Month: August 2012

Yahoo’s New CEO Utters Magic Words—Free Food

By Elaine Quayle Marissa Mayer, Google alum and new CEO of Yahoo!, has the Internet world in a frenzy after she uttered these two words at her first Friday all-company meeting—“free food”! Reports say that Mayer has initiated free food at Yahoo!’s “URL Cafes” at its two campuses, liberating employees from paying over $3 for […]

Working Out …at Work

By Kyle Emshwiller Looking for a way to keep workers engaged during work? Motivate them to fit in exercise during working hours. As we reported in last week’s column, sitting for a long period of time each day can lead to serious health effects. In addition to improving the health and wellness of employees, having […]

Solutions for the Afternoon Slump—Caffeine? Snacks?

In yesterday’s Advisor, Registered Dietitian Jason Muchnick revealed the health dangers of many popular beverages in an exclusive interview with BLR editor Elaine Quayle. Today, more of his wellness tips, plus an introduction to the wellness guide that will help your program to deliver 300 percent ROI BLR: How about caffeine—is that a problem? JM: […]

Chores on the Clock?

By Kyle Emshwiller Should employees spend their entire day working? What would you think of an employee doing chores, getting a manicure, or working out on company time? All of these activities are happening in American workplaces, and according to some researchers, this may not be a bad idea. Personal chores. A recent post on […]

Corporate Plans’ Funded Status at Record Low in July

By Jane Meacham The funded status of the average U.S. corporate pension plan slid to a record low in July, according to several measurements of the health of the plans’ finances. Funding status of the typical plan surveyed for BNY Mellon Pension Summary data touched a low of 68.7 percent, off 2.9 percentage points from […]

COBRA Notice Is Not Culprit in Claim That Termination Violated USERRA

Sending a COBRA election notice shortly after an employee began military duty was not evidence that an employer fired the employee due to his military status in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, a federal district court in Arkansas held. In generally rejecting the USERRA claims, the court indicated, among other […]

Train to Prevent—and/or Prepare for—Potential Violence

Consider the following: Ours is a violent society and some of that violence finds its way into the workplace. One sixth of violent crimes occur in the workplace—nearly 2 million incidents a year. More than 600 people die each year nationwide from violent acts in the workplace. Tens of thousands of people are assaulted at […]

Space: the final frontier

by Mark I. Schickman There have been many lawsuits limiting the introduction of religion into the workforce. Employees who insist on a God-given right to bash gays at the workplace are subject to termination ― despite their right to express their religious beliefs. An employee whose religion opposes taking orders from women will lose his […]

Can Soda Drag Down Your Wellness Program?

When having a soda beverage, you’re getting 300-500 calories, which is almost as much as a meal for some people, says Registered Dietitian Jason Muchnick. Is one of your biggest wellness challenges in your beverage machine? BLR Editor Elaine Quayle recently interviewed Muchnick about sugar in soft drinks, diet sodas, fruit juices, energy drinks, and […]