Want to save $100k? Set your employees up with retirement benefits

RETIREMENT: While just 22% of small and medium-size businesses offer retirement benefits, compared to 65% for larger organizations, the financial incentives for doing so can pay for themselves. Research from?people management platform Gusto ?found that workers are 40% less likely to leave in their first year when they're offered retirement benefits, saving employers tens of thousands in turnover costs.?

"Business owners can't afford not to offer these benefits," says Luke Pardue , an economist at Gusto. "By offering a 401(k), you can see returns of over $100,000 in reduced employee turnover costs. If we can increase take up, we can see a lot of return in both employee satisfaction and financial security."?

Read: Small businesses can save $100,000 per employee by offering 401(k) benefits

GEN Z: According to a recent survey conducted by Perceptyx , 71% of workers under the age of 35 and 61% of workers between 35 and 45 agreed that all employees should be able to?actively discuss their political opinions?at work — but only 53% of employees over 45 agreed. "For them, the personal is political and the political is professional — it's all tied together," says Emily Killham, director of research and insights at Perceptyx. "For younger workers, they don't really want to work in a place where we can't have these real discussions."

Read: Want to keep young employees? Let them talk about politics

M&A: Do acquisitions have to be destructive? Most recently (and infamously), #elonmusk acquired Twitter , garnering negative criticism after he laid off half of Twitter's workforce, as the remaining employees reported 84-hour workweeks.?However, acquisitions can be a source of growth for employers and employees alike, if approached humanely, says Paula Pryor , executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Walker & Dunlop .

"We are very thoughtful about finding the right partners that will be culture adds and working together to bring new a Walker and Dunlop reality into the future," Pryor says. She shares her lessons learned:

Read: CHRO reveals how her company maintained a successful culture after 10 acquisitions