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6 Tips for Avoiding an Office Party Nightmare
It’s not just about avoiding intoxication, but that’s on here too
Mention “office party,” and someone is going to have a juicy story, usually involving alcohol-impaired behavior. But according to local experts, your company’s holiday party doesn’t have to be a date that lives in infamy.
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Exempt Versus NonExempt: Why You Need to Know the Difference
Misclassifying could cost your business megabucks
You have 10 seconds to name the key differences that determine if an employee is exempt or nonexempt. Ready, set, go. Oh, you couldn’t do it? Color me surprised. Whether you’re an employer or an employee, not knowing the difference between the two is doing yourself a huge disservice, and, as an employer, can land you in some hot – scalding hot – water.
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What To Do When the Bullying Stops
How to restore peace after office disruption
I am currently handling a nasty investigation into bullying and harassment at my company. What do I do after the investigation if all parties remain with the company? The relationship has broken down — do we just have to move the employees? I think it’s too late for mediation.
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Horrible Bosses
Bad managers lead to bad employees — and a lot of wasted money
Studies show that the problem isn’t bad workers as much as bad bosses, who aren’t just a nuisance — they’re expensive. They cost a company productivity and turnover. Yet for some reason they’re being hired again and again. So why are we so rotten at hiring leaders, and how can we change?
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Age Discrimination Is Widespread in U.S. Job Market, Study Finds
Discrimination, rather than lack of skills, may help to explain why older workers have longer periods of unemployment duration. Long periods of unemployment — six months or longer — have been one of the lasting problems in the wake of the 2007-2009 recession, the biggest downturn since the 1930s. What’s more, the bias worsens when gender is considered.”
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Forget Raises: Employers Lean on Health Benefits to Retain Workers
Wages are still stagnant, yet employers have found something else to help attract and retain employees: health-care benefits. A good insurance plan has become a more vital tool than ever for hiring, according to a recent survey from the Society of Human Resources.
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Hate Office Parties? Too Bad.
Guidelines to follow when attending work-related events
It’s not a party. It’s a meeting with barbecue and beer. Granted, nobody is (hopefully) going to show a Power Point or be called to the carpet for not meeting their Q2 goals, but it’s a meeting. Anytime you are with coworkers, you should consider yourself at work and treat it as such.
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Strictly Professional
For the next generation, family-business survival rests squarely on formalized governance
There’s an old saying about family businesses: Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. Grandpa hustles and creates the business,Dad takes the baton and then Junior goes down with the ship. According to the Family Firm Institute, just 30 percent of family businesses survive into their second generation, and only 10 percent make it to their third. Why do these firms fail?
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How To Implement Yearly Reviews
Your company doesn’t need to have a formal process for you to have documented performance reviews
I work for a small, established company, and we don’t have policies in place for employee reviews. Actually, we don’t really do reviews at all. I find this odd. Is there a reason a company wouldn’t ask for or provide formal feedback? If I wanted to put a procedure in place for the people I manage in my department, what would I need?
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A Tall Order
Tree maintenance is a must for property owners
The sickening, wooden crack of a falling tree can strike fear into the hearts of property owners. Maybe that’s true for anyone within a certain radius of the falling tree, but property owners have a more specific concern: They could be liable for thousands of dollars in damage to cars, or even lives.