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In your home, you probably have a handful of gadgets that rely on batteries: remotes, smoke detectors, wireless keyboards. But instead of having to replace those batteries again and again, those devices could one day be powered by solar panels that harvest energy from your indoor lights. The idea of an indoor solar panel sounds contradictory; our lamps and overhead lighting arent the same as the sun. But indoor solar panels have been in development for years. The problem, though, is theyve often been inefficient, expensive, or too unstable to be widely adopted, says Motjaba Abdi-Jalebi, an associate professor at University College Londons Institute for Materials Discovery. We saw an opportunity to change that, he adds. Abdi-Jalebi and his research team recently developed new indoor solar cells that are about six times more efficient than todays commercial indoor photovoltaics, and can be made at low costs. Dr. Motjaba Abdi-Jalebi (right) and PhD student Siming Huang (left) [Photo: UCL/James Tye] To do so, they designed solar cells using a material called perovskite. Researchers have developed perovskite solar panels for outdoor use too, though theyre not yet manufactured at scale or competitive with regular photovoltaics. Perovskite crystal structure often has defects that interrupt the flow of electricity and degrades the material over time, but the material also has its positives: It can actually be turned into an ink, which is then laid down in thin layers. This means it can essentially be printed, like a newspaper. So in principle, Abdi-Jalebi says, you could roll out large sheets of solar cells quickly and cheaply. That differs from regular silicon solar panels, which require high-temperature, expensive manufacturing processes. Perovskite can also absorb a wide range of light, even with that thin layer. Abdi-Jalebis team used a perovskite material tuned specifically to absorb indoor light efficiently, he says. The final result can generate power from any common indoor lighting, from LEDs to fluorescent bulbs. In their study, the indoor solar cells achieved a power conversion efficiency of 38%, under indoor light of 1000 luxroughly equivalent to a bright office. Thats a world record for this type of perovskite solar cell, Abdi-Jalebi says. (Outdoor solar panels, on average, convert around 22% of the sunshine into power.) And whereas perovskite panels usually break down, theirs stayed stable; after more than 100 days of testing, the indoor solar panels kept more than 90% of their performance. Perovskite panels can be scaled up, but getting them to power more energy-sapping devices like laptops or appliances will take more research. Still, its a very exciting possibility for the future, Abdi-Jalebi says. Regular solar panels started out really small, with a low efficiency and limited use, too, but now they provide about 7% of the worlds energythe same as powering all of India. With indoor solar panels powering our smart thermostats or indoor sensors, that means less electronic waste because were not tossing batteries out every few years. As homes and workplaces get filled with more connected devices, the impact could be enormous, Abdi-Jalebi says. Our vision is to replace billions of disposable batterieswhich are a major source of toxic wastewith a clean and recyclable light-harvesting solution. Next, his team is going to work with industrial partners to scale up their indoor solar panel production and integrate the cells into real devices. In the longer term, he adds, we see indoor solar cells becoming as common as batteries are today.
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E-Commerce
For the first time in U.S. history, there are more Americans over 62 than under 18. With the national workforce getting older every year, many economists argue that having people keep working longer than they used to would help maintain a robust labor market. But it can be hard for many older adults to stay employed past the age of 62, the year they typically become eligible for early Social Security retirement benefits, even when their health is good. In part, thats because approximately half of full-time workers in their early 50s lose their jobs involuntarily by the time they turn 65, possibly due to age bias and discrimination. And because it is much harder for workers over 50 to get hired than their younger counterparts, many of those older Americans exit the labor force before theyre ready to retire when they unexpectedly become unemployed. As gerontological social work researchers, we have conducted multiple studies on the career aspirations, workplace experiences and civic engagement of older adults. Were concerned about the fate of a federal program that helps low-income and unemployed adults age 55 and older get help with employment. The Trump administration has not released more than $300 million in funds typically disbursed in May to its grantees in 2025 from the Senior Community Service Employment Program. And the Trump administration proposes that no money be spent on it at all in the 2026 fiscal year. The effects of this defunding are already rippling across the country, from Florida to Oregon. Job training for older adults This federal program has been running since 1965. It provides on-the-job training to people over the age of 55 who are unemployed and have incomes at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, which in 2025 means $19,563 for singles and $26,438 for couples. The approximately 40,000 older workers who have benefited from it annually in recent years have earned their areas prevailing minimum wage as a stipend while working part time. With some exceptions, workers can remain in the program for up to four years, but the average tenure was less than half that in 2022, around 22 months. The program funds job training that takes place at nonprofits and government agencies, such as Goodwill Industries, Easterseals, local social services agencies, and the network of public and nonprofit agencies that serve older adults and their caregivers around the country, called Area Agencies on Aging. The Department of Labor funds the program through direct grants to states, as well as grants to 20 national nonprofits, which in turn work with local organizations to recruit older adults and train them to do jobs like clerical, janitorial, and customer service roles in all 50 states, Washington and U.S. territories. In most cases, at least 75% of federal funds must go directly to wages and benefits for participants, with the payments usually being made by the local and statewide organizations that recruit the participants and place them into host agencies. The Senior Community Service Employment Program helps older Americans get a wide array of jobs. Benefits for individuals and communities This program helps older Americans balance their checkbooks, enjoy better health, and engage more regularly with their own communities. Many participants consider it a lifeline because it helps them to pay their bills and gives them a sense of purpose. For older adults who have trouble finding jobs, the program gets them out of their homes and back into their communities while boosting their self-esteem. Once theyre trained, many of them find jobs as many as 26%, according to the most recently posted estimates from the Department of Labor, and up to 38% in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy and labor markets. For some participants, the government-supported employment becomes an avenue out of homelessness, a way to boost mental health or an activity that strengthens their relationships. Through working for the government or nonprofits, participants in this program also learn about other ways they can get help, whether its accessing affordable health insurance or other job-training opportunities. The programs benefits outweigh its costs at the federal level, the Urban Institute has found. And the government and nonprofit agencies that host these older workers are better able to serve their local communities, partly because the programs participants often share information about the services they learn about with their relatives and frieds. On the chopping block In the summer of 2025, Senior Community Service Employment Program grant recipients across the country began to furlough their staff. Program participants have exited ahead of schedule, and prospective participants are missing out on job-training opportunities that would have otherwise been available to them. The White House said it left the program out of its proposed 2026 budget due to what it said was a failure at moving older workers into unsubsidized employment. We question this rationale because it ignores the constraints that federal regulations place onto the Senior Community Service Employment Program. Its grantees are required to enroll unemployed and low-income older adults who have trouble getting jobs. Many cant find work due to severe disabilities, limited literacy, trouble speaking English, homelessness, being 75 or older, having formerly been incarcerated and other challenges. To require a program designed to help people who are inherently going to have the most trouble landing jobs and then to criticize it because all of its participants do not successfully and quickly wind up employed is a Catch-22. The mission and purpose of the program make that expectation unrealistic. Theres another Catch-22. On one hand, the Trump administration has mandated work requirements for health insurance coverage through Medicaid and introduced those requirements for food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the first time for able-bodied adults who are 60 to 64 years old. On the other hand, it is disrupting the only federal program specifically created to help older adults with low incomes find jobs and become better positioned to earn a living. These policies effectively remove a ladder while insisting that older adults must climb it. Improvement and innovation To be sure, we do see some room for improvement in the program. For starters, we think it needs new metrics of success beyond job placement rates. Remaining employed requires good health, so its worth tracking what happens to the physical and mental health of older adults who participate in this program. We support the Labor Departments efforts to find new ways to deliver this job-training program. AmeriCorps, the volunteering and community service arm of the federal government, is also testing a new workforce development program for older workers that we think is promising. But for now, there are few alternatives to the Senior Community Service Employment Program. In our view, its well worth preserving it at a time when older workers face growing pressure to earn a paycheck. Cal J. Halvorsen is an associate professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. Ernest Gonzales is an associate professor of social work at New York University. Nancy Morrow-Howell is a distinguished professor of social policy at Washington University in St. Louis. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Talent wins the day. And when small business owners invest in talent through top-tier benefits, they lay the groundwork for consistent, scalable growth and stronger financial performance over the long haul. When you get past the 401k, employer-sponsored healthcare and PTO, does your benefits package actually pass the smell test with todays workforce? According to a recent study by Prudential Financial, theres a wide gulf between what employees say they want from the workplace and what employers are actually providing. While 86% of employers believe they are offering modern benefits, only 59% of employees agree. And the gap is even wider with younger workers. Another survey from MetLife finds 89% of employees believe their organization could strengthen trust by improving their benefits packages. That all sounds great, but the biggest challenge small business owners face is figuring out how to provide a robust and industry-leading set of benefits without going out of business. When I launched Cyber Guardian Consulting Group, a managed service provider that provides a full range of cybersecurity services, I made employee benefits the cornerstone of everything we were going to do. Our current menu at Cyber Guardian includes: 100% employer-paid healthcare, vision, dental, plus copay reimbursements Mortgage rate buydowns of 23%, helping employees overcome barriers to homeownership Lifestyle perks that include 50% off Apple gear, weekend Uber Eats credits, unlimited snacks and drinks Instead of Employee of the Month awards designated by a piece of paper or temporary parking spot, we provide PAMP Suisse 10 gram gold bars to high-performing employees on a quarterly basis. Cryotherapy services through an ongoing partnership with local spas. Whether a dip in the ice bath or a trip to the cryo-chamber, our employees value this emerging wellness initiative that relieves pain, reduces inflammation and boosts overall healing. Here are four principles that we used to design a benefits package that consistently beats market expectations without breaking the bank: 1. Budget with boldness Industry wisdom suggests allocating 2528% of payroll toward benefits. Thats fine if you want to compete on average. But if you want to win, you need to invest like it. At Cyber Guardian, weve budgeted up to 45% of payroll toward benefits. Its a strategic investment in performance, retention, and culture. We scrutinized every dollar and connected it to a measurable impact. While it was difficult to sustain these benefits in our early stages, we felt making a substantial investment upfront would pay off in the long term. We had to stretch and get creative in our budget, but the return we received in overall team talent, stability, morale, and productivity made it well worth it in the long run. 2. Ask your people. Study your competitors. We didnt guess what mattered. We asked. From early on, we surveyed our team to find out what they truly value in their benefits. It was clear the rising costs of homeownership were on the minds of many. As one of our New Yorkbased employees, Francisco Rosa IV, noted, In a city where affordability feels out of reach for so many, reducing the burden of a mortgage resonates deeply. We also studied our competitorsboth current and aspirational. It wasnt enough to keep pace with others in cybersecurity. We looked at what companies like Google and Meta were offering, then asked ourselves how we could adapt those ideas to fit our size and budget. Its amazing how far creativity and listening can take you. 3. Build the essentials first, then layer in high-impact extras You dont need to go from zero to gold bars overnight. We started by covering the core needs: healthcare, time off, flexibility. Then, we layered in unique benefits over time as we grew and gained confidence in what worked. Mortgage rate buydowns, Uber Eats credits, and lifestyle perks came later as they only made sense after we had a solid foundation. If youre just getting started, focus on one or two high-impact extras that align with your culture, then build from there. 4. Constantly test, refine, and improve Weve gone through more than 30 versions of our perks package over the last few years. Some ideas didnt take off right away and required some fine-tuning, such as a pilot project where we provided weekend credits for food delivery but needed to swap out vendors due to technical difficulties and user feedback. But we treated the whole system like a product: constantly refined, based on real user (employee) feedback. Benefits should always be evolving. And if you create an open loop of listening and tweaking, theyll only get stronger. Of course, you have to be excelling in your core business activities to drive benefits growth. But assuming you check that box, prioritizing people through meaningful, evolving benefits is one of the smartest investments you can make. That philosophy has helped us achieve a near 100% retention rate over the last five years. You dont need a mega-budget or corporate backing to pull this off. You just need intentionality, creativity, and a genuine commitment to improving your teams day-to-day lives. Build around your peopleand theyll build everything else.
Category:
E-Commerce
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