Why Do We Underestimate Risk?

    Why did a very successful Coca-Cola ever launch New Coke?  Why did people invest their kids’ college funds in Beanie Babies?  Surely anyone could have seen these efforts could only end in ruinous failure.  Hind sight is 20/20 because human beings are, more often...

Groundswell Growing for Regulation of Part-Time Work Schedules

   Lost in July’s Jobs Report celebration of the drop in the unemployment rate was the remorseless and grinding continuation of the destruction of full-time jobs.  Nearly 800,000 part-time jobs were created while 523,000 full-time jobs were wiped out.  A staggering 28...

EEOC Conflates PDA with ADA in New Guidance

Apparently unwilling to wait for a Supreme Court decision on the issue next term, and reasoning in direct conflict with prior federal courts of appeals decisions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance for employers with regards to pregnant...

How to Restore Trust at Work

   Trust, and its byproduct confidence, is an absolutely essential element in any organization.  Loyalty is on the extreme spectrum of trust, yet many organizations tend to expect both of their employees.  I have come to believe that asking loyalty is too much for...

Five Toxic Habits That Drive Talent Out of Organizations

    Far too many HR pros have had the experience of seeing a talented person leave the company, mouth non-committal platitudes during the exit interview and not speak to the real reasons for their departure.  Sure, it may have been the recruiter that called out of the...

Is HR Ready to Integrate Robot and Human Workers?

     We long ago became accustomed to robots replacing human workers in factories (GM introduced the first robots in manufacturing in 1961).  Although human workers were replaced, and some lost their jobs, the move was seen as a net gain since the work replaced was...

Can You Fire an Employee for Cursing You Out? Nope says NLRB

         Most HR pros and experienced managers are comfortable with terminations involving egregious insubordination, particularly if the company has standing policies or practices that direct employees to treat one another with mutual respect and professional...

July Jobs Report: Forest for the Trees

     We have all heard the happy talk since the July jobs report rolled out last week.  Job growth beat expectations! (As if expectations have been even halfway right for the last six years).  There were 288,000 new jobs created in June.  Unemployment fell to its...

What Can Managers Learn From Chef’s About Efficiency

   If you are similar to me, you probably start your day checking your voicemail and email and then responding to those in order of importance.  This can take 10 minutes or an hour, but it is a ritual. Ron Friedman, Ph.D., the founder of ignite80 has a different...