Esther Crawford, a former Twitter director, went viral in 2022 for a staged photo of her sleeping at the office during intense work periods imposed by Elon Musk. While she initially supported Musk's vision, Crawford privately cautioned him about the dangers of employee burnout. After being laid off, Crawford moved to Meta, where she continued to champion a rigorous work ethic under Mark Zuckerberg.

The "hushed hybrid" work model, where managers permit remote work despite formal RTO policies, is becoming popular as it aligns with team preferences and helps retain talent. Experts say hushed hybrid work supports flexibility and collaboration, but can harm company culture by fostering a lack of transparency.

Our energy ebbs and flows during the day, so the best leaders understand when they'll be at their best and when they may need a break from the computer or other tasks and take a walk or lie down for a short nap, writes Kristen Hendrix. If a nap isn't feasible (especially if there are policies against it), Hendrix recommends stepping away from your work and finding a quiet place to settle your mind, do a mental check-in and regain focus from your "racing brain."

European HR strategies provide valuable lessons for US benefit pros aiming to tackle workforce challenges like burnout and lack of job satisfaction. Flexible holiday policies, generous leave entitlements, remote work options, high-quality food options and community service programs are common in Europe and have been shown to improve employee morale and retention.

A visit to artist Edward Fuglø's "Whale Wars" sculpture at the Faroese National Gallery in the Faroe Islands taught innovation advisor Larry Robertson about the value of leaning into conversations after having to physically lean into speakers near the installation to hear sounds of the sea and people talking. The experience reminded Robertson that real conversations with your team -- preferably face-to-face -- are crucial for innovation, problem-solving and relationship-building.