For family, health and other reasons during the pandemic, many people changed their views about work, but at the same time they gained power as employers struggled to hire and maintain operations. At some nursing homes, for example, a "collapse in the supply of qualified workers effectively signaled that people were no longer willing to tolerate the same conditions for the same pay."

Employers are increasing their mental health benefits by offering pet therapy, sleep-improvement programs, meditation sessions, cooking workshops and virtual counseling, but it's also important for leaders to eliminate mental health stigma, alleviate the workload and give employees enough paid time off, executives say. "Companies can offer a robust set of mental health resources and still end up with burnt-out, miserable employees if they aren't investing in regular compensation review, manager training, and realistic workload expectations," says Kate Beckman, executive manager for community and insights at RippleMatch.

Most employees who struggle with personal finances say it hampers their productivity at work, and many of them expect employers' help with financial well-being, according to Harris Poll research. Seth Ross of Ceridian writes that mobile technology makes it easy for employers to offer such tools as budgeting, banking and early wage access.

Mobile operators are trying to combine smartphones, virtual reality glasses and 5G to enable holographic phone calls. The project is a collaboration between several carriers in Europe, and all of their customers could have access to the technology if it succeeds.

Your ego may be getting in the way of your leadership if you think you're the smartest person in the room, you blame others for your mistakes, you lack humility or are averse to self-reflection, writes LaRae Quy. "Because an egotistical person is usually only interested in doing whatever it takes to be successful, they seldom delve into the deeper issue of meaning and purpose in their life," Quy writes.