlier this month, Audio-Technica had to caution its customers about a potential overheating problem affecting specific batches of its affordable 2024 earbuds model.

Keen to ramp up the frequency of test flights for its next-generation Starship rocket, SpaceX has moved the first-stage Super Heavy booster to the launchpad for preflight testing ahead of its seventh liftoff.SpaceX shared an image of the 70-meter-tall Super Heavy booster standing on the launchpad. When the Starship spacecraft is stacked on top for the upcoming test, the vehicle reaches an astonishing height of 120 meters.Recommended VideosFlight 7 Super Heavy booster moved to the pad at Starbase for testing pic.twitter.com/IOnSMTjrTk SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 6, 2024Please enable Javascript to view this contentRecent reports have suggested that SpaceX is targeting January 11 for the seventh orbital test flight of the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft (collectively known as the Starship), though SpaceX has yet to confirm this.RelatedThe rocket the most powerful ever to fly has been improving its performance with every flight since the first test in April 2023. That maiden flight lasted barely four minutes before the entire vehicle exploded in dramatic fashion over the Gulf of Mexico. The second flight, however, achieved stage separation, while the third saw the Starship reach space. And then the fifth flight performed a spectacular rocket landing that has to be seen to be believed. Bringing the first-stage booster home shortly after deploying the upper stage to orbit allows SpaceX to reuse it for multiple missions, delivering a significant efficiency boost to its spaceflight operations.Once fully tested and certified, NASA and SpaceX want to use a modified version of the Starship spacecraft to land the first humans on the lunar surface since the final Apollo mission in 1972. The highly anticipated landing will be part of the Artemis III mission, which NASA recently announced would be pushed back by about a year to mid-2027. The delay follows the emergence of technical issues with the NASAs Orion spacecraft, which will also play a key role in the Artemis III mission.Future Starship missions could also involve sending the first humans to Mars, possibly in the 2030s.SpaceX chief Elon Musk has also repeatedly suggested including as recently as Sunday in a social media post that the rocket could one day pave the way for humans to become multiplanetary by helping to set up a colony on Mars. Such a reality is surely a ways off, but with every Starship test, Musk believes his grand ambition is edging ever closer.Editors Recommendations

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has posted another set of stunning shots, this time showing clouds as youve never seen them before.Captured from the International Space Station (ISS) some 250 miles above the surface of Earth, the clouds unique look is due to the the stations alignment with our planets day/night shadow.Recommended VideosLiving in the Twilight Zone, Pettit wrote in a post on social media. Our orbit on the space station now is aligned with Earths day-night shadow thus we see neither full day nor full night. This is the best time to photograph clouds under low-angle lighting.Please enable Javascript to view this contentLiving in the Twilight Zone. Our orbit on @Space_Station now is aligned with Earths day-night shadow thus we see neither full day nor full night. This is the best time to photograph clouds under low angle lighting. pic.twitter.com/pt7BS9eZwK Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) December 8, 2024RelatedPettit, at 69 NASAs oldest serving astronaut, has been dazzling his social media followers with a sublime stream of images since arriving at the the orbital outpost in September, and hes also enjoyed sharing his space images during his previous ISS missions.On of Pettits most remarkable images during his current mission shows moonlight reflecting off of a river in South America, a scene that he described as flowing silver snakes.He was also quick enough to capture the sight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule hurtling back to Earth at the end of a mission, with Pettits image showing a dramatic streak of light as the spacecraft reentered Earths atmosphere at the end of the historic Polaris Dawn mission in September.Keen to improve his images, Pettit also created what became known as the barn door tracker. The DIY astrophotography tool allows for the capture of sharper images of city lights at night as the device compensates for the stations movement relative to the Earths surface. It can also be used for long exposures of the night sky captured from back on terra firma, producing sharper images (without star trails) by counteracting Earths rotation.Editors Recommendations

The Japanese chip maker produces NAND flash-memory chips used in smartphones, computer servers and other devices.

In the increasingly dangerous world of cybercrime, Brian Krebs faces threats, manipulation and the odd chess challenge.

The universe is even weirder than youd expectandrey_l/ShutterstockThe following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time here.Does your workday ever include picking fights about whether empty space is actually empty or whether time is an illusion? Has a co-worker ever told you that youve caused them emotional pain by discussing concepts from quantum field theory? Welcome to the life of a

Rebecca Vijay, an online entrepreneur, faces isolation and challenges due to time zone differences.She works in publishing through the night and sleeps during the day while her family is away.Global connections through coaching groups have helped her overcome isolation and find support.I'm an online business owner who provides book writing and publishing services. My focus is on women's empowerment through faith, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.As a child growing up in New Delhi, every day was an adventure with friends and weekends were busy with church, youth events, and programs. Coming from a carefree youth setting to stepping into the workforce and adjusting to a 9-5 schedule took some time.Now, as I run my business from home alone, I feel even more isolated.I worked a few corporate jobs before starting my businessAfter working in different organizations at the start of my career, I settled at Oxford University Press for almost eight years, heading a commissioning team that published management books.I got married in 2008, found we were expecting twins, and lost my firstborn twin son on the third day of his life. I raised my preemie daughter with my husband's support.Infant loss can be a taboo subject, and most people around me chose to ignore it. Stifling my thoughts and emotions forced me into my shell.I had another son, and when he was a few months old and my daughter was in kindergarten, I decided that money can always be made but spending time with my kids during their formative years was more important. I left corporate life in 2014. Not many people in my life understood this decision.I became an author and struggled to feel understood by my community even furtherI started blogging, and in 2017, I wrote my first book, "My Angel in Heaven," about my son's death and finding comfort in God, which helped many bereaved parents and became a bestseller on Amazon.Though people around me congratulated me, I didn't feel like they understood what it took out of me to bring the book to life. I went on to have two more books published that year, and the response was the same, as they hit bestseller lists, too. It made me feel even more disconnected from the people around me.I then faced new challenges when I became an online entrepreneurI started my company, Fount of Grace Creatives, in 2018, providing publishing services to local authors and expanded it into an international publishing house in 2021.I created a concept for an anthology featuring inspiring stories of global women changemakers, trailblazers, and visionaries. Arranging coaching or networking calls is difficult; when for some, it's midnight, for others, it's early morning.As I work mostly with US clients now, I tend to work during the evenings, leading to late nights. Sometimes, I'm even up until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. or maybe not sleeping at all, as I need to be up by 6 a.m. to get my kids up for school.Once my kids and my husband are out for their day, I try to get a few hours of sleep. It's extremely difficult as our maid will come, trash will need to be picked up, some courier will come, etc.I generally put my phone on silent as otherwise it will keep ringing and disturb my irregular sleep. On top of that, I get migraines, which get triggered by lack of or interrupted sleep.It's difficult for friends, family, and acquaintances to understand my scheduleMy husband works in logistics and others around me are mostly in IT, teaching, HR, finance, banking, or ministry.For them, I'm at home and need to be available whenever they call or message. Some feel that the online world where I work is not a "real" job and don't seek to understand it. They also don't understand why I've invested in mentors, online programs, and courses.I work on business development, sales and marketing, social media, and fulfillment. This is very different from more traditional jobs, and I'm all the more isolated as I can't share about my work or what it entails.The pandemic came and made everything worse We were imprisoned within our own four walls. I lost my mom and some close friends.Before I could even make sense of that, cancer stole two of my favorite and most inspiring authors whose stories I published. All this left me spinning out of control and alone.I started to make friends onlineI've connected with others through global coaching groups to learn strategy and skills for my business. These women have helped me break boundaries in my mind and figure out how to cater to international audiences and charge in USD, as they've had to break their own barriers and obstacles to gain success.These women have become friends and helped me feel less alone. We have similar struggles, share our success stories or tips, and speak the same jargon. Investing in myself, following through on my vision even when others didn't understand or see it, and focusing on my mission have helped me develop these deeper virtual personal relationships.The struggles are worth itLife as an online entrepreneur from a different time zone than most of my clients has been difficult and lonely, but when I look back at the lives I've touched through publishing their inspiring stories, the sacrifices have been worth it.I plan to go on to train corporations and educational institutes in personal development and women's leadership and continue to encourage my kids and women across the world to dream big, not be limited to a 9-5 job, and consider working online as a way to gain time and financial freedom.Do you have an isolating job and want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com

Once upon a time, corporate bosses, associates, and interns alike would set aside their different titles and gather each December for drinks, dancing, and conversation. There would be gourmet dinners, chocolate fountains, DJs, and even live bands. For some, it was a night of merriment and splendor; for others, of awkward small talk, followed by deep regret.Then the holiday party became endangered. In the wake of #MeToo in 2017, more professionals began rethinking the wisdom of a boozed-up night with their colleagues. The pandemic and remote work delivered a near death blow. In a 2020 survey of about 200 HR representatives by the executive-outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a mere 23% said they opted for seasonal celebrations, nearly three-quarters of which would be held virtually.But as the return to offices continues, companies are slowly reinstituting holiday parties. Last year, nearly 65% of companies surveyed by Challenger, Gray, & Christmas said they planned to host in-person holiday parties, within sight of the 80% reported in 2016, before the advent of #MeToo. If plans pan out, this year could have before-times levels of corporate holiday cheer.The return of the office holiday party could be a happier development than many jaded workers are likely inclined to presume. With two-thirds of the American white-collar workforce working remotely either some or all of the time, according to a USA Today survey conducted earlier this year, face time with colleagues and superiors is no longer a default feature of the 9-to-5. That might not be a big deal for everyone, but early-career workers stand to pay the steepest professional price for missing out on the kinds of networking and mentorship opportunities that are likelier to happen organically in a shared physical space. All the while, workers across the board are feeling increasingly lonely, overextended, and disengaged. They need something anything to celebrate.In a work environment punctuated by uncertainty and isolation, it might be premature to let one's inner Scrooge have the final word on the tradition.From Fezziwig's ball in "A Christmas Carol" to the power-suited backdrop of the 1988 Christmas Eve action thriller "Die Hard," the workplace holiday party has been a fixture of the cultural imagination for generations. But in the mid-20th century, the event garnered its enduring reputation for sloppiness and day-after regret. A 1948 Life magazine photo spread from a Christmas party thrown in the office of a Manhattan insurance brokerage depicts, among other modern-day HR violations, a pantless male executive dancing arm in arm with a young female stenographer and a pair of colleagues leaning in for a smooch beneath a bundle of mistletoe.Somewhere along the way, festivities evolved from low-key gatherings held at the office to lavish affairs that might include gourmet meals, hired entertainment, and even international travel and accommodation on the boss' dime. The pandemic notwithstanding, the economic pendulum has largely dictated its tilt toward excess or restraint.I've never experienced a company holiday party like it since.As a Toronto-area DJ during the halcyon days of the late-'90s dot-com bubble, Baruch Labunski had a front-row seat to corporate-party splendor. "I went to many and saw a lot of crazy things," he said. He described being flown to DJ holiday parties in far-flung global destinations such as Bora Bora, Palawan, and Ibiza and, on top of that, getting paid $50,000 to $100,000 per event. (When I asked how many holiday parties he booked in a typical season, he said only "many.") By the time the dot-com bubble burst and the demand for his services cooled, Labunski had tired himself out of the DJ booth and pivoted to a career in marketing.Economic recovery in the mid-2000s spurred a holiday-party renaissance, only to be dashed once again in the 2008 recession. A few years later, Wall Street firms were reportedly back to enjoying hush-hush holiday festivities reminiscent of their heydays. The free-money firehose of the ZIRP era was in full force, and excess was back in style.Danielle Kane, who was a reporter for a niche New York City financial-services publication between 2015 and 2017, said that one year her company flew the entire staff of 50 to 75 people to Berlin. "Hotels and flights were paid for, there was an experiential dinner at the Berlin TV Tower, and then they paid for everyone to get into a fancy club afterwards," she said. "It was a late night, and I've never experienced a company holiday party like it since."For all their fun, these often cringe-inducing affairs earned a bad rap one that may come to bite younger workers.Despite some companies' largesse, the general workforce's enthusiasm for holiday parties has long been mixed. In a 2017 survey of American workers by Randstad, 90% of respondents said they'd rather receive bonuses or extra vacation days than attend a company holiday party. "The ideal situation," Constance Noonan Hadley, an organizational psychologist, told me, "is to offer activities that foster employee social health (such as a holiday party) without asking them to sacrifice their financial health (such as a bonus) or their mental health (such as time off)."Companies squander the opportunity to make holiday gatherings meaningful in all sorts of small but critical ways. Hadley said the Christmas-specific focus of many company holiday parties could be alienating to workers who follow non-Christian religious traditions. Parties are often held at inconvenient times and places too late on a weeknight for parents, in a location that has expensive parking or is hard to access. Holiday parties at big firms can also be loud, hot, and crowded, which makes it difficult to have meaningful conversations or meet new people.Simply put, face time matters.Well-planned company holiday parties, on the other hand, can be a boon to employees' overall work experience and even strengthen company culture. A study of workers at several German companies in 2019 concluded that parties could encourage social bonding, especially when employees' feedback steered the planning. The study suggests, for example, that icebreaker activities that get people from different parts of the organization talking help build camaraderie, despite the eye rolls they may initially provoke. Over time, that can contribute to a happier and more cohesive work environment.For early-career workers, the benefits can be more pronounced. Rick Hermanns, the president and CEO of HireQuest, a global staffing company, said social events could help make up for the "intangible aspects of career growth and camaraderie between colleagues" that younger workers may miss out on when they're partly or fully remote. In a 2023 Adobe poll of more than 1,000 Gen Z workers at midsize and large US companies, 83% of respondents said a workplace mentor was crucial for their career, but only 52% said they had one. While holiday parties aren't the be-all and end-all of workplace networking, they provide a critical opening to build and fortify connections."When I look back at my early career in banking in Los Angeles, I appreciated the time I had to walk into a senior executive's office or grab a beer after work with colleagues," Hermanns said. "Those are the intangibles you can't quantify yet ultimately impact your career growth." Simply put, face time matters.It makes sense that Gen Z and millennial workers would be more enthusiastic about workplace holiday get-togethers than their Gen X and baby-boomer counterparts. "Company leaders need to help Gen Z as well as millennials, whose workplace experience was hugely disrupted by COVID to build strong interpersonal workplace relationships," Hubert Palan, the CEO of the product-management company Productboard, told Business Insider last year.Given that much of the global workforce feels lonely on the job, it's not just the youngest workers who need a social boost. A new study Hadley coauthored evaluating workplace loneliness and remedies found that the loneliest people at work were those who were offered the fewest social opportunities by their employer. "In fact, the number of social offerings provided was one of our most predictive variables in terms of whether someone was socially connected at work or not," she told me. Hadley also found that while fully remote work did seem to increase the risk of loneliness, it was less significant of a variable than whether a person was introverted or worked for an organization that held regular social activities for staffers.The German study suggests that a holiday party can serve as the ritual capstone for these more routine coworker events, making year-end hobnobbing just a little extra special. While the ideal party activities will depend on an organization's culture, a few basic considerations such as hosting the event somewhere besides the boring old office go a long way. Elements of fun help too, whether they take the form of a themed photo booth, a creative dining experience, or, yes, a DJ.A dash of festive foresight can make the difference between the raunchy affairs of yesteryear and a few hours of meaningful, PG-rated bonding between coworkers. "A nice holiday event gives people a break in their wallets and signals that the leaders value personal connections and socializing," Hadley said.For a company's youngest workers, the benefits may last a professional lifetime.Kelli Mara Korducki is a journalist whose work focuses on work, tech, and culture. She's based in New York City.