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Work / Life Issues

Analyze EAP caller data to learn about employee concerns

10/01/2007

You might be surprised to learn that men call employee assistance programs (EAP) because of relationship troubles more often than women, and only 7% more men than women ask for help with substance abuse. It’s still true that women use the services of EAP counselors about three times as often as men. But what men and women call about is changing …

The smoke-Free workplace: complying with Florida law

10/01/2007

Florida employers were required to have smoke-free workplaces since the mid-1980s, but the state recently amended the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act to comply with the Florida Health Initiative. The law prohibits smoking in an “enclosed indoor workplace” with the exception of …

Is mortgage meltdown affecting your employees, applicants?

10/01/2007

Recently, more and more Georgia homeowners are having trouble paying their mortgages. In fact, Georgia is in the top five states for foreclosures this year. And that’s driving down home prices, as foreclosed properties flood the Georgia market, especially in the Atlanta metro area. Here’s why that’s important for employers …

Join NJ state employees in fall fitness challenge

10/01/2007

Employees at New Jersey state agencies who want to get into better shape, live healthier and perhaps save taxpayers a few dollars in health care costs are participating in the Working Well New Jersey Fitness Challenge. Employees track their wellness and exercise efforts over a six-week period ending Nov. 3 …

Battle of the benefits: PTO bank may calm parent vs. nonparent tension

09/18/2007

Parents vs. nonparents. Gen Y vs. Gen X and the baby boomers. In some workplaces, there’s growing tension over benefits inequality. HR better listen if employees complain that they’re getting worse benefits than their co-workers. One solution: Paid time off banks can help calm discontent.

Free meals bring employees to the table

09/01/2007

Employees of Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta don’t nosh on the organization’s famous breaded chicken breast sandwiches at lunchtime. They don’t “brown-bag” it either. To encourage employee bonding, the organization treats employees each day to entrées, such as pork loin with asparagus and crusted chicken breast with cauliflower …

26 weeks of vacation keep employees on the job

09/01/2007

Clinical laboratories need almost 24-hour coverage at Salt Lake City-based ARUP Laboratories, so employees work in 10-hour shifts around the clock, seven days a week. They’re hardly complaining: After working seven days straight, employees head home and don’t return for a week …

Incentives for health assessment get employees into wellness

09/01/2007

To help create a culture of wellness, the Pepsi Bottling Group in Somers, NY, offered employees who participated in a health assessment a MasterCard prepaid with $75. The incentive worked: 70% of 33,500 U.S. employees participated …

Lights out means it’s lunch time in Seattle

09/01/2007

Lights out signals lunch time at the NRG::Seattle insurance company. Every day at 11:30 am, the lights go off and all employees must stop working. This one-hour break gives employees the chance to eat together and take a breather before the second half of the workday …

EEOC Focuses on ‘Family-Responsibilities Bias’

09/01/2007

The EEOC recently issued enforcement guidance declaring that disparate treatment of employees who care for children, parents or other family members violates federal law. “Disparate treatment” generally means an employer intentionally treated employees differently because of a protected factor such as race, gender, age or—in this case—their need to care for family members …