On May 18, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is reviewing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals.

OSHA has indicated it will update its Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace and their National Emphasis Program for COVID-19 accordingly once the review is complete. Until then, the agency is referring employers to the CDC’s guidance for information on appropriate measures to protect fully vaccinated workers.

Continue reading →

National Safety Month 2021 – Join Employco and the National Safety Council (NSC) to recognize the 25th anniversary of National Safety Month, an annual observance to help keep each other safe from workplace accidents and injuries.

Employer’s Safety Initiatives and Reputation – The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues to validate the importance of an employer brand during a crisis. As employees return to the workplace, organizations must prioritize safety. If return-to-work plans go wrong and employee safety is not a top priority, not only will the health and safety of employees be at risk—but the organization’s reputation will be as well. A new HR Insights article was recently released to explore how safety impacts an employer’s brand, reputation and recruiting efforts—and how to transparently highlight safety measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace with current and prospective employees and the general public.  Click the following link to read the article: Employee Safety Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Continue reading →

Burnout is a commonly discussed issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Burnout, in simple terms, is the feeling of mental exhaustion stemming from workplace duties. According to the World Health Organization, burnout may be shown through the following symptoms:

• Fatigue or energy depletion
• Decreased engagement at work, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
• Reduced productivity or efficacy

As these examples show, burnout doesn’t always look the same for everyone. Yet, the impacts of burnout are typically uniform—lower-quality work and detrimental health effects.

Continue reading →

There are many different priorities and factors to be weighed and considered by organizations as they attempt to grow and pursue their goals. Prominent among these factors are diversity and inclusion initiatives. As greater attention has been paid to these concepts in recent years, organizations have realized that these are not just trends. Diversity and inclusion initiatives are here to stay.

Many employers that cultivate an inclusive work environment have noticed a positive impact on employee morale, productivity and the company’s bottom line. For example, inclusion can be a valuable component of employee retention, as employees who feel included are generally more likely to stay at an organization. And increased employee retention means that organizations can avoid excessive offboarding time, hiring costs and training expenses.

Continue reading →

For more than 70 years, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May. Mental health—how you think, feel and act—can change over time due to factors like workload, stress and work-life balance.

Although the past year has been challenging, the mental burden of the pandemic has enabled more transparency and empathy around mental health. We’ve compiled some interesting statistics to highlight Americans’ mental health:

• 1 in 5 experience mental illness each year
• 1 in 20 experience serious mental illness
• 1.5 million live with schizophrenia
• 7 million live with bipolar disorder
• 19.4 million live with major depression
• 48 million live with anxiety disorders

Continue reading →

The portal for private-sector employers to submit equal employment opportunity (EEO-1) workforce data from 2019 and 2020 is now open, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced April 26, 2021. The deadline for submissions is July 19, 2021. This data collection was previously delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

EEO-1 Reporting Background – Mandated under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the EEO-1 Report is an annual survey that requires certain employers to submit information about their workforces by race or ethnicity, gender and job category by March 31st every year. The EEOC uses the collected data to enforce Title VII’s prohibitions against employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.

Continue reading →

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many recruiting budgets have been slashed, and employers are struggling to find talent. However, virtual recruitment can help employers address talent shortages. Virtual recruitment is the process of pursuing, vetting and hiring candidates electronically. Here are four strategies:

1. Host Virtual Career Fairs – Hosting a virtual career fair allows interested parties to learn more about a company—much like in-person career fairs. Topics typically include a discussion of career opportunities and help inform potential recruits about the workplace.

2. Strengthen Your Online Presence – Any organization looking to recruit virtually must have a strong online presence. This includes maintaining multiple social media profiles, posting content regularly and interacting with followers. Having an attractive social media presence will help encourage candidates to follow and like the content the company posts. In turn, this provides a steady stream of passive recruiting leads.

Continue reading →

Expressing oneself is a right afforded to every American, no matter where that expression takes place, right? When it comes to the workplace, the answer is: It depends.

Over the past month, Chicago software firm, Basecamp, has gone from banning political and societal discussions on the company’s workplace tools, to discovering that one-third of its employees left the company following buy-out offers. The company’s CEO, Jason Fried, sent a follow-up memo to employees on May 4, 2021 apologizing for some of the events that unfolded, but indicated that the ban is here to stay.

Employers have a responsibility to promote inclusiveness and encourage respect among employees. Unfortunately, political and societal expression can have the opposite effect. In certain instances, such as when an employee’s expression disrupts or harms productivity in the workplace, private sector employers may choose to limit such expression.

Continue reading →