A visually impaired employee has been a prime mover in Google's efforts to make its products -- and the world at large -- more accessible to people with disabilities. Laura Palmaro Allen is part of a centralized team that vets all equipment for adaptability to user differences.
Nonsolicit clauses, which are common in Silicon Valley, are unfair and toxic to company culture, Humu CEO Laszlo Bock writes. Bock details three reasons his company has removed nonsolicit clauses from employee agreements and explains why CEOs, not HR or legal teams, should lead this charge.
80% of CEOs seek broader skills in the workforce Today's workforce needs both technical and social skills to keep up with evolving tech and become forward-thinking. Read the Closing the Skills Gap Guidebook to learn how you can cultivate your existing team, onboard promising talent and stay ahead of the skills gap with lifelong learning.
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Paid family leave, flexible work options and sabbaticals top the list of most-coveted employee benefits in a poll by Unum. Professional development also is highly desired, while student-loan repayment, identity theft protection and pet-friendly workplaces rank lower among 15 perks.
A technologically advanced desk design from the researchers at MIT Media Lab is able to sense stress by collecting over 30 biological markers from the person using it. The workspace adapts to signs of stress by switching to calming colors or visuals, such as a serene nature scene, on its integrated video screen.
Communicate better with employees during a merger or acquisition by avoiding blanket statements and using video, writes Nicole Alvino, chief strategy officer for SocialChorus. "Let workers of all levels, tenure, and status share their stories about what the merger means to them," she writes.