Leaders seem caught between the impossible demands of wanting the most effort out of their employees while also feeling pressured to offer balance and flexibility to prevent burnout or "quiet quitting." The answer is 85%, says Kristin Lytle, CEO of The Leader's Edge, which is the level of dedication managers can expect because giving 100% all the time is difficult and when employees can't it "doesn't mean they are not contributing and fulfilling their obligations to the team or organization."

Put it into practice: Leaders should adopt a more holistic mindset about their employees since many will take work home with them or answer business emails off hours, Lytle notes. Getting to know your employees and their preferred work habits can also go a long way to creating a culture that best fits your workers' talents and career goals, adds Barbara Palmer, founder of Broad Perspective Consulting.

To find the highest meaning for life, we must trade the endless pursuit of happiness for a sense of well-being and purpose, writes former FBI agent turned consultant LaRae Quy, pointing to great philosophers and research that confirms true happiness is an inside job. "To be happy, we should focus only on things under our control, namely our reactions and responses to situations in the world," Quy writes.

Put it into practice: When you find yourself putting happiness ahead of well-being, Quy offers some questions to ask yourself, including, "What are the things that give you a sense of significance, a sense of purpose?" and "How are you connected to your community and those around you?" "The relationship between ethical goodness and living a good life is of far more consequence than simply settling for happiness," Quy notes.

Child care has become a critical need for working parents, but employers can help by offering caregiving stipends and partnering with services that offer child care provider lists, caregiving industry executives say. "Also, make sure managers are aware of the benefits so that when an employee comes to them and says, 'I'm contemplating what we're going to do when I return from paternity leave,' you're putting it forward so that you get the most utilization," says Lynn Perkins, CEO of UrbanSitter.

Put it into practice: Leaders should ensure that child care benefits and assistance offered by the company are clearly communicated to employees and prospective hires and supported through parent Employee Resource Groups and other programs. "Employers have a responsibility to bring awareness to the challenges [of child care], make them OK to talk about and help solve them," says Julie Devine, chief growth officer at Cariloop.

Sports has been a mainstay in the life of Varsity Brands CEO Adam Blumenfeld, with a father who founded BSN SPORTS and Blumenfeld's own dream of tennis glory, but building out his company taught him success is not about individual success. "It's about working as a team, elevating others, putting yourself second, embracing the ethos of servant leadership, and understanding that the energy and intention you put out there has a way of circling back to you, often magnified," Blumenfeld notes.

A striking image of a diver inspecting whale bones off the coast of Greenland, taken by Swedish photographer Alex Dawson, has earned him the title of 2024 Underwater Photographer of the Year in the annual contest. Other honored images include a close-up of a gray whale that seems curious and friendly, a face-to-face encounter with a butterfly blenny that had taken up residence in a discarded bottle and a toothy (and scary) smile from a lemon shark.

When it comes to talking about politics in the office, nearly 60% of the 246 of you who answered prefer to keep mum on the subject altogether. Almost 36% said they would seek common ground or try to understand the other person's point of view but would still make their opinion known.

Understandably, keeping your political feelings to yourself in a work environment feels safer. But finding ways to constructively talk to those around you helps your work culture and can heal some of the rifts politics has caused in the world around us.

One reader, Mary B., asked how to handle someone "whose views feel not grounded in facts." Mary says she's open to hearing other views to find her blind spots but finds it challenging to be patient with those who won't hear another opinion.

Mary did not ask about this specifically, but I found a great article on talking to people who believe in conspiracy theories (which is fewer people than we may be led to believe). Even if the person you're speaking with doesn't believe in conspiracy theories but is fuzzy on the facts, this article's advice can go a long way to finding that common ground.

The authors recommend being open-minded and asking people when they first started believing what they believe and how it has affected them psychologically. Then, express empathy for their feelings and encourage them to think critically about their views. Finally, realizing that some closely held beliefs are about things outside our control can help you point out some areas where they have full agency to give them a sense of personal authority.

This, of course, takes some effort, and the office may not be the best place to tackle such a process. But, if you want to better understand your colleagues, even a short, empathetic conversation where you can affirm at least a shred of commonality can go a long way to making your teams more efficient and enjoyable.

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