Productivity / Performance

How to manage a culturally diverse team

05/24/2024

It is important for managers to foster an inclusive environment where every team member feels valued, respected and empowered to contribute their unique talents.

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.

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.

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.

Control March Madness by setting policy on workplace gambling

03/18/2024

In many companies, bracket-pool betting on the tournament is a time-honored tradition. Should you worry?

Celebrate spring by sparking staff creativity

03/11/2024

Worried that staff is on autopilot, just doing the same things the same way, day in and day out? Did the last productive meeting happen six months ago? Has initiative curled up under a comfortable blanket of conformity? Help your organization’s managers and supervisors banish winter’s stale doldrums and welcome the fresh air of springtime with these three suggestions for sparking creative thinking.

How to Wipe Out Fraud and Abuse Under FMLA

02/16/2024

The medical certification process is your most potent weapon for combating potential FMLA fraud. But obtaining a certification is only the first fraud-stopping step. Here are 10 more things you can do to keep employees from gaming the FMLA system.

8 steps to becoming the manager your employees need

02/16/2024

In an effort to “empower” their staffs, too many managers take a completely hands-off approach, leaving employees alone unless they really need help. But this can create a rudderless ship, says management expert Bruce Tulgan. That’s not leadership! Here’s how effective managers provide genuine support to their employees.

Study: No lasting productivity gains from remote work

01/29/2024

Remote workers are no more or less productive than their on-site colleagues, concludes a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The finding throws cold water on hopes that significant productivity gains reported during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns would continue post-COVID.