An overlooked way to solve problems is by removing unnecessary steps, features or policies, especially when the default is to fix by addition, according to researchers. Formal policies can help teams and individuals practice subtraction, but be warned that it's harder to prove the effectiveness of subtraction, the researchers write.

HR leaders can improve employee retention by investing in soft skills training to offer personal growth opportunities, writes KnowledgeCity's Raynie Andrewsen. Among the seven soft skills highlighted in this article are critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving.

Workplace conflict can be exacerbated when leaders aren't helping people grow, focus on process instead of results and write people off, writes Marlene Chism. She walks through three distinctions that help leaders gain understanding so they can fix bad workplace situations.

More companies are having remote employees occasionally get together at hotels, restaurants and other sites away from the office to help them collaborate and build social connections, executives say. "The No. 1 danger to Salesforce and other companies is that people are going to become disengaged in the culture of the company," says Brent Hyder, chief people officer and president at Salesforce.

Companies such as Allegheny Health Network and General Motors are trying to lure and accommodate older people who left the workforce during the pandemic but may be interested in returning under certain conditions. "When they come back to the workforce, they don't have to figure it out on their own," says Tamberlin Golden, executive director of workforce strategy for GM, which provides 12 weeks of orientation for employees who haven't been working for more than two years.

The remote workers are a new sector of the travel industry that is expected to survive the pandemic with mixing business and leisure travel the new normal. That is putting pressure on hotels to adjust their accommodations and on businesses to make business travel "more fun."

Employers added 467,000 new jobs in January, according to the Labor Department, a figure that far exceeded the predictions of economists who had expected the presence of the coronavirus Omicron variant to depress activity. Julia Pollak, chief economist for career consultants ZipRecruiter, said employers are actively seeking personnel "because they think the surge will be over soon."

Remember all those commercials for cereal and other food products that trumpeted the benefits of bran? Where did they all go? They actually started to vanish a number years ago, and this article explains why.