Links You Can Use: Dec. 31-Jan. 4

A Happy New Year to everyone!

In 2013's first Links You Can Use, surveys show that employees are experiencing more stress but are taking fewer sick days (the bad news), but also that workplace wellness programs work (the good news). In addition, find a good breakdown on the importance of "training your successor." Managers shouldn't be worried about grooming their own replacements. Instead, they should try to maintain a level of complexity, if possible, for their staff to keep them interested in staying with the company. After all, complexity is one of the three requirements for job satisfaction.

Uh-oh. One of your more experienced staff members is leaving to pursue other opportunities, taking years' worth of institutional knowledge and experience. Read this blog post to see why managerial oversight of training and career development will help minimize employee turnover. (Triple Pundit)

Plugging the Brain Drain

The statistics are breathtaking: according to the Pew Research center,  every day from now until 2030, ten thousand Baby Boomers will turn 65. (1) Every day.

In other words, hordes of working people are retiring, planning to retire, or thinking about retiring.

Who are these people? Very often, they’re the people in your organization who best know the whys and wherefores of your projects and procedures. They’re the ones who have so internalized tasks and deliverables that they’ve never even written the steps down. They’re the ones who remember why a certain project succeeded and why another failed and how that affected the company’s direction. In short, they are the holders of what’s known as organizational memory.

And they’re retiring.

What can you do to capture their knowledge? How can you make sure they don’t take the organizational memory with them?

Links You Can Use: October 15-19

In this week's "Links You Can Use," we discover some companies are allowing employees to bring their children to work every day (without a daycare facility on the premises). BusinessWeek interviews some workers about their reactions to this innovative arrangement. In other news, research shows that having six or fewer hours of sleep could lead to weight gain and the development of diseases like diabetes. And CNN features the financial situations and strategies of individuals and couples who plan to retire within 10 years.

An emerging trend that attempts to resolve the work-life balance issues parents face... bring your child to work—every day. (BusinessWeek)

We all know that exercise and a balanced, nutritious diet are key to avoiding chronic conditions and excess weight. But a new study highlights the important relationship between poor sleep and body fat storage. (NPR)

CNN features eight profiles across the U.S.—individuals and couples who vary in age, occupation, and retirement goal date—on how they plan to retire. (CNN)

* The opinions expressed at these linked websites do not reflect the opinions of Harris, Rothenberg International, Inc. (HRI). HRI is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information reflected on these sites.

How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft & Corporate Hacking

During the month of June, the professional networking site LinkedIn got hacked. The website has over 161 million users, and a hacker published over six million passwords without usernames to prove his technological prowess. And what were the most common passwords? Confounding, obscure words such as “link,” “1234,” “princess,” and… “monkey.” Obviously, some LinkedIn users are not NSA-level security experts.

But it’s a problem that trickles up to the executive level. Less than a year ago, the hacker group Anonymous broke into the data of “global-security consulting firm Stratfor” and a follow-up investigation revealed that even the top leaders of a global intelligence company used weak passwords! Anonymous got a hold of information like credit card details and private email addresses from Statfor’s clients including Bank of America, Wells-Fargo, Sony, Google, the United Nations, and the U.S. military.

Links You Can Use: October 1-5

Is "a few weeks" too short a time for maternity leave? Does the convenience of mobile devices outweigh their possible security risks? When it comes to violent workplace incidents, are there always warning signs or do people "just snap?" All these questions—plus more—get addressed in this week's Links You Can Use.

Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer announced she would take only a few weeks of maternity leave, and one blogger weighs in on whether this level of commitment would set unrealistic expectations for working mothers. (Slate Blog)

Employees bringing their own mobile devices to work may be convenient, but the practice comes with certain security risks. This article outlines the pros and cons. (BusinessWeek)

The average number of doctor visits per year has gone down in the past decade, which can be attributed to population trends and access to health insurance. (New York Times)

Workplace violence has become a growing concern due to a recent flurry of incidents involving disgruntled employees. Check out this interview with a psychiatrist on the subject, as well as our own expert opinion about identifying early warning signs for disturbing or inappropriate behavior at work. (CBS News)

Interested in improving your communication skills? Here are three great tips for "managing transactions, developing relationships, and handling crises." (Sustainable Business Forum)

* The opinions expressed at these linked websites do not reflect the opinions of Harris, Rothenberg International, Inc. (HRI). HRI is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information reflected on these sites.

Study: Communicating Benefits to Employees? Better Do It in Person

We've already shared with you that employees have trouble understanding their benefits. But has there been research done to reveal solutions to the problem?

Gallagher Benefit Services recently released its 2012 Benefit Plan Report, which includes information based on a survey of 264 regional employers employing over 135,000 people.

Many interesting topics were discussed; this post focuses on one in particular: Methods used by employers to communicate benefits to employees and their perceived levels of effectiveness.

The methods used are not surprising. Email tops the list with 95.4% of respondents utilizing it to tell employees about their benefits; group employee meetings follow at 81.8%; and webcasts come in last at 40.5%. But what is surprising, at least to this blogger, is how little faith the respondents have in any of the mediums used.

Only one method received a “very effective” response of over 25%: one-on-one employee meetings, at 42.1%. In terms of combined “very effective” and “effective” responses, only one method received over 80%—again, one-on-one employee meetings. These are the methods that received a combined total of over 50%:

Links You Can Use: July 23-27

This week's Links You Can Use features resources and news about employee health and wellness, preparing for retirement, saving money on taxes, emotional well-being, and how offices are changing their space to improve collaboration and efficiency.

The City of Phoenix rolled out an incentive-based weight loss program for its employees as part of a comprehensive workplace wellness strategy. (Phoenix Business Journal)

A must-read for anyone wondering about retirement savings: retirement policy insider Teresa Ghilarducci doesn't mince words when it comes to the challenges of saving up for the golden years. (New York Times)

Voluntary Benefits: The Next Big Thing?

The always-interesting MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends just hit its tenth anniversary and includes a “Then and Now” section discussing what a difference a decade makes—and doesn’t make.

One of the most interesting findings is this:

Ten years ago employees expected benefits, but were far less engaged in their true value. Today, new economic realities are driving employees to more fully appreciate the coverages that their employers provide – even if they have to pay more of the costs themselves. [Emphasis mine.]

In addition: Younger workers entered the workforce at a time when employers were starting to shift both cost and risk to employees. Perhaps because of this experience, younger generations do not appear to have the same sense of entitlement for employer-paid benefits as older workers. As a result, almost two-thirds (62%) of younger workers are willing to bear more of the cost of their benefits rather than lose them.

Earbuds at Work: Generational Difference or Bad Form?

In the debate about whether listening to music with headphones or earbuds at work is a good idea, people’s opinions tend to fall into generational categories.

Graphic Designer Dana, in her mid-20s, likes to wear just one earbud. She says, “Listening to music helps me to zone in on what I’m doing,” and keeping one ear free allows her to hear what is going on around her. When asked how she responds if she sees that someone else has an earbud in, Dana says, “I’m afraid I’m interrupting.”