Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s no secret that the modern workforce is plagued by high levels of employee stress and burnout. According to the American Institute of Stress, an alarming 94% of the American workforce experienced workplace stress in 2019.
FMLA medical certifications can provoke questions if their validity is uncertain. But when can an FMLA medical certification be questioned to the point of requiring a second opinion? Is a manager’s hunch that the employee is lying enough? When Can an Employer Require a Second Opinion on an FMLA Medical Certification? Let’s say an employer […]
Gross Misconduct Means No COBRA, But … Termination for gross misconduct is not a qualifying event under COBRA, so COBRA continuation coverage does not have to be offered to an employee and his or her spouse and dependent children if the employee was terminated for gross misconduct. Unfortunately, the term “gross misconduct” is not defined […]
by Matthew A. Goodin Even experienced HR professionals have a difficult time with requests for reasonable accommodation from disabled employees. This process is even trickier if the employee needs a leave of absence as an accommodation because of the intersection of different laws that govern leaves of absence. Below are some of the most common […]
You think you hired the best candidate for the job. The new hire comes to work with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for a new career. But after 6 months, that candidate is walking out the door, seeking other opportunities. Where did it all go wrong?
Managers’ expectations of their employees—often expressed in subtle ways—are key factors in how the employees perform and how long they stay, says today’s expert, Susan M. Heathfield. It’s called “the self-fulfilling prophecy.” If you have high expectations of your employees, they will change their behavior to meet those expectations, thus fulfilling the prophecy. And, of […]
Perhaps you remember a time when the holiday bonus was a guarantee and when organizations shared their financial success with their workers with surprise bonuses. While that does still occur in some organizations, it is far from ubiquitous.
By Verity Creedy I saw a sign recently that said, “EQ is the new IQ” and it got me thinking. It comes as no surprise that technical skills are of the utmost importance at work, especially when it comes to keeping up with new technology, like AI, and implementing hybrid roles. But technical skills are […]
Policy enforcers, company watchdogs, the people responsible for firing workers—HR professionals get a bad rap, and new survey findings reveal that employees don’t hold this department in high regard.
In a typical workday, it’s almost certain that employees aren’t engaged in their specific job duties for a full 8 hours. Instead, employees frequently spend time tending to biological needs; scanning the Internet; and, of course, chatting with coworkers. Often, this chatting occurs around a literal or metaphorical watercooler—hence the term “watercooler conversations.”