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7 Tips for Raising the Expectations–and Productivity–of Your Team Members

As we saw in Yesterday’s Advisor, when managers have high expectations for their employees and when employees have high expectations for themselves, great things—like high productivity and increased retention—can happen. Here are some tips to build those expectations. Top consultant Susan M. Heathfield, who serves as HR expert for the website about.com, suggests the following […]

productivity

How to Deal with a Toxic Job

A toxic job. It’s one where people are assigned more work than they can accomplish, micro-managed about how to get the work done, and surrounded by people who don’t have their back. Also known as the “toxic triad,” this combination of high demand, low control, and low social support leads to increased likelihood of depression, burnout, stress, sleep disturbances, and absenteeism.

Gay Witch Hunt

LITIGATION VALUE: $0.00 to $450,000+ (depending on which state you are in) Overall, I’d say that Oscar has a good (read “expensive”) claim for sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation. Not only does Michael admittedly refer to employees as “faggy” when he means “lame,” but he specifically refers to Oscar, a gay employee, as “faggy.” Then, […]

PTO vs. Traditional: Plusses and Pitfalls

PTO plans, which eliminate distinctions between types of leave, do relieve HR of an administrative burden and the dreaded role of “absence police,” but there are some drawbacks, says attorney John Hagan. Absences, like terminations, can be voluntary or involuntary; however, unlike terminations the distinction between voluntary and involuntary absences is not typically determined by […]

Do Your Employees Go to Dr. Summeroff?

At a recent presentation by two colleagues on the ADA, the subject was doctors’ notes in support of leave as a reasonable accommodation. One of the audience members said, “Well, you know what doctor the employee is going to visit, don’t you? Dr. Summeroff.” The line got a huge laugh from the audience, but it […]

Have ‘Stranger’ Leaves Been Approved? FMLA Lessons from Netflix

While binge-watching everyone’s nostalgic guilty pleasure, Netflix’s Stranger Things, I could not help but empathize with single mother Joyce Byers (played by actress Winona Ryder). Her prepubescent son, Will (Noah Schnapp), was abducted by a monster (the Demogorgon) and sent to a parallel universe (the Upside Down) populated by dog-like monsters. During Will’s disappearance, apparent […]

The FLSA Exemption Question Everyone Is Asking About This Is Us

Warning: Contains This Is Us spoilers. The Pearson couple, Beth and Randall, from This Is Us is one of my top two favorite married TV couples (the other being Tami and Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights). The Pearsons are relatable to me—Randall’s character specifically—for several reasons: Like the Pearsons, the Reeds are an African-American […]

What to Include in Your Employee Engagement Checklist

Kevin Sheridan recently spoke as the Day 1 opening keynote for the 2018 HR Daily Advisor Annual Conference. In the keynote session, Sheridan focused on how to attract talented employees to the workplace, empower them, and sustain an environment in which they are more likely to stay.  Here, Sheridan provides a brief recap of the […]

metrics

Which Performance Metrics Should You Share with Employees?

Many organizations and operations departments keep detailed metrics on the performance of different teams and individuals. These could include turnaround time on a custom order, average throughput for a common manufactured product, time spent resolving a customer complaint or concern, and many others. These metrics are useful to company management in identifying areas that need improvement, […]

Wait … I Have to Pay Unauthorized Overtime?

Lott, who counsels employers on policy building and lawsuit avoidance from www.Hunterlott.com, offered his suggestions at SHRM’s Annual Conference and Exposition, held recently in Atlanta Georgia. Personal Relationships Policy Lott is fascinated by personal relationship policies. They typically read about like this, says Lott: “Personal relationships in the workplace are strongly discouraged. A company employee […]