Short takes: brands, body art, lunch breaks, and more

Your employees are critical to your brand – Regina Miller at HR’s Brand New Experience asks how a company can design and build a customer experience program without considering the employee experience. Her essay reminds us that building a good brand and a solid and authentic corporate reputation should start from the inside and work its way out.
A hefty lunch tab – Workplace Prof Blog discusses the recent Pennsylvania ruling, a $78.47 million judgement against Wal-Mart, for making employees go “off the clock” during lunch and rest breaks. Last year, Wal-Mart was also slapped with a $172 million judgement in California for failing to provide legally-mandated meal breaks to some 200,000 employees. Both judgements are still subject to appeal.
More on drugs – Labor and Employment Law Blog comments on Drug Free Work Week and adds a discussion about drug testing, including some helpful steps employers can take to minimize the legal risks of drug testing. While much of the emphasis of Drug Free Work Week will be on drugs, employers shouldn’t forget that alcohol is arguably the drug that is most frequently abused, both on and off the job. Try the Alcohol Cost Calculator to assess the costs to your company.
To tattoo or not to tattoo – Making the rounds of the blogosphere this last week was a photo and story about Bruce Potts, a University of New Mexico instructor who sports a full-face tribal tattoo. (Another story is available at the Daily Lobo, but free registration may be required) While not commenting specifically on this person, Jack Yoest at Small Business Trends notes that one third of the population 18 to 29 has a tattoo and discusses issues related to hiring job candidates with tattoos and piercings. According to a survey conducted by Vault, 58% of employer respondents said they would be less likely to hire someone with visible tattoos or body piercings, while 38% said it would have no effect on their decision. We’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. If your company has a policy about body art, leave a comment to tell us about it.
Tenure report – The median number of years that wage and salary workers have been with their current employer was 4.0 years as of January 2006, unchanged from January 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Employee Tenure. More information is available in the report by demographic.
Powerful women – Fortune issued a list of the 50 most powerful women in business. How are women faring in your organization?
On the lighter side
The “Evil Human Resources Director’s” take on salaries – When we compiled our list of HR calculators the other day, we were remiss in overlooking the invaluable Catbert Salary Calculator.
Power napping – We talked about sleep deprivation and the importance of sleep to good productivity the other day. Regina Miller at HR’s Brand New Experience brings things to to a whole new level – perhaps your organization needs napping pods to ensure maximum productivity?