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)

Links You Can Use: November 26-30

In this week's Links You Can Use, see how smoke-free environments have impacted the workplace, and how to deal with stress at work, especially at the onset of the busy holiday season. And in other news: do conflicts involving English-speaking ability and foreign accents constitute a diversity issue?

About 23 states (roughly half of the U.S. population) have smoke-free workplace laws, which some attribute to the recent decline in heart attacks. But some experts are saying it's not enough. (FOX News)

The economy is still undergoing some hardship, and the holiday season has just begun. So chances are many businesses are working harder with fewer resources. Check out these organizational tips to keep stress levels down among your workers. (Forbes)

Links You Can Use: November 12-16

Find out how to establish a cohesive work culture, how to "manage up" when a supervisor seems difficult, and why it's best to have zero expectations about privacy when using work email. All this, and more, in this week's Links You Can Use.

What's the most important thing in establishing a culture at work? One expert says it is the people you choose to hire and offers tips on selecting candidates. (Chicago Tribune)

A clinical psychologist offers advice on how to "manage up," especially when dealing with difficult bosses. (American Psychological Association)

Links You Can Use: September 3-7

In recent years, news stories of fraud, insider trading, and other dishonest business activities have prompted the question: are we doing enough to teach business students about ethics? In other news, human resource staff are struggling with filling in the gaps left behind by retiring Baby Boomers, and a worker survey reveals that job retention is largely the result of very personal preferences. All this and more, in this week's Links You Can Use.

Are business schools effectively teaching ethics to their students? Experts are saying no, but there are some ways to improve business ethics training. (Slate)

According to the Workforce Retention Survey, "Work-Life Fit" and "Enjoying What I Do" were two of the top reasons why people chose to stay with a job. These findings echo some of the points from our post about the requirements for job satisfaction. (American Psychological Association)

Why So Tongue-Tied at Meetings? Neuroscience Might Have the Answer

Ever had a lot of ideas before walking into a meeting, and then effectively becoming a mute when it was time to contribute?

There might be a physiological basis for clamming up. Neuroscientists have a term, “expression of IQ,” which is an outward display of intelligence. The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute conducted a study to see whether small group settings had any effect on people’s expressions of IQ.[1] And, boy, did they ever.

The methodology was simple. A standard intelligence test was given to 70 people individually. Then the test takers were put into groups of five, and were given the same questions in a different sequence. This time, however, participants saw how well they did in relation to others in the group, by being given a “ranking score.”

Initially everyone did worse than before. After a while, though, about half of the participants got the hang of it and eventually scored roughly the same as the first time. But the other half never bounced back.

USA.gov: A Rich Resource of Free Information

Do you find government news and policies to be long-winded and confusing? Need to get a passport or check the status of your tax refund? Wondering about how to start your own small business, where to find a local farmer’s market, or what to do in the wake of a natural disaster? Believe it or not, you can find the answers on one website: www.usa.gov.

Bias Against Older Workers Decreases Engagement—In Younger Workers!

While most employers are aware of the legal ramifications of ageism, are they aware of the other ramifications? What are the other ramifications?

Jacquelyn B. James, PhD, Sharon McKechnie, PhD, and Elyssa Besen surveyed over 4,000 retail employees aged 18 to 94 about whether older workers are as likely to be promoted as younger workers; whether older workers are able to adapt to new technology; and so on.

They categorized any bias they found as (1) perceived by interviewees as fair; or (2) perceived by interviewees as unfair. In a discussion of their research on the website Aging&Work: AGEnda, they explained,

Our hypothesis did not prepare us for the finding that the perception of [unfair] discrimination was actually more strongly related to lower employee engagement among younger workers than older workers.

Is the Customer Always Right?

No New Cola, Please. In perhaps the most notorious corporate misfire ever, in 1985 Coca Cola replaced its much-loved product with a new version. Coke customers quickly expressed their horror that Coke had messed with their beloved drink. Shortly thereafter, Coke backtracked, re-releasing its original product as “Classic Coke.” The customer had won.

The logical question here is, “Why didn’t Coke ask the customer what she wanted first?” Well, according to Coke’s own website, the “formula [was] preferred in taste tests of nearly 200,000 consumers.” The website goes on to say,

What these tests didn't show, of course, was the bond consumers felt with their Coca-Cola—something they didn't want anyone, including The Coca-Cola Company, tampering with.

Netflix. Let’s fast forward to 2011 and the Netflix fiasco. Netflix, purveyor of streaming movies and TV shows and DVDs, decided to split into two companies: Netflix for streaming and Qwikster for DVDs. With this division, customers would now have to go to a website for streaming and another for DVDs—and to both if they didn’t know which medium was available. People would also receive two bills. (And Netflix did this shortly after raising prices and losing roughly a million customers.)

After a tidal wave of protest from customers, Netflix backtracked and apologized. The customer had won.

So, Is the Customer Always Right?