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What Do These Protesters Augur for Jobs and Benefits?

Last week I caught wind that some protesters were causing a street closure at the corner of 16th and I Streets, N.W., in Washington, D.C., a block from the White House and, as luck would have it, a block — in the other direction — from the editorial offices of Thompson Publishing Group. I grabbed […]

diverse

Avoiding the ‘Birds of a Feather’ Syndrome

A diverse and inclusive workplace should be a goal of any organization and not out of a sense of altruism. Diversity and inclusion have real impacts on a company’s bottom line.

Parental Rights in the Workplace: Legislature Pays $540,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Nursing Mother Who Was Demoted; Accommodation Guidelines

For more than 10 years, Pamela “P.J.” Harper was director of the legislative travel office, arranging air flights for Sacramento lawmakers. But shortly after returning from maternity leave, she resigned and filed suit against the State Assembly. The problem? Harper claimed she was demoted for taking time during the workday to breastfeed her infant daughter.

To kill Atticus Finch? HR pros aren’t afraid of the truth

It’s been a long time since I, like nearly any person educated in the United States, read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Now, like many other readers out there, it’s back on my bedside table since Ms. Lee consented to publication of her other manuscript, Go Set a Watchman. I haven’t tackled it yet, […]

What Employers—and Employees—Can Do to Help Close the Skills Gap

That was among the findings of “The Accenture Skills Gap Study,” an online survey of more than 1,000 employed and unemployed workers recently conducted by Accenture (www.accenture.com). The study also found that 52 percent of survey participants have acquired technology skills in the past 5 years, but significantly smaller percentages have updated their problem-solving skills […]

How Startup Culture in the Workplace Can Help Attract and Engage Top Talent

By Brian Shapland, general manager of turnstone Startup culture is known for its agile workplaces, passionate founders, and “work hard, play hard” approach to getting things done. But these days it isn’t just Silicon Valley’s latest billion-dollar valuations grabbing headlines—it’s legacy giants like Ford, Cisco, and others looking to activate or awaken a sense of startup […]

development

Continuing Employee Development as Your Company Is Downsizing

Keeping morale high and learning commonplace and desirable across your organization as it’s downsizing and letting employees go is no simple task—and can, of course, only happen after you’ve already proved that your L&D department is essential to your organization and its already stretched budget.

‘Best of Intentions’ Mistakes Managers Make

In yesterday’s Advisor, we discussed the first five major mistakes managers and supervisors—even with the best intentions—make. Today, more of Peter Janus’s tips, and a tip of our own about that nemesis of HR, job descriptions. Janus is a partner with Siegel, O’Conner, Zangari, O’Donnell & Beck, P.C. in Hartford, Connecticut. This material originally appeared […]

What You Can Learn from the Blue-Collar Gig Economy

The U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest in years, and there’s a growing demand for blue-collar workers, with many workers turning to gig opportunities—a sector that is booming right now. Rather than freelance work and creative services—like white-collar gig work—blue-collar gig work focuses on labor, manufacturing, warehouse, and delivery jobs and is often temporary.