President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Thursday that all federal workers and contractors must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or take part in regular testing, a source says. The move, following a statement by Justice Department lawyers that it's not against federal law for businesses to mandate vaccines, could encourage more companies to follow suit.

Internal candidates who are rejected for a position tend to experience negative feelings and are more likely to quit. However, these negative emotions fade over time, and certain tactics can help organizations boost retention.

The relative importance of financial compensation to employees has dropped 11% in the past 10 years, but benefits that doubled in importance during that time are medical, life insurance, dental, vision, wellness and child care, according to an analysis by PwC and TrueChoice Solutions. Factors such as work-life balance, career progression and training have tripled in importance, write Andrew Curcio and Alastair Woods of PwC, who offer advice on how employers can bring their benefit and reward packages in line with what workers want.

Better awareness of manufacturing careers, new styles of training and increased diversity are all needed to source talent, write Ethan Karp, president and CEO of the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, and Jessica Borza, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition. They offer use cases to address these challenges and suggest "a holistic approach, one that requires radical collaboration among manufacturers, state and local government, academia, community leaders, nonprofits, students and workers."

Workplace culture surveys should try to reach the entire team to establish a precedent that everyone will be heard and everyone held to agreed-upon values, says S. Chris Edmonds in this blog post and video. "Sampling 20% of your team member population requires that you exclude 80% of team member perceptions about respect in their workplace," Edmonds writes.

“Auntie, will you help me find a counselor? I gotta talk to someone ‘bout this anger and how I’m feelin’.”

A student-athlete I mentor confessed to me that he struggled with anger issues and depression. I connected him to a counselor and he began sessions. Everything seemed to calm down and I stopped thinking about it.

Then he got to college and the world caved in again. He felt lost on his new team, learning new plays and adjusting to college coursework. I’d get cryptic texts from him about how overwhelmed and alone he felt. I encouraged him to reach out to the counselors on campus, but he worried that others would find out. “I ain’t fittin’ to have no one know my business, Auntie.”

I’m going to send him today’s Leadership & Development story about NBA star DeMar DeRozan’s battle with depression. The two had similar experiences growing up around violence and then dealing with anxiety after being thrust into worlds they didn’t know -- college and the professional sports world. DeRozan’s transparency will be a huge encouragement to my young mentee, I’m sure. 

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