Political watchers say the Republican landslide in the U.S. House of Representatives is a repudiation of President Obama and his policies. Topping the list of the public’s outrage – near 10 percent unemployment. While it is still too early to ...
Read More »How to stop bullying in the workplace
When you consider the state of bullying in America, the comic strip “Real Life Adventures” captures it well. A daughter asks her father, “Dad, what happens to all the kids who are bullies in school?” He answers, “As far as ...
Read More »Employer health care costs predicted to rise in 2011
Published surveys by several business and HR consulting firms predict health care costs will increase for employers by between 8.8 to more than 10 percent in 2011. Their analysis is being reported just as employers are working hard to comply ...
Read More »Seasonal flu costs $16.3 billion a year in lost earnings
We haven’t heard as much about the flu this year as we did during last season’s swine flu pandemic scare. To protect Americans, vaccination clinics were hosted everywhere from elementary schools to shopping malls. It is important to remember that ...
Read More »Why should you care about your ’employment value proposition’?
The promise of an effective employment value proposition is expanding for businesses. Not only are there the perceived benefits of employee loyalty, but today’s studies can back up those perceptions with hard data that demonstrates increased production. For example, in ...
Read More »Health care reform is now in effect
Sept. 23 is the six-month anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or the date that many of the health care law’s provisions go into effect. This fall, employers have been scrambling to ensure their plans are compliant, ...
Read More »No more tax-advantaged spending on Advil
If you’re a larger employer, there’s a good chance you offer employees the option of participating in a flexible spending account for health care expenses. A few years ago, the rules governing what could be reimbursed by FSAs were expanded ...
Read More »A second look at building a better company newsletter
A previous column on this topic discussed some of the important best practices for designing a strategic company newsletter. To recap, it is important to name the objective of the newsletter and to understand your audience. You can also ensure ...
Read More »A better company newsletter can strengthen cohesiveness
I recently had a great conversation with a Treasure Valley company that is expanding rapidly across the United States, and even overseas. Most of that growth is through acquiring other companies. After a couple of years of non-stop activity, their ...
Read More »Use peer pressure to reduce Family and Medical Leave Act abuse
This summer, the Department of Labor issued a new interpretation of who can take time off to care for a child under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Now, just about any employee has a right to receive unpaid leave ...
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