The pandemic created an existential crisis around work that can't be solved with the usual tools -- and certainly not by mandating a return to the office or rejiggering other aspects of work without addressing the underlying question of what gives our jobs meaning, says Heidi Brooks, a senior lecturer at Yale School of Management. "We have to learn our way forward, and to be able to discern what of the challenges in front of you are things that you can meet with familiarity and calm and a sense of competence and what are the things that are new, where you don't necessarily know the answer, and yet your leadership, your presence, is still quite central," Brooks says.

Radio and podcast guests should prepare for an appearance by learning about the hosts, formats, style and audience, suggests Dave Purdy from Otter PR. Guests should also tell compelling stories, actively listen and respond to the host, and use social media, websites and blogs to promote their appearance.

Small companies can increase opportunities for customers to connect with them online by adding social media links to their Google profile. Here's how to add links to your business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

SmartBrief's inaugural virtual AI Impact Summit, Sept. 27 to 28, will feature OpenAI's Zack Kass as the opening keynote speaker. The event will explore business, workforce, marketing, tech and other topics, such as how AI is intersecting with reinvented workforce training and a talk by Michael Schmidt, vice chair of the labor and employment department at Cozen O’Conner, on what employers need to know about AI in the workplace. Register by Aug. 25.

In many US markets, small businesses have to pay more than the minimum wage just to get potential workers to walk in the door. "The minimum wage is almost irrelevant," says Robert Branca, who owns Dunkin' stores in Massachusetts, which has a $15 minimum wage.

An Aon report predicts average employer health care costs in the US will go up by 8.5% next year -- nearly double this year's increase -- as a result of inflation, new drugs and technologies, and an increase in high-cost claims. "While economy-wide inflation spiked during the past two years, employer-sponsored health care costs did not see dramatic increases during the same time period due to the multi-year nature of typical medical provider contracts," says Debbie Ashford, Aon's North America chief actuary for health solutions.

Today is the most common sick day for US workers, according to a study by Flamingo that analyzed five years of data from about 300 businesses with over 10,000 employees. Nearly 1% of workers are out sick on Aug. 24 on average.

If you've ever had a beer at a festival, you know you're signing up for a pretty long wait. But a new robot from One Two Beer automates the process and gives you a cold beverage in five seconds without producing any annoying foam. The robot makes getting your beer simple, but the engineering behind the robot is anything but.