Most workplace communication is written with good intentions. We add “please” to be polite and “ASAP” to emphasize urgency. Yet research suggests these common phrases can sometimes have the opposite effect, creating confusion, reducing clarity, and slowing productivity.

Artificial intelligence is creating a paradox in the early-career job market.  Companies are increasingly using AI to perform tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level employees, yet new research suggests many employers are not abandoning early-career hiring. Instead, they are changing what they expect from employees entering the workforce.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is making it clear that supporting employees during pregnancy is a growing workplace priority. Under its latest Strategic Enforcement Plan that launched in June, the agency is aggressively targeting workplace failures to accommodate pregnancy-related limitations. They are actively targeting companies of all sizes with over 15 employees, and recent federal filings reveal that traditional, rigid HR policies are no longer legally...

For years, manufacturers have faced a common challenge: finding and retaining the next generation of talent. As experienced workers retire and competition for skilled employees continues to increase, HR leaders are uniquely positioned to help reshape the perception of manufacturing careers and build sustainable talent pipelines.

Hiring Lab predicts that by 2040, there could be 1.2 million fewer workers in the workforce and as many as 5.6 million fewer jobs. The unemployment rate could rise to almost 8%.  The prediction is based on U.S. labor force statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Force Turnover Survey (JOLTS). In 2025, there were approximately 159.1 million workers in the U.S. labor force across the 10 employment supersectors tracked by JOLTS. By 2040, the size of...

NLRB is up to full strength: The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, securing a 3-1 Republican majority. Republican James Macy, a U.S. Department of Labor official, and Democrat David Prouty, were confirmed as part of a grouping of 74 nominations in a 51-47 vote.

For decades, we've seen steady progress in expanding opportunities for women in leadership. But new research published in Harvard Business Review suggests that while attitudes may have improved, the day-to-day experience of leadership looks very different depending on who you ask – and much of that difference comes down to how we judge who is ready to lead.

Mobley v. Workday, Inc. alleged that Workday’s AI screening tools discriminate against job seekers based on age, race, and disability. The suit was filed in 2024 in the U.S. District Court of California by Derek Mobley, a Black disabled man over 40, who claimed Workday’s algorithms continually screened him out as he applied for more than 100 positions on the platform. Incidentally, his email that he applied from was a hotmail address, which was a major player in the 1990s.

Menopause has historically been treated as a private health issue. However, increasingly, lawmakers and employers are recognizing it as a workforce issue.

As organizations continue searching for ways to combat burnout and improve retention, wellness company Exos found success by rethinking not just where employees work, but how they recover. Rather than implementing a traditional four-day workweek, Exos introduced "You Do You Fridays," a flexible initiative that gives employees one day each week for strategic recovery.

Two studies published on the same day in July reached the same conclusion from opposite directions. The widely cited U.S. homeownership rate of roughly 65% does not measure how many adults actually own homes, concealing a large and growing group of people, especially younger workers, who live in owner-occupied homes they do not own.

Canadian AI law: Canada's legislative framework for regulating AI is developing but only  Ontario has legislated on AI issues within its employment standards legislation.  However, employers may be subject to other laws that are currently on the books.  For example, Québec’s Private Sector Act regulates “automated processing” of personal information and requires private sector employers to disclose personal information that is being used to render a...

Since the administration changed in 2025 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regained a quorum after a period of significant disruption, the agency's enforcement priorities and approach have shifted. Despite the uncertainty and transition, 2025 marked a record year for EEOC settlements, resulting in the highest monetary recoveries in the agency's history.

For much of the past two years, employers focused on doing more with less. Hiring slowed, layoffs made headlines, and many organizations looked to artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to increase productivity without adding headcount. Now, a new trend is emerging. Several major employers, including technology firms, transportation companies, and professional services organizations, are signaling plans to increase hiring as business conditions improve and the realities of AI adoption become...

A major shift in federal marijuana policy is forcing employers to rethink workplace drug policies and disability accommodations. The recent reclassification of medical marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III substance has changed how employers must evaluate employee marijuana use under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For many organizations, this change introduces legal uncertainty and a need for immediate policy review.

To test or not to test, that is the question that is top of mind for many employers today when it comes to marijuana testing. As more states legalize at least some form of marijuana testing, the number of applicants testing positive for marijuana continues to grow.

We often think about first impressions during a job interview, but they happen other times throughout our careers. Whether you're starting a new job, welcoming a new employee, meeting a client, or networking, first impressions influence trust and confidence in new relationships.  It can be nerve-wracking worrying about making the right first impression. In just a few moments, people begin forming opinions about our professionalism, credibility, and approachability. While those...

Maybe Sarah Connor was right: Remember when The Terminator seemed like pure science fiction? Recent AI headlines are making that movie feel a little less fictional. In one incident, researchers reported that an autonomous AI agent allegedly left notes for future versions of itself, detailing ways to navigate around human-imposed constraints while pursuing its assigned objectives.

Artificial intelligence continues to create new opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and growth. At the same time, it is also changing the cybersecurity landscape in ways employers cannot afford to overlook.

AI is being integrated into many HR functions, from scheduling and recruiting to performance management and compensation decisions. While HR processes are not fully automated, the growing use of AI in these areas can create legal and compliance risks for employers.

When attendance changes, behavior shifts, or performance suddenly declines, employers often begin with policies, coaching, or corrective action. Those responses may be appropriate but sometimes the issue is something else entirely: an employee facing a challenge they do not know how to solve.

According to TalentLMS's newly released Learning Debt Report, employees are struggling to keep pace with rapidly changing job requirements. Forty-one percent of employees say their roles are evolving faster than their employers can provide training, leading many to rely on AI tools and informal workarounds to bridge skill gaps while remaining reluctant to admit what they do not know.

Landing a new job has always required persistence. Today, it also requires vigilance. Employment scams have become increasingly sophisticated over the past year, with criminals posing as recruiters, creating convincing company websites, and using familiar hiring platforms to lure job seekers into sharing personal information or sending money. As remote hiring becomes more common, distinguishing a legitimate opportunity from a fraudulent one is becoming more difficult.

AI lawsuits and complaints: Employers and courts all over the country have experienced a steady increase in pro se litigants. Many legal experts believe that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is partially responsible for this boom in unrepresented litigants.

Crying at work is more common than many leaders realize and can serve as a visible indicator of deeper workplace stress and burnout. Nearly half of U.S. workers report crying or coming close to crying at work, suggesting that emotional strain is becoming a widespread workforce issue rather than an isolated occurrence.