Average pay increased 4.7% last year to over $31 per hour, but the consumer price index climbed 7% year over year in December, according to the Labor Department. This means a 2.4% decline in pay in 2021 for the average employee.

Glassdoor has published its 2022 Best Places to Work list, and the top five employers are, in order, Nvidia, HubSpot, Bain & Co., eXp Realty and Box. The ranking, based on employee insight, reveals corporate culture as a major influence on employees' happiness.

The Department of Health and Human Services has reported that over 13.8 million people have signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage through federal and state exchanges ahead of Saturday's deadline. The department attributes the record number to enhanced premium assistance in the American Rescue Plan and outreach by the Biden administration.

HR technology can help the function be a revenue creator, elevate employee engagement and improve an organization's ability to meet and promote workplace wellness needs, writes Kevin Diestel, a partner at venture capital firm Sapphire. "With better measurement and increased visibility into productivity and output, it's much easier for executives to convince their board and peers in the C-Suite of the need to invest in keeping people happy and engaged," Diestel writes.

Changing your focus from perfection to producing excellent work in partnership with others can help you become more efficient without sacrificing quality or affecting morale, self-described perfectionist Naphtali Hoff writes. "When we pursue excellence or high standards, we come to value the process as well as the outcome," Hoff writes.

Can we all just agree that one size does not fit all? It doesn't work in education (it really doesn't work in education). It doesn't work in parenting (and all the parents in the audience said, "Amen!"). And it doesn't work for the workforce.

Now, don't get me wrong. Of course we need standards and protocols. Don't drink orange juice out of the carton. Take off your slippers when you come into the house. Policy provides structure.

But it shouldn't be a noose. We get ourselves into trouble when we try to force uniformity where it does not make sense.

This struck me as I read today's Leadership & Development story about hybrid work approaches. Companies doing it right are establishing a framework that allows for adjustment and commonsense flexibility. And they're seeing excellent productivity as a result.

Smart.

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