Wellable Weekly

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Your weekly dose of workplace & HR trends, wellness insights, and practical tips to help your team thrive. For more workplace insights, visit: https://www.wellable.co/

  1. 22h ago

    Bank of America Proud of GLP-1 Spend

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff dig into a single story with wide implications for every employer thinking about GLP-1 coverage. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan disclosed that the company spends $250 million annually on GLP-1 medications—one-eighth of its total healthcare spend—and called it a good investment. Nick and Geoff unpack what that means for employers of all sizes, why adoption has quietly plateaued at 36%, and why the direct-to-consumer market may be the most sustainable path forward for companies that can't absorb full coverage. Key Takeaways Bank of America spends $250 million annually on GLP-1s—one-eighth of its $2 billion total healthcare spend—making it the fastest-growing benefits category by a significant margin, up from effectively zero just four or five years agoMoynihan called it a good investment but acknowledged that access is gated through a health coaching program, a guardrail that reduces early dropout and creates accountability on both sides of the investment29% of employees say they would switch employers to access GLP-1 coverage, making it one of the only pharmaceutical benefits with genuine recruitment power alongside salary and remote work flexibilityGLP-1 employer adoption has plateaued at 36%, up only two percentage points from 2024, reflecting real hesitation among companies that haven't yet covered it and quiet anxiety among those that have about cost trajectory and the difficulty of removing the benefit once offeredThe direct-to-consumer (D2C) subsidy model, where employers contribute a fixed monthly amount toward an employee's own D2C purchase rather than covering the drug outright, may be the most practical and sustainable path forward for mid-size and smaller organizations, since D2C prices tend to decline as scale grows unlike employer-plan drug prices

  2. Aug 12

    Micro Joys and Marijuana: How Gen Z Is Rewriting the Workday Reset

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff dig into two surveys that together reveal how Gen Z workers are managing their energy, focus, and mental health at work. New data on "micro joys" shows that short, restorative breaks are already happening with or without employer support—and the data makes a compelling case for getting ahead of the trend. Then, a landmark finding that daily marijuana use has surpassed daily alcohol consumption for the first time raises questions most employers have not answered.    Key Takeaways 77% of Gen Z workers are already intentionally building "micro joys" into their workday, and 82% say they have their best ideas away from their deskBreaks are happening with or without employer support, and the case for sanctioning them is both a productivity and a culture argumentGen Z's top workplace perks are healthy snacks and beverages and more time outdoors, both at 43%, far ahead of extra days off at 24%, signaling a generational shift toward making the workday itself more sustainable rather than just maximizing time away from itIn a tight labor market, many employees are reluctant to step away without an explicit organizational endorsement, which is why employer-sponsored break tools matter not just for the break itself but for the permission they signalDaily marijuana use in the US has surpassed daily alcohol consumption for the first time, with Gen Z being the only generation where marijuana use now exceeds alcohol use after work51% of Gen Z workers report using THC during the workday, and 52% of the full workforce across all generations report self-medicating in some form during work hours

  3. Aug 5

    Ghost Jobs, Stealth Layoffs, and Lower Pay

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff take a break from AI headlines to dig into three stories that together paint a troubling picture of the current job market. In Texas, LinkedIn is under investigation for ghost job postings. A new survey finds 72% of employees believe return-to-office mandates are stealth layoffs. Lastly, Glassdoor data shows 57% of recently laid-off workers are considering accepting lower pay, with women bearing a disproportionate share of the cuts. Key Takeaways Texas has opened a consumer protection investigation against LinkedIn under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging between one-fifth and one-third of job postings are ghost jobs; Nick proposes a practical fix: require employers to periodically verify postings are still active, automatically removing any that go unconfirmedLinkedIn's new AI slop flag for content is its clearest acknowledgment that platform trust is eroding, but no equivalent tool exists for job postings that would solve for the trust problem72% of employees believe return-to-office mandates are being used as stealth layoffs, with an average trust score of just 59 out of 100 for employer RTO motives—meanwhile, 46% of workers admit to coffee badging, coming in just to swipe a badge before leavingNick draws a clear distinction between employers who always communicated an in-office expectation and those who hired remotely and are now changing the terms (only the latter represents a genuine breach of the employment social contract)57% of recently laid-off workers are considering accepting lower salaries, and pay cuts are disproportionately affecting women, backtracking after three decades of progress on narrowing the gender pay gap in a relatively short period

  4. Jul 29

    AI Lawsuits Capturing HR's Attention

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff dig into two landmark AI employment lawsuits every HR leader should be following, and a new workforce sentiment story. Meta employees are suing over an AI-driven layoff process they claim targeted workers on protected leave. The Workday class action advances on the question of whether AI vendors or their employer clients bear liability for hiring bias. Lastly, a survey shows younger workers increasingly describe their relationship with their employer as a "situationship" with no long-term commitment on either side. Key Takeaways Twenty-six current and former Meta employees allege the company used AI to score, rank, and select employees for termination without neutralizing protected leave as an inputMeta's spokesperson categorically denies AI made those decisions, creating a stark factual divide at the center of the caseMobley v. Workday is advancing through the courts on the argument that AI hiring tools that replace functions normally performed by employers carry commensurate liabilityWorkday's defense—that its tools only screen candidates and final decisions rest with employers—may be valid but puts its own customers on notice that they bear the liability for how AI outputs are usedHR and IT leaders should be asking vendors directly how their tools handle protected class attributes, what bias testing has been conducted, and where liability sits before using AI in any consequential hiring or termination process59% of workers report no clear long-term path at their current employer, and the resulting "situationship" is partly a job market storyEmployees cannot afford to leave but see no investment in their development either, a dynamic compounded by the hollowing out of middle management and the redirection of organizational energy toward AI over people

  5. Jul 22

    The AI Token Gold Rush Is Over (At Least For Tesla). Now What?

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff reunite after Nick's summer hiatus to break down three recent headlines. Tesla caps employee AI token spending at $200 a week, a dramatic reversal from the gamified leaderboards of just six months ago. Starbucks bets it can replace $400 million in enterprise software spend by rebuilding tools in-house with AI. Lastly, Gartner projects one in five companies will cut more than half their middle managers by year-end, a structural efficiency trend with consequences that are only starting to show up.   Key Takeaways Tesla now requires manager approval for AI token spend above $200 per week, and Uber blew through its entire 2026 token budget by MarchCaps might be signaling negative ROI, not just cost management, since companies with these resources would keep spending if the returns were thereStarbucks is attempting to replace roughly $400 million in annual enterprise software contracts by rebuilding tools in-house with AI and internal engineersIf Starbucks succeeds, it could mark a meaningful shift in the build-versus-buy calculus for enterprise software and accelerate the so-called SaaSpocalypse for software vendorsGartner projects one in five companies will eliminate more than half their middle managers by the end of the year, but a cautionary case study shows a VP of engineering with 47 direct reports approving decisions in Slack with no context or coaching until their best engineer quietly quitOnly 6% of Gen Z aspires to senior leadership according to Deloitte research, a rational response to watching middle management disappear and remaining managers stretched to unsustainable spans of control

  6. Jul 15

    Do's & Don'ts of Modern Hiring with Kat Kibben

    In this week's episode, Geoff sits down with Kat Kibben, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and one of LinkedIn's top voices on hiring. Drawing on 15 years working across HR technology, employer brand strategy, and recruiting education, Kat shares a no-nonsense playbook for key stages of the hiring funnel, from writing job postings that actually attract the right candidates to using AI screening tools without embedding bias.   Key Takeaways The real reason you are getting too many unqualified applicants is almost always the lack of specificity in job posting, not the volume of candidates in the marketCandidates should apply if they meet 60% or more of a job posting's requirements, because recruiters rarely expect 100% fit and most postings significantly overstate what is actually neededAI screening tools should be limited to clear yes-or-no questions at the initial stage and used to clarify ambiguous criteria in the maybe pile—machines should gather information, not make hiring decisionsWhen companies use AI or bot-driven screening, candidates often are not told they are talking to a bot and do not know how to adjust, so these interviews reward the most confident performers rather than the best-fit candidatesBank of America's AI upskilling framework centers on one principle—never trust the yes—reflecting a shift from teaching prompt skills to building the human judgment needed to evaluate AI outputs critically

  7. Jul 8

    Act Like an Owner: Greg Hawks on Culture, Workplace Vandals, and Leading Through Uncertainty

    In this week's episode, Geoff sits down with Greg Hawks, keynote speaker, corporate culture expert, and bestselling author of Act Like an Owner. Drawing on 25 years of leadership experience and a framework born from running a nonprofit and managing rental properties simultaneously, Greg shares why most engagement strategies target the wrong employees, what it actually takes to build culture that sticks, and how leaders can maintain trust through layoffs and AI uncertainty.  Key Takeaways Greg's owner-renter-vandal framework identifies three archetypes in every organization: (i) owners who take genuine initiative, (ii) renters who do their job transactionally, and (iii) vandals whose active disengagement undermines everyone around themMost engagement strategies focus on converting disengaged employees to engaged, but the real leverage is in addressing the actively disengaged—when vandals are dealt with, the disengaged re-engage on their ownVandals persist for four predictable reasons: they (i) generate significant revenue, (ii) have long tenure, (ii) benefit from nepotism, or (iv) they're in a position of power (e.g., the founder of the company)Culture is built through consistent leadership habits, not values recitations—Greg's most effective tool is leaders sharing weekly personal challenges they faced in living out company values, which creates the thick trust that makes honest communication possibleTransparent, proactive communication is the only mechanism that preserves trust through layoffsAI should be treated as a partner to experiment with openly rather than a threat to stay quiet about

  8. Jul 1

    Remote Work Isn't Going Away & Gen Z is "Quiet Coping"

    In this week's episode, Nick and Geoff dig into two studies that challenge the dominant narratives around remote work and Gen Z in the workplace. New research shows remote work has plateaued at 26% of paid full-time days, while a survey of 18,000 US adults reveals that one in four Gen Z workers are depressed and quietly self-managing rather than seeking formal treatment. Key Takeaways Remote work has plateaued at roughly 26% of paid full-time days, down only marginally from 27% two years ago and far above the pre-COVID baseline of 7%, suggesting most employers have settled into hybrid arrangements and are staying thereStanford economist Nicholas Bloom predicts hybrid work will increase as younger, more flexible CEOs replace older executives, while JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon argues one recession would be enough to push on-site requirements significantly higherApproximately 25% of Gen Z workers are experiencing depression, and many have quietly abandoned formal treatment after financially draining and unsuccessful experiences with antidepressantsHalf of depressed Gen Z workers are using marijuana as a coping mechanism and 70% of Gen Z CBD users are using it specifically for mental wellness, though similar patterns exist among millennialsManager training focused on mental health awareness is the most actionable employer response, and in-person work gives managers meaningfully better visibility into employees who may be quietly struggling

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Your weekly dose of workplace & HR trends, wellness insights, and practical tips to help your team thrive. For more workplace insights, visit: https://www.wellable.co/

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  • Creator
    Wellable
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    41
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Wellable
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    Wellable Weekly