• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Work / Life Issues

‘Parent Shift’ Program Allows Nurses to Work Two-Hour Shifts

12/01/2006

To help working parents manage their lives, the Cleveland Clinic allows nurses to work shifts of as little as two hours a day. Chief nursing officer Claire Young created the "Parent Shift" program because rigid shift schedules were preventing working mothers from returning to work after having children …

Help employees with their holiday mailings

12/01/2006

Instead of leaving employees to schlep their holiday packages to the post office, allow them to bring their cards and packages to the company mailroom …

Accommodate safety needs of aging work force

12/01/2006

As the work force ages, your employees have a growing need for the same kind of safeguards that they’re putting in their homes …

Maximize commuter perks: Save workers money, stress

11/01/2006

Soaring gas prices earlier this year led many employees to seriously consider bailing out of their long commutes and find jobs closer to home. While gas prices have moderated (at least for now), many employees still face long, expensive, time-wasting trips to work. To ease employees’ pain, employers are increasingly turning to creative commuter benefits …

Paying employees for healthy lifestyles helps trim premiums

11/01/2006

The city of Maple Grove, Minn., found a sure-fire way to convince its employees to adopt healthier lifestyles: It pays them to do it …

Workers’ Mental Well-Being Tops N.C. Firm’s Work/Life List

11/01/2006

Happy employees translate into low absenteeism and low turnover, says Lisa Conklin, public relations manager for Replacements, the Greensboro, N.C., china replacement warehouse …

Hiring relatives creates friendly culture at Ohio firm

11/01/2006

Nepotism doesn’t raise eyebrows at medical-billing service provider MBI Solutions. More than a dozen MBI employees have family members on the staff. The Kettering, Ohio-based company actively recruits employees’ relatives to create a family-friendly atmosphere and improve retention …

Adoption Benefit Spawns In-House Support Group

11/01/2006

A few years ago, the SAS Institute started reimbursing employees who adopted children up to $5,000 toward their expenses. The company also began covering adopted children as soon as the parent gained custody, rather than after all the legal wrangling was finished—a benefit popular with employees …

Don’t let desk work make your employees fat

11/01/2006

Employees are 14 percent more likely to gain weight after they start working at a sedentary job than those who work on their feet, according to CareerBuilder’s annual Work and Health survey …

Paying staff for volunteer work = lower absenteeism

11/01/2006

Want employees to take less sick leave? Consider letting them volunteer on company time …