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So much for the "Roaring '20's" part two. While many predicted-- and hoped-- that the economy would be off to the races once the worst of the pandemic receded, it has so far proven elusive.

Inflation and supply chain constraints continue to weigh on the economy as evidenced by third quarter gross domestic product grew at just 2%, way below initial estimates,

A major factor tamping down economic growth and causing inflation to spike is the labor shortage. While too few workers are leading to snarls at the ports and in other service industry jobs; employers are hoping to stem the worker exodus by paying more for the employees they already have on payroll and offering higher wages to prospective employees. Compensation costs rose 1.3% in the third quarter, ahead of the 0.9% estimate, the Labor Department reported. That brought the year-over-year increase to 3.6%, slightly higher than Q1 and the fastest acceleration since the second quarter of 2002. Wages and salaries rose 4.6%, compared to 2.7% from September 2020.

But wage increases are likely unsustainable and may not be the only way to appeal to workers. Many companies are leaning into flexible work arrangements, added benefits and greater growth opportunities to connect with their workforce and potential talent pool. This is pushing many Human Resources departments to stretch in ways they've never done and think of new and innovative ways to make their company cultures stand out from the rest.

The labor shortage, hybrid work plans, vaccine mandates and inclusive cultures will be among the topics that we will examine at the CNBC Workforce Executive Council summit coming up on November 3. This summit for WEC members and potential members is geared specifically to senior HR executives. Click here to apply to attend.

For workers reconsidering their jobs amid the Great Resignation triggered by the pandemic, there is a new trusted source of career advice: artificial intelligence. Though economists are hard-pressed to quantify it, a population-wide career crisis has played a role in the current labor shortage, and that is reflected in a new survey of workers from Oracle. It finds 93% of individuals saying they took the last year to reflect on what is important; and 88% thinking about what success means to them.

Five percent of unvaccinated adults say they have left a job due to a vaccine mandate, according to a survey released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This early read on whether workers will actually quit their jobs over mandates comes as more employers are requiring shots. One-quarter of workers surveyed by KFF in October said their employer has required them to get vaccinated, up from 9% in June and 19% last month.

Vin Gupta, who is a health data and respiratory disease professor at the University of Washington and chief health officer for Amazon, says that over the course of the next four to five months, the nation should emerge from Covid feeling safer, and by March or April “renormalizing” what workplaces look like. If workplaces are to be safer, though, and healthier and more productive, one big change needs to be made. Improvements to air filtration and ventilation systems were needed well before Covid, and Gupta says air quality will be the biggest challenge for public and workspaces of this century.