Joanne Kaldy

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is scrutinizing COVID-19 standards for healthcare workers in several states. The agency has cited concerns that several states have failed to adopt adequate standards within a 30-day deadline. OSHA is planning to revoke state-plan approval in Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah because they have failed to adopt healthcare Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS). Leaders in those states have defended their safety plans and expressed intentions to sue the federal government when OSHA issues vaccine-or-tests mandates for private employers. The healthcare ETS targets settings where COVID patients are treated, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Covered employers must conduct a hazard assessment and maintain a written plan to mitigate virus spread. They also must follow ETS protocols for masking, social distancing, and paying for time off related to vaccinations. According to OSHA, the tailored standards enable … [Read more...] about (10/26) OSHA Challenges Several States on COVID-19 Rules

The impact of COVID can’t be ignored in performance reviews, but how much weight should be placed on it? Here are some issues to consider:

• The impact of employees working remotely. Did employees have clear performance goals/objectives and understand any specific parameters about work hours? Was this presented to them in writing? Did they have access to the tools and resources they need to meet expectations?
• Efforts to go above and beyond what’s expected of them. Are you prepared to recognize in some measurable way actions and contributions that are exceptional, especially in light of the pandemic?
• How the pandemic may have contributed to absences from work, tardiness, missed meetings or deadlines, etc. Give employees a chance to explain why they had problems and what support or resources would be helpful moving forward.

Increasingly, we’re learning that employers don’t know as much about what their employees want as they think they do. Among the results of a new survey on this topic:

• While 66% of executives believe they’re being “very transparent” about post-pandemic policies, only 42% of employees agree. At the same time, 81% of execs say their company’s leadership is “transparent about sharing new developments that affect the company,” but only 58% of employees think that’s true.
• Executives are nearly three times more likely than non-execs to want employees to return the office full-time.
• The desire for flexible work policies is strongest among employees of color. The study shows promising but fragile improvement in employee experience scores for Black workers.
• 76% of workers want flexibility in where they work, and 93% want flexibility in when they work.
• Job satisfaction among executives is 62% higher than for non-execs.

A panel of experts has laid it on the line for employers: invest in your direct care workforce now. Among their insights:

• Programs that lift workers out of poverty are key to improving the quality and number of direct care employees. However, it also is important to invest in workforce innovations that address issues beyond compensation.
• Some government help may be on the way. The American Rescue plan Act of 2021 includes a 10% federal medical assistance increase for Medicaid home and community-based services that states can use for direct care worker recruitment and training. The Build Back Better Act contains funding that increases support for direct care workers in the aging services industries, including funding for grants to recruit, train, and retain direct care workers.
• Some states are putting money behind workforce development. For instance, Tennessee is projecting to spend almost $200 million in this area.
• Partnership are giving … [Read more...] about (10/21) How States ‘Way Beyond Crisis’ Should Invest in Direct Care Workforce: Panel

The frequency of alcohol abuse in working women increased 83.% between 2002 and 2013, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). At the same time, high-risk drinking (consuming more than 3 drinks per day) among this population has increased by about 58%. In addition to general issues related to the pandemic, contributors to problem drinking among working women include:

• External stressors, including career-related pressures and demands, as well as challenges in transitioning from college to the work world.
• Family expectations. Particularly in the past 18 months, women have taken on more substantial roles in their children’s education, caregiving for older family members, and various household responsibilities. This has put tremendous pressure on these individuals to juggle more responsibilities with less time and support.
• Changing cultural norms and confusing messaging about women and alcoholism. Pop culture, … [Read more...] about (10/20) A Growing Problem for Women in the Workplace: Alcohol Addiction

You’ve gone the extra mile for your organization and your residents these past 18 months. Now it’s time to take a few minutes to focus on yourself. You need to have value and purpose so that you can survive and thrive both professionally and personally in the post-pandemic world. Here are some steps to take for your positive future:

• Assess your personal purpose. What gives you joy, inspires you, and energizes you? What do you look forward to? How does/can work contribute to these things?
• Encourage your employees to find their purpose. Encourage them to reflect on what inspires or drives them. Employees with purpose are more likely to stay with a company that cares about and nurtures their values and goals. This reflection also may result in innovative ideas and problem solving.
• Connect personal and work purpose. Try to find ways to link your and your employees’ dreams to the company’s purpose. This will not only contribute to personal satisfaction, … [Read more...] about (10/19) How to Reframe What Work Means to You

If your company has a vaccination mandate, employees may be exempt for sincerely held religious reasons/beliefs if they don’t cause an undue hardship on the organization and other workers. But what exactly does that mean? Guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)  suggests:

• Beliefs based on economic, social, or personal preferences are not considered religious for purposes of legal exemption. The employer may reasonably determine that an objection that refers to constitutional rights or political views is not legally valid.
• Concerns regarding vaccine safety or efficacy, as well as those about the trustworthiness of the media or government, are not religious beliefs. However, an employee with a disability may be excused from a vaccine mandate, depending on the person’s condition.
• Employers that have an objective basis for determining the viability of an exemption request may seek additional information to make a legally … [Read more...] about (10/18) When May an Employer Reject a Religious Accommodation Request?

According to a new study, workers who were displaced by the pandemic aren’t returning to caregiving careers. Among the findings:

• 7 million U.S. workers were displaced from occupations with similar requirements to direct care during the early months of the pandemic. About two-thirds of these (67%) were displaced from one of five occupational groups: food preparation and serving, administrative/office support, transportation, sales/retail, and production.
• 4% of direct care workers were displaced during the second quarter of 2020 and a small number of these have re-entered the workforce.
• 66% of displaced workers overall have re-entered the workforce.
• The two groups with the most workers who haven’t re-entered the workforce are the food service and administrative/office fields.

According to a new report, Latinx employees often feel that teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues unfairly falls on them. Specifically:

• 1 in 2 Latinx workers say they have witnessed or experienced discrimination in their workplaces.
• Latinx workers are less likely to say they have positive DEI experiences in the workplace. Latinx women are 50% less likely to feel positively about their workplace DEI experience than their non-Latinx cohorts.
• Latinx women are 53% less likely to feel comfortable expressing all aspects of their identities in the workplace.
• Latinx workers are 53% less likely than non-Latinx employees to feel included as professionals in their organizations.

Cybersecurity may not be high on your priority list. Perhaps you think it’s not a real concern or maybe you think you’ve got it covered. But before you put this issue on the back burner, consider these questions:

• What would it cost your company to lose access to data, EHRs, or other technology applications?
• Do you know your organization’s top cybersecurity risks? Do you have a plan to address them?
• What are your cybersecurity policies and procedures? When were they last updated? When was staff last educated/informed about these? What is your process for training new staff about cybersecurity?
• Do you have a disaster recovery data center?