HR Industry Brief

In some good news for home care providers, staff – including caregivers – seem to have widespread access to the COVID-19 vaccination. In fact, several states have explicitly recognized home care workers as eligible for early vaccines. In a survey of 100 home care providers, more than three-quarters say they have staff who have received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Most have gotten shots through external vaccination sites, while 17% report their organization is doing in-house vaccines. Consistent with other settings, home care providers are dealing with vaccine hesitancy among their workers. In the same survey of 100 home care companies, just 10% say they have experienced universal willingness of staff to get vaccinated. About three-quarters say that most of their workers are willing to get vaccinated. However, the workers who say they won’t get the vaccine or are unsure are causing concerns, and providers fear that clients will refuse to work with … [Read more...] about (1/30) Home Care Providers Concerned about Clients Turning Away Unvaccinated Caregivers

Even under the best of circumstances, the pandemic has had an impact on staff moral. However, there are some steps you can take to boost spirits, productivity, and engagement. These include:

• Modeling/encouraging self care. Show your teams that self care is not only acceptable but necessary. Share your own healthy behaviors such as morning walks or weekend hikes. Offer time for midday breaks that are specifically dedicated to fitness, fun, relaxation, and/or meditation. Consider bringing in instructors and/or equipment for these purposes.
• Give subscription services as a ‘thank you.’ Offer personalized subscriptions to appeal to employees’ needs and interests, as well as encourage them to relax and decompress. This might include meditation/relaxation apps or low-cost boxes for food/snacks, books, or spa products. Alternately, you can give workers a stipend and let them choose their own subscription.
• Encourage mental stimulation. Give workers a fun-box … [Read more...] about (1/28) How to Rejuvenate Employee Morale for a New Year

While no one could have predicted all of the workplace-related changes that hit companies like a ton of bricks in 2020, that hasn’t stopped experts from making some predictions about 2021. Here’s what they have to say:

• Remote work is here to stay. While this was a difficult transition at first, many employees have settled into this way of functioning; and managers have found ways to make it successful as well. In at least one survey, 70% of employees would like to continue working remote—at least some of the time—post-pandemic.
• Tech, too, is here for the long haul. Employers and workers alike agree that technology enabled them to continue functioning, communicating, and innovating, even as the pandemic raged on. Companies will be looking at how to upgrade their use of technology, expand their bandwidth, provide employees with mobile devices, and tighten cybersecurity.
• Health is in the spotlight. Employers have experienced first-hand the impact … [Read more...] about (1/27) What Does Work Look Like in 2021? Workplace Experts Share Their Predictions

The implementation of technology in post-acute and long-term care has lagged behind other healthcare settings for a long time. However, the COVID pandemic put the need to invest in tech front and center, and it’s taken on new urgency. Before jumping into tech purchases, there are a few questions to consider to ensure successful adoption and implementation:

• What is the return on investment for the technology? What is the timeframe for these results?
• Is the technology viable given the product’s maturity and your organization’s governance?
• What infrastructure changes or additions will be necessary? Do you have necessary bandwidth? Will there be adequate wifi?
• Will the technology transform your organizations brand and give you a competitive advantage?
• How will the technology improve resident satisfaction and lead to move-ins? How will it attract and engage staff?

When beliefs and identity become blurred, people – and organizations – become entrenched; and they refuse to compromise, budge, or even listen with an open mind. This is bad for business and for personal relationships. Some signs of entrenchment in your team or organization include:

• Members of a group experience shared events differently and prefer to interact only with those who have the same feelings, opinions, and observations.
• People with surface-level characteristics (such as race or age) bond and engage together almost exclusively and view others based on commonly held stereotypes.
• People with similar knowledge bases (such as education) form their own ‘think tank’ and don’t value the input of colleagues with a different skill or educational level.
• People have deeply held identities with a political or ideological group, religion, community, sports team, etc. to the point that they don’t engage with or respect others who don’t … [Read more...] about (1/25) Is Your Organization Digging Trenches or Building Bridges?

Nursing homes have experienced a workforce rollercoaster in 2020. Although healthcare employed grew in months when other industries saw dips, a new report shows that 2020 ended with job numbers 3% below a February peak. Numbers are even bleaker in the long-term care sector, which was down 262,000 jobs at the end of the year (a 7.8% decline since February). Just nursing homes alone lost 153,000 jobs in 2020. Read the full article.   … [Read more...] about (1/22) Nursing Homes Lost 153,000 Jobs in 2020, Almost 10 Percent of Workforce: Report

There has been a lot of talk recently about the importance of resilience in the workplace. However, according to a new survey, only 15% of workers globally are highly resilient and 80% are “just coming to work” and are higher vulnerable. The survey authors characterized resilience has having a strong sense of organization, as well as the ability to compartmentalize at work and do work that makes one feel strong. There are some steps you can take to build resiliency in your workers:

• Encourage a focus on outcomes more than hours. Avoid micromanaging and give people the tools and resources to succeed in their tasks.
• Embed the language of strength into communications and programming. Create an environment that culturally supports employees.
• Conduct weekly check-ins with team members to ritualize a “grown up” mindset to build trust, accelerate productivity, and maintain connection.

It happens too often. You’re excited about starting a project, but you need a sign-off. You can’t publish a report until you get information from someone. You need to meet with a supervisor to plan for the next quarter. Yet your calls, emails, and other efforts to connect go unanswered. As frustrating as it is, consider a few hacks to make the connections you need:

• Have a compelling subject line. Keep it should and attention-grabbing. Instead of “Report Is almost ready to go to press,” try “Urgent: Report on deadline.”
• Be aware of your tone. As you get more frustrated, it may be tempting to sound more urgent and stern. However, continue to be polite and respectful. Research shows that emails with a more positive tone have a 10-15% higher response. Don’t assume someone is ignoring you or being rude. Instead, acknowledge you know how busy people are and stress the importance of their expertise and feedback.
• Keep it short, use simply language, and … [Read more...] about (1/20) How To Follow Up with Someone’s Who’s Not Getting Back to You

  These days just about everyone has political opinions. Some of your workers likely have very passionately held beliefs that lead to activism. But when you can you discipline or dismiss an employee who’s engaged in disruptive political expression? You have to tread lightly, and you should seek legal counsel before making any decisions. However, here are a few useful tips:

• As a private employer, you have the right to fire an employee because of his/her off-duty political expression or participation in protests with only a few limits.
• Make sure employees understand that the First Amendment doesn’t mean they can say or do anything without consequences. This law protects against government action, not action by a private employer. For example, there are many instance of employees being fired for hate speech.
• Know and heed state laws, some of which have surprising provisions. For instance, some states protect workers from discrimination based on … [Read more...] about (1/19) Firing Workers When Political Expression Goes Too Far

During the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week, one police office had the courage and presence of mind to lead the angry mob away from an area of the building where legislators and their staff were taking cover. It was a clear demonstration of the importance of the ability to keep a cool, clear head in a crisis. A five-step framework can help you and your teams moving from primal fear and paralysis to level-headed action:

• Understand the biology behind your immediate reaction and what make a concerted effort to shift to a more productive mindset.
• Tune into the physical and emotional cues the situation is triggering for you. This can help you understand and manage your anxiety.
• Recall previous experiences where you’ve felt similar anxiety. What did you learn from those events that can help you now?
• Focus on your highest purpose and what you want/need to accomplish in the moment. This will release oxytocin and help you … [Read more...] about (1/18) How To Keep Your Cool in High-Stress Situations