Microsoft has made progress in gender equity on pay but has a legacy culture of a male-dominated workforce fueled by internal competition and a slow response to concerns about diversity, according to interviews and documents. "Microsoft has kind of a traditional culture of being very comfortable with bullying and loud voices," says Barbara Gordon, a former Microsoft executive.

A tightening job market is forcing employers to change the way they hire, with many turning to remote teams and relaxing education requirements to fill key roles, according to a report by The Conference Board. The report also says the US lags other countries in employing people older than 55.

Leaders who treat employees disrespectfully can ruin a workplace, but employees can use certain strategies to manage the people who are supposed to manage them, writes Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute. Eddy offers tips for setting limits and for coping with a difficult personality.

Wages and salaries as a percentage of total compensation have fallen to roughly 68%, down from 72.5% in 2000. Meanwhile, a survey by Fractl, a marketing firm, found that nearly 9 in 10 people would consider a lower-paying job if it offered a flexible work schedule and better health insurance.

One of a leader's most vital jobs is finding roles for top talent throughout the organization where they can create the most value, write Mike Barriere, Miriam Owens and Sarah Pobereskin. "In fact, 'fast' talent reallocators were 2.2 times more likely to outperform their competitors on total returns to shareholders (TRS) than were slow talent reallocators," they write.