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: 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)

The Three Requirements for Job Satisfaction

Companies sometimes lose excellent workers and don't know why.

If you ask people what makes a job continually satisfying, you may hear answers like salary, benefits, or job titles. These are, of course, important to an employee, but what about less concrete considerations?

Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success is about the rarely discussed factors that play into professional success. In one chapter, he discusses the three requirements for job satisfaction. And guess what—they have nothing to do with money or status.

According to Gladwell, the three magical ingredients are:

Links You Can Use: August 6-10

It's all about the numbers (lists of easy tips, interesting stats, and money management) in this week's "links you can use."

You don't have to earn a degree in organizational psychology to improve employee morale and engagement. Here are five quick ways to bring positive psychology to the workplace. (Forbes)

A growing trend? A survey of 2,000 employers (with a total of over 20 million workers) revealed that over half offer wellness incentives to improve employees' health and to control healthcare costs. (HR.BLR.com)

A professor from the Harvard Extension School lays down six principles of business ethics. (Huffington Post)

Why Employers Should Care About Employees Who Are Caregivers (Part 1)

What could be causing millions of people to be called away from work, decrease their work hours, or force them to leave the workforce altogether? Research shows that it’s caregiving for children with special needs or older adults.

Today, caregiving needs have become more demanding, and the costs to businesses come in the form of higher healthcare claims and lost productivity.

In this special two-part post about caregiving, we’ll talk about employees’ caregiving challenges, costs to employers, and what employers can do about it. Part 1 will focus on the challenges unique to caring for children with special needs.

Caregiving for Children With Special Needs

Almost 14% of all children under age 18 in the United States have a special healthcare need (a chronic or severe health or mental health problem that requires more intensive or specialized care than children normally require), according to a 2008 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1)
 

Managing an Older Workforce

Retire at 65? These days that’s doubtful! People now enjoy better health as they age and, as a result, are able to remain in the labor force longer. Also, economic factors—an uncertain economy and an increase in the Social Security eligibility age, for example—create incentives for people to keep working. But it’s not just about economics—many older adults love their jobs! They work not because they have to, but because they want to.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1977 and 2007, employment of workers 65 and older increased 101%, compared to a much smaller increase of 59% for all employees. The number of employed men 65 and older rose 75%, but employment of women 65 and older increased by nearly twice as much, climbing 147%. While the number of employed people 75 and older is relatively small (0.8% of the employed in 2007), this group had the most dramatic gain, increasing 172% between 1977 and 2007.

So what are the implications for your workplace? Do older workers add value? Do they require special considerations?

The answers are “Yes” and “Sometimes.”

Will 2012 Be the Year of Corporate Musical Chairs?

The New Year is well underway, and Fast Company reports it may very well be the year of corporate musical chairs—job dissatisfaction remains high, and workers are ready to look elsewhere:

Right Management found that workers continue to feel trapped in their jobs and want to find new employment elsewhere. They polled more than a 1,000 employees in North America and found 84% of respondents are planning to look for a new position in 2012. According to Mercer’s recent What’s Working global survey of nearly 30,000 people in 17 countries, between 28% and 56% of workers are seriously considering leaving their jobs, with younger workers even more likely to be considering a move.

It’s no secret that people are working longer hours, working outside their area of expertise, and holding multiple roles within organizations. The new normal has never felt less normal—and while companies may still be struggling, high performing employees who are feeling the economic pinch and are dealing with high levels of stress are ready to look elsewhere. While salaries for certain professions are starting to rise, many employees are also ready to move with work/life balance in mind. High stress is taking a toll on their relationships and health; they’re ready for a change.