Archives

Financial Crisis Should Boost Work-Life Benefits

by Sarah McAdams The global economic crisis is stressing out employees everywhere. Almost half are worried they’re going to lose their jobs, nearly a third are working more hours and taking less time off, 48 percent said that stress makes it hard for them to perform well on the job, and 25 percent are actively […]

Ways Employers Can Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

The gloom of our current economic circumstances should inspire everyone to look for ways to cut costs and streamline operations. One place businesses can start might be the administration of their workers’ compensation program, where expenses can rapidly get out of hand if employers aren’t careful. Here’s a brief checklist of things to look for. […]

Laid-off Workers Win Some Discrimination Lawsuits, Lose Some

When a company downsizes, it can feel like a civil war, with employees worried about whether they will be next on the chopping block. Such times can be hazardous for employers, which may find themselves tiptoeing through a minefield of explosive discrimination lawsuits. In the case below, recently decided by the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court […]

Ways Employers Can Reduce Workers’ Comp Costs

The gloom of our current economic circumstances should inspire everyone to look for ways to cut costs and streamline operations. One place businesses can start might be the administration of their workers’ compensation program, where expenses can rapidly get out of hand if employers aren’t careful. Here’s a brief checklist of things to look for. […]

Protecting Your Business from Departing Employees

by Derek Knoechel Sophisticated employers in Canada recognize that the potential costs associated with employee turnover extend far beyond the cost of replacing departing employees. Departures can also place critical business assets at risk. A departing employee may engage in the unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information ranging from technological know-how, product roadmaps and […]

Wellness Keys—Dial-in Diabetes? Mind, Body, and Soul Cooking?

As the Principal Financial Group® was conducting its wellness survey (see yesterday’s Advisor), Cornell University was conducting a wellness survey of its own—and demonstrating the importance of assessing needs before implementing. The responses of the 1,400 people who completed Cornell’s survey gave its wellness program clear indicators of where to focus its efforts. It also […]

Amazon.com’s Editor’s Picks for Best Business and Investing Books of 2008

The editors at Amazon.com have put together a list of the best books of 2008 in the “Business and Investing” category. 1. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to […]

Wellness Tipping Point—Employees Now Care About Costs

There’s been general agreement that wellness programs are effective at reducing employer healthcare costs, but survey results show that healthcare costs now matter to employees—something that’s been missing up to this point. The survey, the Principal Financial Well-Being Indexsm, covered more than 1,600 employees and retirees at growing businesses with 10-1,000 employees. Released in early […]

HRDA’s Top Ten—As ‘Voted’ on By You

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady For the final e-pinion of 2008, we thought we’d share the HRDA top 10—actually your top ten, since we ranked them based on reader interest. Topics run the gamut from the technical—How to Conduct EEO Investigations—to the slightly snide—Wellness Even the C-Suite Can Understand—to the overconfident—”Oh, sure, She’s […]

Kevin’s Loan

Litigation Value: $0 It’s week 2 of our review of The Office webisodes. This time, we watched “Kevin’s Loan.” In this particularly hilarious webisode, it is revealed that Kevin has a gambling debt. He devises a scheme to pay off his debt by getting a loan to open up a mobile ice cream business. Unfortunately, […]