A series of cases will go before the US Supreme Court on Oct. 8, all addressing Title VII, the federal law banning employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, race and religion, among other factors. The upcoming cases will determine if sexual orientation or gender identity are included within the reach of the law.

Loneliness and feelings of isolation are among the common challenges faced by telecommuters, according to a recent study by Virgin Pulse and Future Workplace. Employers can help offset this by finding ways to extend programs offered at their headquarters to workers in branch and remote offices, says Barbara Fisher, chief operating and people officer for digital health company Aduro.

A recent movement toward encouraging financial literacy education among workplace investors -- those whose funds are mostly in employer-sponsored retirement plans -- has drawn criticism from financial experts. They say the problem is not a lack of information but getting workers to learn about financial literacy concepts, and they also question the wisdom of focusing solely on workplace investments.

A CEO's uncertainty can be contagious, and one way to combat this is by the mindset that Jim Selman and Dr. Srini Pillay call "existential confidence." "When you are existentially confident, you are less concerned about the probability of success, and you use language related to the possibility of your goals," Pillay writes.