Toxic workplaces are contributing to the deteriorating mental health of employees and to the problem of burnout, writes the University of Pennsylvania's Tamara Myles, who sets out three steps to help leaders cultivate antitoxic cultures. Stamp out toxic behavior and build a workplace where employees feel challenged, find meaning in their contribution and can be part of a community, Myles writes.

Flexibility, competitive pay and attention to worker well-being are areas companies should focus on to recruit and keep employees, according to Gartner Supply Chain Research and Analyst Group Vice President Dana Stiffler. "[O]ur research shows that employers that invest in their frontline employee experience achieve better operational and business performance," Stiffler writes.

Bringing teams together following an acquisition is key to the organization's future success, TrueCommerce's Dana Schultz-Ramos writes. Schultz-Ramos offers eight best practices to help leaders navigate this transition, including leading with empathy, providing a full onboarding experience and building a common culture.

A survey of 2,334 Americans found 93% of respondents are satisfied and 54% are highly satisfied with the coverage they get from employer-based health insurance plans. Eighty-seven percent said their employer-based plans are affordable, 73% believed their insurance was worth their money, and 96% said employer-based coverage is an extremely important or very important benefit for employees, according to the poll commissioned by the Protecting Americans' Coverage Together campaign.

BMO has partnered with The Mom Project to introduce an initiative aimed at assisting women who are resuming their careers after an employment gap. The program is based in Chicago and offers training, upskilling and mentorship for full-time jobs in technology.

Actor and director Ron Howard says he relied on the skills he learned coaching children in basketball -- building on their strengths to make them better players -- to work successfully with stars like Wilford Brimley, Tom Hanks and Bette Davis. "I would do the same thing with actors around their character, building their confidence in their character, and my ability to work with them in a scene," Howard says.

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