Most Popular

Encouraging New Managers to Express Emotions

The descriptor “emotional” often has a negative connotation, especially in the workplace. It can conjure up images of someone who lacks control, loses his or her temper, and lacks sound judgment. But Kristi Hedges, in an article for Harvard Business Review, notes that this association—and the corresponding reluctance to show emotion in the workplace—can actually […]

Recruiting on the Cheap

Talent acquisition tips often make the assumption that a company has something it may not have: a robust recruiting budget.

CMS Finalizes Health Insurance Marketplace Rules

On December 16, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters final rule and the final Annual Letter to Issuers for 2018. The primary focus of the notice—risk stabilization—complements recent announcements that are meant to improve the risk pool, including actions to address third-party payments of premiums and improve program integrity for […]

Family and Medical Leave: A Spotlight on Time Off for Adoption or Foster Care

A new department of Labor opinion letter sheds light on when an employee does—and doesn’t—have the right to FMLA leave when adopting a child or receiving a child for foster care. We’ll explain the rules and point out some key differences in this area between the FMLA and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). FMLA […]

Extraordinary damages not automatic in ‘cause’ cases

by Keri Bennett In Canada, courts can award two extraordinary forms of damages in a wrongful dismissal action: aggravated damages or punitive damages. In a wrongful dismissal action, employees who are terminated for cause often claim that they should be awarded aggravated and/or punitive damages in addition to reasonable notice damages. In a recent decision […]

How the boss stole Christmas

by Vanessa L. Goddard Many thanks to Dr. Seuss for the inspiration. Everyone down in HR-ville Liked Christmas a lot. But the boss, in his office upstairs, He did not! The boss hated parties, The whole holiday season. Free turkeys, Secret Santa, I’m not even teasin’. It could be he was stingy, Wouldn’t part with a […]

Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder

In her book Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce, Canadian researcher Jody Heymann analyzes hundreds of interviews with front line employees to C-suite executives and concludes that your company can profit more from improving worker conditions than cutting wages, benefits, and other workforce expenses. As an example […]

Dan Oswald's mom

10 Management Rules I Learned from Mom

Everything I need to know about management, I learned from my mother. No, she wasn’t the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In fact, she didn’t work outside the home for more than 30 years while she raised me and my three siblings. Yet every management lesson I’ve learned in my 25 years in business, […]