America's new sink-or-swim era is here

Tyler Le/BI

A few years ago, HR practitioner T. Tara Turk-Haynes hired yoga instructors and meditation gurus to help employees handle burnout at the media company where she worked.

She's not doing anything like that today.

Wellness perks are no longer "a thing," said Turk-Haynes, now an independent HR consultant in Los Angeles. "Attracting and retaining talent is not a business challenge right now."

The white-collar workplace has gotten a lot less cuddly in the past few years...