The best leaders are those who always seek to learn more from their customers and their employees so they can develop both their teamwork skills and knowledge on how to handle conflicts and challenges, writes Kevin Kehoe, co-founder of Aspire Software. "Developing teamwork is especially important for young companies as roles are often blurred, systems are absent and deep relationships have yet to be established," Kehoe writes.

Many companies want to see employees return to the office for learning experiences, in-person events, networking opportunities or other reasons. However, this article dispels some of the myths surrounding in-person work and argues that in-person connection should be voluntary, strategic and intentional.

Employers can help prevent remote employees from overworking themselves by establishing clear expectations for the job and encouraging them to shut off work notifications on their phones during personal time, writes Gallup's Louis Efron, who points out the elimination of the work commute contributes to employee burnout. "Managers can give time back to their employees by leading by example, being aware of when they schedule meetings, focusing on results over time worked, and encouraging them to participate in activities employees enjoy outside of working hours," Efron writes.

A toxic work environment can have a lasting negative impact on employees, who may suffer from stress, burnout, anxiety and depression and may even be more susceptible to physical illness as a result. Leaders and managers can employ "cultural detox" principles to bolster the employee experience and keep disengagement, negative communication and turnover under control.

Difficult co-workers tend to fit into one of eight archetypes, including pessimists, know-it-alls and tormentors, according to writer and speaker Amy Gallo, who recommends tactics to deal with them while emphasizing the need to show yourself some empathy. "If you have energy left over, direct some of that toward the other person -- not because they deserve it, but because doing so will make it more likely that you can come up with a situation where you can ... improve your relationship with that person, which will ultimately benefit you," Gallo says.

Jeremie Maillard recently ran the London Marathon in 3 hours and 26 minutes -- which is not a record-setting time for the race itself -- but his time did beat a mark recognized by Guinness World Records for running a marathon dressed as a mythical creature by 22 minutes. Maillard was decked out as a unicorn with rainbow leg warmers, a tail and a mask that made it difficult to breathe and see, but he said he did it because his daughter likes unicorns.

In observance of Columbus Day in the US and in recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, SmartBrief will not publish Monday, Oct. 10.