How to keep your best employees during layoffs

Last week's World Menopause Day highlighted the importance of recognizing menopause in the US workplace -- where 45% of women are over age 45, Forbes reports, and 75% say employers don't offer support, Mujda Rasoul of Peninsula Canada writes. A majority of women say menopause symptoms affect their work, and studies show it costs American companies anywhere from $237 million to $26.6 billion annually -- but many businesses, such as digital health care concierge Evernow, offer ways employers can be proactive.

Put it into practice: Know that a host of menopause symptoms can start in a woman's 30s and last until, through and past full-fledged menopause; that symptoms differ for each person; and the whole experience is baffling to many women since the subject is too often hush-hush. Companies can offer workshops for education and awareness; promote open dialogue with managers and through an employee resource group; and offer remote working options and flexible hours, as well as rest areas when a symptom episode peaks.

While multitasking is habitual for most people, its disadvantages for productivity are significant, causing tasks to take longer due to the time needed to shift attention and resulting in an increase in errors, writes Stephanie Vozza. To improve her productivity, Vozza conducted an experiment in which she monotasked for a whole week, eating breakfast without checking email and going for a walk without listening to a podcast, noting that it allowed her to slow down and focus on the current task.

Almost every country has some version of a boogeyman from the Jersey Devil in the US, Canada's Seven O'Clock Man (who enforces bedtimes), Ecuador's Kuartam, a tree frog that can shape-shift into a tiger, a variety of European witches and djinn and goblins in the Middle East. The monsters are often concocted mainly to keep misbehaving children in line, but as Purdue University researchers note, "Fear uses the lower levels of the brain, so children do not learn to think when parents use fear."

In Friday's SmartBrief on Leadership, we featured a story on how a sense of play can increase your enjoyment of exercise. I asked what your favorite exercise regimen was, and some of you took the time to let me know.

For Catharine M., fun exercises include badminton, Zumba, Tai Chi and beginning tap dance classes. For Ted B., it's Tabatas, similar to a HIIT workout, with short bouts of exertion followed by rest and a full-body routine that includes pull-ups, push-ups and squats.

Aimee S. outlined her workouts at her local YMCA, including classic aerobics classes with an instructor who switched things up to keep them engaging. Now, Aimee says she runs on the treadmill most of the time and is more fit now than she was nearly ten years ago.

"Find something that makes you happy -- that's what makes it stick," Aimee advises.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to tell me about their favorite form of exercise. Keep it up!

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