‘Bleisure’ booms; Google’s Genie 3 model; and AT&T fuels worker-loyalty debate

Welcome to The Insider, a weekly newsletter that shares inspiration for your next post, noteworthy news and more to set you up for success, brought to you by LinkedIn Community Manager Melody Price.

Here are this week’s can’t-miss stories and trending topics. Join the conversation by answering the prompts below, and include the hashtag #TheInsider for a chance to be featured by the LinkedIn Editorial team. 

“Bleisure” trips combine work, play

In an age when work follows us everywhere and can be conducted anywhere, why not take it on vacation, too? That's the idea behind "bleisure," a custom practiced by 25% of Americans traveling with kids. Many bleisure trips start as work trips and are then extended into family vacations. If mixing business with leisure sounds appealing, The New York Times offers tips.✏️ John Tomase

Keep reading here and weigh in using #Travel: What are the pros and cons of "bleisure"?

 LinkedIn’s 2025 Top Colleges

Tomorrow, LinkedIn News will release their inaugural list of Top Colleges, a data-backed ranking of the top 50 U.S. colleges for long-term career growth. LinkedIn News is focusing on driving conversations around the trends defining the future world of work, and we'd love you to weigh in.

Share your voice by creating a post with #LinkedInTopColleges: What’s your best piece of advice for today’s college students?

Google unveils new AI worlds model

Google DeepMind, the tech giant’s artificial intelligence research lab, unveiled a new version of its AI “world model” that can generate interactive 3D environments. Using text prompts, the Genie 3 model can create simulated environments for gaming, educational purposes and robotics. More broadly, Google says it is “a key stepping stone on the path to AGI,” which is when the technology can mimic human intelligence. ✏️ James Callan

Continue reading here and share your thoughts using #Google: How can you use Genie 3 in your daily work or industry?

• Tired of your AI outputs looking just like everyone else's? Watch this video for 5 tips to take your prompts from generic to genius. 

401(k)s opened to new assets 

A presidential executive order signed Thursday paves the way for 401(k) retirement plans to include alternative assets, expanding the potential investment options for millions of Americans. The order directs the Labor Department, Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission to assess whether rules and regulations need to be altered in order to facilitate the move. ✏️ James Callan

Read more industry perspectives here and share your thoughts using #401k: If 401(k) options expand, how can employers and financial institutions ensure workers understand the risks and rewards of alternative assets?

Topics on the Rise

• Artificial intelligence startups have created dozens of new billionaires in 2025.
• Restaurants are betting on the protein trend, it’s so popular even coffee chains are jumping on the muscle-building bandwagon. 
• Apple plans a voice-first overhaul using a revamped Siri designed to help users handle more tasks and navigate iPhone apps more intuitively using simple voice commands.

Your weekly dose of a newsmaker’s perspective on significant timely developments, shared first or - only - on LinkedIn. 

Business leaders and executives turned to LinkedIn last week to share the following newsworthy announcements:

• Recent results and outlooks from McDonald's, Pfizer, Pinterest, Yum Brands and more earnings.
• Departures at Paramount, new exec hires at Bolt and PayPal and more executive moves.
• Lyft's robotaxi partnership with Baidu, AI giants' government procurement pacts and more deals and partnerships.

We’re all experts in something and we all have knowledge and experiences to share. Lean into exchanging information with like minds on the platform around a different topic each week.

This week’s topic: AT&T memo sparks culture debate

A leaked memo from AT&T CEO John Stankey has gone viral — and sparked debate about shifts in corporate culture following the more worker-friendly pandemic era. Responding to a survey showing declining employee engagement, Stankey said he was unsurprised, extolling the company's shift away from "familial cultural norms" to a "competitive market-based" approach to work life. While some praised his forthrightness, Business Insider's Aki Ito calls it "the clearest attempt yet by a major CEO to rewrite the terms of the workplace," with employer loyalty no longer an expectation.✏️ Andrew Barker

Comment below: What are your thoughts on the current state of workplace loyalty?

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