How Honda Drives Its Workforce– from Jeffrey Rothfeder, Newsweek
“One reason for the success of Honda as an automobile maker in the US is its unconventional approach to hiring key executives. In this excerpt from his new book, Driving Honda: Inside the World’s Most Innovative Car Company, Jeffrey Rothfeder describes how Honda concluded that a former Marine Reservist would make a great manager.”
Should Managers Focus on Performance or Engagement? -Annamarie Mann and Ryan Darby, Gallup Business Journal
“What we discovered is that managers don’t have to choose between creating strong, positive teams or focusing on high performance and accountability. High-performance managers do both. They are strengths-based, engagement-focused, and performance-oriented. They develop deep interpersonal relationships with their employees and focus on performance. Managers who emphasize one approach while ignoring the other risk alienating their team members, lowering engagement, and damaging performance.”
Drug-Free Workplaces In The Era Of Medical And/or Legal Marijuana Use – Alexander P. Berg of Kollman & Saucier, P.A.:
“This post is designed to provide a basic snapshot of the current state of the law, and the prominent issues that employers face. As detailed below, employers are generally blanketed by the protections of the at-will employment doctrine, as the vast majority of state marijuana laws alter only the criminal sanctions facing those who legitimately use and possess medical marijuana.”
Related: Medical Marijuana 101: Doctors, Regulators Brace For ‘Big Marijuana’
Obama signs executive order protecting federal contractors’ employees
“President Obama signed an executive order on Thursday designed to protect employees of federal contractors. The order will require contractors to disclose any violations of labor law within the last three years before receiving new federal contracts, and it will adjust procurement procedures to protect contractors with no record of violating the law. “We expect our tax dollars to be spent wisely on these contracts,” the president said. “Our tax dollars shouldn’t go to companies that violate workplace laws, they shouldn’t go to companies that violate workers’ rights.”
Firefighter obesity a big problem – Astead Herndon, CNN
“More than 70% of domestic firefighters are overweight or obese, a rate slightly higher than the general population, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ….Those extra pounds are taking a toll.
Cardiovascular events account for nearly half of the deaths of on-duty firefighters, and obesity has been linked to an increased risk of job-related disabilities, according to the CDC.”
Obesity Linked to Increased Fatigue in the Workplace
“U.S. workplaces may need to consider innovative methods to prevent fatigue from developing in employees who are obese. Based on results from a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH), workers who are obese may have significantly shorter endurance times when performing workplace tasks, compared with their non-obese counterparts.”
LinkedIn’s $6M FLSA settlement provides a good lesson to employers (updated) , employment law attorneyJon Hyman of Ohio Employer’s Law Blog says that “LinkedIn will pay nearly $6 million in back pay and liquidated damages to 359 current and former employees following a Department of Labor investigation, reports the DOL.” He offers two lessons for employers drawn from this suit.
Distracted and Overwhelmed Employees Are Costing You Big. Try These 3 Fixes.
Terri Egan and Suzanne Lahl, Entrepreneur
“The Deloitte research found that “this constant and frenetic level of activity costs money, perhaps $10 million a year for mid-size companies. More than half (57 percent) of interruptions at work resulted from either social-media tools or switching among disparate standalone applications.”
What’s more, more than half of the respondents to Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends survey believe “that their organizations are not doing a good job helping workers address information overload and today’s demanding work environment.”
Online Breaks Enhance Productivity
Rick Nauert, PsychCentral
“The study suggests that managers consider organizational policies to tap into the positive potential of online work breaks but also establish policies encouraging responsible behavior, such as providing limits on the time spent on online breaks, or holding training on effective strategies that bring benefits from online breaks.”
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ESI-Logo.jpg When complex employee issues arise, ESI EAP offers member employers direct access to Certified Senior Professionals in Human Resources (SPHR) and senior clinical counselors. If you need an Employee Assistance Program give us a call: 800-535-4841.

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