Employee Relations

Survive most lawsuits by being able to cite solid, documented reasons for termination

05/07/2014

Courts like to see that employers pause before firing an employee accused of breaking a rule and then document their investigation carefully. Interviewing the employee should be routine in most disciplinary cases. Temporarily suspending an employee before making a final decision also shows the court that the process was fair.

What Millennial employees want from their employers

05/02/2014

Researchers at Realized Worth, which helps companies engage employees in volunteer work, say Millennials seek jobs that offer them good salaries, flexibility, meaningful work and a chance to contribute to society. Here’s what they want.

To ‘friend’ or not: Social media etiquette or liability issue?

05/01/2014

There are personal, business and legal reasons why a boss friending an employee can lead to trouble.

Unplugged: French say Non! to after-hours work calls

04/30/2014

Work cellphones won’t be ringing in the middle of the night for more than a million workers in France’s consulting and tech industries, thanks to a pact negotiated by two of the country’s largest white-collar trade unions.

Help create a more transparent workplace

04/29/2014

One upside of the turbulent, post-recession world of work: More employers have committed to operating transparently, sharing business metrics and strategic plans with employees. Knowing how the company is doing and where it’s going helps build worker engagement. Here’s how HR can help keep staff informed.

For U.S. employees, a long winter of discontent?

04/23/2014

Maybe the unending chill this past winter is to blame. Almost 20% of Americans recently polled by Rasmussen Reports say they’re unhappy at work, and more than 60% say they have considered quitting.

6 ways to make sure MVPs keep playing for your team

04/21/2014

Here’s advice for bosses on the best ways to challenge, recognize and retain the best of the best.

Can we discipline an employee for his girlfriend’s actions?

04/18/2014

Q. We have an employee whose girlfriend has come in and wandered through the production floor without permission. We have escorted her out of the building twice in the last month. What are our options if she comes in again? Should we call the police? Is there any way we can discipline the employee because his girlfriend keeps calling in several times a day wanting to talk with him?

Is team leadership actually important to team success?

04/14/2014

Po Bronson—The New York Times best-selling author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing—is a big fan of using small teams to tackle big projects. But surely the smaller the team, the more critical the role of the team leader, right? Wrong.

Retain staff by publicizing internal mobility efforts

04/11/2014

A new survey of LinkedIn members found that 85% of employees may be either passively or actively seeking a new job—and that most workers who changed jobs recently did so because they thought jumping ship was their best shot at career advancement.