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Productivity / Performance

How can HR help? 60% of workers live paycheck to paycheck

01/19/2010

As the economic downturn trudges on, many workers are struggling with household budgets. In fact, six out of 10 recently surveyed workers said they live paycheck to paycheck. Savings rates are dropping and retirement funds are drying up. Here’s how HR can provide genuine help—without adding budget costs.

No money for promised pay raise: Now what?

01/12/2010

Q. Do we have to conduct regular performance appraisals and give annual increases? We told a new hire that we would, but now don’t have time or money to do so.

Slouching doesn’t sit well with us: Can we discipline?

01/12/2010

A reader of The HR Specialist Forum asks: “What can I do about a data entry employee who doesn’t sit upright? I don’t mean ordinary slouching; this guy practically lies down in his chair! I’ve offered him a new chair, but he says he’s fine. I’m in charge of safety and I’m trying to prevent an injury claim. Can we reprimand him?”

Workplace thermostat wars heat up

01/12/2010

Goldilocks could relate. For some, offices are too hot, while others are too cold. Only half say the temp’s just right. After you’ve separated workers who battle for control of the thermostat, what’s the best way to stop flaring tempers and cold shoulders at work? Hint: Layers.

Discovered poor work while employee was on military leave? Go ahead and discipline

01/04/2010

Employees returning from military service are entitled to come back to their old jobs, and they have other limited job protections, too. But those protections don’t mean employers can never discipline or demote employees who have been serving in the armed forces. Just make sure you’re doing so for legitimate business reasons, such as documented poor performance.

Focus on productivity and ROI: Vision benefits gain value as workforce ages

12/30/2009

Maybe it’s that the screen of a BlackBerry is just too small to read—or maybe the eyesight of your aging workforce is beginning to dim. As screens get smaller and employees spend more time looking at them, encourage employees to have their eyes checked regularly.

Evaluating employee before return to work? Know difference between medical, agility tests

12/25/2009

Under the ADA, employers aren’t allowed to subject employees to medical tests unless they can prove that the examinations are job-related and consistent with business necessity. However, they can ask employees to perform agility tests. The line between the two is difficult to find. But get it wrong, and you may have an ADA discrimination case on your hands.

Discipline ‘protected’ employee—but document why you treated similar offenses differently

12/03/2009

When it comes to discipline, the primary rule is to treat similar rule violations alike. That means you’ll have to punish all kinds of people for misbehaving, even if they’re members of a protected class. Don’t hesitate to do so if their behavior warrants it.

OK to terminate employee who is psychologically unfit to perform stressful job

12/02/2009

When stress is a built-in part of the job, it stands to reason that sound mental health is a prerequisite. Someone whose psychological disorder interferes with the ability to perform such a job isn’t qualified and can be terminated.

Virtual call center cuts turnover, boosts productivity

12/01/2009

Customers who phone the call center at Ascend One, a debt management company in Columbia, Md., are likely to talk to an employee who’s dressed in pajamas. Since 2006, the organization has allowed its call center employees to work from home, and about half of them—300 or so—have accepted the offer.