La Dallas Mitchell is working overtime to care for her daughter.

"It's just been nonstop," Mitchell said. "She's probably been sick like five times."

At the same time, parenting means working around that sickness.

The U.S. is the only developed country that does not guarantee any paid sick leave, according to the Center for Economic Policy and Research, though some states like New York, New Jersey and California have laws with requirements.

Medical experts say the surge of viruses right now highlights the need for paid sick time off.

"With RSV, COVID and the flu, this is very taxing to the health care system but also taxing to our families," said Dr. Willie Underwood, with the American Medical Association. "People get sick and ill; they can't work. They have increased health care costs. It's detrimental to us."

In October, a record high 104,000 Americans missed work due to "childcare problems," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report found workers lost $28 billion in wages during 2020 to 2022. Women, Latino, and Black workers felt the brunt of it. It also found people making less than $25,000 a year were about 2.5 times more likely to not have paid sick leave compared to someone making $100,000.

Epidemiologist and research director Mona Shah worked on the foundation report.

"For a family member who had to take off a week of work to take care of themselves or their child, that meant they lost an average of $815 in wages," Shah said. "That would have huge implications for paying for food, housing, health care, gas and other essentials."

SEE MORE: Doctors: Get Your Flu, COVID Vaccines Now To Be Safe During Holidays

Shah says when someone works while they or a loved one is sick, it impacts more than that single household.

"They're working when they're sick, and they're potentially impacting the people that they come across, whether at work or at school, and so it's really a compounding effect," Shah said.

She said that's why paid time off is important for a community to stay healthy, especially during busy holiday seasons.

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A landscaping company that operates in eight states and Washington, D.C. says it surprised its employees with a total of $28 million in appreciation bonuses.

Ruppert Landscape says the bonuses went to employees who have been with the company for at least one year. Excluding the top leadership team, 1,200 employees received bonuses reportedly ranging from $7,000 to $200,000.

“Everyone receiving this bonus was instrumental in helping create the value that we’ve been able to realize,” said CEO Craig Ruppert. “This bonus is money that is well-deserved and a way for us to acknowledge the value of our teams’ contributions and the essential role that they will play in our company’s future.”

The company said it was able to give out the bonuses because of a recent partnership with an investment firm.

According to the company's website, it started in the 1970s when Craig Ruppert began asking his neighbors if he could mow their lawns. Over the past 50 years, the company has grown to more than 2,000 employees. The company's portfolio includes work at Georgetown University, Six Flags American and President Lincoln's Cottage.

The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule Thursday that would ban U.S. employers from imposing noncompete clauses on workers, a sweeping measure that could make it easier for people to switch jobs and deepen competition for labor across a wide range of industries.

RELATED: Noncompete clauses can bring wages down by 20%, Treasury Department report finds

The proposed rule would prevent employers from imposing contract clauses that prohibit their employees from joining a competitor, typically for a period of time, after they leave the company.

Advocates of the new rule argue that noncompete agreements contribute to wage stagnation because one of the most effective ways to secure higher pay is switching companies. They argue that the clauses have become so commonplace that they have swept up even low-wage workers.

Opponents argue that by facilitating retention, noncompete clauses have encouraged companies to promote workers and invest in training, especially in a tight labor market. The public has 60 days to submit commentary on the rule before it takes effect.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Joe Biden called the FTC action "a huge step forward in banning non-compete agreements that are designed simply to lower people's wages."

"These agreements block millions of retail workers, construction workers and other working folks from taking better jobs and getting better pay and benefits in the same field," Biden said.

The FTC has moved aggressively to curb the power of major corporations under Chair Lina Khan, a legal scholar and Washington outsider whose appointment by Biden signaled a tough antitrust stance.

The agency estimates that the new rule could boost wages by nearly $300 billion a year and expand career opportunities for about 30 million Americans.

"Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand," Khan said in a prepared statement.

The FTC's proposal comes amid an already competitive job market, particularly in industries that suffered mass layoffs during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and have since struggled to recall their workers. Many workers remain on the sidelines, holding out for better pay, coping with lingering childcare or health issues, or opting for early retirement.

"There is a potential that it will contribute to the 'great resignation' that everyone is talking about to some degree, but employers are simply losing one of the tools in their toolbox and there are other ways to retain top talent," said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and director of human resources for Engage PEO, which provides HR services for small- and medium-sized companies. "You will see a lot of business trying to retain top talent via raises or other fringe benefits."

Employers nationwide are still hiring and layoffs are historically low, despite high-profile job cut announcements from companies such as software provider Salesforce, Facebook's parent company Meta, and Amazon. The government is expected to announce Friday that employers added a solid 200,000 jobs last month, and that unemployment remained 3.7%, near a half-century low.

A 2019 analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute estimated that 36 million to 60 million workers could be subject to noncompete agreements, which the group said companies have increasingly adopted in recent years.

While such agreements are most common among higher-paid workers, the study found that a significant number of low-wage workers were subjected to them. The study found that more than a quarter of responding establishments where the average wage is less than $13 an hour use noncompetes for all their workers.

On Wednesday, for example, the FTC took action against three companies for unlawfully imposing noncompete clauses against workers, including low-wage security guards who were threatened with a $100,000 fine if they violated the agreement.

The EPI study found that many companies still impose noncompete clauses in several states that already ban or restrict them, including in California, where the practice has been prohibited for a century.

The proposed FTC rule would require companies to scrap existing noncompete causes and actively inform workers that they are no longer in effect, as well as prohibiting the imposition of new ones.

The proposal is based on a preliminary finding that noncompete clauses quash competition in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. It would not generally apply to other types of employment restrictions, like non-disclosure agreements.

But Emily Dickens, chief of staff and head of public affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management, said the proposed FTC rule is overly broad and could potentially harm businesses that depend on them to thrive. She cited very small, emerging industries where crucial know-how cannot be safeguarded through non-disclosure agreements alone.

Dickens said SHRM, a group of more than 300,000 human resources professionals and executives around the world, will encourage its members to present specific situations that could justify noncompete clauses during the FTC's commentary period.

Although "there are jobs where it makes no sense to have noncompete," Dickens said, "this kind of blanket ban is going to stifle innovation."

While defenders of non-compete clauses argue they help start-ups and small business retain talent, opponents say they hinder recruitment at those same entities.

The Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based public policy research group, applauded the rule and called on Congress to pass proposed legislation that would impose a similar ban with more permanency.

"Restricting the use of non-compete agreements is fundamentally good policy that will boost wages, improve workforce mobility, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation throughout the economy," said John Lettieri, EIG's president and CEO.

—-

Associated Press writers Chris Rugaber and Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story was first published on January 5, 2023. It was updated on January 6, 2023 to correct a quote from Vanessa Matsis-McCready of Engage PEO.

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This story was first published on January 5, 2023. It was updated on January 6, 2023 to correct the name of the Society for Human Resource Management. It also clarifies that the study by the Economic Policy Institute was based on a survey of responding companies.

Office water cooler conversations are being replaced with instant messages and emojis.

It's a change many American workers are embracing, according to a January survey commissioned by Slack.

"It's giving people value," said Jaime DeLanghe, Slack's senior principal of project management. "People are taking the tools they have in social media, or in texting with their friends, and bringing them into a work context."

Seventy percent of people who responded to the survey said they prefer when co-workers communicate informally, and that it helps people avoid miscommunication.

Companies are "really moving from the formal, calcified processes," according to DeLanghe. "They're moving to much more casual, always-on, always-available chat. They're able to resolve issues more quickly, they have much better client outcomes, and they're able to build stronger relationships over the long term."

The changes go beyond a simpler sentence structure.

Sixty-six percent of people said the use of emoji and GIFs in conversation helped them feel more authentic. Seventy-eight percent said the new tools make work feel more friendly and inclusive.

"You can actually communicate business-critical ideas with emoji," DeLanghe said. "Some people use emoji as a read receipt on a large announcement. Instead of saying, 'I got this,' you can just give a green check or a thumbs up. Or maybe you're taking care of your kids, so you change your status to include a family. Those small touches, I think, make people feel much more like they're part of the team."

The shift is revealing what people dislike about office communication, as well.

Almost two-thirds of people said they find it "off-putting" to see workplace jargon in messages.

The worst offenders are phrases like "just checking in," "team player," and "keep me in the loop."

However, nearly everyone surveyed, 89%, said they use similar jargon in their workplace.

"They're using it to sound smarter," DeLanghe said. "They want to feel more professional, they want to feel more impressive, but they don't like being on the receiving end of that. They just want to get to the point."

Those phrases can carry over into workplace relationships.

"It was quite amazing to see how many people who worked remotely had a clear dislike of a coworker because of their communication habits," DeLanghe said. "And I don't think it was surprising. Everyone has had a leader where they could pull out their jargon bingo card and they're like, 'OK, how many times are they going to say X, Y or Z here?'"

There are still places for formality in the workplace, according to DeLanghe. She pointed to large group chats and chats with company leadership as two instances that require a more refined tone.

She also suggested starting separate threads for business-critical conversations and low-key chats.

"You can have fun in one space, but know that if you have something really critical that you need to take action against, it's in a different place," DeLanghe said. "Reading the digital room is sort of the most important thing to keep in mind."

Jamie McKinney is an author, motivational speaker, and leadership coach. She's the president of JMD Consulting.

“Our mission is to empower women to ditch doubts, speak up and achieve the careers they deserve and desire,” McKinney said.

She is inspiring women worldwide and trying to lessen the gender confidence gap.

“The confidence gap actually starts when women are in middle school," McKinney said. "The sense of belonging outweighs a need for authenticity. Young women make decisions to dampen their confidence or to shrink their aspirations because they just want to fit in, and they don't want somebody to say something negative about their bravery, their courage, their confidence. Then fast forward to the working world and your authenticity is still in there. But if you've been practicing not speaking up, or not exercising your confidence, that's now what you know.”

McKinney says it’s a combination of nature and nurture. Reinforced gender stereotypes mean young girls are often encouraged to play with dolls, while young boys are typically steered toward more aggressive activities. Those experiences plant a seed which McKinney says often leads to a stark difference in one’s ability to be assertive.

“I want to be very careful when talking about the genders, is that it's not all men and all women, but his studies show there are trends,” McKinney said.

Research by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that even when their performance on a task or job is equal to a man's, women describe theirs less favorably. The impact can be quite substantial.

“Men ask for raises four times more often than women do, and when they do, they ask for 30 percent more," McKinney said. "There's an isolated incident that has a certain level of impact, but over the course of one's career, calculations show that that can equate to $1.5 million for an individual's compensation. $1.5 million dollars, simply because one didn't ask.”

McKinney, who started off her career life in male-dominated fields like the automotive and oil and gas industries wants to change that. She’s been coaching women through her three pillars of leadership program. Those three pillars include strengthening self, communicating powerfully and leveling up your career path.

One woman who went through that training to make a difference in her life is Nora Thomas.

“Confidence is definitely something I've struggled with all my life, but it didn't hit me that it was going to be this way for me in the professional world until I got out of college,” Thomas said.

She says McKinney inspired her to start her own marketing and community outreach business.

“I've noticed how important it is to set goals and kind of set that standard for yourself to be like, 'well, actually, where do I want to take this or where can I see myself improving?”

Thomas says a boost in confidence is helping her in all aspects of her life. She wants to encourage other women to take the same leap of faith she did to end the confidence gender gap.

“We unfortunately kind of do work in a world that is run by men and a lot of us and a lot of aspects, which isn't a bad thing, but it's harder for women to grow," Thomas said. "You know, they're hitting the glass ceiling and where are we supposed to go from there?”

McKinney says she hopes to see a world where her job is no longer needed because women feeling empowered to be their authentic selves will be the standard.

“Everyone is born with a certain amount of confidence and confidence is just like a muscle in that the more you build it and condition it and flex it, the more it grows," McKinney said.
 

As the pandemic heads into yet another year, companies are still grappling with uncertainty in the workplace.

Many have attempted to reopen their offices, only to be stymied by new variants or outbreaks that necessitated yet another shutdown or a delayed re-opening.

So some businesses are removing the guesswork altogether by deciding to remain fully remote — permanently.

Here's what happened when these companies decided to pivot to remote work full-time.

Enabling employees to make major life changes

When David Cancel started sales and marketing software company Drift in 2015, he and his co-founder believed strongly in an in-person work culture.

"We were very strict about that. No one worked remotely. Everyone was in the office five days a week. All our rituals were in person, like our meetings, our kickoffs, our events... a very face-time-centric culture," said Cancel, who is also CEO.

But when the pandemic hit in March 2020, offices across the country -- including Drift's headquarters in Boston and three satellite offices -- closed, and work became entirely remote.

"It was a huge panic," said Cancel. "It wasn't that we didn't support work from home, we were against it. We didn't have any rituals, or setup or practice with doing anything remote."

At the start, adjusting the company's culture to a remote model was a challenge.

"The hardest part for me in this transition was I had a limiting belief that I couldn't hire the most senior people...without meeting them in person. But I was forced to do that [when the pandemic started] and once I saw it happen and see those people get integrated and be productive, then... I said 'Oh, we should do this forever,'" said Cancel.

In early 2021, the company announced that workers will work remotely full-time, and that office spaces will be used as "conversation spaces" for meetings, collaboration and events. "Those spaces are not to be used for primary work or set up for primary work."

The about-face on remote work came with benefits for both Cancel and his workers. It allowed him to move back to New York City, for example, and his employees have also been able to make major life moves.

"We've seen a lot of advantages to the team: people have moved to lower-cost places, closer to family -- and because of those moves, they've been able to get married earlier or make different life choices that they've been putting on hold for a long time."

The company decided that employees who relocate to lower-cost cities would not have their pay adjusted.

"We are location-agnostic when it comes to pay," Cancel said.

Also hybrid work, with workers spending some days in the office and some at home, wasn't an option.

"Inherently, we have a bias toward people who are around, whether we can detect it or not," said Cancel, who said he saw this firsthand at a previous company.

"People that were in the office with the managers....they got disproportionately favored for promotions and opportunities. I wanted to make sure we were equitable that no matter where you were...you would have equal opportunity to everything in the company."

Building a more diverse workforce

Davis Smith, CEO of outdoor gear and apparel company Cotopaxi, was also firmly against remote work before the pandemic.

But less than two months after employees started working from home in March 2020, he changed his mind.

"We started realizing, [remote work] is working. Our teams are functioning more efficiently than ever before," he said.

Video above: Know you’re not alone in feeling the fear of returning to work

The decision to go fully remote means Smith doesn't have to worry about the constant decision making that comes with reopening or closing the offices.

"It seems so distracting... we are just focused on building the business and great culture. We're not worried about having to make all those decisions. There's been a huge benefit in that -- just making that decision early," he said.

The company kept its Salt Lake City office, and Smith said some employees choose to go in every day. "It's a small percentage...those people wanted a place to go."

Smith said he rarely goes into the office these days, but finds that he's more deliberate with his relationships working remotely. "Every single day I have a goal to do one outreach to someone on our team -- I wasn't doing that before. I wasn't that intentional, I just thought: 'Oh I will will run into them in the office.'"

The company has tripled in size during the pandemic and being fully remote has allowed it to build a more diverse team.

"It's a lot easier to hire a diverse team when you aren't limited to a specific geography."

While successful so far, Smith said he still worries about the potential long-term implications of a remote working model.

"I've asked myself many times: At what point does this catch up to us? Because so many people are new and maybe they don't understand the culture as deeply. But our culture has changed and all those rituals and traditions, we had to wipe them clean and start over and we've created new [ones] that work for this new environment."

The company sends employees a weekly poll via Slack that asks about things like engagement, culture and other topics, including compensation and burnout, to help keep a pulse on employee sentiment and morale.

"There has been a lot of power in us saying early on we embrace this new way of working. This is the way of the future: we can either fight it or embrace it and figure it out faster than everyone else," said Smith.

Keeping workers happy

Pre-pandemic, most of the employees at online brokerage firm Robinhood were expected to be in the office every day.

But in December the company told employees it will become primarily remote, meaning there will be no location or regular in-office requirements for most workers. But it will keep its offices, including its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, open to employees.

The shift to remote work over the course of the pandemic has had a noticeable effect, said Cindy Owyoung, vice president of inclusion, equity and belonging at Robinhood.

"Over time, it became increasingly clear that our employees were happiest and did their best work when they had the flexibility to determine where and when they work best," Owyoung said in an email to CNN Business.

MIAMI, Fla. — When the pandemic hit South Florida, small business owner Leslie Schwimmer was forced to close up shop, leaving behind her massage business and her sense of security.

But more than a year after becoming unemployed, the 58-year-old is back at work and loving the path life has taken her on.

"I really am happy. I love the day-to-day of what I do," Schwimmer said.

When we first met Schwimmer in March of 2021, she was worried that her age was keeping her from finding a new job.

"I try to mask my age during interviews as much as I can," she said at the time.

After being forced into bankruptcy, Schwimmer thought she'd lost everything. But after countless interviews last year, she landed a job selling medical devices for a small company in Florida and is now back on her feet.

"I loved what I did before but I really like this new challenge," she said.

While Schwimmer misses running her own business, she does not miss the stress that came along with it.

"I really enjoy getting a check every two weeks and not worrying about paying everybody else," she added.

As for the two million, or so long-term unemployed Americans out there still looking for a new job, this single mother of two says don’t give up.

"When I look at the jobs I didn’t get, I have to admit I cried over some of them," she said. "Now, I think I’m where I should be."

This is part of a series of stories examining the question, "How are you doing?" where we check in with people from different walks of life to see how they’re handling the pandemic.

WLWT viewers gave from their hearts, and it's making a difference.This week, WLWT introduced you to Randy Bowling of Hamilton. Bowling is disabled, and his bicycle is his only form of transportation to and from work at Walmart in Fairfield Township.Last weekend, his bicycle was stolen."Your news story was barely over on the TV. I was watching it when my phone started ringing," said David Hood, executive director of Serve City. "I knew immediately this had struck a cord ... That line that Randy said, 'This made my life harder,' it was the big thing that struck me, and I think people heard that and said this is not OK. We need to do something." Serve City is the organization that owns the apartments where Bowling lives.Knowing Bowling was taken care of thanks to generous gifts from WLWT viewers, Hood created a way for people to help others like Bowling."This is probably not the first time this has happened, and unfortunately, might not be the last time it happens, and so we are setting up a fund called a 'Bike Matching Fund,' Hood said.They're collecting bicycles, or preferably money, to offer residents as a matching fund."So, if they're able to come up with $50, we'll match $50 dollars for them to get a bike," Hood said. "Bikes around here are a major source of transportation for employment, for doctors appointments, for therapy, for addiction recovery, all of those things, getting around to those things are critical to our residents." Donations can be made here. Any donations that include "BIKE" in the memo will go toward bicycles and locks to those in need of transportation.https://www.classy.org/give/313609/#!/donation/checkout

HAMILTON, Ohio —

With his laces tied tightly, Randy Bowling said he's ready to walk to work if he has to.

The nearly four-mile trek each way — from his apartment in Hamilton to Walmart in Fairfield Township — isn't ideal for the 50-year-old, who is also disabled. Bowling suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was 16.

That's one of the reasons he bought a $157 bicycle a few months ago.

"It's the first bike I ever bought myself," Bowling said.

He was proud of it. Now, it's gone.

It was stolen from outside Party Mart Express in Hamilton Saturday night.

Store security video shows Bowling walking his bike close to the front doors after his shift at Walmart.

He's in the East Avenue store for less than a minute before a man rides up on another bike, grabs Bowling's bicycle and rides off with it.

Bowling walks out in disbelief.

"He's made my life harder," Bowling said.

Bowling lives alone at the Serve City apartments. He said he needs his job to pay bills, and the bus isn't always an option.

"When we had heard, it just broke our hearts. Our residents struggle with so many other life issues, to have something like this happen is a real challenge," said David Hood, executive director of Serve City.

Neighbor Brenda Stevens called what happened unacceptable in her neighborhood.

"It's just aggravating. I don't know why people do it. It's selfish," Stevens said.

Other neighbors have expressed frustration and support.

"There's a lot of people that care. If I had a bike, I'd give it to him," said neighbor Andrew Yeager.

Bowling said even though he should be angry, he'd rather talk to the guy who snatched his bike and help him get a job.

Starting a new job is nerve-wracking: You're trying to remember everyone's names and roles, and learn the culture, all the while trying to put your best foot forward.

And for new hires who are joining a company remotely during the pandemic, the onboarding process can be even more difficult.

Here's how to make a great first impression:

Prepare ahead of your first day

Preparation is key to starting a new job on the right foot.

"Get your office in order. Get everything you need that you can set up to where and how you are going to work: your desk, get a ring light if you feel you need it ... get your space ready so that when you start work you are ready to go," said Andrew McCaskill, LinkedIn career expert.

He also suggested reviewing the company's website, blog posts or social media pages to help become more familiar with the company and your new colleagues.

"Start to look around to see what you can learn about the organization ... get into the company news to figure out what's going on at work before you get to work," McCaskill said.

Ask for a buddy

Working remotely means you no longer have a seat mate that can help you learn how access your project files or fill you in on office norms.

To help answer any mundane questions that pop up as your learn the ropes, ask your boss to assign you a buddy.

"Ask your manager: 'Is there someone on the team that you can go to for small questions to help figure out how things work here?'" said Renata Dionello, chief people officer at ZipRecruiter. "That way, that person knows up front you might be asking them questions and make you more comfortable to ask questions and them more responsive when you come to them."

Build your network

Without coffee breaks, lunch dates and hallway run-ins, establishing a rapport with your new colleagues takes more effort when working remotely.

Ask your manager for recommendations of colleagues you should meet and also pay attention to names of people who are regularly in your meetings or included on team emails.

Once you have a list, start setting up introductory meetings.

Dionello suggested requesting 30-minute meetings with co-workers who you will be working with directly on a regular basis, and ask questions about their role, current projects and work preferences.

She also suggested setting up 15-minute intro meetings with people who aren't direct reports or on your team, but are included in emails, show up in meetings or are referenced occasionally.

These meetings shouldn't be entirely work focused. Ask questions that will help you get to know your teammates, but don't get too personal right away. Questions like: 'How long have you been at the company?' 'How did you get into this industry?' and 'How was your summer?' can help break the ice.

"Networking is a two-way street: if you need help ask for help, but also offer help," said McCaskill. "Share some of your own personal insights about you and your life and that makes it a little easier for other folks to do the same. Accept what people offer up initially, and make it very natural."

Scour the intranet

Some companies offer internal websites to employees that can be a treasure trove of information regarding resources, handbooks, benefits and announcements.

"Making use of the tools the company has is really important," said Paul Wolfe, senior vice president of human resources at job website Indeed.

Employee resource groups, such as those established for women, parents, people of color, or LGBTQ employees, can also be a good way to make connections, noted McCaskill.

"If there is an opportunity where there is already a group or community built into your organization, getting involved and getting access to that community will help grease the wheels of you getting to know more people faster," said McCaskill.

Learn your manager's style

Some managers want frequent progress updates, while others are a little more hands off. Learning how your manager prefers to communicate — whether it's emails, instant messaging, weekly meetings or shared documents — and how often, is important to your success.

"Ask them how do they like to work best and share with them what works best for you," said McCaskill.

Get feedback regularly

Set up frequent one-on-one meetings with your manager during your first few weeks on the job that are feedback-focused, suggested Dionello.

"It's fine to say to the manager...'For the first two months, I would really love frequent feedback on whether I am focusing on the right things, am I approaching things the right way, is my style fitting with the style of the team and company?' You can have that conversation up front," Dionello said.

The "stop, start and continue" framework can help get the conversation going, said Wolfe. That means asking your manager: Is there anything you should stop doing, what should you start doing and what should you continue to do?

Be patient

Onboarding can be difficult in a remote setting, so try and give yourself a little breathing room.

"You have to pace yourself and be patient," said Wolfe. "You aren't going to come out of the gate and fix everything right away. Come up with a plan with your leaders about how you prioritize things."

Federal Labor Department statistics show there were over 4 million more job openings this May compared to last year. That's good news for people who are looking to change jobs or switch careers. And there are a lot of them.

Experts predict a huge wave will leave their employer in the months ahead. 

Jessica Brooks, from Chicago, switched careers mid-pandemic.

"The transition was because I felt kind of stuck in the place that I was in career-wise," Brooks said.

One in four workers plans to look for a job at a different company once the pandemic subsidies, according to a survey by Prudential Financial. And one in five workers switched careers over the past year.

Geleen Antonio left a health care consultant position she's held for six years.

"What's really important for me now is really location independence, the freedom to be able to work out of any city, any country, maybe a coffee shop, even that I didn't have before," Antonio said.

A different survey from LinkedIn this past April found the reason people are switching is that they’re looking for more job flexibility, be it flexible work locations or work hours.

Another top reason? Work-life balance.

Career expert Colleen Sauer says the pandemic has helped us re-prioritize what's important to us.

"COVID put everything into perspective for people," said Sauer. "And what they're overwhelmingly asking for is flexibility. Many employers didn't approach the pandemic in the best way possible for a lot of different reasons. Employees are burnt by that." 

Entrepreneurship is also on the rise. More than half of professionals surveyed by LinkedIn (51%) see themselves either starting a business or freelancing. That includes Andrew Dvorscak — who decided to open a coffee company in Denver. 

 "The pandemic — it was definitely something that pushed me to do it. If I didn't get laid off, I probably would still just be sitting on my hands. Just, oh, it'd be so cool to own a coffee business someday," said Dvorscak.

Haluthai Inhmathong quit her 9-5 marketing job to start her own food pop-up Basil Babe. She says, "working from home kind of puts pressure on a lot of things and you're left alone with your own thoughts. I knew I was unhappy; a job should never make you cry." 

The people Newsy spoke to say, whether it's a career switch or starting a new business, the pandemic sped things up.

Inhmathong says, "if there was no pandemic it was leading up to it. But with the lockdown, it definitely was faster."

This story originally reported by Cat Sandoval on Newsy.com.

Pets — like their humans — had to adjust during the pandemic.

They got used to people being at home most of the time, just as people learned how to juggle caring for their pets while also doing their jobs remotely.

But now, with COVID-19 vaccinations picking up, if you have a pet, it's time to prepare them for your return to normal — whatever that may look like post-pandemic.

And, according to some animal experts, it's going to take time for them to adjust.

Remember, they had to make adjustments too: Some pets had to make a real adjustment to the sudden 24/7 intimacy of people being home all day, especially in households with small children.

Others were adopted during the pandemic.

"The overall percentage of US households owning pets notched up to 56% in 2020, with 44% of households owning dogs, 25% owning cats, and 12% owning other pets (including fish, birds, small mammals, and reptiles/amphibians)," according to Packaged Facts, a market research firm.

"Among current pet-owning households, 35% adopted pets in the 12-month period ending February 2021," Packaged Facts said.

That means millions of pets have no sense of what "normal" life looked like.

Start leaving them alone for a few hours at a time: So, if you're planning a return to the office, Dr. Douglas Kratt, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, recommends you start by leaving your pet for two or three hours at a time daily, so they aren't caught off guard when you're gone for eight or more hours a day.

... but don't fully change routines just yet: While you may be changing your routine, Kratt told CNN it's helpful to keep pets as close to their routine as possible and make sure that "you're not forgetting things because you're into a new routine."

Dr. Dana Varble, chief veterinary officer for the North American Veterinary Community, suggests pet owners keep some of the habits formed during the pandemic, such as taking their dogs for a walk during their lunch breaks.

Consider a pet sitter: If your new normal doesn't include time for that, Varble said it may be time to re-hire the dog walker or pet sitter you had before the pandemic, which can then give your pet some familiarity.

"In the last several years we've done a lot of research that's shown that a lot of animals have a much more significant and longer lasting memory than we thought that they did," Varble said.

Realize that readjustment times will vary: Pets will need about four weeks to adjust to a new routine, Varble said — but noted that different animals are more adaptable than others.

Cats, for example, she said, need longer and may show signs of stress for up to six months.

"Although they're a lot more independent, I think that they really, really thrive on routine."

Regardless, if you see unwelcomed behavior in your pet — including vocalizing or shredding of toys — Varble said "it's really important" to stick with your routine. But, if you notice more harmful behavior, it's OK to correct it, she said.

Leave some distractions around: Ingrid Johnson, certified cat behavior consultant at Fundamentally Feline, suggests cat owners find fun distractions for their cats while they're gone, such as leaving cat videos or easy listening music on.

"We offer them these different novel things so we're leaving, but there's something fun to do," Johnson told CNN.

She also said food puzzles are a great way to distract cats while making sure they're able to eat in accordance with their internal clock.

"It gives them comfort to be able to control access to all their basic needs," Johnson said, urging the importance for cats to have as much consistency as possible and that small environmental changes can cause them to stress.

Keep an eye on any behavioral changes: "Cats will generally symmetrically groom themselves bald in easy to reach areas when they're anxious. Grooming is a comfort behavior," Johnson said.

While grooming is not a big concern, Johnson said if cats are going to the bathroom outside the litter box or if they are not eating, that could be a medical emergency.

Remember your bond with your pet: Some of the changes of returning to in-person work and school will stress us out just as much as it stresses our pets.

That's why experts say it's important to remember you need your pet as much as your pet needs you.

"Pets can help us manage our stress and keep our calm," Varble said. "I think it's still important you celebrate your bond with your pet, your human-animal bond, as a great source of stress relief in your life."

As people return to work after historic unemployment during the pandemic, some businesses struggle to hire, leaving small businesses in an especially tough spot.

“The past 15 months or however long it's been has been incredibly surreal,” Beth Gruitch, Co-owner of Crafted Concepts restaurant group, said. “It's been this up and down of hiring and laying off.”

Now -- this restaurant is buzzing with customers again. “We’re busy. People want to go out; they are vaccinated,” she said.

But Gruitch is having trouble hiring at all the restaurants that are part of the group. “We’re having a shortage of staff. There’s like almost 100 job postings, and the amount of people that are here to work in the hospitality industry is very dismal,” she said, explaining that she’s never seen it this bad. “To the point where people aren't showing up for interviews or callbacks.”

While the pay is competitive, the labor pool that existed before the pandemic is no longer there.

“We were always an industry that counts pennies. Well, there's even less of those pennies to count these days,” Gruitch said.

The restaurant industry isn’t the only one experiencing this hiring dilemma.

“There are certain industries more impacted by others, specifically those in construction, manufacturing, transportation. But still those in the restaurant industry services, they’re also having a hard time,” Holly Wade, Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business Research Center, said.

The NFIB’s April jobs report showed a record 44% of small business owners with job openings they can’t fill. 92% of these owners report few or no qualified applicants for the positions.

“One in 5 say that they have significant problems with staffing shortages,” Wade explained. This has pushed many owners to offer more in a competitive marketplace.

“Hiring bonuses, referral bonuses, increasing pay, especially for those entry-level positions, are generally what we’re seeing as far as incentives for small business owners to try and attract talent,” she said.

Economist Victor Bennett said there are many theories as to why we see this problem.

“There's a set of people who are going to argue its exacerbated by government assistance...there’s a set of people who are going to say...that the issue is driven by unfair labor practices,” Bennett said. He said there are a few reasons he’s seeing as contributing factors. One is the skills gap, more openings for a job than qualified people. This idea is backed up by the results of the NFIB’s jobs report. Other factors relate to the pandemic.

“A lot of skilled workers had to leave the workforce to provide dependent care,” Bennett said.

And then there’s the devastating impact COVID-19 had on specific industries.

“What some people call an echo effect, of people leaving industries that were affected in the pandemic and find it hard to return. This is happening, for example, wIth people who used to work at restaurants,” Bennett said.

The skills gap is something Georgiann Jaworskyj is experiencing.

“I haven't found anyone that has the experience that could just come into the office and kind of fill those shoes of the girls that left,” she said. She owns a small business travel agency in New Jersey. “It’s been a rough year, but we’ve gotten through, and now I’m so busy I don't know what to do with myself.”

Small businesses are doing what they can to hire people to meet the rising demand from consumers. Their one request is to have patience.

“Be kind, be gentle, because everybody is working hard to try to get back up to speed from where they were last year,” Jaworskyj said.

“In the here and now, service is going to be slow,” Gruitch said.

American employers added just 266,000 jobs last month, a sharp downturn from March. 

It's a sign businesses are struggling to fill open positions even as the country recovers economically from the pandemic. 

Construction companies and manufacturers, particularly automakers, slowed hiring last month due to parts shortages. 

Meanwhile, the hospitality sector, which includes restaurants, hotels and venues, is basically begging for workers. 

Lots of jobs are going unfilled because people have changed fields or left the workforce during the last year of the pandemic. And of course, some unemployed Americans are still afraid to go back to work due to the coronavirus pandemic and stubbornly high infection rates in certain parts of the country.

"Here we are in an empty dining room where normally, for lunch, we would be open and serving, you know, a couple of hundred guests," business owner Mac Hay said, "But this year, because of our staff shortage, both with U.S. workers but also workers from overseas, we've we can't fill the demand."

In response, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling on Washington to immediately stop paying Americans an extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits. It's saying that boost is incentivizing some Americans to not return to work. 

The group also said the Biden administration's supplemental benefits means about 1 in 4 Americans is making more money unemployed than they earned while they were working.

This story originally reported by Gage Jackson on Newsy.com.