Employers added 122,000 jobs to private payrolls in July, down from June's revised tally of 155,000, according to ADP, while wages rose 4.8% from last year among those who remained in their jobs. "With wage growth abating, the labor market is playing along with the Federal Reserve's effort to slow inflation," said Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist.

Gallup research found 24% of employees are recruited by another employer as companies turn to online networking sites and other digital tools such as Indeed and LinkedIn to attract talent. The research also found detailed job advertisements that align with skills have the biggest influence on people's decision to apply for a job.

Many Generation Z employees feel freer than their predecessors to ask for mental health days, something employers can prepare for by understanding their perspective and planning responses, writes Eleanor Hecks. Hecks recommends responses such as "let us know how we can best support you," urges protecting the employee's privacy and notes that handling the situation well is likely to improve productivity and employee retention.

HR leaders at Rolls Royce and Conagra say they're using the Josh Bersin Company's Galileo generative AI tool to help with functions such as hiring, onboarding, talent development and succession planning. "Organizations around the world are really more in an experimentation phase with how a tool like Galileo can be connected to multiple data lakes and data sources across your organization, so that it creates that entire ecosystem," says Mary Glowacka, global head of learning and leadership development at Rolls Royce.

Talking about subjects such as politics, sexual orientation, religion or money can cause some employees to become uncomfortable, so leaders should create clear boundaries when such topics arise and steer conversations back to work-related topics, writes executive communication coach Andrea Wojnicki. If necessary, speak with those raising uncomfortable issues in private and let them know such subjects can be unsettling for other team members.