On September 14, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced in the Federal Register a proposed rule to return its joint-employer standard to its 1984 standard — a standard that stood until 2017. It’s returning to the days of Footloose dancing, Sixteen Candles high school sweethearts, Karate Kid champions, and the principle that a joint-employer of another’s employees applies only if: The employer possesses…

Read More

No matter what your office looks like—in a gig economy or a more traditional one, with or without AI—interviews will be a part of the culture. Learning about best practices benefits everyone, whether you are the interviewer or the interviewee. Especially at busy times, it can be easy to forget that an interview isn’t simply to learn about potential coworkers. In fact, a solid interview…

Read More

We are currently living in a low-trust society as a whole — we keep hearing that news is fake, science is fake, and so on. That makes it hard for us to trust anyone and is why we need to work on building trust in the workplace more than ever. Human resources professionals and business leaders have an imperative to instill a culture of trust…

Read More

  Incidences of workplace violence are becoming more common and are all over the news. It’s not just high-profile headline cases that are a concern—it’s happening on a smaller scale in all kinds of businesses. Threats to workplaces can take many forms, from cyberbullying and workplace harassment to physical altercations and targeted violence. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that every year nearly…

Read More

It’s a dilemma. On the one hand, today’s buzzing, multifaceted working environments challenge employees more than ever before. On the other, these same working environments are often also overwhelming and stressful. Sometimes it seems like success means mania—but this doesn’t have to be the case. More and more frequently, experts urge offices to focus not on performance but on growth. Performance cultures create “winners” and…

Read More

Don’t lie–we ALL love gadgets. From the obscure (but hilariously reviewed on Amazon) Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer to the latest iteration of the Apple empire. Gadgets and technology can make our lives easier, make processes faster, and even help us get healthier. Businesses are now using the popularity of wearable technology to encourage employee wellness and increase productivity and morale. According to a survey cited…

Read More

More and more, we are learning that scientists, marketers, programmers, and other kinds of knowledge workers lead office lives very similar to famous innovators like Watson, Crick, and Franklin, who discovered the structure of DNA. How so? All of these people live work lives structured around progress in meaningful work. And when this progress occurs, it boosts emotions, perceptions, and productivity. This could be an important…

Read More

Workplace rules are back, baby! Peter Robb, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (and my new hero), issued a memorandum on Wednesday that employers should love. Mr. Robb has declared that nine standard employer policies will now be presumed lawful under the National Labor Relations Act. The memorandum was based on the Board’s decision in The Boeing Company, issued in December 2017. Before Boeing, the NLRB under the Obama Administration…

Read More

If you haven’t heard, the latest video game craze is Fortnite Battle Royale. This free multiplayer game can be played on both PC & Mac computers, Xbox, Playstation, and iOS devices. Fortnite is set on an island where a floating bus drops 100 players to gather materials to build fortresses and collect weapons in order to battle each other until the last player is left…

Read More

While there’s plenty of talk about work/life balance, many employees want to feel human while at work, too. Being able to bring their whole selves, according to “3 Ways to Create a More Human Workplace,” from Workforce, is an essential piece of a welcoming, inclusive workplace environment. Putting employees first as a defined company value means helping team members feel connected, valued, and like their…

Read More