Staffing shortages delaying Hawaii's housing services | Older Americans increasingly unretiring | Strategies to take your business from "what if" to "wow"
Hawaii Public Housing Authority staffing cuts is increasing the time it takes for Honolulu residents to get into low-income housing. (The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Staffing shortages and increased workloads at the Hawaii Public Housing Authority are causing delays in processing tenant information, leading to potential housing insecurity and eviction risks. Advocates, including Fernando Cosio, express concerns over the agency's slow and inconsistent communication. HPHA acknowledges the challenges but emphasizes its dedication to serving tenants despite the difficulties. Full Story: Honolulu Civil Beat (8/15)
Recruiting & Retention
Older Americans increasingly unretiring An increasing number of older adults, especially those over 75, are reentering the workforce, with LinkedIn data showing a 23.9% increase in baby boomers returning to work last year. Key reasons include longer lifespans, inflation and inadequate retirement savings. Experts note that working again can offer social benefits and a renewed sense of purpose, but retirees need to consider the effects on Social Security, Medicare and taxes before unretiring.
N.Y. gives $2B in bonuses to health care workers Since its launch in 2022, the state's Health Care Worker Bonus program has awarded $2 billion in bonuses of up to $3,000 to more than 800,000 frontline health care workers making $125,000 or less a year, according to state records. "Our powerful investments are putting money back in workers' pockets and helping to grow our health care workforce to provide the highest quality care for New Yorkers," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Medical fellows and residents are among those eligible for the program, which aims to ease health care workforce shortages and help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story: WRGB-TV (Albany, N.Y.) (8/13),Spectrum (8/13),Hudson Valley Post (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) (8/14)
The HR Leader
AI can boost HR through automation, data Integrating AI into HR technology can provide efficiency for routine tasks and boost the employee experience, writes Wilson Cross, co-founder and CEO of Borderless AI. AI can also allow HR professionals to make strategic decisions supported by data in areas such as talent acquisition and workforce planning, Cross writes. Full Story: Human Resource Executive (8/13)
The sea of foam fingers forming a "number one" seen at sporting events had a humble beginning -- invented in 1971 by Steve Chmelar, an Iowa high school student who fashioned a finger out of paper mache and hardware cloth for the basketball team's state championship game. A photo of the finger prompted Texas high school teacher Geral Fauss to do the same six years later, and Fauss eventually founded Spirit Hand Novelties, Inc., which, at its peak in 1982, was pumping out 5,000 hands a day. Full Story: Mental Floss (8/12)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
Which golf course commemorates the meetings led by Life magazine publisher Henry Luce that eventually created the weekly, Sports Illustrated, which published its first issue on Aug. 16, 1954?
My friend Amy* called recently, upset. “I’m taking a walk right now because I’m so mad,” she huffed. “I need some wisdom.” Turns out her stepdaughter, Jamie*, and her boyfriend, Hal*, had a big fight and Amy’s husband Tom* had to go pick up Jamie and Jamie’s kids to bring them back to Tom and Amy’s house. Apparently, the fight was one of several the couple had over the previous week and both parties had been calling Tom to vent and get his input. As a consequence, Tom was feeling enormous emotional strain and called out sick at work. Amy was concerned for him, irritated at her stepdaughter and worried about how the kids’ fight could affect her own household. “I just know that they’re going to break up and we are going to end up supporting Jamie and the kids,” she said, her voice breaking. Seconds later, Amy got a call. “Crap. It’s Jamie. Let me –” I interrupted her. “Let it go, Amy,” I said sternly. “Do not answer that call. She can wait. What you and I are discussing is important.” She let the call go. Amy’s situation was fraught with stress and anger. I stopped her from answering the call so she could let her emotions subside and think from a place of clarity. It worked. We talked for a few more minutes and came up with some strategies to get her through the rest of the day. She thanked me for not letting her take the call. “That would have set everything in motion again,” she admitted. Wise leadership calls for having a cool head in tense situations, as we see in today’s Leadership & Development story featuring insights from historian and Harvard professor Nancy Koehn about President Abraham Lincoln’s ability to discipline his emotions. Koehn tells how Lincoln wrote a harsh letter to George Meade, commander of the largest Union fighting force, berating him for a decision that could have ended the Civil War. Lincoln never sent the letter. According to Koehn, Lincoln put it in his desk and it stayed there until after he died. “Lincoln used that power to discipline himself to think ahead, to just take a breath and let his emotions cool over and over and over again. And it’s such an important lesson for our time,” Koehn says. Emotions are powerful. We must reign them in and exert control over them or risk losing the trust and respect of our teams and executive leadership who rely on us. How do you keep your emotions in check? Let me know! Enjoying this brief? Great! Please tell others so they can benefit also. * Names changed to preserve privacy.
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