Total Articles: 29
Resolve To Be A Better Manager
With every new year, millions of people resolve to make positive changes in their personal lives. Some even resolve to change how they "roll" at work. For owners, managers and supervisors, the fresh-start aura associated with the beginning of every new year is the perfect backdrop for making positive changes that may help them become better, more effective, and respected leaders.
When Your Job Makes You Sick: Employees Find Little Leverage in Today's Workplace
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index registered 47.1 in August for the category titled "work satisfaction" -- the lowest it has been since the measurement was introduced in January 2008.
Don't Hate Me Because I'm Brillant: An Employee's Tale
Most supervisors have dealt with an employee who believes his work performance is better than what it actually is. It's a minority of employees who believe they are less than a "four-star" performer. But an employee who is so convinced of his personal value that he sues his employer for $75 million is a rarity, indeed. Yet, rare or not, that is precisely the case in Berry v. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP.
Managing Baby Boomers
There have been many comments and analyses lately about how employers should handle the emerging youngest generation, usually referred to as Gen Y. But as the 77 million baby boomers begin reaching 65 years of age this year, they will present some unique challenges to employers.
Why Middle Managers May Be the Most Important People in Your Company
Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick has a message for knowledge-based companies: Pay closer attention to your middle managers. They may have a greater impact on company performance than almost any other part of the organization.
Avoid idiot compassion, and don't be nice
Beware "idiot compassion" at work. This is a Buddhist idea described by Michael Carroll in "Awake At Work: 35 Practical Buddhist Principles for Discovering Clarity and Balance in the Midst of Work's Chaos."
March Mayhem Bracket For Employers: Final Four Revealed!
The votes are in, the contests have been played – we are down to the Final Four Biggest Workplace Headaches for 2011! We received bracket entries from employers across the country telling us about their biggest frustrations, and after tallying all of the submissions, we can reveal the most annoying four situations that employers face every day. Here are the winners, along with some practical tips for dealing with them.
Managing "March Madness" at Work.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2011 Division I Basketball Championship has started. By March 17th, “March Madness” will be in full swing. A Nielsen Media report estimates that 92% of basketball fans will watch the tournament online at work. Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimates 8.4 million hours of working time, with an economic cost of $192 million in lost productivity, will be spent watching the games.
Schadenfreude -- Employment-Law Style
In today’s litigious society, it’s always nice to take a step back and appreciate the problems we don’t have—even if that means indulging in a little schadenfreude. In that spirit, I give you the story of Jill McGlone, a civil servant in Norfolk Virginia.
Part 2: Are Your Employees Really Important Business Partners?
In our last article we took a hard look at the easy-to-say concept that companies "value their employees" or that employees "are our most important asset." Easy to say, yes. But the reality is a bit more difficult and time consuming. In Part 2 we'll look at this idea in more detail.
The Importance of Office Space.
How important is office space to employees? Very important, apparently, according to this article discussing a "summer office swap" conducted at a Boston-area advertising agency. During the summer months at this forward-thinking firm, nearly every employee switches office space based on a lottery system.
White House Focuses on Workplace Flexibility.
Workplace flexibility has been a hot topic, a highlight of which was President Obama's White House Forum on Workplace Flexibility, televised earlier this week. The forum was designed as an opportunity for labor leaders, CEOs, small business owners, and policy experts to share their ideas and strategies for making the workplace more flexible for workers and their families. During the conference, the President compared flexible work schedules to the early stages of email: some companies have it, some dont, but eventually, all companies will. Get ready employers if you havent gotten aboard yet, the train may run you over!
Supervisors Really Do Matter.
We believe that many of the time-honored procedures relating to union organizing are going to change, although we don't know yet exactly how they will change. In our consideration of steps employers should be taking to prepare to compete on a playing field which will be decidedly tilted in the unions' favor, we have not yet discussed the role of first-line supervisors. Supervisors play a crucial role in any employer's strategy to maintain a union-free operation, and we'll consider that very important element of the employer's position in this article.
Work-Life Balance Update.
Work-life balance is a hot topic in the world of workplace initiatives. Its so hot, in fact, that it can be difficult to keep up with the latest developments. Here are a few items to get you started:
Having It Your Way.
Burger King is not necessarily the only place you can get it "your way." We believe that it's possible to have a more productive and committed work force and no union at the same time. It definitely is not a case of "either . . . or." And you can do it without fighting and conflict. Indeed fighting and conflict are generally counterproductive to the effort to remain union free and often cause employers to lose their focus on the only objective that really counts employees.
If You Dont Ask for Feedback, How Do You Know How Youre Doing?
Ahh, feedback. Its a tricky pill to swallow, isnt it? When performance-review time comes around and youre making a list of all of the areas in which you want your employees to improve, maybe you should ask yourself a few questions first. Have you really done everything that you can to address problems as they arise? Or have you waited until formal reviews to bring up those little problems that have become bigger problems?
Putting a Face to a Name: The Art of Motivating Employees.
Could a simple five-minute interaction with another person dramatically increase your weekly productivity?
In some employment environments, the answer is yes, according to Wharton management professor Adam Grant. Grant has devoted significant chunks of his professional career to examining what motivates workers in settings that range from call centers and mail-order pharmacies to swimming pool lifeguard squads. In all these situations, Grant says, employees who know how their work has a meaningful, positive impact on others are not just happier than those who don't; they are vastly more productive, too.
More Proof that Happy Employees Give Their Employers Lots of Reasons to Smile.
Fortunes Best Companies to Work For list is back. And the results are as fascinating as ever.
Managing Whiners and Complainers: How to Handle Disgruntled Employees.
Almost every workplace has one - the disgruntled employee who frequently complains to supervisors and co-workers.
Will Cleaning Windows Improve Employees Morals?
BYU researchers claim that improved morality can be linked to Windex. No kidding. Kate Liljenquist and her team tested individuals reactions when introduced to a room that smells like Windex, the popular blue window cleaner.
What Can Employers Learn From Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize?
What Can Employers Learn From Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize?
Job Survival Advice: Don't Fear the Whitewater.
Change is the new status-quo, and success at work will require agility, talent and the ability to learn from -- rather than fear -- failure, according to Gregory Shea, adjunct professor of management at Wharton, and business writer Robert Gunther. The two recently co-authored a book titled, Your Job Survival Guide, a Manual for Thriving in Change. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, the authors compared the economy and job market to a whitewater river in which every kayaker is certain to spend a significant part of the journey under water.
Politics in the Workplace: The Heat Is On.
As the November 4th Presidential election approaches, so too does the unavoidable political discourse. Invariably, the discussion finds its way over to the water cooler, creating a politically charged environment rife with disruption. Workplace friction imposed by emotionally contrasting viewpoints often leads to a corresponding decline in morale. As the distractions increase, productivity inevitably suffers.
Not What, Not How, but Who? Western Companies Face a Worldwide Talent Crunch.
Faced with an aging workforce and a growing demand for skilled workers in emerging markets like China and India, companies in the West are grappling with a talent crunch of unprecedented scope. According to experts at Wharton and The Boston Consulting Group, firms are increasingly questioning their workforce requirements and quality, training and development, and wage levels. Responses include over-hiring to meet future needs, upgrading training in concert with universities and in-house corporate schools, and extracting greater productivity through innovation.
Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight: The Problem of Under-trained Supervisors.
In a culture of empowerment, where so many employers strive for a leaner, flatter management hierarchy, supervisors are increasingly called upon to make risky, potentially costly personnel decisions. This is an especially dicey responsibility during tough economic times, when disgruntled former employees are having a more difficult time finding work. Unless they have enough training to know when and how to seek assistance, these supervisors are flirting with disaster.
Generation Y @ Work: Part 1.
An estimated 80 million members of Generation Y have joined the American workforce. These youngsters, born after 1980, present new challenges for employers. One of these is the Gen Y mindset that they are one-person enterprises entitled to sell their work experience, and the proprietary information they can gather, to the next highest bidder. Another is their willingness to change jobs often and with little notice.
Economics for Humans: Tyler Cowen on Using Incentives for a Better Life
Are most employers, then, squashing the natural motivations people have to work hard? Is there sometime wrong in focusing too much on salaries as an incentive?
Waking Up on the Wrong Side of the Desk: The Effect of Mood on Work Performance.
You know how it goes: A traffic jam blocks your way to work. A rude driver swerves in front of your car and you spill that just-purchased caf latte into your lap. You arrive late, in a lousy mood. From there, the day just goes downhill and your workplace performance falls to pieces.
Heading for the Fast Track? New Studies Examine Who Gets Promoted and Why.
Even as two big labor unions decided this week to defect from the AFL-CIO, claiming that it had failed to stop declining union membership or push hard enough for labor reform, debate about the alchemy of promotion -- who gets it, when and why -- animated a recent conference at Wharton organized by the School's Center for Human Resources. Labor economists and human resource specialists attending the conference, entitled "Careers and Career Transitions: New Evidence for a New Economy," tackled a number of issues, including whether or not a "fast track" really exists, the effect of corporate restructurings on professional advancement and the likelihood of promotion for insiders vs. recent outside hires.
