There are a lot of things going out of style in 2023: crypto, dating apps, and oat milk to name a few. Pets however, are hot as ever, and job-seekers often want employers to roll out the red carpet for their fur-babies.

According to some surveys and experts, pet-related benefits are in high demand. HR leaders may be on the hook to meet employees—and their pooches—where they are.

Digging a (money) hole. Employees likely spend a lot of money on their dogs. The ASPCA estimates that the average dog owner spends nearly $1,400 a year on their pup, and that’s not including any unforeseen chocolate-induced trips to the vet.

People are likely spending even more on their pets now that office occupancy rates are hitting over 50% for the first time since the start of the pandemic. That means workers are now on the hook for hiring a dog-walker or sending their best friends to doggie daycares so posh that even the Kardashians would bark at the cost.

It’s no wonder that in 2022 MetLife found that 54% of pet parents worry that the economic uncertainty will impact their ability to care for their pets this year.

Give employees a bone. It’s clear that benefits managers are thinking about how to cater to employees, as 71% of workers say their employers updated their pet benefits over the past year, according to an August 2022 survey from Barkbus.

Lisa Sholkin, VP of people at Teampay, a tech company with a New York-based, pet-friendly office, told HR Brew that it’s all about meeting employees at whatever life stage they’re in: “When we look at benefits holistically, we look at: What are the greatest needs amongst our employees and where can we deliver benefits that are helpful to them? [Ones that support] their families and how they’re choosing to live.” Read more here.—KP

If The Bangles have taught us anything, dreading Monday morning is a time-honored tradition in adulting. And according to one recent survey, a significant percentage of workers these days are spending their “Sunday funday” absolutely dreading (manic) Monday.

Data snapshot. A joint LinkedIn and Headspace survey of 2,000 US-based workers found that a whopping 75% of respondents said they experience the “Sunday scaries”—a feeling of dread that settles in as the weekend draws to a close.

Some 37% of respondents blame their Sunday anxiety on feeling overwhelmed at work, while 74% say the uncertain economy has increased the frequency of their Sunday scaries. Additionally, 28% of Headspace users report sleep troubles partly caused by anxiety over job security.

Culture club. As the culture-keepers, HR leaders bear some responsibility in making Mondays less manic for workers. “One main cause [of Sunday scaries] is due to a lack of workplace policy that creates a culture of well-being and psychological security for employees,” Pia Johnson, founder of Transformation Counseling Services, said in an interview with Essence. She said that leadership needs to ensure that employees have manageable workloads and a supportive work environment.

Or, we could just make Monday the third day of the weekend? Problem solved!—KP

There’s no gracious way to do layoffs: letter, email, Zoom meeting, conference room—any method is likely to be devastating for workers. As the market tightens, some areas in finance are being hit harder by job cuts than others, experts told CFO Brew.

Layoffs have happened across sectors, from tech and media to banking, leaving many to worry about their own job security. Within specific companies—such as Boeing and Stanley Black & Decker—finance functions have also seen cuts.

Banks such as Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of New York Mellon had begun cutting more than 15,000 jobs, along with extras like bonuses and luxuries such as private jets, the Financial Times reported in January. And banks have reportedly cut jobs in investment banking and mortgage lending as well.

Jim Lawson, managing director and co-leader of leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates’ global financial officers practice, told CFO Brew that, on a wider scale, business units seem to be consolidating right now, which is leading to layoffs of finance leaders in segments like divisional products or regional focus areas.

“Division CFOs, business unit CFOs, regional CFOs are being displaced because of cost,” Lawson said. Keep reading in CFO Brew.—KT

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: 71% of women say they are less safe when traveling for work than their male counterparts. (Business Travel News Europe)

Quote: “In the technology sector globally, women not only occupy fewer positions, but they also face a gender pay gap of 21%. Nearly half of all women working in technology have faced workplace harassment.”—Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Director of UN Women, in an opening statement to the Commission on the Status of Women (United Nations)

Read: Closing the worldwide gender workforce participation gap in OECD countries could boost the global economy by 7%, or nearly $7 trillion. (Moody’s Analytics)

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