Employee Relations

Of balls and strikes, discrimination and documentation

09/22/2022

Major League Baseball has an umpire problem this season. However, one umpire has drawn the ire of players and fans for decades—and he has been embroiled in a discrimination lawsuit against Major League Baseball since 2017.

When to pull up or place stakes in the return-to-office debate

09/20/2022

While the percentage of remote employees is certainly lower now than it was a year ago, those who are working from home seem dug in. Inevitably, there will be pushback from employees who don’t want to spend the time and money commuting and dealing with all the familiar office irritations.

Labor hoarding: The new (old) trend

09/20/2022

Instead of laying off workers to save capital as a recession looms, companies are “hoarding” top talent to avoid the high cost of recruitment and training. That’s good news for both employers and employees.

Twin perils: ‘Quiet quitting’ and ‘quiet firing’

09/15/2022

Two buzzwords have been making the rounds in HR. “Quiet quitting” describes the practice of employees doing the bare minimum required of their jobs, not caring if they get fired. Then there’s “quiet firing,” which describes the flip-side—when employers passively try to push employees out the door Both practices carry huge risks for employers.

SHRM lawsuit puts spotlight on evaluations

09/15/2022

The best way to defend against a surprise discrimination lawsuit is to conduct accurate, regular reviews that assess a worker’s performance using as many objective standards as possible. Those evaluations then serve to back up any disciplinary action you take, even if the employee files an internal bias complaint and follows up with a lawsuit claiming subsequent discipline amounted to retaliation.

Poll: Half of employees say they’re content to stay put

09/13/2022

A slim majority of employed adults (52%) are content with their jobs and are not looking for new opportunities right now, according to a new Harris poll conducted for CareerBuilder.com.

Why you need to implement the buddy system for new hires

09/02/2022

A March report from recruiting firm Employ Inc. came to the conclusion that one in three new hires will leave a job within the first 90 days. That means employers must engage employees quickly and solidify their trust and confidence in the company’s culture and core values—areas in which the onboarding process often falls short.

The Slack/MS Teams effect: deception and anxiety

09/01/2022

Apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams made it easier for remote employees to collaborate with one another during the pandemic. But not everyone is a fan.

Back to the office? How to make the call

09/01/2022

Just as September means back to school, it also signals back to the office this year for employers that have decided it’s time to end covid-driven remote work. But requiring all employees to report to your facilities is just one way to solve the post-pandemic puzzle of deciding who will work where.

Offer inflation bonuses to retain employees

08/30/2022

Like covid-19 bonuses that employers paid to retain front-line workers during the height of the pandemic, making one-time bonus payments to offset higher costs of living can help keep workers from leaving for other jobs.