A survey by Cigna suggests that almost two-thirds of new hires feel isolated at work, and a majority of senior leaders say they feel alone at work. "If we think about the way to mitigate this -- which is having coffee, having lunch with your co-workers -- that's not a typical workplace culture for a lot of senior executives," says Cigna Chief Medical Officer Douglas Nemecek.

Find talent for a hard-to-fill job by searching for candidates who have "adjacent skills" and could grow into the role, argues Gartner research. "People with the skills necessary to perform a role's duties may never have held that specific role or a position with that specific title," says Lindsey Walsh, vice president at Gartner.

Employee wellness programs can reduce health costs and provide health benefits for employees, but to be successful employers must fully commit to and embrace them, said Ron Loeppke of U.S. Preventive Medicine. Key elements of successful programs include effective communication and implementation, incentives, and including employees when determining program goals and objectives, Loeppke said.

Increasing numbers of Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and non-religious Americans have made incorporating religious inclusivity into workplace culture an important part of diversity and inclusion initiatives, writes Raafi-Karim Alidina. Employers should establish accommodations for religious observances and practices, consider how dress codes and social events might affect staff of varying religions and build a culture where employees feel safe, Alidina advises.

Your dreams can give you insight into how your brain processes information, researchers say, but there isn't evidence to suggest dreams predict the future or reveal deep secrets. "A dialogue emerges between the parts of the mind that are functioning in a more symbolic sense and the parts of the mind that's functioning in a logical sense," says psychologist Karl Stukenberg of Xavier University.