There are several tricks professionals use to get in the right frame of mind for an interview, including using the stairs, warming up vocal chords, and even taking a nip of tequila to jolt the mind. For others, a quieter method works, including meditating and reading fiction while waiting, writes Sue Shellenbarger.

Offer new ideas and outline the service you can provide an employer to make your thank-you note after an interview get noticed, writes business coach Chris Westfall. Repeat a phrase or part of a conversation from the interview to create connection and reiterate pertinent skills, he suggests.

Longevity at a company isn't enough to earn a promotion, and there are red flags bosses look for before making a decision, including an employee who is reactive rather than proactive; does the bare minimum; and has poor work-life balance. One landscape architect also considers whether the new job could cause burnout for a valued employee.

Be selective about which people you are willing to be a reference for, especially the more professional contacts you have, cautions Ian Siegel, CEO of ZipRecruiter. "The more senior you become, the less references you should give. The weight of your reputation matters more," says Siegel.

Banning employees from checking email during non-work hours might reduce stress for some but could reduce flexibility and make employees with "high levels of anxiety and neuroticism" even more anxious, a study at the University of Sussex revealed. Experts suggested implementing policies that suit individual employees' personalities instead of issuing blanket bans.

Intel is embracing a more inclusive strategy in its hiring, promotion and retention systems in order to improve workplace diversity, says Barbara Whye, Intel vice president of HR and chief diversity and inclusion officer. "All of our full-time employees have a portion of their annual performance bonus tied to the achievement of our diverse hiring and retention goals," she writes.

Scientists are working to develop microbial communities that can digest two types of plastic polymers, polyethylene terephalate (PET) and polyurethane (PU), which are currently difficult to break down to be recycled. The new concept would see PET and PU transformed into Bio-PU, which is used as a construction and insulation material.