The pandemic laid bare the fact that we have a broken care infrastructure, support for mental health is insufficient, and many of us are entangled in demanding and inflexible and workplace cultures that create burnout. Organizations are responding. They’ve recognized that employee benefits can be life-changing for their workforce, especially those centered around care, flexibility, and mental health. In order to better support their employees and their business, they plan to revise their benefit strategies in the upcoming year. A new report on the future of benefits shows that 98% of human resource leaders and C-suite decision-makers from across the U.S. plan to newly offer or expand at least one benefit due to lessons learned during this crisis.

Scott Belsky, chief product officer at Adobe, says that creative workers are a bigger part of the economy than ever, thanks to new technologies, more gig work, and shifting norms following the pandemic. He recommends that leaders at all companies — not just those in traditionally creative fields — understand this key component of value creation today. He explains how companies can make themselves more competitive by making themselves more attractive to the likes of designers, writers, and artists.

Companies have experienced a surge of online orders during the pandemic. As the crisis eases, leaders need to decide whether the dramatic shift to e-commerce is permanent — and allocate investments accordingly.

Chronic complainers in the workplace are toxic not only to themselves but also to the people around them. A habit often formed in childhood, it arises from a need for validation and attention and over time can alter the neural pathways in the brain and become a part of the personality, which makes it hard to deal with.

Companies need to find ways to improve their people’s capacity to adapt when things don’t go well. Swarm intelligence refers to the ways in which decentralized and self-organized organisms behave. Their ability to know when to switch — without anyone telling them to — is what gives them the capacity to recover and adapt to life-threatening situations. Since this behavior is only possible at the level of the colony, the author refers to it as collective self-healing.

When people navigate big changes, one thing that can help is what developmental psychologists call “transitional objects.” These objects — whether they take the form of a physical item (like a security blanket) or something more abstract (like a routine, habit, or action) — provide the necessary grounding to guide someone through uncertainty. Research shows that they can help organizations during major times of upheaval, too. In order for leaders to identify which transitional objects might be most helpful to employees, they should consider three attributes of how people process change: choice, a connection to a purpose, and using something new as a bridge toward where you’re headed.

When it comes to handling the competing demands at work and at home, solo parents do it all — alone. While this can be an incredible challenge, it’s also an opportunity. In the face of tough obstacles, these working parents often develop unique, problem-solving skills.

We’re all busy. Whether it’s responsibilities at home or at work, many of us focus so much on doing it all that we forget to focus on ourselves. But ensuring your own health and happiness is critical. How do you carve out time for yourself, your health, and your needs when you’re always on?

By this point in the pandemic, parents are running on fumes. Amy Gallo introduces two HBR editors who want to help lift spirits and keep careers advancing through a four-episode series we’re presenting called Family Management.

Telehealth showed it can improve access and accessibility, but it must be upgraded, experts say.

Youngme, Mihir, and Felix discuss the future of food delivery, ghost kitchens, virtual restaurant brands, and more.

For telehealth to remain a significant force in health care after the pandemic subsides, digital tools will have to take human emotions into account in the ways they support patients and care providers. A growing array of offerings are doing just that. They are aimed at helping both parties build trusting relationships.