An open letter signed by dozens of HR leaders asks the Society for Human Resource Management to support the FAMILY Act, a bill mandating partially paid family leave, instead of the Workflex in the 21st Century Act. "I'd like to be clear that SHRM certainly supports paid family leave, whether that's in the form of parental leave, paid time off, vacation or sick leave," says Lisa Horn, who leads the Workplace Flexibility Initiative at SHRM.

Corporate volunteering programs can be a recruitment and retention tool and data show more companies are offering the benefit, which can be part of a broad definition of wellness that includes social well-being. Deloitte's "Annual Impact Day" included about half of the company's 50,000 US employees last year, and its recent survey showed volunteer activities were more likely than a company-sponsored happy hour to increase corporate morale.

The gender pay gap exists in the gig economy as well, with female Uber drivers earning 93 cents for every dollar male drivers earn, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. Another survey found men earn an average of $989 per month through their "side jobs," while women earned an average of $361 each month.

A survey from the College Savings Foundation finds that 81% of high-school sophomores, juniors and seniors would prefer that colleges focus on teaching skills instead of emphasizing majors. The data also show that the cost of college was important to three-quarters of the students, and that 85% expect to work while in college.

Advance your career by trying things that matter and by putting yourself in situations in which everyone else has more experience and expertise, writes Dawn Graham of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "If an opportunity scares you because it's something you've not done before, this might be the perfect assignment to take your career to the next level," she writes.