HR Newsletter: Preparing for the PTO Bomb

PTO

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on nearly every facet of the workplace. With everything upended, employers are understandably focused on maintaining their service and product quality. But working hard isn’t the only key to successfully enduring the pandemic—in fact, the opposite may be just as critical.

Paid time off (PTO) is something many employees take for granted. Hundreds of millions of vacation days go unused each year, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Due to a variety of factors, some employees opt not to use time off, and they—and the entire organization—end up suffering for it in the long run.

Even the act of taking PTO—whether it’s used for relaxation or not—is correlated with greater success. Employees who took 11 or more vacation days were over 30% more likely to receive a raise than those who took fewer days, according to the Harvard Business Review. Furthermore, for each 10 vacation hours an employee used, their performance review scores raised 8% on average.

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HR Newsletter: Proper Workspace Ergonomics

Posture

One of the primary ways to prevent work-related neck and back injuries is to evaluate your workstation and make sure it is ergonomically correct and promotes good posture. The discomfort and pain from slouching at a desk all day is very common, with many office workers suffering pain at least once a week. If you are working at an ergonomically incorrect workstation or practice poor posture, you can suffer from neck, shoulder, wrist and elbow discomfort.

Avoid unnecessary discomfort at work by focusing on your posture and making your workstation ergonomically appropriate. Typically, aches and pains from office work stem from physical stress due to prolonged and awkward positions, repetitive motions and overuse.

We’ve created an infographic to help you and your employees promote good posture and correct ergonomics. Click the following link to view the infographic on “How to Properly Arrange Your Workspace.”

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HR Newsletter: Leading Remote Teams

Remote Teams

Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many organizations are offering remote work options to more employees than ever before—sometimes out of business necessity. Numerous studies show that remote work had expanded even pre-coronavirus, and continued growth should be expected as employers prepare return-to-work plans.

Expanded use of the remote workplace can offer numerous benefits to employers. These benefits include access to a broadened talent pool, reduced costs and more—though a successful virtual workplace isn’t created without obstacles. Both remote employees and teams face unique challenges—however, leaders can address these barriers with proactive planning.

While, in some cases, remote work is being adopted out of necessity, many employees feel confident in their abilities to fulfill their roles remotely. The Harris Poll conducted a survey on behalf of Glassdoor among nearly 1,000 employed adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that 60% feel confident in doing their job efficiently from home, even if it means doing so indefinitely. The same survey also revealed that 50% believe they would be equally or more productive working remotely.

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WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Employco USA Employer Outlook Survey

Rob Wilson was recently a guest on the WJR Business Beat, a StartupNation Radio show. Click here to listen to his segment: “WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Employco USA Employer Outlook Survey (Episode 109).”

“On today’s WJR Business Beat segment, Jeff shares results from a new survey conducted by Employco USA, a nationwide employment solutions firm serving businesses of all sizes, which shows that employer expectations for the future are bleak.”

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Employco USA Hires a Workers’ Compensation Claims Coordinator

A human resource and employment solutions firm, Employco USA is pleased to announce the growing expansion of its staff.

Employco’s newest team member:

Teresa ChambersTeresa Chambers, Workers’ Compensation Claims Coordinator – Teresa will be handling claims related to Employco’s master workers’ compensation program.

“I’m looking forward to joining the Employco family.” -Teresa Chambers

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

(Article) “Small businesses embrace wellness to help retain staffers”

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, was recently quoted in an article for The Associated Press:

Rob Wilson sees interest in wellness programs growing among his small business clients, and his company, human resources provider Employco, is focusing more on these programs.

“A lot of it so far has been online classes and health coaching, also a lot of online tools right now that employees can access anywhere to help them keep track of what they’re doing,” says Wilson, whose company is based in Westmont, Illinois.

“The companies doing it are really interested in keeping their employees,” he says.

Follow the link to read more:

Article

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

(Article) “10 HR compliance issues for 2020”

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, was recently quoted in an article for BenefitsPRO:

The new year has brought with it a myriad of new labor laws and compliance requirements that employers can’t afford to miss.

One hot topic: sexual harassment policies are getting greater scrutiny next year, which requires that all companies pay closer attention “to this very important issue,” Employco USA president Rob Wilson writes on the firm’s blog.

“We are finally starting to see people take sexual harassment in the workplace more seriously, and the new regulations coming into effect in 2020 reflect that,” Wilson says.

Follow the link to read more:

BenefitsPRO

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

The Top Four Articles of 2019

As 2020 begins, we would like to share with you our top articles of 2019:

  1. How to Prepare for an ICE Raid on Your Workplace

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/11237-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-business-employees.html

  1. Study: More Employees Than Ever Test Positive for Marijuana

https://www.wxyz.com/news/study-more-employees-than-ever-test-positive-for-marijuana

  1. The ABCs of THC: What Employers Need to Know About Marijuana Laws

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-local-updates/pages/what-employers-need-to-know-about-marijuana-laws–.aspx

  1. Here is How Overtime Pay Will Change in Jan. 2020

http://www.wbiw.com/2019/11/15/here-is-how-overtime-pay-will-change-in-jan-2020/

HR regulations and government policies are always changing, Employco is your resource for the latest industry news – from new government compliance and regulations to employment law updates, and more. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date!

The Top Four Articles of 2019

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

Robert Griffen Wilson Joins Employco USA, Inc.

Robert Griffen Wilson

Employco USA, Inc. is pleased to announce that Robert “Griffen” Wilson has joined the firm as an Assistant Vice President. Griffen’s primary focus will be overseeing Employco’s national brokers program and connecting the firm’s broker partners with its sales and operations teams. In addition, Griffen will play a key role in supporting Employco’s trade show union relations across the country.

Griffen has been part of the Employco team for several years as a summer intern, working with all of the firm’s sales and operational teams to obtain a clear understanding of the unique functionality of each. He now joins the firm on a full-time basis, having graduated from Coastal Carolina University’s Wall School of Business in 2019 with a major in Business Management and a concentration in Entrepreneurship. In addition to working at Employco during his time in school, Griffen also founded Outer Shores LLC, an on-line clothing line specializing in casual wear. The company was committed to giving back to society and, to that end, donated 10% of all sales to cleaning up oceans and coastlines around the world.

About: Employco USA, Inc. provides human resource outsourcing solutions to businesses across the United States. The firm provides cost-reducing payroll processing, robust benefits options, creative HR assistance, highly competitive Workers’ Compensation rates and innovative risk management tools. In the trade show arena, Employco is endorsed by both ESCA and EACA. 

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.

(Article) “Here is How Overtime Pay Will Change in Jan. 2020”

Rob Wilson, President of Employco USA, was recently quoted in an article for WBIW:

Starting in January 2020, important changes are coming to Americans’ paychecks. Beginning in the new year, new overtime provisions from the Fair Labor Standards Act will go into place.

“Previously workers were automatically entitled to overtime pay only if they earned $23,660 or less a year,” says Rob Wilson, employment trends expert and President of Employco USA, an employment solutions firm with locations across the county. “But, starting in just a handful of weeks, that salary ceiling will be raised to $35,568. Under this new ruling, these workers are entitled to receive one and one-half times their regular pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week.”

Follow the link to read more:

WBIW

For more on this topic, please contact Rob Wilson at rwilson@thewilsoncompanies.com.