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Detoxify Your Workplace for Greater Engagement, Retention, Productivity

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Experts share best practices for taking organizations from poisonous to positive.

If you or your colleagues dread going to work, you’re not alone. In at least one survey, 25% of respondents say that a toxic work environment is a serious problem and causes more lost productivity than distractions, “lazy” colleagues, poor managers, and meetings. You could have a toxic workplace and not even realize it; but the good news is that you can take your organization from poisonous to positive. Read on for signs of a toxic workplace and what top executives say you can do to build lasting change.

When Is Your Team at Peak Performance?

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Survey: Employees have favorite days, times to function.

If you have an especially important task for workers, a new survey suggests you should give it to them on a Monday morning and almost never late in the day. Respondents also say that even when they want to be focused and productive, they are distracted by chatty coworkers (32%), office noise (22%), unnecessary or unproductive conference calls and meetings (20%), cell phone calls/texts (15%), and unnecessary emails (11%). Read on for more data from this survey, then find out what changes in schedules or workplace environment might make your teams more productive.

Highlight Health and Safety Initiatives During Safe + Sound Week

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Special week in August aims at reducing accidents and injuries while promoting employee health and safety.

Join with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for Safe + Sound Week, August 12-18, and recognize the importance of workplace safety and health programs. The week-long event encourages employers to implement workplace safety initiatives and highlight workers’ contributions to improving safety. Strong workplace safety and health programs not only can prevent injuries and illnesses; they also can reduce workers’ compensation costs and improve productivity. Read on for some areas you can focus on for education, action, and improvement.

Creating a Strengths-Focused Organization

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Focus on employees’ strengths over weaknesses for an empowered workforce.

Much is made of helping employees discover and correct their weaknesses. That approach has very limited utility. It often creates defeated, deflated employees unable to add much value to the organization. Read on to learn about another approach leaders can use to create higher levels of performance and productivity by leveraging strengths.

 It is important to start by reviewing the significance of emotional intelligence. This is the ability to “motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations, to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think, to empathize, and to hope,” according to author Elizabeth D. Hutchinson. It is a critical factor for leaders who want to shift attention from deficits to strengths. It gives these leaders a deeper understanding of human interactions; and it helps them begin to focus their concerns on maximizing the human potential in the organization.

Gen Zers Often Regret Accepting Jobs, Make Quick Plans to Bolt

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Young employees have some specific expectations for jobs. Are you really prepared to walk the walk?

Nearly half of Generation Z workers, those between the ages of 18 and 23, say they regret accepting a job offer, according to a recent survey; and only about half (51%) say they envision themselves having a long tenure at their organization. As regret can lead to turnover, low morale, and poor productivity, it’s important to know what Gen Zers want and how to hire candidates who are truly in sync with your organization’s culture.

Evolving from Email: New Technology Is Changing How Employees Communicate

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New work collaboration/management tools are gaining traction as employers seek to increase efficiency, communication, and productivity.

Email revolutionized how people communicate in the workplace; and today people spend about 6 hours a day sending and receiving an average of 123 emails. However, just as emails replaced phone calls and “snail” mail as the most popular way to communicate, new work collaboration/management tools are gaining attention and starting to take the place of traditional email servers. While imperfect, this technology is finding fans among employers and employees in a variety of industries. By enabling screen-sharing and other communication abilities from anywhere, easy monitoring and follow-up, online meetings and meeting recording, personalized meeting URLs, and other features, these tools are worthy of consideration.

Survey: Employees Still See Racism as Major Concern

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As companies expand diversity and inclusion, they need to address racism and bias.

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, more than 4 in 10 respondents say the U.S. still has progress to make when it comes to racial equality.  Addressing concerns about racism and prejudice in the workplace should be an ongoing priority, especially as employers seek to increase diversity and inclusion. You can be a leader in creating and sustaining an inclusive culture where people feel safe, engaged, and respected the same as all of their peers.

Study: Unclear Goals, Long Hours Hurt Employees’ Health

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Workplace stress is an ongoing problem, but you can help a lot with a little effort.

Workplace stress has been getting a lot of attention lately; but according to at least one survey, this is still a significant problem for employees despite efforts to address it. The report from Comparably showed that more than half of workers feel stressed out at work, and many of these say they’ve been run ragged on the job. Interestingly, entry-level workers report more burnout than employees with years of experience. Read on to learn about what specific issues cause stress for employees at various levels and how you can help.

Innocent or Insidious? Why You Should Keep Popular Apps Off Work Devices

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Apps that seem harmless can hurt your organization’s security.

Educating employees about cybersecurity isn’t a one-and-done proposition. As hackers and cybercriminals get more sophisticated, even the most conscientious organizations and workers can fall prey. Take the recent situation with FaceApp, a popular mobile application that can transform faces in photographs to make them appear older, younger, etc. It sounds innocent enough, and it quickly became a hot item in the Apple and Google stores. However, it wasn’t long before privacy experts sent up red flags. Not unlike some other apps, FaceApp has the ability to share information from your phone with others. As this can be concerning—even devastating—in an industry where privacy is essential, now is a good time to remind your employees that innocent fun can mean lost privacy and serious problems.

New CMS Proposed Rule Would Reduce Administrative Burdens, Impact Staffing

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Revisions to Phase 3 of the Requirements of Participation for long-term care facilities aim at reducing paperwork, giving staff more time for direct care.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that would remove some requirements of participation identified as “unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome” on long-term care facilities (LTCFs). According to CMS, “Medicare & Medicaid Programs; Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities: Regulatory Provisions to Promote Efficiency and Transparency” (CMS-3374-P) would “increase facilities’ ability to devote their resources to improve resident care…. Many of the proposed provisions would simplify and/or streamline the Medicare health and safety standards long-term care facilities must meet in order to serve their residents.” Read on for details about key revisions that would impact staffing, training, and other others issues of interest to HR and other leaders.