Pay, benefits and flexibility remain important to workers, but they're increasingly willing to make tradeoffs for more stability in their jobs.

Increasingly, employees are taking control over how they spend their work days to get a better handle on their stress levels.

"When there's a crisis, it can bring out the best in people, and I think in the workplace, that's what I saw 20 years ago," said George LaRocque, founder of WorkTech.

Insurance giant Cigna stopped covering the drugs for weight loss on July 1, and more than 450 employees have signed a petition protesting the move.

"One of the biggest misconceptions is that AI somehow eliminates complexity. It doesn't," says Joe DeSilva, executive vice president and chief of operations at ADP.

One coalition, RAISE US, was recently unveiled as a joint effort from state governments, AI firms and major employers, including Amazon, Anthropic and Microsoft, as "anchor partners."

"The strongest post-layoff recovery strategies tend to have one thing in common: They demonstrate continued investment in the people who remain," says Amanda Augustine, CPCC and resident career expert at Careerminds.

World Cup fever has taken over the U.S. in recent days, prompting some employers — even those with the most hardline approach to in-office work — to lean into flexibility.