The option to work remotely is on the decline | Study: Upskilling would persuade workers to stay | NLRB memo seeks to clarify severance agreement decision
The percentage of businesses reporting that their employees never worked remotely or did so rarely in 2022 jumped to 72.5% from 60.1% in 2021, according to the Labor Department. Remote working was more common in some sectors, such as professional and business, and information services, while hybrid working across the private sector fell 13.4% last year. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (3/25)
Guide: Don't Let Slow Background Checks Hinder Hiring in the Hospitality Industry Job openings in the hospitality industry remain historically high—leaving many hotels and restaurants scrambling to hire ahead of the peak season. Learn how you can hire ahead of the competition with consistently fast background check turnaround times. Click here to get the guide.
Eighty percent of US workers are optimistic about their professional future but that hope is inspired by their confidence in finding better opportunities than with their current employer, according to research by the University of Phoenix Career Institute. Some 68% said upskilling opportunities would persuade them to remain with their current employers. Full Story: HR Dive (3/24)
Get The Most Out of Year 1 Using An LMS That first year using new eLearning tech is filled with decisions. From planning and implementation to roll out and reporting, this eBook examines expectations for first-time tech buyers and experienced learning leaders alike. Get the eBook.
Positive exercise attitude can lead to better health Having a negative mindset about the amount of exercise you are getting actually can produce negative health consequences, research suggests. Using fitness trackers to learn how much you are moving each day can contribute to more positive thinking and better health outcomes, and altering your mindset can help elevate your motivation and goals as well. Full Story: The Washington Post (3/22)
Benefits & Compensation
Fewer people confident about their financial situations Fewer people are feeling confident about their ability to keep up with expenses, pay for unexpected medical expenses and find a job if they had to compared to a year ago, according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. About 4 in 10 adults in US households earning $60,000 to $100,000 say they're very stressed by their personal finances as do one-quarter of those in higher income households. Full Story: The Associated Press (3/24),The Hill (3/24)
The HR Leader
Why every leader should hone their storytelling skills Every leader should be able to tell two stories -- how you got to be where you are and where you are going, writes Wally Bock, who recommends listening to and collecting the stories of other people and making them your own, giving credit where credit is due. "Try telling the story to a few people to drive it into your memory so that it's available when you need it," Bock writes. Full Story: Three Star Leadership (3/23)
The magnitude 9.2 earthquake that jolted Alaska's Prince William Sound March 27, 1964, was the second highest recorded. Where was the first? Check your answer here.
I grew up on the stories of my father’s childhood days in Papakolea and Punalu’u. My dad and my Uncle Billy would regale us for hours, talking about the rock fights with the Ahuna boys, playing jokes on drivers on Kamehameha Highway, and the summers spent sleeping on the beach at Punalu’u. We never tired of those stories. We asked them over and over again, even into adulthood. One of my favorite stories was of a prank my dad, Uncle Billy and the boys of the neighborhood would play on tourists who drove through their area. There was a bridge down the street from my grandparents’ home. A river flowed from the mountains – the Ko’olau Range – under the bridge and emptied into the ocean. At certain times of the year, when the water level was high, the boys would perch on the bridge railing and wait for a convertible to approach. When it did, the boys would jump into the ocean, sending a wall of water back up over the bridge and soaking the passengers in the car. One day their prank backfired. A local resident was driving his wife and their newborn baby home from the hospital in their convertible. The boys didn’t recognize the car so when the family passed over the bridge, the boys jumped. Everyone in the car got drenched, including the baby. The boys were laughing about their joke until they saw the man had skidded to a stop on the side of the road. He ran over to the bridge and jumped in. “We took off!” Dad says, his eyes big remembering the day. All the boys clambered to swim as fast as they could away from the angry father. “I was swimming for Molokai!” Uncle Billy would chime in, laughing. The father managed to catch one boy and hauled him, crying, back up to the shore. He turned back to the railing of the bridge, to the other boys still in the water. “I see you Namahoe boy! I gon’ catch you ‘nother time! I gon’ tell you faddah about dis!” he shouted. And he did. Two weeks later, the boys showed up for the first day of football practice. Their new coach? The father from the car. Storytelling is an artform and an important leadership skill, as we see in our HR Leader story today. Great leaders know how to tell stories and get others to share theirs as well. This skill goes a long way toward breaking the ice and nurturing relationships on teams. How can I serve you better with this brief? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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