Employees want work-life balance, but it might be a fool’s errand.

A majority of employees (83%) view work-life balance as the top motivator for staying at their current job or finding a new one, according to a report from staffing agency Randstad earlier this year. It’s the first time employees reported work-life balance as a bigger job motivator than compensation in the 22 years since the report was first published.

But some workplace experts caution HR pros against pushing work-life balance too strongly on employees because that balance might be impossible to achieve. Shark Tank entrepreneur and business leader Barbara Corcoran, for instance, says work-life balance doesn’t exist.

Since the pandemic, the lines between work and life have blurred, said Jennifer Moss, workplace strategist and author of Unlocking Happiness at Work, and employees now have “a persistent, constant inability to bifurcate” the two.

For more on why work-life balance isn’t working and what HR can do, keep reading here.—MC

Like any seasoned gardener knows, a green thumb alone doesn’t make a great garden. It’s a confluence of a skilled workforce, intentional but flexible strategies, and the right environment for the bounty—and in many ways, developing an AI-ready workforce requires the same approach as ripe, juicy beefsteak tomatoes right off the vine.

HR pros play an increasingly important role when it comes to readying the workforce for the AI transformation. The function is tasked, of course, with optimizing HR workflows with the burgeoning technology, but leaders also play a key role in skilling employees and supporting change management along the way.

“There are going to be job losses with AI, but there will be job additions as well with new types of technology and getting even the technology infrastructure,” said Richard Smith, who runs the Human Capital Development Lab at the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. “How do organizations make that shift is a key question.”

For more on the AI transformation and how organizations can meet the moment, keep reading here.—AD

From Japan to the US, and many places in-between, employee healthcare costs keep rising, as the talent skills gap grows simultaneously.

Where in the world? Employers in several Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, are figuring out how to enhance their benefits packages without breaking the bank, according to the WTW Benefits Trends Survey of roughly 2,000 employers.

Among the survey’s findings, health and wellbeing are the biggest benefits priorities for Asia Pacific (APAC) employers. Roughly 50% of those surveyed said they want to improve health and mental health benefits over the next three years. As more workers age, they’re also taking care of their aging parents in APAC, so one-in-three employers said that caregiver leave will be added to their benefits packages.

For more on how employers are enhancing healthcare benefits amid rising costs, keep reading here.—KP