The Federal Register in the next few days will publish President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate, which has been developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Businesses with 100 or more employees will be required to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, or implement regular testing and require face coverings, and such employers also must pay for leave for vaccinations and offer paid sick leave for those workers who experience side effects.

As companies revise work schedules and practices, one change they should consider is establishing a key performance indicator that tracks the physical and mental well-being of employees. This article discusses how to monitor well-being and offers tips for success with this strategy.

Forty-seven percent of employers say bias always or often interferes with managers' performance evaluation of employees and just 38% focus on an employee's competency and skill development during the process, according to research by the Brandon Hall Group. Employers can improve performance evaluation and future-proof their workforce by ensuring managers ask themselves seven questions about their team members.

It's time for employers to take a less rigid view of employees' mental health, as people with mental health struggles make meaningful contributions, says licensed master social worker Tiffany Kindred. Benefits such as subsidized yoga offerings and partnerships with mental health platforms are among the ways employers can support their staff members.

Today's employees don't want only flexibility; they want a measure of autonomy to decide where and when to get things done, write Holger Reisinger and Dane Fetterer of Jabra. Establishing relevant working principles and providing employees with necessary tools can help leaders build an effective culture.

I was raised in a middle-class home. My father -- the breadwinner -- was a line technician for SBC and my mother was a stay-at-home mother and homemaker. When we went out to dinner, it was to Marie Callender's or McDonald’s. When we socialized, it was with other families from church or the Hawaiian clubs. When we participated in extracurricular activities, it was through school or the local parks department. It was a comfortable, happy home.

But when I went to college and then entered the publishing field, I felt like I entered a foreign world. People talked about travel, music, restaurants and experiences I’d never had. I found myself quickly scrambling to find my place in this world.

So Sean Martin and Thalia Smith’s experiences outlined in today’s Leadership & Development story about social class were familiar to me. There were times when I felt awkward and out of place, but eventually I found my way. I went to plays. I traveled. I visited museums and bookstores. I ate in restaurants that didn’t have crayons and place mats for coloring. And all of it was good for my personal and professional growth.

But I never let go of the spirit of the home in which I was raised. I came from humble stock and am grateful for it. It made me coachable and enthusiastic.

As we consider people for positions on our teams, may we look beyond social class to see the rich experiences each of them bring to the table and the benefits we can glean from them.

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