Former White House pandemic adviser Andy Slavitt said the Omicron variant could cause a winter surge, so employers should mandate boosters and reconsider plans to bring people back into offices. Large employers such as Fidelity and Ford Motor have put the brakes on return-to-office plans.

Expensify awards pay raises, including those for the CEO, based on an extensive voting process in which all employees can participate and the company does not allow salary negotiations. "It has a nice benefit -- we think it controls for internal bias because there is no manager you have to suck up to," says CEO David Barrett, while Gabi Horowitz, head of marketing and brand, says, "It's a way we can all acknowledge and reward each other for our hard work."

Kroger has announced that its unvaccinated workers no longer will receive the emergency benefit of two weeks' paid leave if they contract COVID-19, and unvaccinated nonunionized managers and salaried employees who belong to the company's health plan will be required to pay an additional $50 monthly fee. The company will continue to incentivize vaccines with a $100 gift payment to those who are fully vaccinated.

Colleges need to offer students flexible options focused on career building, says a report from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities. Allowing students to earn short-term credentials while earning a two- or four-year degree will make students more employable, the report says.

Some employees, particularly those in the US, tend to be reluctant to take paid time off, even though they want to do so. Corporate culture has much to do with this, and managers who model healthy leave practices can encourage workers to take vacation time.

I am taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off – and I can’t wait. I love my work, but I need a week of eating tacos, watching college football and reading the latest Daniel Silva novel The Cellist. And getting a massage.

But research shows us that many US workers are reluctant to take time off, for several reasons, as we see in today’s HR Leader story. I get it. I’m like that too and it’s not good. My manager gives me frequent gentle reminders that I need to take time off. I know I should, but I have this nagging feeling that if I’m gone, something will crumble because I didn’t prepare properly before I left. If I’m here, though, and there’s a fire, I’ll be able to handle it.

Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? How do you encourage your workers – or yourself – to take time off? Do you make it a habit? How do you get past mental hurdles like the one I mentioned or the ones in the story? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.