Benefits Think

Here's a question just in time for Thanksgiving: Does your organization encourage a culture of gratitude? Not in a 2009 way: “In this economy, you'd better be grateful just to have a job!" Rather, in a genuine, pre-recession way: “I appreciate my coworkers, I let them know it, and the feeling is mutual." …

Over the weekend, I read a funny news item about a woman from Canada, who was on medical leave from her job at IBM. She’d been away from work for about a year and receiving monthly sick-leave payments to get help with major depression.

Although I’d of course prefer that you read the Daily Diversion exclusively, I have no problem recommending other blogs. One of my new favorites is HR Morning, which posts news and opinion for pros.

At EBN’s annual conference in September, keynoter Dave Ramsey said the recession was helping to make “credit cards the cigarettes of the financial world.” New survey stats from Country Financial seem to back him up, as more consumers say they plan to go cold turkey on credit.

The holidays will be even happier for some 80,000 current and former participants in Caterpillar’s 401(k) plan.

Did the stimulus package drop $19 billion down the rabbit hole? The law, which contained $19 billion worth of incentives designed to nudge doctors and hospitals to switch to electronic medical records.

As a woman with a history of cancer in my family, new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of independent experts on mammogram frequency makes me very nervous.

Yes, according to The Fund for Personal Liberty. The organization is backing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of mandatory Medicare enrollment, and says it will do the same against a national individual mandate, should such a directive be a result of health care reform legislation.

This Thursday (Nov. 19) marks the annual Great American Smokeout, promoted by the American Cancer Society as a challenge to the nation’s 46 million smokers to give up the habit for 24 hours.

In general, you’d think that offering employees worksite access to seasonal flu shots or even the H1N1 vaccine would give employers a PR boost (unless you’re Goldman Sachs).