For the latest HR information, resources and reference material,
visit www.shrm.org.
NOTE: SHRM membership may be a requirement for access to these
articles.
Americans Idle
There's a disparity between employees' perceptions and
reality on key health issues-- a differcne that puts theri
well-being at risk and threatens their employer's bottom
line. [
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New Deferred Comp Rules
The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 established new
rules governing the operation of nonqualified deferred compensation
plans. [
More ] |
Machines Don't Replace HR
Inplementation of HR technology systems does not necessarily
pave the way for a decrease in HR head count, a new SHRM
study finds. [
More ] |
Before You Go. . .
Recent news headlines have opend up a new front in executive
pay wars -- retirement and severance pay packages. [
More ] |
Anticipating the Future
Strategic workforce planning needs to encompass more than
forecasting head counts. [
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Paying for Skills
Competency-based HR management systems offer a more precise
way for employers to distinguish superior from average or
below-average performance. [
More ] |
Emergency Planning
Does you rorganization's emergency evacuation plan include
provisions for disabled workers? [
More ] |
Say What You Mean
Getting executives to appreciate what HR means to an organization
first requires HR professionals to rethink the role they
play. [
More ]
|
Outsourcing: Not Just for the Bigs
As more companies outsource the HR function, smaller HR
consulting firms are finding new sources of business: clients
who are uncomfortable with (or unable to affortd) the big
HR/outsourcing firms. [
More ] |
Five for HR: HR Outsourcing
- HR Outsourcing Survey
- The Benefits of Outsourcing
- Webcast: Negotiating HR Outsourcing Contracts
- Calculating the ROI of Outsourcing
- Outsourcing Training and Development
[
More ]
|
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SHRM Interactive
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On the Web
For more news and updates on these and other stories, see the
online version of HR News visit www.shrm.org/hrnews.
Retiree Health Rule Valid, EEOC and Backers
Tell Court
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has the authority
to allow employers to coordinate retiree health benefits
with Medicare, court briefs say.
[
More ] |
Fired Smokers, State Senator Protest Weyco Policy
Four women fired from a Michigan health benfit services
company for smoking appeared on national television news
shows with their state senator to protest the policy behind
the terminations. |
Bill To Revamp Class-Action Suits Becomes Law
Congress passed the Class Action Fairness Act, and President
Bush signed it into law, giving federal district courts
juridiction over any civil action in which the damages and
penalties sought exceed $5 million. The law will affect
any class-action suit that has plaintiffs and defendants
from different states. |
Study: Reducing Hours Isn't Always a Career Killer
Choosing to cut your workload to three or four days a week
is not a career killer for top-level emploees, accorging
to a stury from McGill State University and Michitgan State
University. |
Senate Passes Bill Barring Genetic Discrimination
The U.S. Senate has approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act - legislation that would permit employees to sue employers
and insuracnce companies for misuse of geneti cinformation
- but its fate is less certain in the House or Representatives.
|
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Stroke Awareness Month.
May is National Stroke Awareness Month. During 2005, an estimated
700,000 persons in the United States will have a stroke; of these,
approximately 160,000 (23%) will die. Nearly half of stroke deaths
will occur before patients are transported to hospitals, and 15%--30%
of stroke survivors will be disabled permanently.
Recognition of the warning signs for stroke and immediate calls
for emergency medical care are critical first steps toward obtaining
appropriate emergency treatment that might prevent death and disability.
If you or someone you know is having these symptoms, call 911
immediately. Stroke is a medical emergency. Treatment is most
effective when a stroke is recognized in time:
- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, most
often on one side of the body.
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech.
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or boh eyes.
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
Additional information about stroke prevention and the national
stroke registry is available at http://www.cdc.gov/cvh.
Information about stroke is available at http://www.strokeassociation.org,
http://www.stroke.org,
and http://www.ninds.nih.gov.
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Sensible Nutrition. Take charge of your diet and weight.
A humorist once said that the secret of success in life is eating
what you like and letting the food fight it out inside. Wouldn't
it be great if you could fill up on all your favorite foods? But
most people (especially those approaching middle age) have to
watch their weight and be more careful about what they eat.
Here are some wise nutrition tips from the Rhode Island Department
of Health that can help you maintain a healthy diet and a healthy
weight:
- Don't use food as a reward or a comfort. Are you really
hungry for food or are you hungry for something emotional, like
a hug, a hot bath, or some time for yourself?
- Focus on health rather than weight. The most successful
approaches focus on feeling better, stronger, and more energetic
rather than on a target weight.
- Don't ban any food. Keep foods you "can't give up" in a junk-food
drawer for an occasional treat.
- Take charge. Although body weight is genetically and environmentally
linked, your behavior and lifestyle choices also play a factor.
- Watch portion size. Check product labels to see how
much food is considered a serving. Many items sold as
single portions actually provide two servings or more. If you're
eating out, share a meal with a friend, or take part of the
food home. Restaurants generally serve very large portion
sizes.
- Limit soda and juice. Soda contains only empty calories and
no nutritional value. You are much better off eating fruit
than drinking juice.
- Avoid quick fixes. Weight-loss pills, potions, and fad diets
may not be safe for your health, and they won't help you keep
the weight off permanently.
- Never say diet. Aim for permanent changes in food intake
and a gradual weight loss of a half-pound to a pound a week.
- Eating right not only makes you look and feel better, it also
gives you the fuel you need to do a good day's work and still
have energy to enjoy your personal time.
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What is Physical Fitness?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
overall fitness is made up of five components:
- Cardiorespiratory endurance - The ability of the body's circulatory
and respiratory systems to supply fuel during sustained physical
activity. To improve cardiorespiratory endurance, engage in
activities such as walking, jogging, swimming, or bicycling.
- Muscular strength - The ability of the muscle to exert force
during an activity. The key to making your muscles stronger
is working them against resistance. To gain muscle strength,
lift weights or climb stairs rapidly.
- Muscular endurance - The ability of the muscle to continue
to perform without fatigue. To improve your muscle endurance,
engage in cardiorespiratory activities such as walking, jogging,
bicycling, or dancing.
- Body composition - The relative amount of muscle, fat, bone,
and other vital parts of the body. A person's total body weight
(what you see on the bathroom scale) may not change over time.
But the bathroom scale does not assess how much of that body
weight is fat and how much is lean mass. Body composition is
an important consideration for health and weight management.
- Flexibility - The range of motion around a joint. Good flexibility
helps prevent injuries. To improve flexibility, start swimming
or running through a basic stretching program.
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Married People Healthier, Government Report Says.
Married adults are generally healthier than divorced, widowed,
or never married adults, according to a survey conducted by the
U.S. government. The report found that:
- Married people are less likely than other adults to be in
fair or poor health, and are less likely to suffer from health
conditions such as headaches and serious psychological distress.
- Married adults are less likely to be limited in various activities,
including work and other activities of daily living.
- Married adults are less likely to smoke, drink heavily, or
be physically inactive. However, married men are more likely
to be overweight or obese than other men.
- Adults who live in cohabiting relationships are more likely
to have health problems than married adults and more closely
resemble divorced and separated adults.
Although this report gave no reason for why married people are
healthier, other researchers have theorized that it has to do
with the nurturing aspects of marriage, such as care when sick,
better nutrition, and a home atmosphere that encourages healthy
behaviors and reduces harmful stress.
Note: According to the report, nearly 60 percent of people in
the United States over age 18 are married, 10.4 percent are separated
or divorced, 6.6 percent are widowed, 19 percent are never married,
and 5.7 percent are living with a partner.
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Seen Much of the Family? An easy way to find more
time together.
The period between Mother's Day and Father's Day has been designated
as National
Family Month. It's a good time to examine a problem shared
by so many families - finding time together. One solution, recommended
by the experts at the Cooperative Extension Service at Iowa State
University of Science and Technology, is to keep a record of how
family members actually spend their time. Here's how:
- Create a chart divided into seven sections, one for each day
of the week.
- Divide each day into eight segments of 3-hour periods (for
example, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., 9 a.m. to noon).
- Have each family member copy your chart.
- Then ask each person to write what they do each day for a
week on the chart.
At the end of the week, have a family meeting and compare charts.
You'll discover when the family is usually all together at home.
Those are your opportunities to be together. You may have to snatch
a half hour here and an hour there. Maybe all you'll feel like
doing is watching TV. But at least you'll be doing it together
- and that's good for the whole family.
Note: It's a good idea to chart two different weeks - one during
the school year and one during summer vacation - since activities
vary between these periods.
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Performance Appraisals. Ten things NOT to do during
your evaluation.
What you don't do at a review can be as important as what you
do. For example:
DON'T:
- Be late. One category you're probably being evaluated on
is punctuality!
- Be nervous. You're here to help you improve your performance.
- Forget to prepare yourself to talk about your achievements,
problems, etc. during the last evaluation period.
- Neglect to develop your own goals for the next evaluation
period.
- Come with a negative attitude. Be open and cooperative. Work
to make the meeting productive.
- Pretend to listen. Really listen to what your supervisor
has to say.
- React emotionally to constructive criticism. Look on it as
a guidebook for improving your job performance.
- Sit quietly. Speak up in a positive, professional way.
- Be afraid to ask for clarification when there are things
you don't understand or agree with.
- Forget to get a copy of the appraisal so that you know what
you need to
work on in the coming months.
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Why Do You Work? It's important to find satisfaction
in your job.
Why do extremely wealthy people like Bill Gates, Ted Kennedy,
Oprah Winfrey, and Donald Trump continue to work? They have more
than enough money to live in luxury for the rest of their lives
without earning another dollar. Yet they still work every day.
What for?
"Life isn't having it made; it's getting it made. Each necessary
task requires an effort of will and with each act something in
you grows and is strengthened," says Red Adair, a man who's made
his fortune in a very challenging job - putting out oil field
fires. People like Adair keep working for the challenge and fulfillment.
So what makes you get out of bed every day to work? Is it because
you:
- Were raised with a strong work ethic?
- Are an achiever who likes the satisfaction of accomplishing
goals?
- Love a good challenge?
- Find your job interesting?
- Are a creative type and like solving problems?
- Are competitive and like striving to be the best?
- Like working with others, being involved, being part of a
team?
It's important to find satisfaction in your work beyond the paycheck
- especially since you spend such a big part of your life doing
it!
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Total Quality
Here's what total quality means - and why it matters.
Quality products are:
- Useful
- Reliable
- Safe
- 100 percent according to specifications.
After all, would you want your car to run only 90 percent of
the time? Or only 90 percent of the food you eat to be safe? That's
why 100 percent quality is so important.
Quality service is:
- Helpful
- Accurate
- Timely
- Complete.
The quality of our external service determines how satisfied
customers are with the organization. The quality of our internal
service (the service you provide your co-workers) determines how
efficient the organization is.
For example, making a mistake on a purchase order number could
create shortages of a critical part that halts production. Finishing
a report one day late could back up work throughout the company.
That's why quality service is important.
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Quotes:
"Working together works."
- Sports psychologist Dr. Rob Gilbert
"Friend: someone who knows all
about you and loves you just the same."
- Elbert Hubbard
"All marriages are happy. It's the living
together afterward that causes all the trouble. -
Raymond Hull
"Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave
if you've only had wonderful things happen to you." -
Mary Tyler Moore
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Safety Spot Check. How safe are you right this
minute?
Are you really as safe as you think you are on the job? Run through
this checklist and find out. Put a check in the "yes" or "no"
box and total your check marks.
| Yes |
No |
Situation/Question |
| |
|
Is the area around your workstation clear? |
| |
|
Are floors free of oil, grease, liquids, debris? |
| |
|
Is all trash placed in proper containers? |
| |
|
Are materials and tools stored in their proper place? |
| |
|
Do you always use required PPE and check it before each
use? |
| |
|
Is PPE properly maintained and stored? |
| |
|
Do you plan each task before you start and think about possible
hazards and necessary precautions? |
| |
|
Do you always follow instructions and obey safety rules? |
| |
|
Do you keep alert for safety problems while you work? |
| |
|
Are you aware of others working around you? |
| |
|
Do you check with your supervisor before you start a job
if you have any questions about how to perform it safely? |
| |
|
Is the equipment you use well maintained and operating properly? |
| |
|
TOTALS |
How did you do? The more "no" boxes you checked, the more you're
at risk of having an accident.
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Seat Belts Save Lives.
More than 32,000 Americans die in motor vehicle
crashes every year. Over half of them were not wearing seat belts.
According to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, lap and shoulder belts
reduce your chance of being killed or seriously injured in a collision
by better than 50 percent.
Seat belts are remarkably effective in minimizing injuries and
preventing fatalities. Seat belts:
- Hold you in place so that you don't crash into the dashboard,
steering wheel, or windshield. That's very important because
a crash at only 30 miles per hour can send a 150-pound person
who is not wearing a seat belt into the steering wheel or dashboard
with a force of more than 2 tons.
- Keep you from being thrown from the vehicle. You're much
more likely to be killed if you're thrown from a vehicle onto
the road, into a tree, etc.
- Allow your shoulder and hip bones, which are the strongest
areas of the body, to take most of the shock of the impact instead
of your delicate internal organs.
- Make it more likely that you will remain conscious after
a crash and be able to help yourself and others.
Even if you're not in an accident, seat belts help keep you in
place if you have to swerve, brake, or accelerate suddenly.
Do you buckle up every time you drive? If not, now is a good
time to start. Support Buckle
Up America Week (May 23-30) and wear your seat belt.
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Winning Ways. What's a positive work attitude?
A positive work attitude comes from within. It's the result of:
- Knowing that your job is important.
- Confidence in your own abilities.
- Enjoying working with other people.
- Valuing the opportunity to do something useful.
Communicate your positive attitude through:
- A warm, friendly, enthusiastic voice, which lets co-workers
know you're glad to work with them.
- Positive words like "I can," "I will," and "certainly," which
tell others that you're on top of things.
- A smile and eye contact, which tell people that you are approachable
and direct.
- A good but relaxed posture, which shows that you are confident
and open.
A positive work attitude is contagious. Most people return a
smile and act courteously when they are treated courteously. A
positive, upbeat person makes co-workers feel at ease. And when
the pressure is on or when a conflict looms, a positive attitude
can ease tensions and help everyone maintain a sense of balance.
Think about how you look, sound, and come across to the people
you work with. Would you want to work with you?
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Secret(s) to Success. Unlock the secrets below.
The secret to success at work is to know all the secrets. For
example, to:
- Avoid mistakes - Double-check the things you're absolutely
sure are OK.
- Bounce back from a bad decision - Make sure you understand
what went wrong and why.
- Get a promotion - Learn everything there is to know about
the job you want.
- Meet deadlines - Mark it down as a week earlier on your calendar
so that if you run late, you'll still be early.
- Get along with co-workers - Cooperate, share information,
and don't gossip.
- Get along with your supervisor - Be competent, punctual,
and reliable.
- Have a successful performance appraisal - Be prepared to
discuss your job performance, and make sure you understand your
performance goals.
- Increase your productivity - Plan ahead and while you work,
focus 100 percent on the job.
- Improve quality - Make sure you understand your company's
standards and the procedures designed to achieve those standards.
- Make it safely through the workday - Recognize all the hazards
of your job, take proper precautions to protect yourself, and
keep alert for anything that could go wrong.
- Balance work and personal life - When you're at work, work;
when you're home, focus on yourself and your family.
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