Have a tattoo? No need to cover up at work

WORKPLACE CULTURE: Whether through their fashion choices on Zoom meetings, or displaying piercings or tattoos, employees are feeling more free to express themselves in new ways. But these expressions of individuality haven't always been so acceptable — tattoos in particular have traditionally been seen as taboo. While 40% of the workforce has a tattoo, that same percentage believes that body art is not appropriate in the workplace, according to research from LinkedIn . However, those attitudes are swiftly changing — a survey by global staffing firm Accountemps found that 90% of managers believe the workplace today is less formal regarding tattoos and dress code than it was a decade ago. 

"I think before, we looked at a lot of people in higher positions and we saw them as untouchable — but those bank owners or CEOs who have tattoos, they just live a normal life, too," says Mikhail Anderson, a tattoo artist and owner of First Class Tattoos. "People want to work with a leader that they feel connected to, and [tattoos] can switch the conversation from just professional to being more friendly." 

Read: This tattoo artist reveals how attitudes around body art have changed in the workplace

WELL-BEING: The world is slowly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effect it's had on individuals' quality of life has yet to improve — and it varies by state. 

DoFasting and Kilo Health recently released their 2022 Healthy Aging Index Report, which analyzed individuals' quality of life across all 50 states. The index looked at accessibility to healthcare, crime rates, education, divorce rates and more in order to accurately portray the total health of an individual's lifespan. Once tallied, states are scored out of 100. Mississippi came in last place with a score of just 28.13 out of 100, due to poor results in areas of obesity, poverty, regular exercise, newborn mortality rates and income levels. See which state ranked #1:

Read: The best and worst states for healthy aging

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS: No one — especially HR pros — likes performance reviews. They are time consuming, ineffective and dreaded by managers and staff. But because they are the basis for compensation and promotions, they live on, writes contributor Josh Merrill . A better approach is to utilize Organizational Network Analysis (ONA), a technique for mapping employee relationships and patterns. By asking employees a few specific questions, and then applying ONA techniques, companies can quickly surface which team members are making the most impact on the company, and which are not. Here's how it works:

Read: Everyone dreads performance reviews. Here's how to fix them