What the strange bedfellows in the return-to-office debate say about the future of work

My book with Ranya Nehmeh, In Praise of the Office, about the benefits of face-to-face interactions is being released this month. Along with the attention that generates, I am learning about who advocates for remote work and who advocates for returning to the office.

For the record, we argue that it is possible to have the benefits of in-person working with a hybrid schedule, but it requires management to be much more purposeful with how it uses that in-person time than what we are seeing now. READ MORE

New Research Says Being an Exceptional Manager Boils Down to 1 Simple Hack

You can’t be a great manager without gratitude. At least, that’s according to 3,600 employees from across the globe in the fifth iteration of Achievers Workforce Institute’s (AWI) State of Recognition report. Despite this, only 15% of employees say their manager regularly recognizes them, which should stop every leader in their tracks.  

In my world coaching leaders for a living, employee recognition is gradually becoming less fluff and more fuel for driving engagement, performance and results. According to the report, employees who receive weekly, meaningful recognition are nine times more likely to feel a strong sense of belonging, six times more likely to see a long-term career, and 2.6 times more likely to be at peak productivity. Even monthly, meaningful recognition from a manager drives major gains in engagement and trust — as long as it’s indeed meaningful…that is personal, specific, and tied to impact. READ MORE

Elon Musk tried to court Mark Zuckerberg to help him finance xAI’s attempted $97 billion OpenAI takeover

There’s apparently some truth to the saying, “The enemy of your enemy is your friend.”

Elon Musk approached Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, asking him to help finance xAI’s bid to buy Sam Altman’s OpenAI, according to a court filing released Thursday. The call for help came after a long history of tension between the tech superstars. READ MORE

Fed Chair Warns the Economy Is Even Worse Than We Realized

The combination of tariff-driven inflation and a downturn in hiring has posed a “challenging situation” for the U.S. economy, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Delivering an annual address in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Friday morning, Powell underscored that the economy was engaged in a “curious kind of balance” from a slowdown in both the supply and demand for workers. READ MORE

Microsoft and NFL announce multiyear partnership to use AI to enhance game day analysis

Microsoft and the NFL announced on Wednesday that they’re extending their partnership to bring real-time game data and analysis to coaches and players using Microsoft Copilot and Azure artificial intelligence.

The multiyear partnership will upgrade the NFL’s sideline viewing system by equipping 32 teams with more than 2,500 custom-built Microsoft Surface Copilot tablets to enhance data collection during game days. Microsoft and the NFL said the deal will also support operations by helping managers track factors such as weather delays or technical equipment issues. READ MORE

Ex-Google exec says degrees in law and medicine are a waste of time because they take so long to complete that AI will catch up by graduation

Gen Z grads are struggling to land jobs. But pursuing a doctoral degree to stand out is not the answer, warns Jad Tarifi, the founder of Google’s first generative-AI team. Students could end up “throwing away” years of their lives, as technology is moving so quickly. This comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says ChatGPT can already perform on par with PhD-level experts, and Bill Gates admits that AI is accelerating at a pace that surprises even him. READ MORE

‘Godfather of AI’ says tech companies aren’t concerned with the AI endgame. They’re focused on short-term profits instead

Tech industry leaders are not usually thinking about the long-term consequences of AI when developing the technology, computer scientist and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton told Fortune. They are instead concerned with immediate research outcomes and short-term profits. Hinton, known as the “godfather of AI,” has long warned about the consequences of AI development without intention and guardrails.

Elon Musk has a moonshot vision of life with AI: The technology will take all our jobs, while a “universal high income” will mean anyone can access a theoretical abundance of goods and services. Provided Musk’s lofty dream could even become a reality, there would, of course, be a profound existential reckoning. READ MORE

Public Space as a Commons: Reclaiming the Physical World for People, Not Profit

Cities used to pulse with connection. The park bench, the public square, the library reading room, these weren’t just places. They were invitations. Invitations to sit, to meet, to be. But today? We’ve designed those invitations out of existence. In their place: parking lots, paywalls, privatized corners of what used to belong to everyone. We have confused movement with meaning, infrastructure with inclusion. Our public spaces now serve commerce more than community. Let’s be honest about what’s happening: public space has become collateral damage in the pursuit of profit. READ MORE

How retail accounting could distort profitability as tariffs take effect

As more tariffs take effect on goods imported into the U.S., a specific accounting method could have major implications for how American retailers calculate the impact.

A tariff adds to the cost of an imported item when it’s received and paid for when it crosses a border. While there’s debate over who pays that tariff — the manufacturer, the retailer, the consumer or some combination — the hit will likely show up in retailers’ bottom lines. READ MORE

'The risk that's on our doorstep': July inflation data has economists on edge

Markets ended last week largely unfazed by a hotter wholesale inflation print and signs of firming consumer prices, but some economists warn the underlying story is more concerning than investors seem to believe.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for July surged to a three-year high, with services inflation playing a key role in the gains. A similar trend appeared in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report earlier this week as firming prices in services like dental care and airline fares marked a surprise reversal from the prior softening that had been offsetting higher goods prices from tariffs. READ MORE

'Quiet cracking' is the dangerous new trend affecting millions of workers — why it's happening and how to spot it

From The Great Resignation to quiet quitting, there’s been no shortage of trends over the past few years that reflect growing dissatisfaction and disengagement in the workplace.

The newest trend, “quiet cracking,” coined by TalentLMS, describes ongoing burnout and stagnation leading to disengagement and poor performance. Their research shows 20% of employees experience it frequently, and 34% occasionally. READ MORE

Employee burnout is rising and so are leave requests. What employers should do next

Burnout is no longer a buzzword—it’s a business reality. In 2024, more than half of employers reported an increase in leave requests, and over half of those saw increases exceeding 20%. While the reasons for this uptick vary—including illness, mental health, caregiving responsibilities and parental leave—the common denominator is that today’s workforce is stretched thin. In frontline service industries like hospitality, senior care and restaurants, where labor shortages are already impacting operations, the strain is even more visible. READ MORE

7 Lessons Employers Can Learn from The Current State of the Pharmacy Benefits Industry

When Mark Cuban declares an industry practice "insane" multiple times during a panel discussion, it's worth paying attention. At Brown & Brown's Benefits Evolved 2025 event, Cuban joined our founder and CEO, Jake Frenz, Avantika Waring, MD and Chief Medical Officer at 9am Health, and Jared Bowcutt, Senior Vice President at Brown & Brown for a no-holds-barred conversation about pharmacy benefits. What emerged wasn't just criticism of the status quo, but a roadmap for employers seeking better value, greater transparency, and improved outcomes.

Here are seven critical lessons every employer should consider as we move forward into this time of reckoning. READ MORE

Many employees with side hustles see them as insurance policies

Most workers with side hustles aren’t leaving their full-time jobs to become business owners — instead, they’re using their side gigs as insurance policies for financial stability, according to a July 29 report from Glassdoor.

Although the percentage of workers with multiple jobs has increased during the first half of 2025, the applications for new businesses has remained flat. Glassdoor calls these workers “employee+” professionals who are diversifying their income without leaving their primary job. READ MORE

Samsung rolls out 5‑day RTO tracking tool to curb 'coffee badging' for some US semiconductor staff

Samsung has joined the growing list of companies requiring full-time in-office attendance with a new five-day policy for some of its US-based employees.

The company implemented the full five-day RTO policy in early July for a group within its semiconductor business and is rolling out a tool internally to track employees' compliance, Business Insider has learned. READ MORE