Apple TV+'s "Severance" creates a world where employees' memories are surgically severed between work and home, which can reflect real-life corporate challenges, such as performative team building exercises, meaningless rewards such as "waffle parties" and policies that feel dehumanizing, writes Alex Snider, the co-founder of Mindful FED. "People cannot -- and should not -- separate their work and personal lives. It's our whole selves that bring the creativity, compassion, collaboration, and resilience that make workplaces thrive," Snider writes.

Put it into practice: Recognition can help your team feel connected to their work and the company's mission, but performative rewards, such as The Melon Party or music dance experiences in "Severance," are ineffective, writes Snider. "Recognition tied to meaningful outcomes fosters engagement and satisfaction far more effectively than superficial perks."

Poor communication with your team can affect employee trust, retention and engagement, writes clinical psychologist and author Monica Vermani, who offers seven steps to better communication, including the need for leaders to engage in two-way communication, adapt their style and invest in training. "When leaders share organizational goals and values, talk about opportunities on the horizon and share information about navigating organizational changes and challenges, they create a culture where employees feel valued and included," Vermani writes.

Put it into practice: Give your team ample ways to engage with leadership to share their concerns or questions and be responsive to their feedback, Vermani writes. "Answering, rather than avoiding tough questions, is a powerful means of building employee trust and engagement."

If you're unable to identify and tap into the emotional current that runs underneath every conversation, you may end up in a conflict you don't understand, write Karin Hurt and David Dye, who recommend the "Reflect to Connect" method that entails paying attention to body language and tone of voice and naming the emotion and checking for understanding. The approach may feel uncomfortable, so practice in low-stakes situations first, Hurt and Dye recommend.

Put it into practice: If you misread the emotion of your conversation partner don't worry, because if they correct you, then you have more insight into ways to deepen the conversation and the connection, Hurt and Dye write. "The next time you find yourself in a tense conversation, pause. Take a breath. Reflect back what you think the other person feels and ask if you're right."

Staying on Top of Regulations. Sixty-five percent of you report having a very solid handle on the laws and regulations that apply to your business. If you're in the 35% that identifies otherwise, consider studying up on laws and regulations.

Whether they're tax, accounting, safety, government reporting, intellectual property or security laws and regulations, they're important to understand and comply with. They also change quite frequently and there are often substantial penalties associated with non-compliance. While they're not necessarily the most fun topics to delve into, the outsized impact they can have on you and your organization merits their attention.

Find experts in the field and consult them. Identify sources of information updates and check in on them regularly. You don't want to be on the wrong side of a law or regulation when the authorities come around.

-- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN -- the firm's e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: "One Piece of Paper," "Lead Inside the Box" and "The Elegant Pitch."