A trend among Gen Z and millennial workers, known as "boundary setting," focuses on achieving work-life balance in a culture that often emphasizes hustle. These employees are productive but protect their personal time by turning off email after hours and prioritizing mental health. This approach helps counter burnout and encourages businesses to rethink employee roles.

Major companies such as Google, Microsoft and Southwest Airlines are highlighting the importance of social-emotional learning in schools to prepare students for the workforce. Google values self-awareness and responsible decision-making, Microsoft emphasizes emotional intelligence and adaptability, and Southwest looks for communication and teamwork skills.

In the modern workplace, managing up is essential for career progression, according to career expert Katie Donovan, who urges professionals to take charge of their career paths. Managing up involves strategic communication and relationship-building with higher-ups to ensure alignment with career objectives, Donovan writes.

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.

The "January Resignation Rush" is a trend where employees reconsider their careers at the start of the year, often leading to increased turnover. This period is marked by employees re-evaluating their job satisfaction and career goals, making it a critical time for employers to address potential resignations.

The balance of power in the job market is shifting back toward employers as major companies tighten remote work policies and reduce employee benefits. With unemployment rising to 4.1% and job vacancies decreasing, employers are regaining leverage and altering working conditions rather than conducting layoffs or wage cuts. The shift is more pronounced in white-collar roles, with companies ending remote work to trim payrolls and reducing perks such as college tuition assistance.

New research challenges the notion of a universal mid-career crisis, showing that only managerial and professional workers experience a U-shaped trajectory in job satisfaction, with a low point in their 40s. This pattern does not hold for workers in intermediate and lower occupational classes, challenging the idea of a universal mid-career crisis.

Dunkin' locations in Nebraska and New Mexico are experiencing a temporary doughnut shortage due to a manufacturing error from a single supplier. This issue, which affects approximately 4% of Dunkin's US stores, has led to empty doughnut cases in cities like Omaha, Lincoln and Albuquerque. Hilariously, some locations filled the hole in the menu by offering ... you guessed it ... donut holes!