When Patrick Schwarzenegger moved back in with his mom, journalist and former First Lady of California Maria Shriver, during the pandemic, they decided to tackle two big projects: 1) watch all of Yellowstone and 2) launch a company.

The duo created a brain health brand, MOSH, to educate consumers about the most important part of your body (surprise: It’s not your delts). MOSH launched its first product (and promptly sold out of), protein bars, on September 21—World Alzheimer’s Day—and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to gender-based brain health research.

We chatted with Maria and Patrick about working with family and their new brain food.

Why did you decide to launch a snack brand?

Maria: I've been involved in Alzheimer's research and prevention for two decades, and everywhere that I travel, people always say to me, “Do you have anything to eat? I've read your books, I've seen your documentaries, give me something to eat.” And I'm a protein bar fanatic. But every protein bar gave me a headache or a stomachache. And then my son, who's done a lot of work in the health and wellness space, said, “You should make your own bar to raise money for research and educate people about brain health.” And I was like, oh, I don't think I could do that. I'm too old. And he said, but I'll help you. And here we are.

Are there any other brands you look up to?

Patrick: One of the holy grails, when we were creating this company, was Paul Newman and Newman's Own because he did such a good job of going into different spaces, from salad dressings to lemonade to iced teas to all kinds of different products.

What have you learned from working with a family member?

Maria: I think it's a really great way to learn about what's going on in the world. Working with people who are young keeps you curious, keeps you vital, and keeps you energized. I think Patrick’s generation learns from my generation and vice versa.

Is there a piece of advice you think is outdated in the business world?

Patrick [to Maria]: When you first had this idea, a lot of people were saying that no one really cares about the older market, and we don't think that stands true.

Maria: I think that the boomers—and I'm a boomer—are redefining aging. Madison Avenue, so to speak, has not kept up with who we are and what we want. And so I think that that's a big, huge market

There is a whole world out there of people who are thriving, working, and creating. Frank Gehry is 97 years of age, and he's designing the most incredible buildings in the world. Warren Buffett is at the top of his game, and he's 91.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Each week, our workplace whisperer Shane Loughnane answers a reader-submitted question about work in 2021. Anything bothering you at work? Ask Shane here.

A new hire started on my team and I'm worried about their etiquette. They leave themselves unmuted on Zoom, often interrupting the speaker, they don't answer when called on by name, they don’t engage during 1:1 trainings, they have poor email communication—you get the picture. How do I go about communicating with them that they need to improve their etiquette, without hurting their feelings?

–EtiquetteSOS in Los Angeles

At first blush, I didn’t think I’d be rolling up my sleeves for this one. As far as the unwritten rules of society are concerned, I typically come up an RSVP late and a dessert fork short. Besides, etiquette guidance is famously Miss Manners’s territory, and I’d like to think I know my place in the advice column universe.

The thing is, I’m not convinced that what you’re dealing with here is simply a lack of “etiquette.” If you work in LA, scheduling a late afternoon meeting with an East Coast colleague may be considered poor etiquette. Not being engaged in that meeting, and in fact being disruptive, is a performance issue. Similarly, while we might debate things like the art of the signoff (btw, you’ve inspired my latest, below), generally “poor email communication” is a matter of effectiveness, not merely politeness or convention.

Be it around etiquette or execution, the feedback you provide should be specific and actionable. Avoid making broad characterizations of their behavior (e.g., “disruptive,” “unengaged”) and instead focus on the specific examples that you’ve observed—what did you see? How did it impact the work environment? And what should it look like next time? Not only are you less likely to hurt feelings this way, but you’re also establishing measurable guidelines for what you expect to see going forward.

It often feels like an uncomfortable reality of leadership, but behavioral coaching is essential to the morale of your team and the preservation of work culture. Left unchecked, you’re likely to find yourself having to navigate more turbulent waters ahead.

SOS (Signing off, Shane)

Have a question about work you want to ask Shane? Write in here. And if you’re super interested in how people deal with people, check out HR Brew.

In terms of trends coming back in style this season, we gotta be honest: We were thinking more corduroy, less child labor.

Amid hiring and retention woes, US companies have been setting their sights on the youths.

• Teenage employment hit 32% this summer, its highest level since 2008.
• Unemployment for 16- to 19-year-olds fell below the rate for 20- to 24-year-olds—for the first time in recorded US history.

And lawmakers in several states have been pushing to relax existing child labor laws.

Relax what now?

A Wisconsin bill extending the legal working hours of kids ages 14 and 15 was approved by the state Senate in late October. Currently, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, these kids are legally permitted to work between 7am and 7pm from Labor Day until May 31, and until 9pm from June 1 until Labor Day. Community pools need their night swim lifeguards, after all.

If signed into law, Wisconsin’s SB332 would allow these younger teens to work between 6am and 9:30pm on days preceding school, and between 6am and 11pm on days not preceding school.

State senators in Ohio introduced a similar bill that would allow pre-driving-age teens to work until 9pm during the school year (7pm is the current cutoff).

• Don't call it child labor, though: a 2011 Wisconsin bill replaced all mentions of the term in employment statutes with the nicer-sounding, “employment of minors.”

Critics say the bills are an example of the lengths employers and lawmakers will go to in order to avoid meeting the greater pay demands of the pandemic-era labor force.

It’s not just the local ice cream shop

Big names in Corporate America are ramping up the hiring of Americans born post-2005. A Wendy’s franchisee who owns 76 restaurants told the Pennsylvania Tribune that he’s employed about 500 14- and 15-year-olds since the summer.

• Signs advertising the hiring of eighth- and ninth graders at McDonald’s locations around the country have made headlines.
• A sign posted by a Burger King restaurant asking parents if their 14-year-olds “need a job??” also went viral.

Supporters of loosening child labor laws cite the changing nature of the workforce and the value of hard work when arguing for such measures. In a letter to the Wisconsin State Assembly, a couple who owns three small businesses wrote, “There needs to be some regulation on child labor, but...there needs to be some reconsideration for what is practical, necessary, and realistic.”

On the flip side, studies show that working 20+ hours a week while in high school can have a negative impact on behavior and academics.

Debra Cronmiller, the executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, told The Guardian, “The notion that we would be solving some economic turmoil by allowing the expansion of child labor hours is, at best, ridiculous, and at worst, very detrimental to young people.”—MK

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that doesn’t want that extra hour of sleep, thankyouverymuch. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Zillow

For today’s home compound we’re heading to the only state in the continental US that did not fall back this morning. The 6,615 square-foot Barbie Dream House in beautiful Show Low, Arizona, about a 3-hour drive east from Phoenix, comes with much more than an updated kitchen and a forest view. Amenities include:

• 4 beds, 5 bathrooms
• 9-stall horse stable with a dog training loft
• Guesthouse
• 3 decks + 2 balconies for outside time without having to put your shoes on

How much to say “to heck with daylight savings time!”?

1. Papa John is still obsessed with Papa John’s. (Bloomberg)
2. Inside the camp, and the mind, of the greatest marathon runner of all time. (Irish Examiner)
3. The creator of ethereum on crypto cities. (Vitalik Buterin)
4. If billionaires designed an entire college campus. (Morning Brew)
5. The nation’s last uranium mill plans to import Estonia’s radioactive waste. (High Country News)
6. Can data die? (The Pudding)
7. A photo trip to the Faroe Islands. (The Atlantic)
8. I can’t believe it’s pink margarine. (99% Invisible)
9. The beginner's guide to raising chickens. (Insteading)
10. We now know the big bang theory is (probably) not how the universe began. (Freethink)

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Welcome back to Morning Brew's Meme Battle, where we crown a single memelord every Sunday.

Today's winner: Connor in Phoenix, AZ

This week's challenge: You can find the new meme template here for next Sunday. Once you're done making your meme, submit it at this link for consideration.