Uber and Lyft appeared before a California appeals court on Tuesday to argue against the state's decision to classify its drivers as employees, but it's likely the gig worker battle will be decided by residents on Nov. 3 when they vote for or against Proposition 22 -- a ballot measure in which Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Instacart and DoorDash have invested more than $180 million. A poll of residents by Redfield & Wilton Strategies in September found that 53% intend to vote in favor of the companies, but a separate poll by the University of California at Berkeley revealed just 39% intend to vote "yes."

Google, Salesforce, Microsoft and Walmart, among others, have been investing in digital learning and certificate programs to equip employees with the practical skills they need to perform their jobs. Benefits, beyond boosting the right skills knowledge, include democratized learning across companies, increased diversity and the emergence of employee online communities, employers and learning companies say.

Benefits experts say that, during this open enrollment season, employees are interested in critical illness and disability insurance, financial wellness, paid leave and child care. "What we have seen from companies at this point is that benefits like mental health, child care and paid leave are coming more into focus for this open enrollment season, with each of these being tied to the issues being raised by the pandemic," Kathy Barber at Ayco says.

An internal marketplace of skills can save organizations time and money by helping employees share their expertise and find new skills to develop, writes Degreed Chief Learning Officer Kelly Palmer. Companies can also do better at identifying key talent within the organization who could fill open positions, Palmer writes.

Managers should be aware introverts are dealing with their own challenges linked to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic. Areas of stress include videoconferences and difficulties in creating an effective working environment at home.