HubSpot hired a hybrid work manager to support a dispersed workforce

HYBRID WORK: The new year comes with the same old questions for employers: Should we go remote? Demand employees return to work? Or establish a combination of both??At software platform HubSpot , those questions were answered years before the COVID pandemic upended traditional work operations. Meaghan Williams , HubSpot's hybrid enablement and operations manager, works to connect employees, no matter their location. Her position was created specifically to ensure the company's 7,000 employees are engaged, communicating effectively and working productively.?

"You do not need to go into an office in order to do your job and be effective," Williams says. She offers her top tips for finding the right balance for your own workforce.

Read: HubSpot's 'hybrid enablement manager' works to ease remote-work pain points

DEI: Only 21% of Asian adults with a mental illness received care in 2020, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Greater Los Angeles County (NAMI GLAC) . While concerning, this data point isn't surprising given the cultural divides between western and eastern societies, says Adora Du , founder of FAUNA Mental Health Foundation , a non-profit dedicated to providing written resources on mental health support for Asian and BIPOC communities.?

Du is Chinese-American, and has sought mental health help in the past. With a background in mental health research and clinical work, she knows firsthand how the system fails Americans like her.

"The therapist I was seeing was white and male, and would chalk [problems] up to being an 'Asian thing,'" she says. "A lot of minority groups that seek therapy probably experience that, especially when they have cultural differences with their provider." Du shares her thoughts on how to bridge cultural differences in mental health support.

Read: A look at the mental health stigmas faced by Asian Americans

SALARIES AND PAY: Despite?DEI?becoming more integral to companies' reputations and success, the gender pay gap still persists, with women making an estimated 83 cents per a man's dollar — and some industries have even wider gaps.

Job search site Lensa examined which industries have the greatest differences in median weekly earnings between men and women, using 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results revealed to what extent companies have failed to address the underlying biases that lead to women being severely underpaid.?Notably, the male-dominated finance sectors saw some of the widest pay gaps, with securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents topping the list at a 56.84% difference in earnings. On average, men make $1,891 per week, compared to a woman's pay of $1,054, their data revealed.?

Read: 10 jobs with the largest gender pay gaps