Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

UnitedHealth Group, Target, Kraft and other leading employers have created a new outlet for employee altruism called “micro-volunteering” that allows individuals to give back to their community just 15 minutes at a time.

The American Board of Internal Medicine, Consumer Reports magazine and 17 medical professional societies recently banded together to launch “Choosing Wisely,” a public awareness campaign to reduce unnecessary medical tests and treatments.

According to one study, students whose parents pay their entire college bill are the ones most likely to be partying rather than studying.

A statement from the American Heart Association says based on review of more than 500 journal articles and studies, there’s no proof that gum disease leads to heart disease or stroke — or that preventive dental care can reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.

There is always much noise and excitement about starting an employee wellness program, but the room goes silent when talk turns to return on investment. It’s well past time for ROI vagueness to stop being tolerated. A wellness program without clear goals and methods for measurement is meaningless.

Recently, Benz Communications announced the launch of its Inside Benefits Communication Survey, the first survey of benefits and HR managers created specifically to learn how companies are strategizing and implementing benefits communication. Respondents to the 10-minute survey will get inside knowledge of what effective companies are doing, where they need help and what their plans are. Learn how to participate.

It’s Earth Week! And regardless of your position on the reality and/or cause of climate change, this week is one set apart for being kinder and gentler to Mother Earth. Some companies best known for making green are taking bigger strides to go green — or, in the case of Kaiser Permanente, go greener.

In a recent company infographic/blog post, “The case for Facebook,” Keas cites survey data that show a group of employees who browsed the web or used social networks for 10 minutes were 16% more productive than employees who took a regular 10-minute break, and 39% more productive than the control group.

Survey results from AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association, finds that as many as two-in-five employees feel they hardly ever know what’s going on at their organization.

Changing physicians' attitudes toward low-value services will mean counteracting a powerful force — the profit motive. Physicians, like most economically rational people, generally tend to recommend tests and treatments that reward physicians financially.