Professionals unclear about their next career step can try the three-bucket approach, coming up with job ideas categorized into the logical next step, the stretch role and the wild idea. Executive coach Hanna Hart explains what to do with each bucket.

Companies that focus on ensuring "high performers and high potentials" feel appreciated and have career flexibility, including short-term assignments, are more likely to retain talent during this Great Resignation, says Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer at Workday. "A few years ago, if you had asked the average manager, 'Are you willing to let your person spend part of their time with another team on something else?' I don't think you would have gotten a resounding yes," Goldsmith says.

Leaders can't make improvements unless they are clear on what's working and what's not with their strategy, processes and people, writes Paul Thornton, who offers four steps for identifying new possibilities and delivering a compelling message for change. "If the first requirement of a leader is to define reality, the second requirement is to identify the best opportunities to improve the status quo," Thornton writes.

Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury has predicted that "remote work" will simply be called "work" within 10 years, and says his research shows that work-from-home regimes are more productive, while firms that do not offer hybrid options may start to suffer attrition. Responding to the assertion that office encounters promote communication and innovation, Choudhury points to his recent "virtual water coolers" experiment with a global bank, which meant that "interns met senior managers they would have normally never met for an intimate conversation. It led to a dramatic improvement in performance and the chance of being hired."

Studies suggest that employees who stutter are often overlooked, underpaid and unfairly considered less competent than other employees. "If HR professionals and CEOs understand that our stuttering is largely out of our control and has no bearing on how we are feeling or on our ability to do our jobs well, [people who stutter] will feel supported and included in the workplace," says Carl Coffey, a National Stuttering Association board member.

Information we learn for the first time is more "sticky" in our minds than revisions or corrections, argues a recent study, which may explain why revised COVID-19 guidance seems to have little effect on behavior. Counteracting this phenomenon -- known as "continued influence effect" -- requires giving clear reasons why original information was wrong and why new behaviors are needed, says Maddy Jalbert, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington.

Egg cartons traditionally haven't been much to look at, but that's changing as companies selling pasture-raised eggs seek to set themselves apart and educate customers about their products. Consider Pastures likely has the most opulent carton, with a rich blue color, gold lettering and pictures of eggs that almost resemble jewelry. Competitor Vital Farms goes for a more agricultural aesthetic with chalk-like lettering, while Handsome Brook Farms uses bold colors to stand out. These cartons, which are almost too pretty to recycle, may get customers to decide it's worth paying more for pasture-raised eggs.