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Let The Office Olympic Games Begin!

The world is fully in Olympics mode, including our friends in Scranton, who are surely reliving their own Games of the First Dunder-Mifflin Olympiad. In the episode from the second season, Jim and Pam entertain themselves (while Dwight and Michael are away buying Michael’s condo) by throwing objects into Dwight’s coffee mug. They discover that […]

Family and Medical Leave: How Should We Handle Employees Who Regularly Call in Sick on Short Notice?

  A few of our employees call in sick on a semi-regular basis with legitimate but unpredictable health issues relating to conditions like epilepsy and asthma. Is this time off covered by FMLA/CFRA? The employees can’t give us much advance notice because their symptoms come on so suddenly.  —Anonymous   Many employers struggle with whether absences due […]

Do You Spy on Your Employees? I Do

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Spying on employees can take many forms, some of which are very intrusive. Yet, most employers do spy some, and so do we, says BLR’s founder and CEO Bob Brady. A series of postings in Workforce Management began a few months ago when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that […]

Make Job Descriptions Do More than Describe a Job

Reviewing our records recently, we found a provocative article on job descriptions by Shelburne, Vermont, consultant Scott Delman, author of “How to Mean Business, Water Cooler Wisdom” and other books. Good things bear repeating … and sharing. So let’s share some of his thoughts with you now. Job descriptions are all too frequently written like […]

Say It Right the First Time

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Say It Right the First Time by Loretta Malandro. Review describes Malandro’s tips for how to manage  and communicate emotionally charged people. In Say It Right the First Time Malandro talks about how to have hard conversations and improve your motivational techniques by improving communication. The section […]

13 Inexpensive–but Effective–Employee Motivators

Retention and productivity are always challenges, especially with budgets shaved to the bone. So here are 13 tips on beating the budget crunch from BLR’s 99 Ways to Keep Employees Happy, Satisfied, Motivated and Productive, by noted HR author Peter R. Garber. 1. Have a Family Day at Work An employee’s family provides critically important […]

Beware Liability When Workers Talk on Phone While Driving

by Karen Sargeant former of McCarthy Tetrault We have all heard the statistics (and it’s no surprise!) — driving while talking on a cell phone increases the likelihood of a car accident even if you use a “hands-free” set. At the same time, your employees have cell phones, iPhones, BlackBerries(R) and other personal data assistants […]