Benefits Think

A funny new app from Xerox called the Business of Your Brain app analyzes your emails and calendar notices to identify those distractions that steer focus away from work.

My mother has the day off every other Friday, which I highly envy. She also works nine-hour days for the privilege, which I do not envy. However, although the idea of clocking time has no appeal for me, I give her employer credit for trying to help employees gain greater control over their time by offering the compressed week option. …

Do you require nonexempt employees to review their timecards every pay period? Probably not. But according to Bob Yonowitz, partner at the Irvine, Calif. office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, you should.

We’ve developed online benefit portals and with only a few keystrokes, a complete file is sent on an electronic data interface (EDI). My simple view is it’s like happy hour for a bunch of computers — one system talks to another, then another, and hopefully they’ll all have cheerful dispositions. When happy hour prices go sour, so do the error messages I receive.

This morning, I read news that the Republican majority in the House has plans to choke off some $1.9 billion in grants slated to go to states to set up health care exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I’m disappointed by the announcement, because out of all that I dislike about PPACA, the creation of exchanges was one aspect that I was excited about. …

This morning on the train, I read a Washington Post article detailing serious prescription drug shortages nationwide — and immediately thought of the potential impact on your employees and prescription drug plans.

As I was going through my inbox searching for a topic to post about, I came across an invite to an upcoming audio conference: “Business Communication Etiquette Part 1: How to Deal with Technology.” I was twice stunned. Once, by the notion that people might actually need a seminar on how to apply the golden rule with technology in the workplace. And twice, that even if such a seminar is needed, that it needs to be conducted in multiple parts.

As HR/benefits pros, you’re generally your company’s first line of defense in preventing a discrimination lawsuit. How do you counsel managers against making skin-deep selections or relying solely on gut feeling, with millions of dollars potentially on the line in replacement, training and productivity costs if a hire doesn’t work out, or if a rejected candidate decides to sue?

As she promotes her new book, "Versatility: A Prerequisite for Leadership Success," workplace consultant Francie Dalton outlines seven different types of workplace personalities and how managers can skillfully mesh them to create productive, harmonious teams.

I think maybe there’s more than goodwill at work among employers who allow top-performing and long-tenured workers to take lengthy sabbaticals or service missions abroad. It stands to reason that for employees who embark on such journeys are even better workers when they return and the benefit extends to their colleagues and company at large.