Construction of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., has been marked by the company's particular design principles and attention to detail. Examine the history and challenges involved in building the project, which has created about 13,000 full-time construction jobs.

Apple, Google and Microsoft are among the 97 companies backing the state of Washington's opposition to President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration. The amicus brief filed by the companies states that Trump's executive order is unfair and that it hurts the efforts of companies to recruit and hire foreign workers.

Employers are doing more to retain top talent, including altering benefit and retirement programs, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. While such strategies may work in the short term, employers over the long term need to invest in skill development and offer more job flexibility, the survey found.

Goodway Group's Jay Friedman talks about the agency's remote-working staff, of which three-quarters are women, explaining how allowing its first hires to work from home made him realize an office-based culture wasn't necessary. The company's employees come together twice a year for team bonding.

Employers can stay ahead of workforce trends this year by focusing on inclusion, performance management and participant-driven learning, writes Stacey Engle of Fierce, a leadership-training company. Companies should also invest in technology and pursue transformative change in leadership.

Association benefit trends show stability in sick and vacation days but some groups are reducing parental leave. More associations are offering employees telecommuting or flexible scheduling opportunities, and many larger groups provide tuition or education assistance.

Michigan is seeking changes to employee benefits that go further than what many other states have done. Among the proposals are to shift all new workers, including teachers, to defined-contribution plans while reducing health benefits of retired municipal employees.

Leaders who fix problems instead of empowering others to develop solutions are only creating more work for themselves in the long run, writes Marlene Chism. She offers advice for how to listen to people's complaints and coach them through to solutions.