ICYMI: How Taking Vacation Improves Your Bottom Line

Editor's Note: This is the third installment of our new "In Case You Missed It" series, where we recap the month's most-read posts to keep you updated on HR trends in today's fast-paced news cycle.

How can you create a positive, engaging culture at your company? It starts with hiring the right employees. But after you have an A-team of people running the show, making sure they continue to thrive on the job and avoid burnout is difficult. This month, our most popular posts cover different ways to help your employees flourish.

From avoiding a toxic hire to creating an inclusive workplace for introverts, check out the below posts to learn more about keeping your star employees shining:

It's no secret Americans are truly bad at taking time away from work — whether it's for 10 minutes or 10 days. We eat lunch at our desks, check email in bed and let vacation days fall by the wayside (instead of the beachside). Turns out this isn't good for employers either: a recent study shows that unused vacation time has led to $224 billion in liabilities for U.S. companies. Our infographic walks through the case for finally taking a (real) break.

The chit-chatty office neighbor, the disparaging boss, the personal space invader. When you work with a "toxic employee," life at work becomes unpleasant for you and everyone else. In fact, toxic employees make their co-workers 54% more likely to resign. But how do you spot a toxic employee? Here are 6 six signs, according to big data, that suggest you're likely interviewing a bad egg.

It's no secret that our culture tends to prize outgoing, social individuals more than the quiet and thoughtful types. But, as authors like Susan Cain have argued recently, introverts bring incredible value to companies, and managers might be ignoring them at their own peril. We talked with Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, Ph.D., an Atlanta-based author, international speaker and consultant, about the role and needs of introverts in the workplace.

In the HR community, companies are increasingly implementing gamification to drive higher employee engagement, boost productivity and encourage healthy habits, among other outcomes. By tapping into people's innate love of playing games, employees are encouraged to solve problems while generating measurable results for the organization.

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