HRGuru

At a recent conference, the emcee announced that some attendees might be reluctant to shake hands (with all of the media talk about colds and flu) and suggested it was perfectly acceptable to find an alternative greeting such as the fist bump. At first, I thought this was kinda weird. I mean, a public declaration that it’s OK not to shake ...

Businesses would be foolish not to be on Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, but they are even more foolish if they don't have policies protecting themselves on those sites. This was the message at a seminar held by Portland law firm Bernstein Shur on Wednesday on workplace legal issues arising from social networking sites. The seminar was part of a larger symposium ...

A cook at an Indiana restaurant suffered a job-related back injury, and a workers' compensation board said the employer must pay for a medical procedure. What makes this news? The procedure was weight-loss surgery. Also this summer, the Oregon Supreme Court said an employer must pay for surgery for an employee who suffered a workplace knee injury, not for knee replacement, ...

Appearances can be perilously deceiving, especially if Americans do not look any further than Nidal Malik Hasan's Palestinian descent, his Muslim affiliation, his Middle Eastern-style clothing, and reports of his having shouted out "Allahu Akbar," an expression of praise to God, before allegedly gunning down dozens of soldiers. Superficially, the Fort Hood rampage looks like terrorism. Hasan's murder spree appears, however, ...

Before the age of information technology, the employees of many companies drove to work and, upon arriving, often spent half an hour gathered around the water cooler to hear the latest company gossip and scandal before retiring into separate walled offices to work. That is where socializing ended. Engineers working on important projects often found the information they needed by reading ...

The best way to put a dollar value on benefits as part of a job offer is to ask the prospective employer to do it for you, says management expert Lonnie Pacelli, author of The Project Management Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-Ups, and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass. Jim Greeley, director of career services at Merrimack College in ...

A reader writes: Our office is rife with gossip regarding a married man in our office and young single co-worker. The man has a brand new baby at home and knowing that he is having an affair behind his wife's back is rather upsetting to some of us on moral and character grounds, but also it is making us uncomfortable (wife ...

NEW YORK, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), one of the largest mutual life insurance companies and a leading provider of employee benefits to midsize and small companies, offers employees and employers tips for leveraging their employee benefits in one of the worst economic environments since the Great Depression. Guardian's employee benefits experts compiled these ...

At the end of the month, most of us are counting down the hours until the paychecks hit our bank accounts. Even when the money does finally arrive, one look at the wage slip and we're dreaming of a bigger salary. However, for some women, a pay rise shouldn't be just something to fantasize over when taking a tea break. Last ...

LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo -- Simone Maganga still feels deep shame when she recalls how, after her husband died, she was obliged to have sex with his younger brother in order to put the deceased's spirit to rest. "In order to remove your husband's dead body from your body, you must sleep with his little brother," said Maganga, a member ...

I picked up a French language cassette tape - yes, I said cassette tape - at the public library a few months ago in preparation for a recent trip abroad. (The prices of most of the "Learn Conversational French in a Week!" CDs at the local bookstore prompted me to go with economic prudence and start out with a freebie - ...

What if we are in the recovery and you are nowhere to be found? Are you one of those managers who has been keeping your head down for fear that if you look up, you'll be the next to go? Are you playing it safe, rather than taking risks? Are you working harder, rather than smarter just to prove your commitment ...

A reader writes: First, I’m not one of THOSE wives, I promise. My husband was just laid off and is starting a job search. I work at a nonprofit, so I know lots of people in different industries who don’t know my husband at all. A member of a community organization that throws a benefit for us each year is also ...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats said Thursday they have reached a deal to extend unemployment insurance benefits to the nearly 2 million jobless workers across the country who are in danger of running out of assistance by the end of the year. The agreement would give an additional 14 weeks of benefits to jobless workers in all 50 states. Workers in states ...

Time flies when you're busy as a bee at the office. Before you know it, it's 5 p.m. and you've barely made a dent. What happened? Whether it's a nasty case of procrastination, the inability to say no, or a very busy lifestyle, there aren't enough hours in the day to finish all the work you have to do. Unfortunately, ...

I’ve been watching an ABC News television series called “What Would You Do?" It’s a fascinating study of human behavior. Everyday people are secretly filmed in situations where they are faced with a choice, usually involving an actor or actors staging a scenario. It reminds me of “Scruples," the classic party game where players draw cards with a variety or moral ...

In Letterman-like fashion, I am presenting the most horrifying, offensive and incessant co-worker behaviors that infect the office and kill your productivity. 10. Gum chewing. Whether it occurs just at inappropriate times or constantly throughout the day, gum chewing can be a major distraction. The constant “smack, smack, smack” of your boss’ mouth is not only irritating but unprofessional. 9. Smelly ...

The advantages of offering flexibility in work arrangements are attracting more corporate attention. i4cp's recent study found that a full 84% of companies overall believe that flexible work arrangements in their organization boosts employee morale. That figure is up from 76% in a similar 2008 study conducted by i4cp. Correspondingly, the 2009 study showed that 78% of polled companies say flexwork ...

If you’re like me, you’ve always wondered why so many people in HR are uninterested in talking politics. Trying to get one of you guys to talk about health care reform out in the open is like pulling teeth without health insurance. Get it? Because I said… nah, forget it. I always chalked it up to politics being an uncomfortable situation ...

Continuing concern over the state of the economy is reflected in the fluctuating fortunes of freelances. Suzanne Hinchliffe crunches the figures in our latest survey of this sector, while industry insiders give their lowdown on what's happening out there. There has been a dramatic change in freelance rates of pay, with the market being more depressed this year than last. Some ...