Stress. It’s a killer.

Today, 44% of employees globally say they experience a lot of daily stress, according to the recently released State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report from Gallup. In fact, workers reported experiencing even more stress on the job in 2022 than in the height of the pandemic in 2020.

Who reported the most stress globally? Working women in the U.S. and Canada.

Still, workers in the U.S. and Canada were also the most optimistic about the job market today—71% say now is a good time to find a job (up 44% over last year).

A meager 21% of employees say they are engaged at work and just 33% are thriving in their overall well-being. According to Gallup, employee well-being is the new workplace imperative: “Organizations need to think about the whole person, not just the worker.”

In this special issue squarely focused on staff hiring, training, and retention, we take aim to share intelligent, out-of-the-box strategies on all of the above.

In our BIG Hiring, Training, + Retention Guide feature, starting on page 44, we unpack quick-hit, novel tools for the time starved for keeping workers engaged, productive, and content.

In our Staff Training column starting on page 26, we outline five free employee training platforms provided by industry vendors.

And, we debut a new article format—Back to Basics—for the growing number of neophytes among us new to their work in optical. Check out our Back to Basics feature on the ins and outs of photochromic lenses on page 50.

Wishing you a smooth road ahead with staffing—and we hope you enjoy the issue!

Erinn Morgan,
Editor-in-Chief + Editorial Director
Director of Social Media, PentaVision