A class of drugs that skyrocketed in popularity due to promising reports of weight loss is posing challenges for employers, who are grappling with if, and how, to cover them in their health plans.

The drugs, known as glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1s, are commonly prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, but have proven effective at boosting weight loss in non-diabetic people, too. The weight loss effects have piqued the interest of many consumers in the US, where an estimated 42% of adults are obese.

A recent survey of adults with obesity found that 44% of respondents would switch jobs to gain coverage for obesity treatment. In addition to attracting talent, funding obesity treatment has the potential to help employers save costs in the long run, given obesity has been linked to a number of other conditions. The catch for benefits leaders, though, is these drugs are expensive—so much so that a few large employers, including the healthcare company Ascension, recently dropped Wegovy, a GLP-1 approved for weight loss, from their health plans.

Here’s what HR leaders should know about the promises and costs of GLP-1s.

Efficacy of GLP-1s. GLP-1s for diabetes have been around since 2005. The first GLP-1 approved for weight loss was Saxenda, in 2014. The drug, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, requires patients to take an injection each day.

Since then, other GLP-1 weight loss drugs have come onto the market that require less frequent injections—just one a week—and have shown better results, according to Cody Midlam, director and pharmacist consultant at professional services firm WTW.

Costs for insurers, employers. Despite the promising weight loss results of GLP-1s being marketed, the drugs are estimated to cost upwards of $10,000 a year per patient, posing financial challenges for health plans and HR pros managing benefits.

Keep reading here.—CV

Ah, the question that’s top of mind for HR professionals worldwide. It comes down to the right tech, talent, and vision—and even then, it’s still a lot to digest.

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Remote work’s MVP, Zoom, has its employees feeling like they’re living a Katy Perry song: You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down…

The videoconferencing platform recently rescinded two of its highly sought after pandemic-era policies, calling employees back to the office and nixing no-meeting Wednesdays. The latter policy was established in early 2021.

Zoom cited hindered collaboration as the No. 1 reason for squashing the no-meeting day, Bloomberg reported. But research shows that no-meeting days, and fewer meetings overall, mean more time for workers to actually do their jobs.

Fewer meetings are good for employees. Not only does a calendar stacked with meetings inhibit workers from completing tasks, even Zoom acknowledged just last year the benefits of fewer meetings for their internal teams.

An MIT Sloan Management Review “found that when companies introduced one no-meeting day per week,” they saw employees’ “autonomy, communication, engagement, and satisfaction improved,” the New York Times reported.

Rerack calendars for better collaboration. Zoom might be alone in retreating back to a pre-pandemic meeting load.

Shopify eliminated all recurring meetings with more than two employees and started discouraging Wednesday meetings earlier this year, Bloomberg reported, while Meta, Clorox, and Twilio have incorporated no-meeting days into their workweeks.

Graphic design platform Canva instituted a no-meeting Wednesday policy in 2020, and its global head of people, Jennie Rogerson, told CNBC Make It earlier this year that people shouldn’t necessarily hold fewer meetings, but rethink their purpose.

Keep reading here.—MC

Here’s this week’s edition of our Coworking series. Each week, we chat 1:1 with an HR Brew reader. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

When it comes to recruiting, Cally Stanphill is a “hunter.” She has got a background in agency recruiting, so she prefers directly sourcing the right candidate over ad replies. She told HR Brew that “nothing beats” bringing in someone who had previously never heard of PainTEQ and seeing them fit into the culture and grow with the organization.

Stanphill has been leading the recruiting—and most of the HR efforts—for the Tampa-based interventional pain management company since June 2020 as its director of talent acquisition. It’s a big undertaking: Since she joined PainTEQ, the single-digit team has grown to 90, and Stahnphill is currently hunting to fill 20 open positions in its commercial group. Stanphill said her HR work on culture and retention is part of the employer brand, and advancing the employee experience helps her recruiting efforts. It goes “hand-in-hand,” she said, so as she prepares to bring in a score of new employees, she’s focused on homing in on the employee value proposition. She keeps busy.

What’s the best change you’ve made at work?

The best change was transforming the company’s culture to be more inclusive, empowering, and supportive. By implementing initiatives such as diversity and inclusion programs, mentorship programs, and flexible work arrangements, we’ve created an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute their best, resulting in increased employee satisfaction, productivity, and overall organizational success.

Keep reading here.—AD

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Worker injuries in US aviation jumped by 17% as the industry grapples with staffing shortages and increased demand for travel post-pandemic. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “Forget about robots building a skyscraper…It’s a more fundamental thing, getting the data you need and then using it better.”—James Swanston, CEO of construction software company Voyage Control, on how AI will transform the construction industry (the New York Times)

Read: Popular gay dating app Grindr is facing criticism for its new RTO policy, which now requires remote workers from all around the US to live within 50 miles of the office. Some say the timing of the move fell suspiciously close to an announcement that staff intended to unionize. (Vice)

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