C-suite leaders should see loyalty as a leadership "secret sauce" but should take care to avoid the version that prompts an oath of allegiance, cautions Donald Thompson, a veteran entrepreneur and investor. Instead, the best C-suite choices are leaders who view loyalty in terms of trust, mutual respect and common objectives -- a framework that ensures every individual can comfortably "ask for and receive the tools, resources and support they need to do their best work," Thompson writes.

Get ahead of bad news by telling higher-ups before they learn it from someone else, taking responsibility for what went wrong and explaining your solution and what you'll need to make it right, write Karin Hurt and David Dye. "Explain what you've done to rectify the scene," they write.

Companies can improve the employee experience by creating a positive atmosphere that gives everyone a sense of belonging, empowerment and value, writes LaRae Quy. "When daily wellbeing habits infuse the culture of the company, it nurtures a fertile climate for ongoing employee development, engagement and motivation," Quy writes.

Market turmoil, driven partly by elevated inflation and geopolitical events, led to a $3.4 trillion decline in 401(k) and IRA balances during the first half of the year, says Alicia Munnell of Boston College's Center for Retirement Research. However, the scope of retirement challenges is far greater, partly because of an aging population and the lack of access to workplace retirement plans.

Nestle is offering 500,000 young people career training and entrepreneurship opportunities with its new "Nestle Needs You" recruitment program in the US. The program will also provide training and financial support for "agripreneurship" focused on improving the agriculture supply chain's resiliency and sustainability.

Companies can prevent "boreout" among workers in more monotonous jobs by introducing new challenges and opportunities for social connection to boost intrinsic motivation and interest, says University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor and author Ayelet Fishbach. "You need to remember that your employees are not machines -- the machine can do the same bad action over and over again and never get tired, but people need to have some cycling between different tasks that they do," Fishbach says.

I'm sure all the fuss about Darius Rucker's pool house will be figured out amicably, but this week's story in the Charleston, S.C., paper turned me on to "Rucker's Reno," a six-part series that follows the country music and Hootie and the Blowfish star's renovation of an 1803 home in downtown Charleston. The series is sponsored by the South Carolina tourism board and features the Holy City's history, as well as local artisans and restaurateurs. It is a love letter to Rucker's hometown and made me realize it's time for a day trip there. -- Janet Connor Kahler, editor of Your Career and S.C. resident