DEI in the workplace has evolved dramatically over the last few years. As a new administration takes office, how can employers navigate the changing landscape and make sure they’re doing right by their workers? Yemi Rose, founder and CEO of financial wellness platform OfColor, sits down with Financial Health Network Vice President Matt Bahl to discuss his own journey as a DEI leader and strategies to prepare for what’s next. Don’t miss their conversation on the final episode of our EMERGE Everywhere Workplace mini-series.

Organizations discuss how they’re working to transform support systems and make a real difference for people in crisis.

While the American dream is still alive, it’s no longer accessible to everyone. It has become harder to raise a family, earn a livable wage, and create generational wealth. What can we do to help more Americans believe in this dream again and improve their financial lives? Good jobs, and more of them, may be the solution. In this episode of our special EMERGE Everywhere Workplace mini-series, Transfr Inc. Founder and CEO Bharani Rajakumar and bestselling author of “The Pursuit of Happyness” Chris Gardner discuss why the American dream feels out of reach for many, how good jobs can turn around this outlook, and what organizations can do to help Americans obtain a good job.

As we mark 20 years of the financial health movement, it is energizing to consider the immense advancements we’ve made in partnership with so many of you. In that time, more than 170 organizations have answered our call to measure the financial health of their customers, employees, and communities.

As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s recent rule effectively banning noncompete agreements sends shock waves across the business world, this often misunderstood employment tool is in the spotlight. Typically considered the sole province of executives, nearly 1 in 5 workers are subject to a noncompete – including some fast food workers. So are these agreements essential to protect a company's proprietary assets, or are they a blunt tool whose utility has been overextended to create anti-competitive practices? If the noncompete ban stands, what might this mean for workers, their financial health, and our broader economy? In the opening episode of our special EMERGE Everywhere Workplace mini-series, host Matt Bahl, head of workplace financial health, dives into the details of noncompetes with University of Maryland Associate Professor Evan Starr, whose research directly informed the FTC’s rulemaking. Note for Listeners: Since we recorded this episode, multiple conflicting lower court rulings have risen which all but guarantees noncompetes will be taken to the Supreme Court. Regardless, this episode focuses on the past, present, and potential future of noncompetes and their financial health impacts.

It’s time for employers to make environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and human capital management (HCM) projects tangible to workers, and to use these programs to address the real human needs in their workforce.

What we are seeing emerge in the labor market now is a competition for workers that feels fundamentally different. Those employers who don’t level up or those that pursue a return to a pre-pandemic mode of operation may find themselves on the losing side in the long run.