8 Tips For Employers Who Want to Prevent Workers From Spreading the Flu

Woman with flu sneezes into tissue. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

With three months remaining in what is already being called the worst flu season in a decade, employers around the country are undoubtedly feeling the financial impact of increased health care costs and widespread absenteeism.  Making matters worse, according to one workplace authority, is the tendency of employees concerned about job security to keep coming to the office despite their apparent illness.

“The economy is still on shaky ground and many workers continue to be worried about losing their jobs, despite the fact that annual layoffs are at the lowest level since the late 1990s.  In this environment, workers are reluctant to call in sick or even use vacation days.  Of course, this has significant negative consequences for the workplace, where the sick worker is not only performing at a reduced capacity but also likely to infect others,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Continue Reading

Annual Salary Increases More Important to New Grads Than Medical Insurance Benefits

Marilyn Mackes of NACE

Annual salary increases are the most preferred benefit among job-seeking new college graduates, according to results of a new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Historically, graduating seniors taking part in NACE’s annual student survey have placed medical insurance in the top spot, according to Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. Continue Reading

Washingtonians Concerned Over Job Security Despite Improving Employment Picture

A recent report suggests that workers in Washington fear losing their jobs, even though unemployment has made a little progress.

Washingtonians remain cautious about their job security, despite steady improvement of statewide hiring trends, according to data released today in the 4th Annual Washington State Workplace Confidence Survey.

The survey, conducted by Harris/Decima on behalf of Everest College, revealed that 33% of Washington workers were concerned about losing their job, similar to 2011 where 30% of respondents said they were concerned about losing their jobs.

Washington State’s unemployment rate remained flat at 8.3 percent for the months of February and March 2012. This equates to approximately 289,000 people who were unemployed and looking for work during that period, down from a peak of more than 365,000 in February 2010. Continue Reading

Practice Economic Disobedience in Your Job Search

Peter Weddle

What would you do if you were approached by a secret online group of workplace activists who said vulture capitalists had rigged the job market against you?  And, how would you react if they also told you that the only way to protect yourself was to practice “economic disobedience?”

Those are the questions explored in my new book A Multitude of Hope: A Novel About Rediscovering the American Dream.  It’s the story of three out-of-work Baby Boomers trying to make sense of today’s demeaning and demoralizing world of work.

What’s “economic disobedience?”  It’s the practice of refusing to accept the boxes employers try to put us in.  These boxes limit our sense of possibility – our hope for the present and the future – and, as a result, they undermine our ability to achieve success. Continue Reading

Six Career Fields that Provide Security for Employees

During rough economic times, workers experience multiple levels of stress related to layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts and myriad other issues. Most employees just want to ensure their jobs are secure. Laurence Shatkin, in his new book 150 Best Jobs for a Secure Future, details the most secure occupations and fields: computer systems design, educational services, government, health care, repair and maintenance, and utilities.

“During economic downturns, these fields tend not to shed workers as much as other fields do, and the overall outlook for employment in these fields is good to excellent,” Shatkin said. Continue Reading