Private payrolls added 103,000 workers last month, below the downwardly revised tally for October and short of the 128,000 Dow Jones estimate, according to ADP. Annual pay increased 5.6%, the smallest amount since September 2021, ADP said.

A recent Glassdoor trend forecast report says Generation Z will make up a larger portion of the US workforce than baby boomers for the first time in 2024, with "sweeping implications," according to Glassdoor chief economist Aaron Terrazas. "This is the tail end of the Boomers, this transformative generation for work in the workplace. They are being replaced by very different people who prioritize different expectations around work."

Reference-based pricing plans let benefit sponsors select a pricing model that will be reimbursed to plan enrollees instead of the "charge master-down" discounts common in carrier-based models. Tom Wittik of Imagine360 says RBP plans are becoming increasingly attractive to employers, but they are not necessarily applicable to every situation.

Great meetings require meaningful engagement, actionable outcomes and the fostering of diversity and inclusiveness -- and generative AI soon will be able to help us achieve these things, suggests Dash Bibhudatta, the founder of Infinite Possibilities. Bibhudatta envisions more effective communication and meetings if videoconferencing systems are enhanced with personalized content.

Data show that employees feel productive -- if they're not attending too many meetings -- but bosses still worry, especially over their remote employees, writes Anne Helen Petersen, who says the solution is encouraging "blank time" -- uninterrupted periods for creativity and downtime so work quality improves. "You can obsess over what your employees are doing -- tracking their online movements, calling more meetings, enforcing arbitrary in-office times -- or you can be thoughtful and expansive about what habits foster good work," Petersen notes.