Employers are tracking office attendance | Employers can help working parents achieve balance | Report finds most employees, companies value business trips
Some 57% of employers are monitoring the office attendance of employees, with around half relying on manager feedback while 41% are tracking workers via methods such as badge swipes, according to CBRE. Workforce experts discuss how employers are veering toward a punishment approach for non-office attendance, but some warn against methods like badge monitoring, which could mark a shift back to a focus on presenteeism instead of productivity. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (9/24)
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Recruiting & Retention
Employers can help working parents achieve balance After-school care gaps can be a real struggle for working parents, as it's often difficult to coordinate school dropoffs and pickups with work schedules and job demands. Wes Burke of Care.com discusses how employers can create a culture where work schedules are more flexible, child care stress is reduced, employees' family needs are supported and productivity is enhanced. Full Story: BenefitsPRO (free registration) (9/21)
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A study found that individuals who work out early in the morning have lower odds of being obese or overweight and are more likely to have smaller waists compared with those who engage in exercises in the midday or evening. The findings were published in the journal Obesity. Full Story: HealthDay News (9/19)
Benefits & Compensation
Benefits may help employees avert a financial tailspin Goldman Sachs' recent Retirement Survey and Insights Report found that many workers are stuck in a "financial vortex" where competing priorities like student loan and credit card debt, caregiving expenses and college savings are inhibiting their ability to save for retirement. Chris Ceder, a senior retirement strategist at the company, says planning for the unexpected is a key component of a successful saving strategy, and employers can help by providing financial resilience benefits and education. Full Story: Employee Benefit News (free registration) (9/19)
Fractional executives dedicate their expertise to a company for four to 20 hours a week, offering much-needed agility and cost-effectiveness, writes Won J. You, a design leader, educator and founder of WJY Studios. Won You outlines the multiple benefits, including better productivity and decision-making, and explains when a fractional executive might be a good fit for different types of companies. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (9/22)
I was a single parent raising two kids, but fortunate when it came to after-school child care. My mother looked after my children. She picked them up after school, did homework with them and fed them dinner. If they were sick, and couldn’t go to school, she took care of them. (And frankly, they preferred my mom’s care to mine when they were sick.) It was a huge load off my shoulders. Most parents don’t have the luxury I had, though, according to our Recruitment & Retention story today. The beginning of the school year is stressful as parents scramble to coordinate new schedules and after-school care for their children. It’s a delicate balancing act. And one that needs managers' support. Parents who are worried about child-related issues will struggle at work. A mother trying to coordinate car pools from school to soccer practice will be distracted during meetings. The single father whose preschooler just threw up and now has to go home will need someone to cover his desk while he handles the situation. “Well, that’s really their problem. I have a company to run.” Actually, it becomes your problem -- quickly! -- if you lose good employees. I’m not suggesting that all employers need on-site daycare or that work can be shoved to the side. That’s not reasonable. What is reasonable, though, is common-sense courtesy and honest communication. That is something that managers can do with their teams. They can nurture a culture where team members feel safe sharing family-related challenges and know those things won’t be held against them. They can also create simple processes for handling emergencies and ensuring coverage for meetings and projects. How are you handling this issue? What’s been successful? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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