Employee perceptions of the workplace have changed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from HR compliance training company Emtrain. The report shows an 11% decline in employees rating their company culture as "healthy" -- in terms of preventing workplace harassment -- but an 8% increase in workers saying their peers are demonstrating social awareness.

Dropbox and Zoom will participate in Slack's Next Chapter project, an apprenticeship program designed to help people who were formerly incarcerated learn engineering skills. The program provides apprentices with financial support, reentry services and mentor assistance.

A culture of empathy helps fortify organizations and set them apart from their competitors, writes Joe Lipham of Signature Worldwide. Lipham outlines three steps employers can take to develop this type of culture in their workplaces: acknowledge people come from different perspectives; understand workers and customers; and communicate thought processes in a clear, empathetic manner.

Boosting workplace diversity begins with employers assessing their workplace policies and processes to identify potential disparities, writes Richard Lehr of Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson. Lehr outlines four areas of access that employers should review, including hiring and promotions as well as paid family and medical leave.

Five organizations have come up with creative ways to keep their teams connected and energized during this time of remote work. One team of editors has ditched videoconference calls and is now gathering around the virtual campfire from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2.