Workers who communicate with their colleagues mainly through videoconferencing are far less effective at building relationships than when the communication is done face to face, according to a study we recently completed and just submitted for peer review. We also found two important ways employees can overcome the downside of video meetings.

The pandemic continues to pose huge challenges to health services worldwide. Hospitals are in crisis as the pace of new COVID-19 cases outstrips their capacity. What makes things particularly difficult is that the coronavirus doesn’t affect everyone in the same way.

Featured: Work Smart Now! – Vaccines Alone Are Not Enough – Predicting Severe COVID – Zoom Work Relationships Are Hard to Build – Featured: Global Mobility Teams Prepare for Remobilization

As CEO of MAXIS GBN, Mattieu Rouot oversees relationships with more than 500 multinational companies in over 120 countries around the world. Global Benefits Vision: Mattieu, thank you for speaking to us – Can you share a few highlights of your career, perhaps with emphasis on global employee benefits?

Whether or not a person with COVID-19 develops severe disease depends a lot on how their immune system reacts to the coronavirus. But scientists still don’t know why some people develop severe disease while others suffer only mild symptoms – or no symptoms at all. Now, a new study from Yale University sheds some light on the issue.

After a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward. Brain science has led to some drug-free techniques that you can put to use right now. I am health psychologist who developed a method that harnesses our rip-roaring emotions to rapidly switch off stress and activate positive emotions instead. This technique from emotional brain training is not perfect for everyone, but it can help many people break free of stress when they get stuck on negative thoughts.

For most people, infection with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – leads to mild, short-term symptoms, acute respiratory illness, or possibly no symptoms at all. But some people have long-lasting symptoms after their infection – this has been dubbed “long COVID”.

Featured: Interview of Mattieu Rouot, CEO, MAXIS GBN – Severe COVID May Be Caused by Autoantibodies – Long COVID, Who Is at Risk? – Outsmarting COVID-19 Fears

Over the past nine months, the word “uncertainty” has cropped up time and time again across the news and social media worldwide. The pandemic has created uncertainty in nearly every aspect of daily life. This is not only down to worries over exposure to COVID-19 and access to medical care, but also concerns about the stability of the economy, job security, the availability of food and household supplies – and even when to book a holiday. We have needed to adjust and readjust our behaviour continually in response to changing risks and government guidelines.

In our daily life, we unfortunately have become used to seeing images of tumors and melanomas. You may have noticed that they’re are not entirely symmetric. This asymmetry is useful to doctors in their diagnoses, but why are they asymmetric?

As the weather cools, the number of infections of the COVID-19 pandemic are rising sharply. Hamstrung by pandemic fatigue, economic constraints and political discord, public health officials have struggled to control the surging pandemic. But now, a rush of interim analyses from pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have spurred optimism that a novel type of vaccine made from messenger RNA, known as mRNA, can offer high levels of protection by preventing COVID-19 among people who are vaccinated.

Paolo Lippi is the founder of consulting firm, LongueVue Analytics. Global Benefits Vision: Tell us about yourself – your career to date in a nutshell.

The role of compensation and benefits manager in charge of a company’s pension plan has always required multiple skills. Not only must you know about the pension scheme itself, you also must be an honorary actuary and an expert in finance, accountancy, and tax.

The European Pension System: State of Play – Q&A with Paolo Lippi – mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19 – Mathematical modeling of tumors – COVID-19, Coping with Uncertainty

Andreana Drencheva, Kristin Hildenbrand and Mike Duffy Jr. Through choice or by necessity, some of us are becoming self-employed for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence from multiple countries suggests that self-employed workers are one of the groups hardest hit by the pandemic. Support offered by governments varies. Yet, for some, self-employment may represent the only way of earning a living and remaining active in the labour

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the obesity epidemic once again into the spotlight, revealing that obesity is no longer a disease that harms just in the long run but one that can have acutely devastating effects. New studies and information confirm doctors’ suspicion that this virus takes advantage of a disease that our current U.S. health care system is unable to get under control.

Modern businesses understand that when they recognise their employees, business performance improves. Recognition is one of the most basic ways to strengthen the employer-employee relationship, but many companies only recognise employees in an ad hoc way. Recognising employees in a consistent, frequent and meaningful way ultimately boosts both productivity and the bottom line.

Social Recognition for Employee Engagement: Q&A with Achievers – Obesity Harms the Body in Real Time – Self-Employed? How to Protect Your Wellbeing

The Best Compliant Model for Expatriates – Interview with GEB’s Eric Butler on The Response To Covid-19 – IBIS 2020 Conference Report – Gig-Working to Dramatically Change Employment Landscape – R&D: Weight Loss: The Tricky Last Few Pounds – R&D: Coronavirus: Why Some People Lose Their Sense of Smell – Employee Benefits 2045 – Where Could We Be 25 Years from Now?

One of the most common causes of smell loss is a viral infection, such as the common cold, sinus or other upper respiratory tract infections. Those coronaviruses that don’t cause deadly diseases, such as COVID-19, Sars and Mers, are one of the causes of the common cold and have been known to cause smell loss. In most of these cases, sense of smell returns when symptoms clear, as smell loss is simply the result of a blocked nose, which prevents aroma molecules reaching olfactory receptors in the nose. In some cases, smell loss can persist for months and years.

So you’ve done everything you’re supposed to. You’re eating in a calorie deficit, are exercising a few times a week, and are getting close to your weight loss goal. And then you hit a plateau with only a few pounds to lose – and they just won’t seem to budge.

New research shows the significant role gig workers will play in the economy as businesses reshape for the future. A report called Gig Economy: Financial Security or Greater Control shows that 18% of UK HRDs expect over 75% of their staff to be gig workers in just five years, while 26% of European HR directors believe their workforces will have 51-75% of gig workers within the same period.

In February this year, we launched our discussion paper “2045: the future of work – the changing face of employee benefits” looking at how employee benefits (EB) may change over the next 25 years, based on the trends we were seeing in the industry and the world of work. Just a few months on, the changes that we suggested might take decades are already happening because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate of change happening in the global EB industry, such as the delivery of digital benefits solutions and virtual healthcare provision, has accelerated beyond anything that could have been predicted at the start of the year.

During the week of 11-15 May 2020, global benefits, HR, and mobility professionals took part in one of the most prestigious and longest-running – now virtual – international HR conferences in the world.

On GEB’s Response To Covid-19 And The Steps Being Undertaken To Ensure Cover For All

There is no doubt about it, Global mobility is complex, however with the right help and support, mobile benefit plans do not need to be. Pasquale Gorrasi, Director – International Lines, GEB, talks about why the GEB Network’s new and innovative ‘Best Compliant Model’ offers the benefits consistency that Mobility Managers need.

Advanced Tools for Financing Employee Benefits Globally – Digital Transformation: Four Critical Workplace Planning Areas Holding Organizations Back – R&D: Antigen Tests For COVID-19 – R&D: Chronic Lyme Disease – Does It Exist? – R&D: COVID-19, Smell and Taste – R&D: No Evidence That ECT Works For Depression – R&D: HPC and the Race To Understand COVID-19 – R&D: The Original SARS Virus Disappeared, Coronavirus Won’t Do the Same – R&D: Why Coronavirus Death Rates Don’t Fall as Quickly As They Rose