Tag: productivity

4 Ways To Curb Intermittent Leave Problems

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its California counterpart, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), allow workers to take time off each year to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. Employers have complained about certain aspects of the law for […]

Shorter Workweek in a Tough Economy

by Claudia N. Lombardo According to economist Dean Baker, President Barack Obama’s own economic team believes the President’s stimulus package will have no effect on unemployment — currently at 10 percent — two years from now. The announcement caught the attention of many employers, already worried about having to make future layoffs, and has initiated […]

The Wild, the Innocent, and the Super Bowl Shuffle

by Boyd A. Byers Super Bowl Sunday is February 7. About 140 million Americans will watch the game on TV, and 20 million will attend a Super Bowl party. While doing so, we’ll eat 20 million pounds of potato and tortilla chips. Let’s look at some other Super Bowl-related numbers for you to ponder in […]

Timekeeping and Payroll: The 9-to-5 Trap

Most employees today don’t punch a time clock; they generally work a set schedule, such as 9 am to 5 pm. Because these employees work a regular schedule, many employers don’t bother to track their time (or require the employees to track their time). This means that each paycheck reflects pay for the time scheduled […]

Workload Burnout Hitting Layoff Survivors

In the aftermath of layoffs affecting businesses over the last two years, many of those employees who are lucky enough to have kept their jobs are feeling a little less lucky these days. Increased workloads, combined with looming fears of even more layoffs, has left many employees feeling burnt out.

Twitter Trouble?

Do your employees “tweet”? If your response to this question is something along the lines of “huh?” it means you probably weren’t born in the 1980s or 90s. But for Millennials (a/k/a Generation Y) and other technophiles, Twitter is quickly becoming an omnipresent form of communication available any time of day—including during the work day.

Productivity Got Run Over by a Reindeer During the Holidays

by Margaret DiBianca Hints of the holiday season are tucked away in every corner of the workplace. Cards from customers and vendors are tacked up in cubicles. Uneaten candy canes and tin canisters filled with chocolate-drizzled caramel popcorn continue to make appearances in the break room. The office-party circuit seems endless and, of course, requires […]

Helping Workers Deal With Financial Stress

The current recession has taken its toll on the United States, and many Americans are still fighting to stay financially afloat.  Consumer confidence is down. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute,  consumer bankruptcies rose by  24 percent nationwide in August from the same period a year ago, and during the first six months of 2009, […]