I do a lot of reading. Here are some thoughts inspired by the latest round:
- No person who produces from the heart will go for naught. Career success requires both inner and external engineering.
- As the scope of your life becomes bigger, less will be under your control.
- “I will be happy….. when” is meaningless. Be happy now!
- Comfort is an illusion if sought from the outside. Do you want to be comfortable or awesome?
- To map your career path, ask “Where can I help the most people with the least amount of energy?”
- When overwhelmed by information, we lose clarity of thought, which comes in the spaces between information – yet another reason to meditate.
- Do you identify with your limitations – and let them define you?
- Have these “limitations” blocked you from career success?
- Personal peace is about our internal chemistry. All happiness, despair and other human experiences have a biochemical basis.
- Every person is an energy field functioning at different levels of capability.
- How loyal, how engaged, and awesome do you want your people to be?
- You can’t bullshit yourself into well being.
- Situations don’t make you – they expose you.
- Use time off to reward employees.
- Personality comes from the word persona, which in Greek drama meant a “mask.” Like a mask our personality is a construct – a story we tell ourselves about ourselves.
- All creativity is an imitation of nature.
- Conduct scavenger hunts, field trips, lunch-and -learns, suggestion meetings, crossword puzzles, jeopardy games, volunteer projects, blood donations, fun clubs, etc.
- If people feel good, they will______________
- Over-committed heroes end up becoming martyrs. Avoid this behavior pattern!
- Can you be peaceful where you are or must you go someplace to feel that way?
- HR’s focus on the negative does a disservice to human well being.
- Work doesn’t cause stress; your reaction to it does.
- Have a plan for where you and your business will evolve.
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Eggnog, latkes, old friends, parties – and a lot of beveraging! HR That Works wishes you a safe and happy holiday season! As the host of your company party, you have a legal obligation to make sure that attendees get home safe. Here’s our list of tips to help you meet this responsibility:
- Make party attendance voluntary.
- Hire bartenders trained to spot and handle intoxicated revelers.
- Provide non-alcoholic beverages.
- Give each guest a limited number of drink tickets, instead of an open bar.
- Serve filling food – not just chips and pretzels – whenever alcohol is available.
- Cut off alcohol service at least an hour before the party ends.
- Stop serving intoxicated guests immediately; don’t wait until they’re ready to leave.
- Never ask an apparently impaired guest if they’re able to drive home – they aren’t.
- Provide a taxi service for guests who require or request it.
- Have a friend or family member pick up intoxicated guests.
- Arrange for discounted rooms at the event location or a nearby hotel.
Finally, have a fun party. Think like good ‘ol Mr. Fezziwig!
Accommodating Religious Needs
The holiday season is an ideal time to focus on religious accommodation in in the workplace. Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on religion. We’ve seen more of these claims in recent years, with thousands of claims filed in 2012. Unsurprising, many of these cases include allegations of discrimination based national origin (i.e. someone claims discrimination because they’re of Arab origin, as well as Muslim).
The EEOC offers this definition of “religion:”
“In most cases, whether or not a practice or a belief is religious is not an issue. However, the EEOC defines religious practices to include moral or ethical beliefs as to what’s right and wrong, which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional, religious views. The fact that no religious group espouses such beliefs, or that the religious group to which the individual professes to belong might not accept such belief, will not determine whether the belief is a religious belief of the employee or prospective employee. The phrase ‘religious practices’ includes both religious observances and practices.” Also, bear in mind that:
- It’s unlawful for an employer to fail to accommodate reasonably the religious practices of an employee or prospective employee, unless the employer demonstrates that accommodation will mean undue hardship in conducting its business.
- An employer may not ask about an employee’s religious background unless justified by business necessity.”
For more information on religious expression in the workplace, check out: 1) EEOC guidelines and FAQS on religious discrimination: 2) an EEOC memo on accommodating religious expression; and 3) religious accommodation practices at the University of Missouri ( a great education, period).
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As kids, we learn that there are two ways to get in trouble: doing stuff we shouldn’t (giving the dog a haircut) or not doing things we should (letting Fido go hungry).
As a contractor, you can get into serious trouble for not doing something,– under a legal doctrine called “negligent supervision.” For example, if one of your employees injures another person by driving a car recklessly while on company business, you might face a negligent supervision lawsuit alleging that you failed to uncover or ignored the driver’s bad record behind the wheel.
To minimize this risk, experts recommend that you:
Understand your exposure to potential negligence. Although it’s an exaggeration to say that anything you do (or don’t do) might be seen as negligent, certain situations demand particular care Promoting or certifying unqualified employees, failing to fire or discipline them for potentially dangerous behavior, or terminating them without an effective investigation.
Never make assumptions about employees. Just because workers volunteer for additional responsibilities for which they might be unqualified (out of boredom, a wish to please, or to earn a higher wage) doesn’t mean they can actually do the work. Check the employees petitions before assigning the work.
Don’t ignore or minimize signs that employees pose a potential danger to themselves or others. After the tragic shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, the media was filled with evidence of the shooter’s troubling behavior that the authorities evidently ignored. If you’re concerned about an employee’s actions, investigate, inquire, and consult with experts, including the police. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
We’d be happy to review your exposure to negligent supervision claims and how liability insurance can protect you against these allegations.
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As your business grows, the risks you face become more complex, potential losses grow, along with your insurance premiums. At some point, you’ll need to decide whether it makes sense to turn over the responsibility for risk management to a full-time professional.
Before making this decision, experts recommend that you weigh two key factors:
1) the cost of paying a full-time risk manager, and
2) the potential savings that this manager can generate.
The first element is relatively easy to determine, it’s the salary and overhead of the manager, plus whatever clerical support that he or she needs.
The second item requires you to analyze the extent which a full-time risk manager can:
- Centralize and compartmentalize responsibility for risk management in a single department. This improvement in efficiency should more than offset the increase in administrative costs.
- reduce losses by providing analysis of loss control needs, careful scrutiny of reports, and knowledge of whom to contact for specialized help. Careful attention to loss reserves and adjusting practices can help cut costs dramatically. For example, adjusting liability and workers compensation claims requires special expertise. Insurance companies generally provide adjusters, it’s always helpful to have someone on your team who can evaluate their conclusions.
- help lower your premiums by paying closer attention to coverage criteria, negotiating with agents, brokers, and insurance companies, and using familiarity with industry terminology.
If you’d like our input on making this key decision, feel free to get in touch with the risk management professionals at our agency at any time. We’re here to serve you.
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Demographic changes in today’s workplace are impacting the way risk managers handle lost Productivity, the cost of wage replacement, and skyrocketing workers comp premiums that are created by the health problems their employees face. Chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, back problems, respiratory disease, and diabetes are far more prevalent among workers aged 55 and above. These workers account for an ever-greater share of the labor force, than among younger employees.
Employers who promote healthy life style choices offer an effective way to reduce health related costs. Experts recommend taking these steps:
- Encourage workers to educate themselves about their health problems.
- Offer health risk appraisals to employees.
- Introduce disease management programs to promote healthy behavior.
- Make healthy food options available.
- Encourage exercise.
- Discourage unhealthy habits. For example, make the workplace tobacco free.
- If you have a fairly large workforce, provide on-site medical facilities.
- Use employee assistance programs (EAPs) to help with family and home issues that often emerge when managing long term chronic conditions.
- Create mobility throughout the day. Being sedentary or standing for long periods can create problems for employee with health conditions.
- Conduct periodic ergonomic assessments.
- Encourage breaks in concentration and focus by dividing tasks into shorter cognitive units.
- Establish a safety committee that recognizes and rewards valuable safety suggestions.
- Build in accountability for the workplace health and safety committee at the supervisory level.
Of course, these guidelines apply equally to all of your employees.
To learn more, feel free to give a call.
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With slips, trips and, falls remaining one of the top causes of workers compensation claims, safety experts stress the need for preventive measures and ergonomic workplace design.
Such accidents need particular attention in nonindustrial environments where employers often install terrazzo or marble floors that can be dangerous to walk on.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, same- level slips, trips and falls (in which workers slip and fall on the surface where they’re standing) accounted for 134,580 lost workdays and 111 deaths in 2011. The number of same-level falls increased 42.3% from 1998 to 2010, the highest growth of any accident type during this period. These mishaps are costly, in 2010, Liberty Mutual a a leading workers comp insurance company, paid $8.61 billion in same-level fall comp claims.
Implementing safety measures such as, cleaning spilled liquids promptly and placing floor mats on smooth flooring will help prevent workplace injury. Reviewing injury records to find trends will help determine additional safety measures to implement in the workplace. Many businesses are replacing surfaces that contribute to these mishaps which is a highly cost effective investment that can curb expensive litigation and workers comp liabilities.
Although these precautions have prevented thousands of slip-and-fall accidents, the risk will remain a problem until employers work with design professionals to create ergonomically friendly safe buildings. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is sponsoring a “Prevention Through Design” initiative to address ways that architects and engineers can get involved in designing safer workplaces (for example, by training college engineering and architecture students about safety and ergonomic considerations).
Our workers comp specialists would be happy to check your business for slip and fall hazards and recommend steps to help keep your staff and visitors from slipping.
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I do a lot of reading. Here are some thoughts inspired by the latest round: