Most Popular

Leadership Communication Surrounding the Coronavirus

As the coronavirus sweeps the world, organizational leaders find themselves with a certain level of responsibility to keep their workforce safe and effective. Much of how they meet that responsibility involves how they decide to communicate everything from emergency policies to information that can help make employees feel safe.

The Virtual Work Space: What Are the Benefits and Risks?

Remote work, virtual office, telecommute—more and more employers are permitting employees to spend their days in a nontraditional work space, including giving them the ability to work from a remote office, a home office, or even the local coffee shop.

How to Thank Employees—and Make It Matter

As Kathryn Minshew, CEO of The Muse, says, “a company is only as good as its people.” A solid team of qualified professionals makes for a successful and booming business—after all, they are what keeps the engine running! With all that your staff members do on a daily basis, it’s only right to express how […]

The Intersection of COBRA and State ‘Mini-COBRA’ Laws

Nearly all states have enacted some type of healthcare continuation coverage law (sometimes referred to colloquially as a “mini-COBRA” statute) that is similar to the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or that supplements the federal requirements. Many of these laws predate federal COBRA but remain in effect after COBRA became law. This column […]

Not Just Little Words: Gender Pronouns Demanding Attention in the Workplace

They’re showing up in e-mail signatures and personal introductions—a quick listing of pronouns such as she/her/hers or they/them. Those small words sprinkled in conversation and written communication to take the place of the seemingly more important nouns is gaining in importance as employers address gender identity in the workplace.

PTO Plans vs. Traditional: Plusses and Pitfalls

Absences, like terminations, can be voluntary or involuntary; however, unlike terminations the distinction between voluntary and involuntary absences is not typically determined by who initiates the absence, says Hagan, who is a partner in the Dallas office of Sarles & Ouimet, LLP. He made his suggestions at a recent BLR webinar. Involuntary absences are employee […]

Organizations Have Needs, Too—A Hierarchy for HR Professionals

By Amanda C. Richards, MS, MA Over the years, theories of human motivation originally put forward by psychologists such as Abraham Maslow have become an integral part of the body of HR knowledge. Today, few would dispute the importance of motivating employees to achieve performance results. We generally accept as fact that the better you […]

multitasking

Best Practices for Multitasking

In the modern economy, it’s rare to find a position in which the employee simply focuses on only one activity throughout the day. Instead, most of us are expected to handle a variety of job functions, as well as other, undefined activities that may crop up from time to time and that are necessary to […]

recruitment

Recruiting and the Effects of Low Unemployment

Unemployment rates in July 2019 remain significantly low—3.7%. These rates of unemployment are generally presented as great news, but for employers struggling to fill vacancies, the news is decidedly less rosy.