HR Industry Brief

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (H.R. 4445). Some of the key points of the bill include:

• Employers that require workers to sign pre-dispute arbitration agreements would have to exclude sexual harassment claims.
• Any arbitration agreement signed before a claim or dispute involving sexual assault or harassment arises is voidable at the option of the claimant.
• The legislation would also apply to sexual harassment or assault claims brought in a joint, class, or collective action.

Employers aren’t being transparent about pay, according to a new Salary.com survey, and they’re not comfortable asking salary-related questions of their employers. Among the survey results:

• 49% of respondents say they have asked their manager how their pay is determined, but half of these say their manager tried but didn’t answer to their satisfaction; and 16% say their manager couldn’t answer at all.
• 37% of employees say they don’t think they’re paid fairly compared to colleagues across the board.
• 46% say they’re not fairly paid compared to people in the same role at other companies.
• Only 27% say they think they’re paid fairly; and another 27% don’t know if their salary is fair or not.

According to a recent survey, 88% of human resources managers say the pandemic has triggered their organization to add new employee benefits. Among the most popular and in-demand by workers:

• Health coverage. Workers want good health care plans. Employers offering 100% coverage are attracting the most attention among job seekers.
• Ways to boost income. Some organizations are increasing their 401(k) match percentages to attract and keep workers. Profit-sharing options also are popular.
• Coverage for home office equipment. With more people working from home, job candidates want their company to pay for the tools and technology they need.
• Enhanced schedule flexibility. In the eyes of many workers on the job market, the traditional 40-hour, 9-5 week is passé. They want hybrid work options, flexible hours to care for kids and handle other personal obligations, and opportunities to work a 4-day work weeks.

Workplace romances took a hit during the pandemic. But as people come back to worksites, love might be in the air; and employers should be prepared with appropriate policies and guidelines. Meanwhile, a recent survey from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) offers some insight about love on the job:

• 33% of U.S. workers say they’ve are or have been romantically involved with a colleague already this year. They generally describe these relationships as low-key and unofficial.
• 65% of work romances are between peers, while 19% are between a worker and someone in management.
• Only 6% of workers say they began a new workplace romance during the public health crisis.
• Workers aged 18-30 are more likely than older employees to be asked on a date by a colleague, but only 26% of these younger workers say they’ve flirted with someone at work.
• More than three-fourths of workers say their employers require disclosure of … [Read more...] about (2/8) Romance Continues to Flower at Work

In just one month (November) of last year, 4.5 million Americans left their jobs; and only 39% of employees says they feel engaged at work. It’s clearly time for companies to prioritize ways to connect with workers and boost their enthusiasm about their jobs, their companies, and their lives. Consider these four elements of the people activation model:

• Make sure content and service offerings are relevant to individual employees’ needs and interests.
• Strategize plan for timely reminders delivered through different channels and platforms.
• Make engagement easy. Don’t make employees click through pages of content or wrestle with long, complicated sign-up processes.
• Watch to see if your strategies are increasing (or at least maintaining) engagement. If not, talk to workers about ways you can improve connections and boost morale.

According to the new Monster “Future of Work” survey, expect a tsunami of hiring efforts in 2022. Among the findings:

• 93% of employers say they plan to hire more talent this year.
• The top three challenges employers identified for the next three years are finding candidates with the right skills, increased competition, and work/life balance expectations on the part of workers.
• A quarter (25%) say they’re increasing job ads to stay competitive. A vast majority (89%) say they’re recruiting virtually, and only 19% think its better to do this in person.
• Half of the positions employers seek to fill involve “completely new” roles.
• Nearly half of employers say they’re not confident about their ability to fill existing job openings with “right-fit” candidates. Nearly two-thirds (58%) of these say blame the workplace skills gap and 43% identify competition for top talent as the reason for their lack of confidence.

Direct care workers play an essential role in the lives and care of older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS). Yet, despite decades of research, advocacy, and incremental policy and practice reform, these workers remain inadequately compensated, supported, and respected. As a result of these issues and other factors (such as the stresses of an ongoing pandemic), turnover and attrition are rampant, and it’s challenging to attract new people to the field. The authors of this article suggest steps for transforming direct care jobs and stabilizing this workforce. Specifically, the authors determined that a strong, stable direct care workforce requires a number of changes and innovations:

• Competitive wage and adequate employment benefits.
• Updated training standards and delivery systems that prepare these workers to meet increasingly complex care needs across settings.
• Enhanced career mobility and workforce flexibility.
… [Read more...] about (2/3) Transforming Direct Care Jobs, Reimagining Long-Term Services and Supports

According to a recent Skilled Nursing News outlook survey, staffing is the top challenge facing providers and their team leaders. While this fact may not surprise you, some of the stats might:

• 59% of respondents say they expect maintaining staffing levels to be the greatest COVID-related challenge in the coming year, while 16% identify occupancy declines as their number one concern.
• Looking ahead, 82.2% say staffing concerns are likely to continue to top their list of concerns even after the pandemic diminishes.
• Not quite half (41.5%) of respondents say they don’t see things getting better at all this year or even in 2023. Only 28.6% say they see a light at the tunnel’s end in 2023, and an optimistic 21.7% see better days ahead this year. Just 8% see staffing to improve by this summer.

Increasingly, workers seem to support the idea of penalties for unvaccinated colleagues. According to recent surveys:

• 47% of respondents support the idea of unvaccinated workers paying higher insurance rates, up from 41% in August of 2020. Gen Z workers (33%) are least supportive of all age groups; Baby Boomers (53%) are most supportive.
• 52% of unvaccinated workers say mandates would make them less likely to get vaccinated, and 75% say a mandate would make them consider quitting their job.
• 55% say they would consider reporting a colleague for violating a vaccine mandate.

Representatives from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania plan to sponsor the bipartisan Safeguarding Elderly Needs for Infrastructure and Occupational Resources (SENIOR) Act. This would create $1.25 billion in grant programs for workforce development. Among the details of the bill:

• It would build on critical infrastructure demands for infection prevention and control, expanding on a nationwide effort to strengthen LTC resilience in the wake of the pandemic and for future capacity needs.
• It would encourage a robust telehealth capacity for LTC residents by advancing on the steps taken in 2020 for telehealth access and reimagine the devices and platforms they utilize for connection.
• It would target sustainability dollars to keep LTC provider doors open and inject immediate funding into this care setting.
• It would help develop a workforce for senior housing sustainment by providing sound occupational resources for those eager to serve seniors. … [Read more...] about (1/31) SENIOR Act Proposes $10B Sustainability Fund, Workforce Development Programs for Assisted Living