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Employee Relations

Ease workplace conflict with 3 simple steps

05/15/2024
In every person, the natural reaction to conflict is based on biology: When confronted with danger, our innate biological response is to either attack or run away—the famous “fight or flight” syndrome. In the workplace, neither fight nor flight behaviors are likely to result in solving the problem. Instead, use these three strategies to help you move from conflict to resolution.

Proceed with caution when regulating the virtual water cooler

05/15/2024
Just because your employees work remotely doesn’t mean you’re free of the old-fashioned gossip, squabbles and office politics that have always been a hazard of in-person work environments. In fact, telework may have actually intensified the risks for employers.

Poll: 70% don’t want to work remotely full-time

04/22/2024
40% of workers surveyed said they want to work fully in-person, while 32% said they prefer hybrid work.

Discipline consistently, equitably to avoid discrimination liability

04/15/2024
Every employee who breaks the same rule should receive the same level of discipline. Absent some solid, fact-based reason, treating some employees more leniently than others is practically begging to be sued for discrimination. That’s especially true if a manager treats members of a particular protected class more harshly or more favorably than employees who belong to different protected classes.

Is HR your ‘manager complaint department’?

04/05/2024
Stop doing your managers’ dirty work! Teach bosses who instinctively turn to HR to, instead, seek solutions on their own. Here are four tips to make this happen.

Do the math: Retain workers instead of replacing them

04/01/2024
With the cost of replacing some employees potentially exceeding $100,000, smart employers are focusing on retaining staff instead of having to replace them.

Bill introduced to make 32-hour workweek the norm

03/25/2024
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to cut the standard workweek from 40 hours per week to 32.

March Madness could cost employers almost $10 billion in lost productivity

03/25/2024
A 2019 survey by OfficeTeam found workers spend 25.5 minutes per workday on March Madness-related activities during the tournament. If that holds true this year, across the 16 workdays between selection Sunday on March 17 and the championship game on Monday, April 8, workers will have spent 408 minutes, or 6.8 hours, on March Madness-related activities at work. That would mean the tournament could cost employers conservatively $9,607,085,968.

5 essential questions to ask your employees

03/20/2024
Don’t wait until you spot performance problems or the telltale signs of disenchantment. Take time to regularly sit down with workers to ask questions that get to the heart of their role with the company. Here are five essential questions to ask, as suggested by Susan Scott, author of Fierce Con­ver­sa­tions: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time.

7 tips for holding on to older workers nearing retirement age

03/20/2024
In today’s tight labor market, retention is more important than ever. If you have employees nearing retirement age, consider making an extra effort to hold onto them. You might find them more than willing to stay on the payroll.