Category: HR Strange But True

Catch up on the latest odd, offbeat, and humorous HR stories.

OMG! Labor Secretary Earns ‘Halo’

You probably think you have the patience of a saint for all you put up with in HR. Well, according to the U.S. Department of Labor newsletter of April 11, 2013, a past Secretary of Labor was just voted the “Golden Halo” in an online contest. Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. […]

What’s the First Accommodation Need for ‘Third Age’ Workers?

Do you understand the so-called “Third Age” employees, who years ago would be retired, but continue to work? Well, you’d better, since millions of Baby Boomers come under this umbrella. But you should also know the best ways to accommodate them in your workplace, says Cash Nickerson, JD, author of the book Stag Nation: Understanding […]

Will You Be My … Surrogate?

Has a boss ever asked you to do something that has nothing to do with your work? According to a new study, it’s not that uncommon. Nearly 25 percent of workers studied reported that their bosses have asked them to perform tasks that are not related to their jobs. The CareerBuilder® study dug a little […]

‘Trainee’ Informed She’s Not Entitled to Minimum Wage, Overtime

A salon in Queens will pay more than $5,000 to a manicurist after allegedly telling a worker she was a “trainee” and not entitled to minimum wage or overtime. The employer also informed the woman she would have to pay a deposit to work at the salon. According to a press statement by New York […]

New Way to Commute—It’s Not the Love Boat, It’s the Nerd Boat

Planes, trains, automobiles … and buses, subways, and vanpools. Mass transit is the enviro-friendly (and cost-conscious) way to get to work. Soon the list may include a new way for techies in the Big Apple to get to their jobs—they can take the “nerd boat” to DUMBO! Administration and the New York State Department of […]

Are College Alums Displacing High School Grads in the Workforce?

One-third of hiring managers and HR professionals said they are hiring more employees with college degrees for positions that were historically held by high school graduates, according to a recent CareerBuilder® survey. This hiring trend varies across industries: Financial Services—53 percent Healthcare—40 percent Manufacturing—38 percent Transportation & Utilities—37 percent Information Technology—33 percent Professional & Business […]

How Do You Decorate?

Have you ever had a coworker who just loved to decorate the workspace? How did they decorate their space? Typically it’s sports paraphernalia, travel memorabilia, kids’ drawings, etc., but a few take it a bit further. In a recent survey, The Creative Group asked advertising and marketing executives to describe the strangest or most surprising […]

Does that Tweet Scream ‘Fire Me’?

If you’re a Twitter user, you’ve probably seen a few Tweets from disgruntled workers. From ranting about the boss to complaining about pay, Twitter, like other social media sites, is becoming an area where employees feel comfortable complaining about anything work-related. The problem—Twitter is a public social media site. A new app, FireMe!, is collecting […]

Warning! New Workplace ‘Species’ Threatens Extinction of Workers’ Attention Span

SBT has written about chimps, goats, dogs, cats, bats, and insects in the workplace. But there is a new species proliferating in cubicles—digital omnivores! Author Tim Lloyd, writing in venturebeat.com, warns that these digital omnivores are threatening the extinction of workers’ attention spans. Why? Lloyd says digital omnivores are ravenous, consuming information from multiple media […]

What’s Your (Workplace) Sign?

Think back to the last project you worked on. Now picture your team members. More than likely, your coworkers had different work styles. The question is: How can teams use different workplace personalities to help, not hurt, the collaboration process? An infographic by Mindjet®, a work management software firm, goes beyond the typical “Type A” […]