Joanne Kaldy

With new outbreaks of COVID being reported, you and your staff can’t relax just yet. You need continued vigilance and strong infection prevention and control measures in place:

• Rethink plans for big events. A crowded July 4th concert at a CCRC in Florida is suspected as the source of up to 30 cases of COVID in the state. Even if residents are mostly or all vaccinated, masks can help prevent infection spread.
• More nursing homes are mandating staff vaccinations. Talk to your legal counsel and other leaders to determine if this is a viable, necessary, and appropriate step for your organization.
• Consider voluntary testing and plans to reduce programming and suspend indoor dining if cases rise or as a preventive measure even if your numbers are … [Read more...] about (FEATURED BRIEF) Vigilance Must Continue

Here is the cold, hard truth: professionals want to collaborate, but they don’t know how. If your team is making any of these mistakes, it could be keeping you from collaborating effectively:

1. Your team doesn’t understand that collaboration is uniquely different thatn cooperation and coordination. Collaboration involves creating new knowledge. To accomplish this, power needs to be dispersed and ideas must be allowed to flow. Define collaboration in advance and ensure everyone involved is working from the same definition.
2. Your team believes that collaboration is required in all engagements with cross-functional colleagues. Determine up front whether your goals really require a collaborative effort if you just need to focus on empowering an individual or small group.
3. Your team believes their collaborative efforts must result in consensus-style decision-making. Don’t allow debates to go on too long. Make sure all voices are heard and vetted, then move … [Read more...] about (7/23) 3 Mistakes Teams Make When Collaborating

You talk to team members, customers, and others every day. You send emails and texts, and you have Zoom meetings and leave voicemails. But are you communicating like a leader? True leaders embrace these ideas:

• They build a persuasive case. They strategize and prepare when they need to sell an idea or convince people to move in a certain direction. They use accurate information and ironclad conclusions.
• They synthesize and communicate their reasoning. They gather lots of information but share it selectively – choosing only the most compelling and relevant points.
• They lead their people to do some creative thinking with good, compelling, and provocative questions.
• They speak clearly and confidently. The way they talk and use their words tells others that they know what they are talking about, stand behind their comments, and believe in their convictions.

Don’t underestimate the value of every employee, suggests an employment expert. Encourage your teams to embrace an “all hands-on-deck mentality” when it comes to coworkers. Each and every person – new hires and veteran workers alike—should be treated with value and appreciation:

• Adopt a mentality of flexibility and equity to address workforce challenges.
• Be more creative about how to award and recognize people.
• Recognize the influence management can have on retention. Good managers attract and keep good employees.
• Understand and address generational differences. Realize that millennials are driven by passion and the desire to make a difference. At the same time, younger employees are looking for more money from the start; so you need to determine how you will manage salary and raise equity.

An ongoing shortages of physicians to serve as medical directors may be having a negative impact on facilities’ ability to get workers vaccinated. Authors of a new article suggest:

• Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) have great faith in their medical directors, and an engaged medical direct helps ensure that staff is educated, informed, and empowered to make important healthcare decisions, such as whether or not to get vaccinated.
• CNAs trust their medical directors over the leadership at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other government entities.
• If facilities are going to convince CNAs and other staff to get vaccinated, medical directors need to do more to engage with staff. This means going beyond public events such as town halls. They need more personalized interactions and one-on-one conversations.
• To date, about 45% of the nation’s 1.5 million nursing home staff are unvaccinated against … [Read more...] about (7/20) Medical Directors Are in Short Supply When Their Expertise Is Needed Most

A new report details the extent of ageism in the global workforce:

• Workers aged 45 and up often are seen as weaker job candidates than their younger counterparts.
• Hiring managers say that only 17% of middle-aged candidates are “application-ready” and just 18% have relevant skills or experience.
• According to hiring managers, only 15% of older job candidates have the right fit with company culture.
• 71% of current job seekers over age 45 see their age as a major obstacle.

• Improving national and global employment statistic tracking and reporting to reflect narrower age brackets that better address the unique issues the 45-plus population faces.
• Linking training programs directly to employment opportunities and providing stipends to support older workers.
• Changing hiring practices to suppress potential age biases and better … [Read more...] about (7/19) Ageism Stifles Middle-Ages Job Seekers Across the Globe

There are issues in your workplace. People may be tense, unhappy, and/or stressed out. The breakroom is quiet, and people fear making mistakes or getting blamed for a problem. Turnover is high, and moral is low. Do you have a toxic workplace? Here are some signs:

• Communication doesn’t flow. Nearly half of employees say bad communication –between managers and among coworkers –is common in toxic workplaces.
• Burnout is common year-round.
• Leaders hide out at home or in their offices.
• There is no clear hybrid/remote plan.
• Celebrations are rare.
• Technology is troublesome, and employees have problems sharing information and/or completing tasks.

• Make a plan for regular communication from upper management, encouraging feedback from employees and regular interactions between managers and team members.
• Encourage managers to watch for … [Read more...] about (7/16) 7 Signs You Have a Toxic Workplace – and How to Fix It

Researchers surveyed 2,200 employees to study how digital communication affects work stress, work-life balance, health, and sleep. They found:

• 21% of respondents said their supervisors expect them to respond to work-related communications after work hours.
• 55% said they have sent digital communication related to work in the evenings.
• 30% said they send work-related digital communication to colleagues on weekends and expect a same-day response.
• Employees who said their supervisors expect them to respond to messages after hours reported high levels of psychological distress (70.4%) and emotional exhaustion (63.5%). Nearly one-fourth (22.1%) admitted to physical health symptoms, such as headaches and back pain.
• Workers who feel obligated to respond to work messages in off hours also report high levels of psychological distress (75.9%), emotional exhaustion (65.9%), and physical health symptoms (22.1%).

Mental healthcare providers are reporting tremendous increases in employees seeking care and support; and surveys suggest that many feel depressed, anxious, and/or burned out but are afraid, unable, or unwilling to get help. The good news is that many companies have started introducing a variety of programs to improve employee mental health – everything from free counseling to gamification. However, it is important to realize that there are some people with serious issues that may contribute to suicidal thoughts and actions. Make sure your emergency action plans are updated and enable quick response to such a concern. Some key steps include:

• Treat suicide risk as a potential safety threat for others – not just the employee.
• Follow your gut. Watch for warning signs of self-harm, including increased alcohol use, lack of motivation, poor communication and/or withdrawal, poor hygiene, and/or increased aggression or agitation. If you have strong reason for … [Read more...] about (7/15) 7 Dos and Don’ts When an Employee Is at Risk for Self-Harm