Uber and Lyft have been granted a temporary stay in the California driver reclassification row by a state appeals court, which means they can continue to operate amid the ongoing legal battle. A November Prop 22 ballot measure will be voted on by California residents to determine whether the companies will be made exempt from the state's gig worker law.

The use of mobile devices by women has spiked by 70% amid the pandemic, as they conduct more work with their devices and feel obligated to be online and available during the workday, according to data from Werklabs. The findings suggest that women, in particular working mothers, are struggling to juggle responsibilities of home and work and employers must step up support to retain them, says Willis Towers Watson's Amy DeVylder Levanat.

The Business Group on Health reports 53% of employers cite more virtual health benefits among their priorities for 2021 and 71% have stepped up efforts during the pandemic, with mental health, emotional well-being and culture among the top virtual care initiatives. Some 80% of employers say virtual technology will have "a significant impact on how care is delivered in the future," an increase from 52% in 2018.

The pandemic gives businesses an opportunity to create more equal, equitable workplaces by rethinking why work happens, where people work and how workforces are assembled, write Accenture's Oliver Wright and World Economic Forum's Zara Ingilizian. "The immediate next step is clear: we need collective industry action on talent availability and development," they write.

Cloud bread has become the latest trend in quarantine baking, with the hashtag #cloudbread generating more than 35,000 posts on Instagram and 2.2 billion videos on TikTok. "It's just very aesthetically pleasing to watch," says food influencer Alyssa Wang.