In his last letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos stressed the need for the company he founded to address workforce challenges and extend the same care it offers customers to its employees. "Despite what we've accomplished, it's clear to me that we need a better vision for our employees' success," wrote Bezos, who will turn over the CEO reins to Andy Jassy later this year.

Initial unemployment claims totaled 576,000 last week, the lowest level since March 2020, according to the Labor Department. The total was down 193,000 from the previous week.

Although 80% of working parents feel their employer has been responsive during the pandemic, the number drops to 74% for Latino parents and 69% for Black parents, according to the seventh annual Bright Horizons Modern Family Index. However, working parents have become more vocal about their needs to continue working remotely and receive benefits such as mental health support, flexible working hours and child care.

Josh Bersin explains the role HR can play in helping leaders tap their "right-brain leadership" skills to lead with a human focus that inspires employees to be creative, innovate and solve problems while also feeling supported. Bersin offers best-practice examples on strategies to embed the right behaviors such as leadership reviews, listening skills, coaching and self-reflection.

A Chihuahua named Prancer has gone viral after a Facebook post described the 2-year-old dog as a "haunted Victorian child" that hates men, children and other animals. The New Jersey adoption agency says they'll only place him with a local family who can meet him first and make an informed decision.

My grandmother had a dachshund named Keoki. I love dogs, but I couldn’t stand Keoki. Crankiest, meanest little fur jerk I ever knew. He would charge your ankles and growl at you for no reason. More than once I had to hop away from his angry nipping.

But Grandma loved that dog. She would laugh when she saw me dancing away from him. “Babe, he wants you to pet him.” I would just stare at her and shake my head. “Grandma, this dog not right. And I’m not putting my hands near his saw-like teeth. This dog got issues.”

Today’s Workforce Chatter story about Prancer the chihuahua reminded me of Keoki. Despite the dog’s obvious strangeness, Prancer’s owner appears to genuinely care about him and understands his quirkiness. Just like Grandma loved and understood Keoki. It takes a special person to do that. My grandmother was that.

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