Many workers want the remote model's flexibility while employers want control, so companies should seek a balance that incorporates some of the best aspects of in-person and remote work, suggests Indy Hall co-founder Alex Hillman. Tisha Thompson, founder and CEO of LYS Beauty, writes that a thoughtful hybrid approach allows freedom and achieves in-office collaboration that helps prevent burnout, fosters networking and develops junior staff members who might get left behind in a purely remote environment.

Speaking up at work has long been tricky for women considering they are often heavily scrutinized and criticized for it, and hybrid work has made it even more difficult. Leaders can push back against this by picking female spokespeople, learning how to run more inclusive meetings, ensuring there is more than one woman in the room and identifying opportunities to amplify and attribute women's ideas, writes Judith Spitz.

Rather than just providing insurance-based offerings, employers are placing increased emphasis on staff benefits tailored to individual employees' needs outside work, and family planning and fertility are emerging as a major focus. Employers need to know there is no one-size-fits-all solution to aid staff members who need these services, but there are also service providers who can help.

Stress-level monitors and other wearable technologies have been beneficial in office and factory environments during the pandemic, an era marked by frequent turnover. "The true ROI of this technology [is] as companies learn how to improve the stress level of the organization, which will in turn solve one of the largest challenges facing all organizations which is employee retention," says Carmen Fontana, who studies emerging technologies.

After experiencing periods of significant stress, seize the opportunity to build self-awareness, writes LaRae Quy, who also recommends maintaining a positive attitude and using mild exercise to boost the body's immune system. "You can choose how to respond in the face of stress to maintain perspective and manage your emotions," Quy writes.