Tag: employees

Optimism Bias

Popular culture is awash with overt and subconscious messages instructing us to think positively. From children’s stories about the “Little Engine that Could” and his mantra of “I think I can. I think I can” to self-help books for adults professing the genuine, mystical power of positive thought, the message is clear: It’s positive to […]

Benefits Expert Shares Lessons of the Pandemic

We’ll likely spend the next 10 years understanding everything the pandemic has changed about work. One of the fields that saw rapid and constant change is employee benefits. But what, precisely, changed and why? What works now? What does not? Today’s “Faces of HR” guest spills the beans.

Time

Tips for Correctly Paying People Who Work from Home

It’s hard to believe many of us have been working from home because of the COVID-19 outbreak for more than a year. In addition, many teleworkers have been operating on flexible schedules. The consistent question for employers is: How do we pay nonexempt employees working flexible schedules from home? Here is the answer (at least […]

cares

Unexpected Healthcare Utilization Outcomes During a Pandemic (and What They Mean for Employers)

Now that we’re more than 1 year removed from the outbreak of COVID-19, researchers are uncovering what healthcare utilization looks like amid a global pandemic. Did the influx of patients who contracted the virus put a greater burden on the healthcare system, driving up costs? Did the sudden drop in preventive care visits and elective […]

5 Tips for Tough Conversations with Employees

It’s a moment that any HR professional experiences sooner or later: a tough conversation with an employee. Maybe you’re implementing a professional improvement plan, maybe you need to discuss ways the individual can improve his or her performance, or maybe you need to implement a consequence for unprofessional behavior. No matter what the circumstance or […]

ICE Extends Temporary Flexibility for I-9 Forms During Pandemic

A Form I-9 is required for all new hires to verify their employment eligibility. Before March 2020, employers had to physically inspect original documents the new hires presented for I-9 purposes. After the COVID-19 pandemic started, however, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) relaxed the physical inspection requirement, provided the business had no employees reporting […]

trust

Build the Muscle to Innovate with Trust

The pandemic has tested the plasticity of company cultures like never before. Organizations that were flexible enough to change large parts about how they operate, and do it quickly, were able to spark innovation that will outlive the circumstances that motivated those changes in the first place. In some cases, entire businesses changed, not just […]

EEOC

Age Discrimination Claims Will Continue to Be Analyzed Using a ‘But-For’ Standard

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Ohio employers) affirmed summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in favor of an employer and held claims filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) must continue to be judged using a “but-for” standard.

Skills Needed Post-COVID

The COVID pandemic has taught us a lot about ourselves. It has also shown employers just how much work can be completed remotely. As the world shifts again with the vaccine rollout, the coming months will be a bit of a transition time for employees and employers alike. This means that changing skill sets will […]

How COVID-19 and Social Justice Movements Have Impacted Employee Values

As the United States marches on in its mass vaccination efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are looking to a not-too-distant future in which employees will have the option of returning to the office. In the year plus that staff have been working remotely, much has changed. Aside from the pandemic itself, the nation […]