A new report highlights a growing tension between employers -- many of which are struggling to stabilize their financial situation -- and employees, who are showing fatigue in response to a lengthy period of stress, uncertainty and confusion brought about during the recession.
Freelancers like to work how and when they want. But that flexibility entails more than a few downfalls. A new Freelancers Union's report shows 81% of independents had little or no work, 40% had trouble collecting wages from clients, and 39% had either cut back or ended health coverage.
A recent study finds that Americans are less willing to leave an existing job. Workers had lots of reasons for staying put, but a big one is fear of losing employer-provided health coverage. Would passage of the health care overhaul change that?
Despite the cutbacks resulting from the Great Recession, more employers than ever are finding reasons to adopt policies that make workplaces better for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, according to a recent Human Rights Campaign Foundation survey.
Only about a third of private-sector employers give employees a break on MLK Jr. Day or Presidents' Day, and even fewer close for Columbus Day or Veterans Day. But do their employees care? Nearly half of office workers surveyed said they preferred a floating holiday that allowed them take off for their own birthdays.
A growing list of companies have jumped on the "happiness coaching" bandwagon. To its practitioners, it is a proven method that can lead to changed lives. But to its detractors, its just another gimmick for squeeze more work out of dispirited employees.
With his health care insurance overhaul sidelined for the time being, President Obama has turned his focus to lowering the nation's stubbornly high unemployment rate. For millions of jobless Americans, that shift comes none to soon.
Though the odds may seem daunting, job seekers shouldn't view finding new employment as an impossible goal, says workplace expert John Challenger, chief executive at employment consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The key to success is to take an active approach and make your own opportunities," he says.
