Forget About That Cash Bonus – Ray Fisman posts about tchotchkes, gifts, bonuses and other motivation mechanisms at Harvard Business Review Blogs. He looks at recent research and offers thoughts on the secret to motivating workers:
“A study published last year by German and Swiss researchers took a more literal position on the gift exchange hypothesis, suggesting that economists’ focus on cash might often be misplaced. The researchers found that gifts were far more motivating to short-term employees than unexpected cash bonuses, effectively paying for themselves by improving productivity. The findings provide some guidance on the types of gifts that are likely to engender the greatest motivation and loyalty.”
All trauma is not the same – In an article in Counseling Today, authors Tara S. Jungersen, Stephanie Dailey, Julie Uhernik, Carol M. Smith talk about how the origin of a disaster – whether it is an act of nature (tornado or flood) or an act of man (a mass shooting or a war) – can result in very different response and recovery – and that counselors need to be aware of those differences. Here’s an excerpt:
Disasters of human origin, particularly those that evoke fear, uncertainty, helplessness and loss of control, have greater emotional consequences than disasters that are not preventable. Not surprisingly, these events tend to produce higher levels of emotional distress than any other natural or human-caused disaster. As a result of human-caused acts of mass violence, trust within one’s community is broken. Furthermore, unlike natural disasters, which have a beginning and an end, human-caused disasters involve a seemingly ongoing danger that is unpredictable and potentially everywhere. Coping takes longer as people consider retaliation, seek justice, feel a need for equity and struggle to rebuild trust within their communities.
Top 10 questions asked by HR professionals – What HR topic or employment issue do you have the most questions about? If it’s the Family and Medical Leave Act, you aren’t alone. That was the top area of questioning that the Employers Resource Association received in more than 8,000 telephonic queries over the last year. Learn what numbers #2 through #10 were and see how you match up.
BYOD is not for everybody, and especially not for executives – There’s a lot of attention given to employees on the matter of “bring your own device” or BYOD but less focus on the managers. Sean Doherty of Tech Republic explains why directors, managers and anyone with an employment status making them a candidate for potential litigation definitely out to think twice before bringing their own tech tools to work.
Cool Tools
- Free violence prevention poster (PDF) – Safety Services Company offers a free download for a poster to raise workplace violence awareness.
- Locate a Clinical Trial Near You – created to help patients and physicians find one another in an increasingly complex health care landscape where clinical trials proliferate but may be difficult to navigate.
- Census Bureau’s Extraction Tool for Local Employment Dynamics Data – beta version of a tool providing access to all 30 Local Employment Dynamics Quarterly Workforce Indicators, including measures of employment, turnover, hiring, job creation, job destruction and average monthly earnings.
- Tabula – extract data from a PDF table and convert it to a CSV file.
- Howjsay – A free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation. Ever insecure about how to pronounce that new word? Find out here.
Short takes
- Thirty One Ingredients of Failed Projects
- Just Say No to Micromanaging
- 12 Tips for Handling Difficult Conversations
- Cardiac Risk Factors Influence Memory Loss
- Old ‘Disability’ Definition Applies to Employee’s Injury, Says 10th Circuit
- Learning From LEGO: Core Values Must Define Your Workplace Culture
- 5 Tips to Prevent Eyestrain in the Office
- Ultimate Guide to Workplace Ergonomics
- Why HR gets in the way of IT hiring–and how to change it
And just for fun …
- Vintage Social Networking
- Panda Wrestling (YouTube link)
- Popcorn Cake
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