Recognition has dropped: weekly praise is down from 29％ to 19％ among U.S. employees this year. (Investopedia)

Yet, 91％ say recognition motivates them to work harder. (Achievers)

Employees who never feel appreciated are far more likely to disengage or leave. Regular, heartfelt recognition isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s mission-critical.

What’s unfolding: A manager enforced a decades-old formal dress code from a 1990s handbook. Staff complied literally — then complained about the heat and discomfort. HR quickly rolled back the mandate and reinstated a more casual, “use common sense” policy.

Why it matters: Outdated dress-code rules can hurt morale, authenticity, and even employee well-being. Leaders should involve the team before enforcing dress changes and ensure “professionalism” doesn’t mean discomfort or cultural mismatch.

What’s unfolding: Mercer warns that benefit costs per employee are expected to jump ~6.5% in 2026—the steepest increase since 2010. Rising healthcare prices and usage are pushing up costs. Some employers are already considering plan changes like higher deductibles or sharing costs.

Why it matters: HR must balance cost control with maintaining benefits that matter. Review vendor contracts, explore wellness/preventive care programs to reduce utilization, and communicate transparently with employees if cost-sharing changes are coming. Being proactive can avoid surprises and morale dips.

What’s unfolding: Job growth stalled in August: only ~22,000 new U.S. jobs added. The unemployment rate rose to ~4.3％. Benchmark revisions showed that between April 2024 and March 2025, there were 911,000 fewer jobs added than previously reported in several major sectors.

Why it matters: Recruiting might get harder, costs could rise due to scarcity of skilled workers, and pressure to retain becomes greater. HR should reassess hiring plans, prioritize essential roles, perhaps upskill existing staff rather than over-hire, and ensure retention strategies are strong.

What’s unfolding: A Northern California roofing contractor was ordered to pay ~$1.94M in back wages and damages to 158 workers for failing to pay overtime and keeping inaccurate time records. The ruling also imposed penalties for willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

HR implications: HR teams need to audit overtime practices and time-tracking systems immediately to ensure compliance with FLSA requirements. It’s not enough to assume managers know—train them, monitor them, and correct payroll policies before a similar lawsuit or DOL investigation hits.

What’s unfolding: California’s Court of Appeal expanded the definition of “exempt employees” under the Healthy Workplaces Healthy Families Act: outside salespeople are now considered exempt when calculating sick leave rate-of-pay, not just traditional executive/admin/professional (EAP) roles.

HR implications: If your organization operates in California, HR must review who is classified as exempt vs. nonexempt under state sick leave laws and adjust payroll and leave tracking to avoid mis-payments.

What’s unfolding: ABC Phones of North Carolina settled for $50,000 following a same-sex harassment claim by a female employee, who alleged harassment from a female coworker. The case was brought under EEOC law.

HR implications: Harassment training, policies, and procedure must address all combinations of harassers and victims (not just cross-gender), emphasizing that same-sex harassment is just as actionable under law.