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A Lesson in Ordinary Greatness

Just My E-pinionBy Brian Jones Guest columnist and management consultant Brian Jones shares a lesson he learned from comedian Conan O’Brien about “ordinary greatness.” One of the side effects of my constant travel schedule is arriving at hotels in new cities late at night. Unable to sleep, I turn on the TV. Late-night TV is […]

SCOTUS Asks Where to Draw the Line on FLSA Definition of ‘Clothes’

Spectators could be excused for confusing a recent U.S. Supreme Court oral argument session with an episode of TLC’s What Not to Wear. On Nov. 4, the Court heard arguments in Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp.(No. 12-417) which focused on how to define “clothes” versus protective equipment and whether time spent donning those items is compensable. The […]

Get a Move on Training!

Why? Consider that brain research conducted in the past decade has found that moving from a sitting position to a standing position increases oxygen to the brain by 15 to 20 percent and that “more oxygen in the brain means better learning. It’s that simple,” says Sharon Bowman, president of Bowperson Publishing & Training (www.bowperson.com) […]

Make Sure Your Manager Can Say Being Your Boss Is Pretty Great

National Car Rental’s new commercial asks, “What’s it like to be the boss of you?” And it also answers the question: “Pretty great.” The actor in the commercial, Patrick Warburton, then negotiates a 20 percent raise for himself with himself. If only life were that easy! But I like the question the commercial asks. “What’s […]

House Panel Assails NLRB’s Recent ‘Union Favoritism’

Controversy surrounding actions coming out of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) intensified on September 22 when a congressional committee examined what the panel’s chairman called the agency’s “assault on American workers and job creators.” The House Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican, titled the hearing “Culture of […]

HR Managers Predict Problems if EFCA Passes

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would make it much easier for unions to organize, was introduced in the U.S. Senate on March 10, 2009, and President Obama has said he will sign it if it passes. The future of the bill is by no means certain, […]

Your Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual: The Office Dust Collector?

Open your Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual for a fresh look and you may find you’ve opened up your whole organization. If you’re like most companies, chances are good your company has a human resources policies and procedures manual. Unfortunately, they’re equally good that that once-vital human resources policies and procedures manual hasn’t been […]

Can You Ban Political Discussion? (You Can Try …)

What do you do if your workplace is so politically polarized that workers in the same department can’t have a civil discussion without becoming red-faced and loud-mouthed? In a BusinessWeek article, Bruce Weinstein, PhD., who calls himself “The Ethics Guy,”says that most political issues are by their nature highly divisive. At stake in this year’s […]

Review Résumés at Rocket Speed!

Placing one job ad can result in a torrent of resumes. Here’s how to cut through the pile quickly and have more time for qualified candidates. Every HR manager knows this situation: You put a job ad in the newspaper or on the Web. Within days, or even hours, your inboxes (electronic and plastic) are […]