You need your R & R — here's how to truly renew and recharge
You work hard. So how are you at relaxing? It should be easy, right? When we're busy, it can be tough to unwind. We'd like to and hope to ... when we get around to it.
Relaxation and recreation are more than wants — or wishes. They're essentials for your well-being.
When you enjoy your downtime — free from work or duties — it offers an emotional lift that gives you energy and confidence to tackle everyday challenges. Losing yourself in leisure may even decrease harmful stress-related hormones and strengthen your immune system.
The bottom line: You can be happier, healthier and more productive when you take time for leisure.
A new kind of to-do list
Day-to-day life can get full and hectic. And when free time is limited, it's that much more precious. So make the most of yours by pursuing activities that soothe your mind, spark your creativity or otherwise give you a boost.
Do you need a little inspiration? Here are seven quick ideas to get you started renewing and recharging:
1. Put "me time" on the calendar. Treat it like an important appointment — because it is.
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by Christian Schappel
We all want to hold onto our best, brightest employees. And sometimes, a key component of that retention effort is being able to recognize when they’re trying to locate greener pastures and finding ways to increase their loyalty.
But what you need to know first are the red flags that indicate an employee is conducting such a search.
Training software company Mindflash recently compiled a list of the red flags employers should be on the lookout for:
1. Sloppy work habits
Chances are your best employees consistently complete top-quality work on deadline. So it should be easy to spot when their work starts to slip.
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by Tim Gould
Everybody hates performance reviews. That’s a given. But there are ways to move them out of the “dreaded chore” category into the file titled “engagement tools.”
Performance reviews are often badly done and serve to de-motivate employees — or worse, give them a weapon to sue the company.
What’s wrong with this process? Here are the three most common mistakes managers make that limit the value of employee assessments:
1. Process vs. progress
Too often, the process of employee reviews becomes more important than the actual result. What do employees want out of their reviews? Aside from a raise, the main thing employees want to know is what career path they’re on — what they have to look forward to in terms of job growth and development.
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by Jared Bilski
Once again the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — and upheld a component that’s become an essential part of the law. So now HR pros can start worrying about the upcoming Obamacare compliance challenges without any major distractions.
The Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, is an appeal of a July ruling from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the law’s subsidies.
Had the subsidies been struck down by the High Court, millions of Americans could’ve lost the tax subsidies that allowed them purchase affordable coverage under the health reform law.
In fact, USA TODAY reported that more than 5 million Americans would be affected if the subsidies are struck down.
How affected? Those subsidies have reduced monthly insurance premiums by 76% (the average monthly premium dropped from $346 to just $82) for those who qualify, according to federal officials.
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by Christian Schappel
Are you ready for the run on millennial talent?
Job openings are hitting record highs, and twenty/thirtysomethings are at the top of employers’ wish lists.
Is your company offering what it takes to attract these in-demand workers — or keep the ones you already have on staff from job hopping?
Our friends at intHRactive can help you figure that out.
Recently, the HR experts at intHRactive dove into numerous studies to find out exactly what it is Millennials are looking for versus what they’re actually getting from employers.
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by Jared Bilski
If they’re going to force us to offer health care to all full-time employees, then we’ll just cut workers’ hours. That’s an Obamacare strategy many firms have threatened to carry out, and one that has resulted in a class-action lawsuit for a restaurant chain that actually did.
Dave & Buster’s (D&B) is now facing a class-action lawsuit claiming the company reduced its full-time employees’ hours as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Here’s some background on the lawsuit: D&B employee Maria De Lourdes Parra Marrin — on behalf of herself and all other affected employees — claims that the restaurant involuntarily cut workers hours starting in 2013 up until the present.
As a result of the reduction, employees either lost their coverage under the company’s health plan — or were moved into inferior coverage.
Marin claims her weekly hours were cut from 30 to 45 to just 10 to 25.
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by Julian Lopez
“It’s the best time of the year — time for performance reviews!” said no one, ever.
Both managers and employees get anxious when annual reviews come around. But managers may have it worse.
Performance reviews can win or lose a lawsuit if an employee sues for wrongful termination, so the pressure’s on managers to get them right.
That also puts the onus on employers to create an effective and legally defensible review process.
Reviews: The good and the bad
To help, attorneys Susan DiMickele, Tara Aschenbrand, Jill Kirila, Meghan Hill and Traci Martinez of the law office Squire Patton Boggs compiled a quick-hitting checklist of best practices when it comes to creating defensible evaluations.
Some things they recommend employers do:
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