Human Factors in the Workplace

Measure Your Well-Being

2012-01-31T12:05:00.023-05:00

Healthways, a global well-being company, teamed with Gallup to compile the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The definition of well-being they use is as follows: While happiness is transitory, well-being is sustained physical, emotional, and social health. The Well-Being Index includes six domains: Life Evaluation, Physical Health, Emotional Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment, and Basic Access. These six domains can be broken down into three main categories: work, health, and relationships.

USA Today asked Healthways to cull from its data what contributes to high well-being for the largest demographic in America today – women between the ages of 45 and 55. Someone who may be said to enjoy a high level of well-being may relate to many of the following descriptors. (See the full checklist here.)

Work:

College degree, some graduate school, professional or executive class

Family income of $120,000+

Commute under 10 minutes

Professional full-time job

Health:

Good physical and emotional health

BMI (body mass index) under 30

Exercise 30-45 minutes, 6 days a week

Relationships:

Married and never divorced

2 children (gives birth between ages 27-36)

No caregiving for young children or sickly parents, in-laws, spouse

Has 4-12 intimate friends

Some people may aspire to achieve a higher level of well-being. The three categories of work, health, and relationships may serve as a working guide and helpful starting point for those who are interested in increasing their level of well-being.

We encourage our readers to respond in the comments about their level of well-being, and what areas they plan to focus on achieving a higher level in this new year.

The Future of America's Labor Force

2011-10-25T09:05:00.007-05:00

The 2010 Census showed that one out of every six Americans is Hispanic. From the 2000 Census to the 2010 Census, more than half of the nation’s population growth was due to Hispanics. According to an article in the Knowledge@Wharton online program of business-related articles (America’s Growing Hispanic Population: Investing in the Future ‘Mainstay of Our Labor Force’) the “burgeoning Hispanic population creates both challenges and opportunities for the future.” Those challenges are listed as:

1. Short term: Hispanics may stimulate business, pump up a weak housing market, replenish an aging work force, and revitalize dying communities.

2. Long term: The country must find a way to educate an increasingly diverse and underprivileged generation of children or lose its competitive edge.

Steve Murdock, a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau and a sociology professor at Rice University, explains how the Hispanic population growth affects our future:

We have to change the educational futures for these kids. Not just for them, frankly, but for all of our benefit [emphasis added]. The bottom line is this: If we do not provide the resources, if we do not invest in these populations at these young ages…we could be poorer and less competitive than we are today. If we do invest, we could be at an advantage.

To subscribe to the Wharton online program, visit http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/.

The Best Hospital for Your Workplace

2011-09-29T14:16:00.004-05:00

There are a number of sources on the internet that identify the “best” hospital. Needless to say, the source determining which hospital is the best varies with the interest of the entity doing the rating. Recently, the Huffington Post ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore as the “Best Hospital” in the United States. Two other American hospitals frequently included in the “best” category are Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic.

For those who are too remote from Baltimore or wherever, the internet lists other hospitals in queries like “The Best Hospital in Philadelphia,” “The Best Hospital in Wilmington,” etc. (There are approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide.)

Hospital ratings are based on two sets of criteria:

1. Statistics (including especially):
fatality rates
patient safety
volume of procedures

2. Specialties (overall ratings are based on the total number of “specialties”):

cancer
neurology/neurosurgery
cardiology/heart surgery
ophthalmology
diabetes and endocrinology
orthopedics
ear, nose, and throat
psychiatry

gastroenterology
pulmonology
geriatrics
rehabilitation
gynecology
rheumatology
nephrology
urology

But for professionals working in Disability Management programs in the workplace, there are more important issues than best ratings.

The first responsibility of the rehabilitation professional in a Disability Management program is to get the injured worker to the nearest source for emergency treatment. However, after stabilization, the company and the worker’s family may want to consider other feasible treatment options, which might include moving the injured worker to a hospital which specializes in the particular specialty needed.

Disability Management program specialists need to have written procedures for dealing with workplace injuries or illnesses, including the appropriate hospital. Since good hospitals are dynamic and frequently upgrade procedures, workplace professionals need to keep pace.

- Has your company had experiences recently with injured or ill workers who required hospitalization?
- How would you rate your last hospital experience?
- Can you describe your best and worst hospital experiences?

Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being

2011-08-29T11:59:00.003-05:00

In 1878, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would give women the right to vote. 42 years later, in 1920, the states ratified the 19th Amendment and women finally were authorized (“franchised”) to vote.

While the 19th Amendment did signal the beginning of gains for women in education and the labor force, it has not yet, 91 years later, translated into wage and income equity. However, there have been gains: for every two men who received a college degree in 2010, three women achieved the same goal.

An in-depth report on the issue, titled Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being, has just been published by a coalition of federal agencies working under the coordination of the Department of Commerce. The report, for the first time in U.S. history, pulls baseline information together from across the Federal statistical agencies.
The report is broken down into five categories:

- People, Families, and Income
- Education
- Employment
- Health
- Crime and Violence

An article published in Wharton’s online newsletter serves as a corollary report on the issues of women’s equality. The key point of this article is that women don’t get what they want because they don’t ask for it. (The links for these articles are below. If you can’t find them online, call Dina at 800-246-9767 for a hard copy.)

- www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cwg/data-on-women
- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2746

So here’s the question: Is the reason women don’t do as well in the workforce as men that they just don’t ask?

Proactive Thinking in the Workplace

2011-07-27T13:37:00.001-05:00

Are you a proactive or reactive thinker? Do you react to events that occur around you, or do you take the initiative to prepare for, participate in, and/or control those events?

A proactive approach can be helpful in many areas of life, including the workplace. Anticipating change and taking the necessary steps to deal with it can help avert a crisis. A reactive approach, on the other hand, involves reacting to change or crisis after it happens.

Chrissy Scivicque, author of How Nourishing is Your Career?, has outlined five key behaviors involved in being proactive:

· Predict – develop foresight and anticipate future outcomes
· Prevent – take control of potential obstacles to overcome them (before they turn into roadblocks)
· Plan – look ahead and anticipate long-term consequences (avoid “here and now” thinking)
· Participate – get involved: be an active participant, not an idle observer
· Perform – take timely, effective action: don’t procrastinate!

While it is important, as Ms. Scivicque states, to use your imagination to anticipate possible future outcomes, it is equally important to avoid overthinking. If you find yourself spending too much time ruminating over the what-ifs and worrying about possible future events, resolve to take action. Knowing when to think and when to act, and finding a balance between the two, will ultimately be very beneficial.

As always, we love to hear from our readers. Do you engage in proactive or reactive thinking in the workplace? Has overthinking been a problem for you? Any strategies for balancing thinking and acting? We would love to hear your suggestions.

Promoting and Rewarding Safe Practices in the Workplace

2011-06-15T14:40:00.001-05:00

We recently discovered that March 25, 2011, was the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle (Shirtwaist) Factory Fire in New York City. The fire cost the lives of 146 workers.

The significance of the Triangle Factory Fire is that it galvanized American legislators into enacting laws to protect the safety of American workers. A full account of the fire and those who died, with dramatic photos and a listing of the names of the (mostly young) people, men and especially adolescent girls, is available from Cornell University. Of particular interest is the list of 13 fire hazards present that day, violations that would ultimately cost 146 people their lives.

Since we know that most of you, our readers, are interested in important subjects that impact the workplace, we invite you to share comments on this issue with others. One or more of the issues that you may want to comment on include:

- management’s endorsement and support of safety programs,
- the inclusion of employee ideas in the planning and operation of safety programs,
- the importance, if any, of collecting data over time,
- the importance of regularized training and education,

or, of course, any other aspect of the issue. Thank you for sharing your ideas.

Joining Forces: “The force behind the force.”

2011-06-02T10:07:00.001-05:00

“Joining Forces” is a campaign initiated by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to highlight the challenges of military families: the wives, husbands, and children of the 2.2 million soldiers, sailors, and airmen/women serving abroad. Mrs. Obama has said, “Our military families deserve our respect and support at every stage of their lives–no matter who is in office” (as announced on NBC’s “Dateline” on May 2, 2011). The focus of the initiative is “helping families cope with issues related to employment, education and health” (according to USA Today). Among the early commitments to Joining Forces are: - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (who will hold 100 hiring fairs around the country to help 50,000 veterans and military spouses find jobs outside of government). - Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club (who will guarantee a job at a nearby store to military family members who have been transferred to another part of the country). - The YMCA, National Military Family Association, and Sierra Club Foundation (who will offer free summer camp to 7,000 military kids at camps in 35 states this summer). - NASCAR (who will partner with Wal-Mart to produce a public service announcement campaign recognizing the sacrifices and challenges military families face throughout the United States). An extensive study of how returning military members and their families are faring was conducted by Capella University, Minneapolis. The conclusion: “Needs aren’t being met. Despite increased national attention on these issues, too many servicemembers and families aren’t getting the help they need.” What do you think? Any ideas to help? Any commitments?

How to Choose a College Major: and/or How to Hire the Best Applicant for Your Business

2011-05-03T14:47:00.002-05:00

College students agonizing over what to major in will want to consider the advice of Bill Gates. Or is it Steve Jobs? Or Jasen Walker? Here’s an opportunity to take sides. Mr. Gates, in an address to the nation’s governors in early March, urged “work-related learning,” that the emphasis should be aimed at academic disciplines that are “well correlated to areas that actually produce jobs.” Mr. Jobs, on the other hand, said, “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough – it’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing and nowhere is that more true than in these post-PC devices.” Dr. Jasen Walker, President of CEC Associates, Inc., wrote on this same subject in March. The article was published as the Spring 2011 edition of the New Worker newsletter on CEC’s website. In this article, Walker suggested that employers feel they can do the technical training needed for their business if the individual employee brings a positive attitude and resilience to the job. But, to settle the issue once and for all, we’re asking you to vote. You can find the poll on the right side of your screen. Tell us which of the three pieces of advice, Gates, Jobs, or Walker, you favor.

Earth Day: Industry Leaders Setting Green Examples

2011-04-12T10:24:00.001-05:00

As our world becomes more aware of the need to preserve our environment, more and more companies are making the switch to sustainable packaging. In particular, Whole Foods and Procter & Gamble are passing new regulations for sustainable and recyclable packaging.

Whole Foods’ new regulations, which went into effect in September 2010, mandate that suppliers use packaging materials that are easily reused or recycled and non-toxic, and that they switch from plastic to glass when possible. And over the next couple of years, Procter & Gamble will make the switch to sustainable packaging made from sugarcane for their top three global brands – Pantene Pro-V, CoverGirl, and MaxFactor.

It is estimated that the global sustainable packaging market will exceed $142 billion by 2015. Other “green” companies include big names such as Boeing, Chevrolet, and Clorox. Chevrolet’s 2011 Cruze Eco has been billed as a “shape-shifter” that can become more fuel-efficient on the fly, with highway mileage of up to 42 miles per gallon. And Boeing has conceptualized an aircraft, the Sugar Volt, that will burn 70 percent less fuel. This project is expected to come to fruition over the next 30 years. While this may seem a long time to wait, we believe it will be a worthy investment.

As always, we love to hear what our readers think. Do you purchase products in sustainable packaging when possible? Would you purchase the Cruze Eco or a similar car for the sake of fuel efficiency? We hope that others will do what they can to support a greener environment, not just in honor of Earth Day this month, but all year round.

How to Help Japan!

2011-03-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

The American people are directly aiding the Japanese people to deal with the horrific occurrences in their country. The U.S. Navy has an aircraft carrier and other ships nearby providing helicopter resources. The Marines are there helping as they are assigned. The usual experts in search and rescue services from this country are there, and the President has asked the Japanese government what else we might do to help. Still, some Americans, as always, are asking what else they might do. Here are 10 ways to help: 1. Google has launched a “Person Finder: 2011 Japan Earthquake” resource. People wanting to inquire about U.S citizen living in or visiting Japan are urged to contact the U.S. Department of State at 1-888-407-4747. Google has also has put up a crisis response page with local resources and emergency information. 2. The American Red Cross, already in Japan, is accepting donations: http://www.redcross.org/. 3. Save the Children has responded. Contribute to their “Children’s Emergency Fund.” 4. The International Medical Corps: http://www.internationalmedicalcorps.org/ is accepting contributions. Like the Red Cross, they are asking for $10 or whatever else you can afford. 5. GlobalGiving has already raised over $100,000. You can help with a donation at http://www.globalgiving.org/. 6. Salvation Army: is mobilizing a team specifically for the critically damaged city of Sendai. Donate $10 or more at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/. 7. Doctors Without Borders is sending teams of doctors and medical specialists. To learn more or contribute: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/. 8. Operation USA: is collecting bulk corporate donations: http://www.opusa.org/. 9. PayPal: has announced transactional fees incurred by money transfers to U.S. 501(c) (3) organizations between March 11th and April 10th will aid relief efforts in Japan. 10. AmeriCares, ShelterBox, and Mercy Corps: Are sending representatives. Mercy Corps is gathering donations for its overseas partner, Peace Winds Japan, which currently has personnel on the ground distributing emergency relief. In dedication to Earth Day on April 22, Americans, we hope, are giving what they can. Perhaps you too will be able to contribute. We would like to ask our readers: in light of our own economic struggles here in the U.S., how do you feel about contributing aid to another country?

Some Hard, Cold Facts for Americans

2011-02-25T14:31:00.002-05:00

Consider the following: In a 60 Minutes program aired late last year, Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said there is a “rising inequality” in terms of unemployment: the unemployment rate for college graduates is 5%, but the rate for high school graduates is 10% or more. Money Magazine created a list of “top careers” taking into account such factors as projected growth rate, average salaries, stress level, and flexibility. The top 5 of the list are: software architect physician assistant management consultant physical therapist environmental engineer Each of these careers will require some level of post-secondary training or education. That means those with only high school diplomas will fall even further behind in terms of the factors that define a “top career.” In a parallel study, it was reported that people in the highest income group can expect to live, on average, at least six and a half years longer than those in the lowest group. Kent Gilbreath, professor of economics at Baylor University, has done a study (with 2008 statistics, the latest available) that shows the average starting salary for males at $52,301 and the average starting salary for females at $46,121. A study at UC Irvine’s Clinic for Aging Research determined that 79% of people aged 90 and over are disabled, and that women are twice as likely as men to be disabled. While 2010 was the 20th anniversary for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the statistics show that gains made under the ADA, like every other entity in the economy, have been adversely affected by the recession. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left nearly 40,000 U.S. service-members wounded and have caused veterans’ disability claims to skyrocket to a point of impending disaster. In the final analysis, issues like these can only be addressed through our political process. So, if we want to address all or some of these serious realities of American life in 2011, where do we start? Are any of these issues worthy of our attention? If so, who specifically can we talk to about these and related realities? What do you think?

Older Workers: What Good Are They?

2011-01-19T15:10:00.001-05:00

The issue of older workers in the workplace was recently (December 2010) tackled by the Knowledge@Wharton program. What would be your answer to each of the following statements about older people? Myth 1: Older workers cost more than younger ones and are less productive on the job. _____ True _____ False Myth 2: People at or near retirement age tend to lose interest in their jobs. _____ True _____ False Myth 3: Older workers in the workforce keep younger ones from getting jobs. _____ True _____ False ________________ Reality 1: Both concerns are untrue. While older workers may take longer to recover from injuries, studies show they use fewer sick days on the whole than their younger counterparts. Health care costs are actually less for older workers because most no longer have small children as dependents on their health care plans. Further, workers also become eligible for Medicare at age 65, which can further reduce an employer’s health care bills. When it comes to job performance, older workers frequently outdo their younger colleagues. Older workers have less absenteeism, less turnover, and superior interpersonal skills, and they deal better with customers. Reality 2: Studies have found that those who worked beyond retirement age became more, rather than less, engaged and satisfied with their work. And contrary to the belief that older workers resist learning new things, older workers ranked “job challenge and learning” as a top source of satisfaction with their work. Reality 3: While it may be a widespread belief that you have to get older people to retire to open up the career ladder and jobs for young people, the opposite is true. Policies in countries that encourage workers to retire early actually have damaging impact on youth employment. This research is reported in full at Knowledge@Wharton’s website in an article titled, “The ‘Silver Tsunami’: Why Older Workers Offer Better Value Than Younger Ones.” Share your experiences with older workers with others by commenting.

2010-12-15T09:42:00.004-05:00

Season’s Greetings from Jasen, Esther,

and the Staff of CEC Associates

Ruby Green Singing

James Chapin (1887-1975)

There is a long tradition of using art on greeting cards to convey sentiments in respect to a particular event or holiday. So we have taken up that idea and created a season’s greeting card for our friends and colleagues with a work of art that we think illustrates our primary sentiment at this time of year.

Much of the art on cards is derived from religious content. We chose our art to convey a sense of gratitude, which, while not necessarily thought of as religious, signifies our feelings for this season. We chose gratitude because we are exceedingly grateful for our friends, our clients, and our lot in life. Further, and not incidentally, we chose gratitude because it is one of the “Values in Action” that are at the heart of Positive Psychology. (“Gratitude: It is important to appreciate each day that you are alive.”) We are strong advocates of Positive Psychology methods, especially as they relate to, and inform, our work in disability management in the workplace.

Ruby Green Singing is, we believe, a painting that makes obvious the gratitude sentiment. This painting was created in 1928. It was painted by a New Jersey resident named James Chapin. Chapin studies art in New York City, and also, as with most artists of the day, in Paris. He taught for a time at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

Ruby Green was a graduate of the Julliard School of Music and was well known as a soloist and gospel singer in the New York City area. She frequently sang the role of Bess in George Gershwin’s opera, Porky and Bess, including that special role in a touring company that visited Europe and Israel at the time. While the painting reflects Ruby’s religious intensity, it also, we believe, conveys a deep sense of gratitude. We were taken by what we believe is a great illustration of gratitude, and we wanted to share it with everyone.

As we mentioned, we are grateful for the hand that life has dealt us and, especially, for having all the talented friends and colleagues we have. We would like to hear from anyone else out there who is also grateful, and for what.

What are you grateful for this holiday season?

Waiting for “Superman” and Merit Pay

2010-11-17T08:43:00.000-05:00

Waiting for “Superman,” a movie currently playing in local theaters, is a documentary that follows the lives of five kids in five different American cities and details their individual experiences in school. The substance of the movie is that America’s schools are grossly unequal in terms of the quality of education students are receiving. There are, of course, a number of issues here. The documentary speaks of projected consequences. For example, in 2020, there will be 123 million high-skilled, high-paying jobs in America, but only an estimated 50 million citizens will have the technical skills to fill the positions. The film also identifies what it holds to be critical barriers. The primary barrier is identified as tenure and teachers’ unions that often stand in the way of removing corrupt and incapable school administrators and officials. Another issue is that “Charter Schools,” by and large, out-perform public schools. Whatever the validity of those charges may be, our interest here is in another issue brought forward in the movie, merit-based salaries. The movie promotes the idea of paying effective teachers with bonuses that can, in some cases, double medium salaries. Conversely, a recently reported study by the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University concludes that pay for performance is not “the magic bullet that so often the policy world is looking for.” The study, conducted from 2006 to 2009 and involving 296 middle school math teachers, found that students in classes where the teachers were given bonuses if their students did well, in fact progressed no faster than those in classes taught by non-bonus teachers. In an example more typical of the non-school workplace, Ford Motor company, in 2010, reinstated the merit pay increases that it had suspended for 18 months in an effort to tighten costs in a very difficult economy. Obviously, Ford, at least, feels that merit pay works with their employees. So there the contentious issues stand, somewhere short of finality. Anyone out there have workplace experience with merit pay? If so, what do you think? Either way, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

Women in the Workforce: An Update

2010-10-01T15:08:00.002-05:00

There are several contemporary facts about women in the labor force that are significant to employers (and professionals working with employers on workforce issues): - women comprise 46.8% of the workforce in the U.S., which equates to 66 million women, - the trend is an increase in their percentage in the future, - 40% of employed women work in management, professional, and related occupations, and - other occupations for women are: 32% in sales and office positions; 21% in service occupations; 5% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 1% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The four most prevalent occupations for employed women are: - Secretaries and administrative assistants (3,074,000), - Registered nurses (2,612,000), - Elementary and middle school teachers (2,343,000), and - Cashiers (2,273,000). A website focused on women in the workforce, www.jobprofiles.org, reports: - women make only 77.5 cents for every dollar that men earn, - the more education a woman has, the greater the disparity in her wages, - women work longer to receive the promotions that provide access to higher pay, - female business owners employ 35% more people than all the Fortune 500 companies together, - women account for 46% of the labor force, but 59% of these workers make less than $8 an hour, - women earn less than men in 99% of all occupations, and - minority women fare the worst in terms of equal pay. Two additional items in terms of working women are: - single women out-earn single men in metropolitan areas (according to the U.S. Census Bureau data for 2008) in 39 of the 50 biggest cities and matched them in eight, and - Goldman Sachs and Wharton have teamed up to create a portal for female entrepreneurs in emerging economies. The program is called the 10,000 Women initiative. There have been many advances in women’s equality over the years, but it is evident that there is still room for improvement. What do you think can be done to further advance women’s rights in the workforce?

Is the Workplace Going Green?

2010-08-25T09:40:00.002-05:00

To the question: Is your organization currently focusing on creating green jobs OR adding duties within existing or newly created jobs that can be considered green? the answer is: 55% No 40% Yes 5% Plan to These figures according to a recent survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Additionally, to the question of the reason the organization “is not currently focusing on creating green jobs,” the responses were: 75% No need/opportunity exists 17% Cost implications of creating green jobs 16% Lack of support by management 7% Concerns about workplace inefficiency 4% Other How do these national figures square with your company? Should companies do more to go green? What is your company doing, if anything, to be more green? Is your company doing anything other companies can learn from?

The Pew Research Center and “Antisocial Networking”

2010-07-27T11:48:00.001-05:00

On April 20, 2010, the Pew Research Center* reported the following: - Half of American teenagers (ages 12-17) send 50 or more text messages a day. - One third of them send more than 100 a day. This study, cited in The New York Times, makes the point that teens are more likely to use their cellphones to text friends than to call them. The report says the question researchers have is whether texting leads to more connectedness and supportiveness, or whether the quality of the interactions is being diminished “without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time.” The report goes on to say that people who study relationships believe “close childhood friendships help kids build trust in people outside their families and consequently help lay the groundwork for healthy adult relationships.” Our question is, “Is technology bringing children closer or making them weaker in terms of face-to-face human contact skills?” Whatever the answer to this question, the issue is certain to play a key role in workplace relations going forward. - Will technology make adults more or less compatible with their workplace associates? - Should employers be aware of this potential actuality so as to take advantage of it, or will it take care of itself? The researchers have had their say, but what about others from the real world? What do you think about the issue of how technology is shaping our youths? (Responses to these questions are certain to be informed by the age of the respondent, and that factor will be significant too.) * “The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan ‘fact tank’ that provides information on the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take positions on policy issues.”

Progesterone – Hormones and Brain Injury

2010-07-14T09:39:00.003-05:00

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is funding a nationwide study to further explore how the female hormone progesterone protects the brain; that is, both the female and the male brains, after trauma. The curative value of the hormone came to light in a preliminary study of 100 brain injury cases when the progesterone was tested for its safety. Progesterone is best known as a female hormone that is a vital constituent in maintaining pregnancies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury every year, and more than 50,000 of them die of complications from the injury. Moreover, survivors of such injuries suffer long-term needs. The original NIH study found that patients given the progesterone were 50% less likely to have died than the placebo group. The study also found that among moderate brain-injury survivors, those who received the progesterone were less disabled, and some even made a full recovery. The study the NIH is now undertaking is an extended test to track both the safety and effectiveness of the hormone. If the results of the extended test remain positive, the implications for employers will be great. The CDC shows the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries as: 28% Falls 20% Motor Vehicle Crashes 19% Struck by/against objects 11% Assaults The CDC also reported that males are 1½ times more likely to sustain a traumatic brain injury than females. While the CDC does not report where the traumas occurred, it is logical that a high percentage of them occurred in the workplace. Employers and their supervisors will do well to remember the effectiveness of progesterone at the time of the injuries. The preliminary NIH study also showed that the earlier the progesterone was used, the more effective it was in the long run. Traditionally thought of as a “female hormone,” progesterone might be best referred to as a “protection hormone.” How do you feel about its use in male patients with traumatic brain injuries? Considering the success of the NIH study, should more studies be undertaken?

Dean Kamen Invents a Prosthetic Robot Arm

2010-06-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

Remember the amazing guy who invented the Segway? The Segway is the two-wheeler you stand on and drive to wherever you want to go by leaning in the right direction. At the behest of the U.S. Department of Defense, Kamen recently invented a mind-controlled prosthetic robot arm. It is difficult to overstate one’s awe for Kamen’s inventions. Still while the Segway is a neat kind of thing we all may wish to have, the reality is that there really aren’t that many of them around. So is the Kamen prosthesis in the same category? - What does the mind-controlled arm mean to the world-at-large? - Who are the beneficiaries of this latest, perhaps greatest, of Kamen’s inventions? - Are the only beneficiaries the individuals who have lost arms, especially American service men and women? - Why should the rest of us care?

Coping with Mental Illness in the Workplace

2010-06-01T10:46:00.002-05:00

Recent (and rapid) advances in neuroscience, and brain research generally, are providing some critically useful information for rehabilitation professionals. While of course employers and their Disability Management (DM) professionals are not qualified to diagnose or treat mental illness, they are responsible to know the basics of such illnesses in order to plan and operate quality DM Programs in the workplace. Consider the following: The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that more than fourteen million Americans suffer from major depression every year, and more than three million suffer from minor depression. Given these numbers, it is inevitable that some employees will fall into these definitions, and the responsibility of the DM professionals is to recognize this reality for the purpose of referring them to competent medical professionals and customizing job descriptions to accommodate them. In short, mental illnesses are no different from physical illnesses in terms of workplace disability. Other facts related to this issue: - One in four Americans has been diagnosed with some form of mental illness as specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). (The DSM is published by the American Psychiatric Association. It has become so contentious that an updated version of it has been postponed from May 2010 to 2013.) - A significant issue among the medical and psychiatric professions is that in too many cases the treatment of a mental illness is a prescription for some drug, as opposed to talk therapy (Cognitive-Behavior Therapy) designed to help patients develop coping strategies. It is important to note that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accords the same protection to individuals with mental illnesses as it does to individuals with physical conditions: A person may be disabled if he or she has a physical or mental (bolding added) condition that substantially limits a major life activity. Mental health topics include: Anxiety Disorders (including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and Social Anxiety Disorder), ADHD/ADD, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Eating Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Prevention. As always, we would love to hear from our readers. Is Mental Illness/Mental Health an issue you experience in your workplace? If so, is it effectively handled by management? Do you have any suggestions for improving the manner in which these issues are handled in your workplace?

If You Work: The Importance of Sleep

2010-04-29T10:29:00.001-05:00

Are you getting enough sleep? According to the National Sleep Foundation, as reported in ScienceNews, Americans are sleeping less than ever before. In 2009, 20 percent of survey participants said that they slept less than six hours on weeknights, compared with 12 percent in 1998. That lost sleep is not being recovered on weekends, either. Sleep deprivation has a number of consequences. It can affect one’s physical and mental health: chronic sleep disruption appears to be the single biggest trigger for depression. It can also affect one’s performance in the workplace. On-the-job injury rates soar 400 percent for the sleep deprived. Sixteen percent of absenteeism is associated with insomnia. There is also the issue of “presenteeism” – the inability to focus on the job, even when one shows up for work. It is estimated that the costs of insomnia in the workplace total $150 billion. What can we do to ensure that we get more sleep? According to Psychology Today, Americans are kept awake by a variety of factors ranging from worry to acid reflux to late night television and, of course, the internet. The biggest sleep robber of all, however, is work. In order to be more productive, we are putting in more hours at work and sleeping less, which in turn is affecting job performance. The solution, we believe, lies in the old adage: Everything in moderation. Are you getting enough sleep, or do you find yourself staying awake at night? If troubled by insomnia, do you believe it affects your performance at work? Do you have any suggestions on achieving a good balance between work, sleep, and other activities?

The Banking Crisis: Should We Be Angry at Wall Street or the U.S. Government?

2010-03-31T07:49:00.001-05:00

60 Minutes aired an exposé on Sunday, March 14, 2010 that took the form of an interview with an author who has written about the banking crisis debacle. The author is Michael Lewis, and the name of his book is The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. The book is a carefully reported record of the global financial meltdown that resulted from the bundling together of mortgages (many of them grossly overvalued and doomed to fail) by bankers and selling them to insurance companies. 1. In most cases, the banks that bundled and sold the mortgages did not understand that they were overvalued. 2. In essentially all cases, the insurance companies who bought them did not understand that they were overvalued. 3. The rating agencies charged with the responsibility of evaluating and assigning credit risks failed to do so. (The rating agencies are paid by the companies they are rating.) 4. Government oversight regulations of banks and insurance companies have been seriously eroding, especially over the past decade. 5. Nothing that has happened in terms of a response to the failure has changed the Wall Street bonus culture. 6. One person, Michael Burry, a disabled MD working on his own, figured out that the credit worthiness of the mortgages was toxic and bought insurance on them that netted him $750,000,000 in 2007 alone. He was reading the same information that the Wall Street bankers had available but either did not read or did not understand. For his part, Lewis stated, “The incentives for people on Wall Street got so screwed up, that people who worked there became blinded to their own long term interests. And because the short term interests were so overpowering. And so they behaved in ways that were antithetical to their own long term interests.” Aside from Michael Burry, the lone investor, and Michael Lewis, the assiduous author, there are essentially no other Americans who profited from the great debacle. Will Wall Street’s greed have an adverse effect on the workplace? Should the federal government play a role in this situation? If so, what role?

Multiple Jobs - The New Norm?

2010-02-16T10:24:00.002-05:00

An emerging phenomenon in today’s economy is the growing number of multiple job holders. While some people work two jobs out of financial necessity, others aim to develop skills in different areas. As noted in an article from Helium.com, sometimes one job will complement the other and produce a stronger skill set. Holding multiple jobs will also create a more diversified resume, offering a competitive edge that will be helpful in today’s job market.
Of course, there are potential downsides to having more than one job. Clocking so many hours can result in fatigue, sleep deprivation, and ultimately burnout. Productivity may suffer. One will also have less time to spend with friends and family, which may increase an already heightened level of stress.
And while some are employed in satisfying jobs, still others are, as referenced by The Wall Street Journal, “Working Two Jobs and Still Underemployed.” In a downturned economy, many who have been laid off have returned to the labor force, only to find themselves underemployed. That is, they hold part-time jobs when they would prefer full-time work, and/or they work in jobs that don’t employ their skills.
As always, we love to hear what our readers think. Do you work more than one job? If so, what are your motivations for doing so? What do you find are the benefits and the detriments to holding multiple jobs?

Social networking – the new job search tool?

2010-01-20T08:31:00.001-05:00

According to a recent article from msnbc, marketing company BFG Communications landed a new hire based on a single Twitter post. The post linked back to a blog and mock magazine cover designed by the applicant. Facebook, the popular social networking website, offers many applications to assist in a job search. These include a CareerBuilder application, another for creating online business cards, and one called “Testimonials,” which is used to compile personal, professional, and academic references. Payscale, the owner of the largest database of online employee salary data in the world, is also present on Facebook, providing an immediate and precise snapshot of the job market at any given time. CEC Associates, Inc., has joined in the movement by establishing our own Facebook page, which is geared toward career counseling services. As we have done for more than 25 years, we continue to offer career services, including vocational assessment, counseling, help with résumé preparation, and interview skill enhancement. For employees, the potential downside to social networking is that the line between one’s personal and professional lives is becoming blurred. There have been several reported instances of people being fired for posting negative comments about their jobs on Facebook or for posting improper photos and offensive remarks. The moral of the story: if using a social networking site as a job search tool, and particularly if “friending” one’s co-workers or boss, one must be careful about what personal information is posted online. We would like to hear what our readers think. Have you used a social networking website to assist in your job search? Are traditional paper résumés and cover letters becoming a “thing of the past?” And where does one draw the line between their personal and professional lives in the online world?

A Question for 51% of American Workers

2009-12-08T12:20:00.001-05:00

A report on flu by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued in late October 2009 has some sobering facts on flu in America. Seasonal flu reportedly kills about 36,000 Americans, hospitalizes more than 200,000 individuals, and costs the U.S. economy more than $10 billion in lost productivity and direct medical expenses annually. A recent online survey focuses on the workplace. It found: - 69 percent of workers had not received workplace communications about flu policies through September 2009, - 84 percent of workers said the recession creates more pressure to show up for work even if ill, - 80 percent of workers reported they feel knowledgeable about precautions to take if flu were to hit their workplace, - 47 percent of workers said they would still engage in public activities (e.g., bus riding, shopping, etc.) if hit by the flu, and - 49 percent of workers plan to get vaccinated if a vaccine is available. What is so startling about these statistics is that ostensibly 51 percent of American workers do not plan to get vaccinated if a vaccine is available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in late October 2009 that the H1N1 flu has resulted in more than 4,000 deaths nationwide so far this year. (Information and analysis is available from www.factcheck.org.) So our question is, “What do 51 percent of the American workforce know about the vaccine that the rest of us don’t know?” Even though the availability of the vaccine will be greater for those of us who do want it, we are acutely interested in what those who will not take it if available know that we all should know. Please help us to understand this phenomenon. Have you taken the flu vaccine? Why or why not?

When the Workplace Is a Gridiron

2009-11-04T09:01:00.001-05:00

The National Football League (NFL) has a dementia assistance program for retired players, and there is mounting evidence that it is sorely needed. The data show there is a link between football and later-in-life cognitive impairment. While there are some League officials who dispute the fact that playing in the NFL substantially increases the risk for dementia, the records indicate that pro football retirees are “experiencing moderate to advanced early-onset dementia at rates several times higher than the general population.” When a League-commissioned University of Michigan survey reported NFL retirees aged 50 and above showed diagnoses of cognitive disease at five times the rate of the national population, the League commented that such surveys were unreliable. To try to determine the reality of the contrasting claims, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the issue of brain injuries in football. Representatives heard stories of former football players who had struggled with homelessness, depression, and an inability to perform basic tasks after suffering hundreds of blows to the head during their careers. But some present emphasized that the NFL had made safety improvements in recent years. Several other factors related to this issue are: - the condition is not generally the result of single horrendous hit, which may be described as a concussion, but the accumulation of smaller hits over time. - there have been, of course, improvements to safety equipment, especially helmets, but those improvements have not been adequate and have not resolved the problem. - NFL players, in addition to their pro tenures, have played football in college, high school, and even before that, raising the further issue of the safety of football for children who will never play at the professional level. While Disability Management programs of more ordinary workplaces may not be adequate for NFL players without being significantly customized to the uniqueness of this workplace, there will certainly have to be acknowledgements of the problem. The League would be wise to consider the implementation of Disability Management procedures for every team. -Do you believe that NFL teams would be wise to consider the implementation of Disability Management programs? -If your child is involved in football, does this article cause concern?

Contagion in the Workplace

2009-10-06T08:23:00.002-05:00

Is there contagion in your workplace? If not, your workplace may not be up to date. In fact, it may be deprived of some critically positive information.

One of the most active buzzwords currently in the U.S. is “contagion.” Contagion is so pervasive that it has been labeled (by sociologists and psychologists) prestigiously as “Contagion Theory.” The most concise definition of contagion theory is “collective behavior.” That is, crowds cause people to act in unison in a certain way, or crowds converge on a single idea. (On the darker side, it is sometimes referred to as “mob mentality.”)

Contagion is also the buzzword of the moment in new and promising concepts for workplace development. A word that was once primarily used to describe the spread of disease has now taken on expanded dimensions.

Emotional contagion, as defined by Wikipedia, is the tendency to feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others. It represents a tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person and, consequently, to converge emotionally. A study referenced in the Washington Post has shown that emotion can ripple through clusters of people who may not even know each other. In particular, happiness was found to be particularly “contagious,” and one person’s happiness has the potential to affect another’s for as much as a year.

According to a recent article from Dennis Whittle, CEO of Global Giving, prosperity can also be contagious. He has observed the restaurant scene in Portland, Maine, evolve in a dynamic way after “one or two really great chefs moved to town, and others followed.” Indeed, this concept holds great promise when one considers the impact it could have on a struggling economy.

So, what are the contagions nurturing/festering in your workplace? If there are contagions abound in workplaces across America (for good or evil), we all need to know about them.

Stress, Work, and How to Relax

2009-09-09T14:47:00.001-05:00

In today’s downsized economy, people are facing mounting tension on the job in addition to the stressors of daily living. According to a recent article from MainStreet.com, options that bring quick relaxation, such as alcohol, massage, or spa treatment, are no substitute for strategies that bring long-term relief. Erin Olivo, assistant clinical professor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York, reports that pressure, if it mounts unchecked, can overwhelm the mind and compromise one’s health. While some try to integrate activities such as yoga or meditation into their lives, adding obligations to an already full schedule may only add to the aggravation. Olivo offers a simpler solution: “Everybody has their own way of calming themselves down….The key is to actually do them.” Dr. Joel Levey states that people should learn to be “mindful,” or constantly aware of their surroundings and challenges as well as their effects. Dr. Levey recommends that workers pause frequently throughout the day to check on their stress levels. When they notice signs of tension, they should take a moment to breathe deeply and focus on calming phrases. Olivo adds that it would be helpful for workers to challenge their triggers and question whether the problems they’re facing warrant their reactions. She states, “An individual can approach a stressful situation with a mindful response rather than automatically reacting in a way that may actually only increase his or her distress.” -What kinds of stress do you experience? -What strategies do you use to relax and cope with stress?

Are You Managing Your Boss?

2009-08-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Is your boss a pain in the ass? If so, perhaps you are not managing him or her appropriately. “Managing Your Boss” is a strategy developed by the Harvard MBA program. A brief definition is if I, as an individual employee, do everything I can to help my boss succeed, I will succeed correspondingly. The concept is widely used in well-managed companies. Frequently, nowadays, it is called “Managing Up.” For anyone interested in getting updated on the application, there are many references and definitions available online. In the meantime, we’re interested in your thoughts on the topic: - What have your experiences been with the “Managing Your Boss” concept? - What are the positives and negatives of this business technique? - Do you think that if your boss succeeds, you will too?

Is A College Degree Worth The Price?

2009-07-07T09:43:00.002-05:00

Jack Hough, an associate editor with SmartMoney Magazine, recently authored an article for msn.com. He opines that someone who invests the money they would have spent on college will make larger returns when it comes time to retire, despite earning less each year. “College degrees bring higher income, but at today’s cost they can’t make up the savings they consume and the debt they add early in the life of a typical student.” Gary Becker, University Professor of Economics and Sociology at the University of Chicago, offers a different perspective: “It’s wrong to say you shouldn’t have debt after college. It’s like saying you shouldn’t borrow money to buy a house.” Kim Clark of U.S. News & World Report writes, “Lots of research shows that those who study math, sciences, or career-related courses generally end up earning more than those who focus on the humanities, for example. And generally, graduates of better-ranked and more-selective colleges do far better financially than others, even better than similarly qualified students who turn those colleges down to attend lower-ranked colleges.” Clark references a study from Harvard University that found that students who don’t have a shot at first- or second-tier colleges might be better off if they chose their cheapest options. There are also other benefits to having a college degree. An article from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business reads, “College-educated people are healthier, their children achieve more, they respond better to crises, and they manage financial assets better.” - Do you think that your college degree was worth the cost? - How would you counter these arguments?

Making a Difference: Disney Studios Makes a Major Contribution

2009-05-08T16:10:00.006-05:00

We all have our favorite children’s and family movies that Walt Disney Studios has created over the years. Now Disney is pointing in a new direction with a focus they call “Disneynature.” The purpose of the new production unit is to produce films that spotlight the realities of nature. The first of the films in this direction is the incredibly moving documentary called “Earth.” Originally released internationally in 2007, the American version of “Earth” premiered on April 22, a day also known in the U.S. as Earth Day.

“Earth,” narrated by James Earl Jones, follows the lives of three non-human families, polar bears, elephants, and humpback whales, for a one-year cycle in their very precarious and difficult lives.

In addition to distributing this film that documents the fragility of all life, Disney has pledged to plant one tree in the endangered Brazilian rainforest for every person who saw the movie during its first week. The trees are being planted by the Nature Conservancy, whose slogan is “Protecting Nature. Preserving Life.”

Disney has announced that the box-office receipts for the first week totaled $16.1 million, which translates to their funding 2.7 million trees for the Conservancy to plant.

So the challenge here is to respond to the meaning of this new direction by Disney:

Did you see the film? If yes, what did you think?

If you haven’t seen it, are you interested in doing so?

Do you have any thoughts to share on the issue of the fragility of all life on Earth?

Or on the issue of planting trees in the Brazilian rainforest as opposed to here in the U.S.?

We look forward to hearing what you think!

Military Veterans: Disability & Homelessness

2009-04-01T12:20:00.010-05:00

One estimate from the Veterans Administration is that since 2003, more than 60,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq have been wounded or struggle with psychological disorders. The percentage of veterans who are amputees is said to be the highest since the Civil War, and at least one-third of military personnel who have served in Iraq struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Returning service personnel with a disability are required to submit an application for a Disability Compensation claim. While the time required to transition from submission of an application to being declared eligible for treatment or compensation varies by region, it is presently stated as approximately six months.

In terms of homelessness, as of November 8, 2007, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans indicated there were 195,827 homeless veterans in the U.S., and 2,784 of those were in Pennsylvania.

Individuals interested in how our returned military personnel are faring might research any of the following:

· U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

· National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

· Iraq War Veterans

For those interested in learning more about how to assist returned military, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans provides a “Locate a Community-based Organization” link (under “Homeless Veteran Service Providers”). A search for “Philadelphia” lists six agencies in the area that provide assistance and services especially for homeless veterans.

· What ideas do you have in respect to how our returned Iraq veterans are treated?

· Do you have any ideas to share on what we can do to assist?

· Do you know of any employment opportunities for returned veterans?

· Is your workplace cognizant of returned veterans issues? If so, do you have any ideas to share in respect to your workplace?

A 10-Point Survival: How to Keep Your Job!

2009-02-11T18:27:00.007-05:00

A 10-Point Survival Guide: How to Keep Your Job & an Interesting Note on Women in the Job Market Anne Fisher is a Senior Writer on workplace and management topics for Fortune magazine. She also writes a weekly career-advice column called “Ask Annie” for CNN.com. In the January 7, 2009, Ask Annie column, she wrote “Keep your job: a 10-point survival guide.” 1. Create successes for yourself 2. Set 30-day and 60-day goals 3. Watch your attitude 4. Keep your network active 5. Update your skills 6. Make sure your work serves the larger goals of the organization 7. For now, forget about work-life balance 8. Take a hard look at your finances 9. Never badmouth anyone 10. Remember, in the knowledge economy, you are the product You can find the column on the web at http://www.askannie.com/ or click here for the entire article.

Also on the state of the economy, a new article by Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today states, “Women are holding onto their jobs more than their male counterparts in the recession as the types of jobs women hold generally offer more stability, albeit at less pay.” How can the “Survival Guide” help you keep your job? How are you surviving the economic changes effecting employment? What would you add or change on the list? How secure do you feel about your job in the current market in light of the information about women workers?

Destroying Wilderness

2008-12-01T08:46:00.001-05:00

Destroying Wilderness The Wilderness Society was established in 1935 for the expressed purpose of protecting wilderness areas in the U.S. The Society was responsible for the passage of the landmark Wilderness Act of 1964 that remains, still, the law of the land. Specifically, the Wilderness Act put under protection 107 million acres of wilderness in the continental U.S., and an additional 56 million acres in Alaska. Recently, the Wilderness Society sent its members an email alerting all to the effort of the current administration to convert more than 2 million acres in the forests of Western Oregon to commercial logging. To learn about the specific of the pristine and critically essential Oregon forests (as well as specifics on the Alaskan acreage) visit the Society's web site. What is important here is to hear your opinion of the wilderness versus logging issue. Let us know, pro or con, what you think. Do you agree with the current administration’s plans? What course should the incoming administration take in this issue?

The College Student's Guide to the New Millennium

2008-10-09T15:08:00.013-05:00

"The College Student's Guide to the New Millennium" At CEC Associates, we focus on workplace issues. Recently we wrote about generational differences (see our blog, "It's All About Engagement," December 6, 2007), especially as they arise in the workplace between "Baby Boomer" bosses and "Millennial" new/recent hires. We have been working from Cam Marston's "Motivating the "What's In It for Me" Workforce: Manage Across the Generational Divide and Increase Profits.” Marston (and others), delineates the generations as: · Matures: born before 1946 (including "Lost" Generation, 1883-1900; "Greatest," 1901-1924; "Silent," 1925-1945) · Baby Boomers: 1946-1964 · Generation X: 1965-1981 · Millennials: 1982-2000 Many sociologists believe that the "Millennials" are faced with critical realities and issues that were not present for earlier generations. The differences between the serial generations of Americans are significant, and we all, whether from earlier generations or the Generation Millennials themselves, really need to understand the differences to develop the compatibility required for productive harmony. The difficulty, of course, is defining who the Millennials are and in what respects they are different from foregoing generations. Fortuitously, as relevant ideas are want to happen, we became aware of an elegantly written article by Emma Raviv that made, for us, the intellectual connection we needed. Raviv's article, "Welcome to Your World: The College Student's Guide to the New Millennium," explores the specific themes that focus on the consequential problems our youths and college students face. Raviv explores the themes of science and technology, sex and gender in the new world, globalization, war on terror, and racial politics. Simply reading the issues makes it clear that the generational differences are significant and need to be taken into account as we go about managing the emerging workforce. It should be noted that Raviv doesn't develop her thesis in terms of the workforce; that is our twist to the information she advances. Click here to view the Raviv article. What are your thoughts on generational differences? Do you agree with Raviv's theses?

No More Gloom and Doom

2008-09-30T09:48:00.001-05:00

No More Gloom and Doom All those Safety and Wellness programs that employers implemented over the past several years are finally paying off, big time. Disability Management programs are cost effective, and the statistics are proof. The Bureau of Labor Statistics* reports that the: Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers in 2006 (last full year of reporting) occurred at a rate of 4.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers –a decline from 4.6 cases in 2005. The rate of such injuries and illnesses in 1997 was 7.1 cases per 100 workers. The difference between 7.1 cases and 4.4 cases is a very dramatic difference and one that should convey a significant message to employers. One other key statistics in the report cited above is that the number of total cases of injury and illness was highest among mid-size companies (employing between 50 and 249 workers), higher than the rate in large-size companies. Larger companies (over 250 employees) are most likely to have intensive Disability Management programs in place and staffed accordingly. Large-size companies generally have in-house resources such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) available to address employee health issues in a timely or even preventive way. As a consequence, these companies do better than mid-size companies in terms of their injury/illness rates. Major sports teams, for example Major League Baseball, have long since learned to manage on the basis of raw statistics. If mid-sized companies were to do the same, these statistics on the value of Disability Management would yield significant and cost-effective results. ____________________ * United States Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2006”

When the Wounded Return

2008-09-08T13:39:00.001-05:00

When the Wounded Return Whether you are for or against the war, we all respect the service of the men and women fighting overseas. They face immense hardships, and they all certainly look forward to a peaceful and easy transition back to their lives at home. But what happens when, after being injured, soldiers aren’t cared for as they should be, staying in treatment facilities with less than optimal conditions? An August 18, 2008, article in USA Today details the conditions of one establishment for wounded soldiers, Fort Sill. Author Gregg Zoroya wrote, “Mold infests the barracks that were set up here a year ago for wounded soldiers after poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center triggered a systemwide overhaul, soldiers say.” He continued, “Images of mold growing on walls of wounded-soldier bedrooms at Walter Reed last year, along with issues of bureaucratic delays in health care, led to an overhaul of the Army’s wounded-care system.” While measures were taken to expedite the treatment process for soldiers, many items still need to be addressed. You can read the whole USA Today article here. Do you think there is a better way to handle the return of our wounded soldiers? Is the government doing enough to assist the men and women who have bravely served our country? Which of the two political parties do you think is best suited to accomplish these tasks?

ADHD in the Workplace

2008-08-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in the Workplace Originally, ADHD was thought of as primarily affecting children. A recent study by the Institute of Mental Health and Addiction in the Netherlands (one of the most respected research centers in the world) indicates it is now believed to persist into adulthood and, as a result, the workplace. The study concludes that adult ADHD affects “sufferers’ concentration so badly that they lose three weeks of work a year.” Further, the study states that ADHD “causes accidents and low job performance,” and that employers are beginning to screen workers for it and provide treatments when it is present. The study included 7,075 workers in ten countries, including the U.S. The study claims that an average of 3.5 percent of those surveyed had ADHD. Skeptics of the study suggest that the diagnosis is all too frequently a device to help drug companies sell even more behavior-modifying drugs. So what do you think? Is ADHD a significant factor in workplace accidents? Or is this study suspect?

No More Excuses: There are Green Guides for Everything!

2008-07-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

TreeHugger.com is a website devoted to helping individuals go green in all aspects of their daily lives. For this reason, they have developed “Go Green” and “Buy Green” Guides to make our attempts at going green a little simpler. Topics of the Go Green Guides range from how to green your kitchen, your workplace, and even your funeral. Each guide offers the Top 10 Green Tips for the particular topic, as well as sections on how to do more, as well as statistics. The Buy Green Guides are divided into several categories including shoes, jeans, desktop computers, and furniture. Lists of green products are located under each heading. The author explains why these products are considered green, in addition to how much they cost. As stated on the website, “TreeHugger knows that we can't shop or buy our way to global sustainability…but there comes a moment when your favorite shoes are finally worn beyond repair, and when you need to upgrade your work clothes, or kitchen utensils, or living room furniture, and we're here to help you do it green.” Check out TreeHugger for more information!

Lawyers Can Go Green, Too!

2008-07-08T11:47:00.005-05:00

Meritas, an international affiliation of over 6,000 lawyers in ten countries worldwide, has recently initiated a project called the Meritas Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute is made up of people who are committed to studying new sustainability projects. The culmination of their efforts led to the publication The Green Guide For Lawyers. This guide is divided into three separate tiers: Sustainability Advocate, Partner, and Leader. According to ecopreneurist.com, “each tier contains initiatives that fall into the Triple Bottom Line categories of people, profit and planet.” For example, law firms in the Sustainability Advocates tier may follow some of the following tips: - Adopt a sustainability mission statement. - Encourage employees to carpool or use public transportation. - Use environmentally friendly cleaning items. Firms under the Sustainability Leaders tier may follow much more service-oriented guidelines: - Allocate a certain number of pro bono service hours to an environmental organization. - Provide education for clients through a newsletter, sponsored events, or discussions. - Include “green” information on their websites. Click Here for more information and to download this educational handbook! What can your firm or company do to help the green initiative? Do you think your firm or company already falls under one of the guide's three tiers?

Choose an Issue and Voice an Opinion

2008-06-19T15:15:00.002-05:00

“Why Women Earn Less than Men” or “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” Do women earn less than men because of discrimination? The National Committee on Pay Equity thinks so. Another point of view is that there are different (and more complex) issues involved, and these issues need to be considered in taking a final position on the matter. A significant part of the problem is that overall earnings by gender are not the same as equal pay for people doing the same job. That is, the choices women make about their work determine pay differences. Women are underrepresented in the science and math fields, which lead to better paying careers. The statistics are that only about two-fifths of science and engineering graduates are women. One important fact in terms of the future of pay equity for women is that there are now more women graduating with bachelor’s degrees than men. The estimate is that in a few years, 60% of all college graduates will be women. The argument is that as more women enter the workforce, the pay differential will narrow. If that is to happen, the problem should solve itself. A new book, “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It,” has hit the workplace, and it has an interesting premise: “Our beliefs about work…are outdated, outmoded, out to lunch.” The book was authored by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler, founders of CultureRx. The present approach is that “time + physical presence + hard work = results.” However, Thompson and Ressler argue that this standard of work culture is not productive. Rather, they recommend a “results-only work environment” method on their website – which you are encouraged to visit. So, which of the two issues is most intriguing? Weigh in with your opinion!

Emotional Contagion in the Workplace

2008-05-20T10:09:00.010-05:00

Awareness of the concept of “emotional contagion” goes back to at least the early 1990s. It has been defined as signifying the tendency to express and feel emotions similar to, and influenced by, those of others. In psychology, the condition (emotional contagion) is frequently looked at as a cause of dysfunctional dynamics in families and especially in children. And, of course, it can be a critical factor in the workplace. To understand employee behavior in the workplace, employers need to be aware of the phenomenon and take measures to counteract it. While the most prevalent situation is the interaction between and among employees, the contagion is also cited as a condition sometimes present in the employee-customer relationship. We became aware of “emotional contagion” when we came across a “working paper” published in 2001 by a Yale School of Management professor, Sigal G. Barsade. Barsade titled his paper The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion in Groups. Barsade wrote: “The results of this research confirm that people do not live on emotional islands but rather, that group members experience moods at work, these moods ripple out and, in the process, influence not only other group members’ emotions but their group dynamics and individual cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors as well. Thus, emotional contagion, through its direct and indirect influence on employee and work team emotions, judgments, and behaviors can lead to subtle but important ripple effects in groups and organizations.” Barsade concluded: “Emotional contagion has been shown here to play a significant role in work-group dynamics. A better understanding of the conditions and concepts of emotional contagion can lead to greater insight into and understanding of employees’ workplace behavior.” Emotional contagion also suggests another issue for employers – If a positive emotional contagion is preferable to a negative emotional contagion, employers should consider doing a personality inventory as a condition of employment. For our clients who are always looking for better ways to make their workplaces more effective in preventing and managing disability, read the Barsade paper.

A rare find: "Made in the USA"

2008-04-23T14:54:00.034-05:00

In 1950 thirty percent of Americans worked in manufacturing. But as outsourcing, stagnant wages, and more amenable working environments became more commonplace, manufacturing represented only fifteen percent of the jobs in the United States in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). To highlight the shift away from jobs in manufacturing, the BLS also provided the following statistics:

Occupation Number of Employees choreographers 16,340 metal-casters 14,880 casino dealers 82,960 lathe operators 65,840 security guards 1,004,130 machinists 385,690

1,460 more choreographers than metal-casters? 17,120 more casino dealers than lathe operators? Things have changed dramatically, and when the presidential candidates wait outside of manufacturing plants to shake hands with the machinists, they would do far better visiting with the security guards in the lobby.

In 2007 the National Association of Manufacturers cited "training or retraining" employees as their number one concern. A 2005 study reported that ninety percent of manufacturers were suffering moderate to severe shortages of qualified workers. Less-skilled jobs will continue to move overseas. Small businesses make up the bulk of U.S. manufacturing jobs, and for these employers, the skill shortage is a crucial issue.

Hamill Manufacturing Company in Trafford, Pennsylvania reports that only half of their machines are running, and that is not due to a shortage of orders. It is a shortage of skilled workers. The president of the company said, "I’d hire 10 machinists right now if I could."

The move away from manufacturing jobs in the United States is multi-factorial. Outsourcing, dangerous or uncomfortable working conditions, and physical wear and tear are just three of a multitude of factors that may steer workers away from the factory and towards the office. What can we as a nation do to bring back the old "Made in the U.S.A." label?

How Sick is Too Sick to Go to Work?

2008-03-25T09:57:00.001-05:00

We’ve written several times in the past about “presenteeism.” The premise is that going to work when ill can be counterproductive in that the illness may spread to co-workers and, at any rate, the illness will likely affect personal productivity. An article entitled, “Too Sick to Work?” posted on WebMD on March 24, 2008, details “advice on when you should just stay home.” The article could serve as a guideline for employers who want to assist their employees in making sound decisions on whether to go into work or stay home. The article starts with two general caveats: Do not go to work if you are contagious or a danger to others. It also deals with the symptoms of “sniffles, sneezes, fever and coughs.” In addition, the article specifically addresses back pain, headaches and migraines, earaches, pinkeye, sprains and strains, and poison ivy. Employers who recognize the cost of employee illnesses in terms of absence from work will want to read the article for background information in formulating employee policies on the issue. The primary advice is provided by Michael Bagner, M.D., attending physician at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital and Medical Director of Roosevelt Hospital Doctors Offices in New York. Are you the kind of person who prides yourself on never calling in sick, or do you believe that an illness is your body telling you that you need rest? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Can the Lack of Sleep be a Workplace Issue?

2008-03-11T10:15:00.001-05:00

It certainly can be, and it is. “Nearly three in 10 workers have become very sleepy, or even fallen asleep, at work in the past month,” according to a study on sleep and the workplace conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Nilesh Dave, medical director of the Sleep and Breathing Disorders Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, stated, “It’s a very expensive issue for employers, and it can be fatal, too.” For example, 36 percent of respondents to the survey conducted by NSF said that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving. The survey also found that 12 percent of respondents have arrived late to work in the past month because of sleepiness, and other symptoms manifested themselves as impatience with others, difficulty concentrating on job tasks, and lower productivity. These negative effects not only frustrate an employer expecting a certain level of productivity from their employees but also serve to diminish feelings of accomplishment and self-worth in workers. This, in turn, leads to lower motivation, which completes the cycle of high costs to employers. The NSF reports that several factors are driving the trend toward sleepier employees:

“Employees are putting in longer hours, in part due to increased pressure from employers to ramp up productivity. The study found that one-fourth of respondents have a workday that lasts between eight and nine hours, and another fourth say they work up to 10 hours a day.”

The study cited above did not specifically address the issue of workplace injuries. However, the lack of alertness is clearly a factor, and administrators planning safety and wellness programs for their employees would do well to consider these findings for their counseling. A copy of the original article can be found here.

Guns and Their Consequences

2008-02-27T12:58:00.001-05:00

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 516 workplace homicides in 2006, and of those, 417 were caused by gunfire. The availability of guns in the general population remains, of course, a hot topic. Generally, we think of the ease by which people can acquire guns in terms of mass killings, such as those on college campuses, as the issue. But as it turns out, guns are also an important issue in the workplace. Many companies nationwide are opposed to the “right” of employees to bring guns to work, but some individuals and organizations disagree and vigorously protest no-gun policies when they surface. Does the right to bear arms include bringing them onto company property?

2008-01-31T16:28:00.000-05:00

In a Sunday, January 20, 2008, New York Times Magazine article entitled "Unintended Consequences," Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt wrote:

"...the economists Daron Acemoglu and Joshua Angrist once asked.... How did the A.D.A. affect employment among the disabled? Their conclusion was rather startling.... [They] found that when the A.D.A. was enacted in 1992 [sic], it led to a sharp drop in the employment of disabled workers."

The gist of the "Unintended Consequences" article is that well-meaning laws sometimes backfire. In 2004 two researchers, Andrew J. Houtenville and Richard V. Burkhauser, concluded in a study entitled "Did the Employment of People with Disabilities Decline in the 1990s, and was the ADA Responsible? A Replication and Robustness Check of Acemoglu and Angrist (2001) – Research Brief:"

"The relative employment of working-age people with disabilities declined in the 1990s. Based on our review of the evidence, however, the ADA is not the likely cause of this decline."

Houtenville and Burkhauser are professors in Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute. Our (albeit, non-professional researchers status) search of the internet on this topic unearthed no rebuttal to the Cornell piece by Acemoglu and Angrist or any other researchers. Our opinion is that the ADA is so significant that it is now firmly woven into the fabric of American culture and that qualified people with disabilities (and who among us is immune from disability?) will have the same opportunities in the workplace as everyone else. We welcome your comments, and the full articles are available below. They are in a PDF format, so you will need Adobe Reader to view them. Unintended Consequences. Did the Employment of People with Disabilities Decline in the 1990s, and was the ADA Responsible? A Replication and Robustness Check of Acemoglu and Angrist (2001) – Research Brief.

The New York Times and Job Market Research: The Aging Workforce

2008-01-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

In 2002, The New York Times formed, in collaboration with Monster.com, an entity “to focus attention on key issues and trends affecting the recruiting industry.” The entity is called “job market research.” Its stated goal is to keep abreast of hiring practices in key industries. The methodology they use is to commission third parties to conduct surveys of employers on seminal issues. A recent survey conducted by Hewitt Associates focused on diversity. Of interest to us, and perhaps to our blog readers, is a section in it called, “The Aging Workforce.” Specifically, the survey found that by 2010, the U.S. workforce will:

Increase by 29% in the 45-64 age group
Increase by 14% in the 65+ age group
Decline 1% in the 18-44 age group

Good news for those of you who, like too many of us, are gaining senior status among our youthful colleagues. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.”

Quiet Strength: A Book by Tony Dungy (Indianapolis Colts’ Coach)

2007-12-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

In Tony Dungy’s book, Quiet Strength, he describes his philosophy for managing life, especially work. We look favorably on most anything that relates to sports, so this new book by Dungy caught our attention. The book is an autobiography written by the first African-American coach to lead his team to a win in the Super Bowl. In the book, Dungy sets forth a list of responsibilities that he uses with his players. We feel that these responsibilities can also serve as a basic guide for workplace managers accountable for mentoring their employees:

Be a pro.
Act like a champion.
Respond to adversity; do not react to it.
Be on time. Being late means either it is not important to you or you cannot be relied upon.
Execute. Do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it.
Take ownership.
Do whatever it takes; no excuses, no explanations.

While, of course, the game of football and professional athletes are Dungy’s frame of reference, we think his basics will serve equally well in the more common workplace.

It's all about engagement

2007-12-06T09:03:00.000-05:00

While there is now a growing concern, and even refutation, of the annual rating of college and universities by U.S. News and World Report, we’d like to comment on a corollary to their “Best Colleges” rankings – another listing of colleges and universities that is not being criticized by the colleges themselves. A number of colleges and universities are now using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The purpose of the survey is to assist educational institutions in determining “how and where they can improve the undergraduate experience on campus.” There are now 257 colleges and universities using this survey, including at least five in the Philadelphia region: Chestnut Hill College, Gwynedd Mercy, Temple, Ursinus, and Widener. According to the NSSE, taking part in certain activities (i.e., performing community service or tutoring other students) during college boosts students’ performance in many areas, such as thinking critically, solving real world problems, and working effectively with others. The NSSE is extensive in its measurements, and one of the primary issues being derived from it is the concern that too many students seem to not be engaged in their studies or preparation for their futures. To see how individual colleges are addressing this apathy, the NSSE considers five “benchmarks,” which can be used to compare the college’s effort against national averages for institutions of the same type. The benchmarks are:

level of academic challenge
active and collaborative learning
student-faculty interaction
enriching educational experiences
supportive campus environment

CEC Associates’ interest in the topic is that there is, clearly, a direct correlation between the engagement of many young people in schools and new hires in the workplace. Prior to our awareness of the NSSE, we shared a brief book review through email with our readership on the same topic. The name of that book is Motivating the “What’s In It For Me?” Workforce (written by Cam Marston, John Wiley and Sons, 2007). The focus of that book is that effective management currently requires an awareness of generational differences and knowledge of the strategies needed to address those differences. That book includes a useful tool for managers confronted with generational issues. There is a “Quiz: Generational Voices, Who Am I?” that can be used to classify employees as “Mature, Boomer, Xer, or Millennial” as a guide to developing specific management strategies based on generational differences. Another resource for those interested in the generational reality of being engaged is the research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success & Failure. Csikszentmihalyi takes a more positive approach by reporting, for example, on the results of his research regarding the “reasons for engagement.” By identifying the positive reasons, managers have still another approach to motivating employees. Is there, in fact, a troubling apathy in the workplace that is rooted in generational factors?

Stress is going around

2007-11-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

If, as we learned recently, maple syrup trees are stressed and bees are stressed, is it any wonder that Americans are feeling more stressed, too? In a press statement on October 24, 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) released the findings of their latest survey on this topic. A summary of the report points out that one third of Americans are extremely stressed, and nearly half of Americans (48 percent) reported that their stress has increased over the past five years. Stress in America continues to rise and has become a major health problem. A key factor in the increased stress level is the workplace. The survey showed that 52 percent of employees reported they considered or made a career decision (looking for a new job, declining a promotion, leaving a job, etc.) based on workplace stress. Leading sources of stress in the workplace include: - heavy workload (45%) - low salaries (44%) - lack of opportunities (40%) - uncertain job expectations (40%) - long hours (39%) And what do the APA findings mean for employers? They mean that employers, small, medium, and large, would profit significantly by conducting stress management programs designed to identify and address workplace stress. Exemplary disability management programs have, from the beginning, recognized the need to pay attention to workplace stress and formalize ways to achieve stress reduction among employees. Formal stress abatement programs in the workplace have been shown to be effective in reducing stress, and it is reasonable to pay attention to this reality. Jerry Kramer, an all-star right tackle for the Green Bay Packers, wrote in 1967 with Dick Schaap, three books about his experiences, especially as they related to the great Green Bay coach, Vince Lombardi. Kramer reported that someone once asked him if Lombardi had ulcers (code in those days for a high stress level). The answer was “No, Coach Lombardi doesn’t have ulcers, but he is a carrier.”

In Search of Excellence: Tom Peters Reduxed

2007-10-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Tom Peters’ book, In Search of Excellence, is now 25 years old. We say unfortunately because we aged with the book as well. Peters claims that essentially all of the concepts he espoused at that time held up well over the past 25 years. One issue that he addressed in the original text was that women were overly ignored in business. He said, “They buy everything and control the wealth.” In a recent interview with USA Today, when asked about how that issue fared over the years, Peters indicated that nothing has changed. “[Women] buy everything and control the wealth, but constitute 2% of Fortune 500 chief executive officers. They are on the short end of the leadership stick. It’s a missed opportunity. You take a different approach to financial advisory services if women are your customer [sic] than you do if men are. It’s the same in many industries, and it’s stupidity not seeing the opportunity.” One concept from the original book that we have used repeatedly over the years is his “well-managed companies” designation. We have suggested, and stand by our original application, that “well-managed companies” have aggressive, state-of-the-art disability management programs in place. That was true 25 years ago, and it is true today.

FMLA Update

2007-08-20T15:02:00.000-05:00

The most contentious issue of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) at this point is the termination of employees after the 12-week period of time off. This issue is especially a concern for mothers. There is mounting evidence that the FMLA fails the most in cases involving parents. The FMLA became a federal law in 1993. The basics of the act provide for 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for:

the birth and care of a newborn (or adopted) child of an employee (male or female)
the care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health care problem
medical leave when an employee is unable to work.

The FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees. The question is: “Do workers have a fundamental right to care for their families?” This question is the title of an article on the subject that appeared in The New York Times Sunday Magazine on July 29, 2007. CEC Associates has been assisting employers with compliance issues in the broader context of disability management programs since the inception of the FMLA. Still, we are interested in the views of others on this issue of discrimination against caregivers. What responsibilities do employers have under the FMLA, especially as those responsibilities relate to parents?

Going Green in the Workplace

2007-07-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

“Going green.” What exactly does this phrase mean to the workplace? As the worldwide “Live Earth” concerts brought climate change and other environmental problems to our awareness, people were asked to take small steps in their lives to help better the environment. “Going green” is a phrase that has sprung up over the past year, encompassing all the ways homes and workplaces can become more environmentally friendly. Making your workplace good for the environment is more important now than ever because the earth is facing the challenge of dwindling resources. The rising cost of energy is only one of the problems we will face in the coming years if we do not take action now to undo some of the damage to the environment. By changing simple things in and around your workplace, a difference can be made. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a list of simple things we can do to make the workplace more “green.” From switching to fluorescent light bulbs to putting recycling containers in place – there are many inexpensive ways to conserve. Other options include replacing office equipment with Energy Star appliances and having your building reach an Energy Star rating, which is issued to a work environment that typically uses 35 percent less energy than a “normal” office. Using public transportation and carpooling are other suggestions given. Although becoming “green” takes some work and sacrifice by the office community as a whole, the benefits of being energy efficient will pay for themselves in lower operating costs and energy usage. How “green” are you? Use the EPA’s Emissions Calculator or My Footprint to find out how much carbon you produce a day. To learn more about reducing your daily impact, visit the EPA’s page on Action Steps for tips.

Graduation and a New Career

2007-06-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

We assume that most college graduates know what they want to do when they graduate. They have chosen a field, majored in it, and are well-prepared for the road ahead. But we also know that a significant number of college graduates do not know what they want to do, what they are good at, or what will be required of them in a given field. So, what can a recent grad who might fall under one of the situations described above do to enhance their odds of finding a satisfactory career? What can an individual do to find a valid and productive job match? Students may have heard of the answer, but have not taken advantage of it. The answer: Participate in a professional career assessment! Assessments are part of the real world. Sophisticated employers have long used assessments as a tool to select an employee who will best fit into the plan for growth of the company. Finding the employee who will be an asset is critical, and smart employers know this. Successful businesses excel in not leaving anything to chance, and finding the right employee is a core part of this thinking. Some high schools and colleges provide state-of-the-art assessments and counseling while others do not. Furthermore, students who have been fortunate enough to have had good career counseling may have changed their thinking as a result of their college experience. Quality assessments have become the key step in building a quality workforce, and well-managed companies use assessments as basic tools. Are you uncertain about your job path? CEC Associates offers career assessment services that may be helpful to you! Have you ever participated in career assessment? Do you feel it was beneficial to you, and if so, how?

Ageism in the Workplace

2007-06-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

Employees (or even potential employees) can experience discrimination or disparate treatment in the workplace. One form of discrimination is known as ageism. Ageism refers to negative discriminatory practices based on a person’s age, both older and younger. How does ageism affect the workplace? Generally, when we think of ageism, we imagine older workers experiencing difficulty finding employment or being treated as competent in the workplace. Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines ageism as “a tendency to regard older persons as debilitated, unworthy of attention, or unsuitable for employment.” If a mature worker is displaced from a position after years of experience, others may hesitate to hire him or her because of age alone. Some older workers are seen as less than competent because of their age. Employers may perceive the older worker as costing too much, having an obsolete skill set, or being a liability for employer-sponsored health insurance. It’s easy for a 54-year-old job hunter to find himself wishing he was 24 again after encountering these roadblocks! Younger workers too are not immune to the effects of age stereotypes and prejudice. Sometimes employers believe that young people have fewer financial obligations and perhaps less drive to excel than the more mature worker. Younger workers often complain that the duties they are given are boring and unchallenging, which may cause them to seek other employment. Additionally, potential employers may view younger workers as testing the waters in career “exploration” and perhaps as less committed to a particular workplace than someone with more experience. Employers may have the impression that young people are “flaky” and unreliable. The younger worker’s ideas and critiques may be written off as “the ramblings of youth.” Oh, to be one of those older and respected members of the workforce! 1. Have you ever experienced ageism in the workplace? 2. Have there been situations where you caught yourself believing such stereotypes? 3. How would you suggest we combat ageism at work?

Breaking the Language Barrier at Work

2007-04-24T14:31:00.000-05:00

Language is a crucial element to any culture, and that includes the corporate culture of the workplace. Different industries deal with different technical terms, or “jargon,” as they might be called. While this language is familiar to a specific individual’s workplace, as is the case when trying to learn a foreign language, seemingly commonplace terms can create a language barrier when used outside of a specific corporate setting. In an interview with BBC News, Nicola Clark of Investors in People stated that “if used inappropriately, jargon can be an obstacle to understanding, which ultimately can impact on an individual’s performance and an organisation’s productivity.” At CEC, we created the Workipedia Lexicon in order to provide our clients (as well as the general public) with an understanding of the various terms used in the fields of disability management and occupational rehabilitation. By clearly defining the terms that are familiar to our industry, people who we deal with outside of it can obtain a better understanding of our methodologies and purpose. Do you feel that corporate jargon creates a language barrier for you (or your clients)? How do you propose it be remedied?

Technology: Friend or Foe in Workplace Relations?

2007-03-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

In the never-ending quest for increased productivity in the workplace, more and more companies are employing increased technology to make workers able to communicate more effectively with each other. Email, cellphones, and Blackberrys are just a few examples of the many technological methods of communication available in the modern workplace. But are these “advances” causing a decline in old-fashioned social skills that are often necessary to move up the corporate ladder and broaden one’s network? Is it possible that our growing reliance on sterile text on a screen is costing us our basic communicative skills, such as body language, eye contact, and ability to deal with face-to-face interaction? Some companies say yes, and they’re putting a stop to it. In a recent news story, Jay Ellison, executive vice president of U.S. Cellular in Chicago, enacted a ban on email on Fridays. He said that, “Some [emails] are very valuable, and some of them are just an excuse not to communicate or to protect myself from something that’s going on…. We tend to use email as a kind of a tool to hide behind issues versus getting up and talking to people.” While his employees initially balked at the idea, they soon found that picking up the phone to deal with issues helped them to learn more about their coworkers (in one case, many of Ellison’s coworkers learned that a woman with a gender-neutral name was, in fact, a woman). But it’s not just employees that can get frustrated with technology. Customers, too, are feeling the aggravation with endless automated menus and voice mail and email messages that seemingly vanish into the great beyond (perhaps they’re colonizing with the lost socks from the dryer?). John Naisbitt, author of Mind Set! urges “any CEO whose company has a voice answering system to call his company and see whether he can get through to himself.” Who hasn’t vented about the twenty minutes it took to get through to “a warm body” while calling the credit card company? By the time you finally do speak to a person, you may be so angry (because chances are, there was a problem that prompted you to call in the first place) that you take it out on them, who in turn may take it out on his or her coworkers, and the negativity continues to spread. Do you feel that the growing dependence on email is costing workers their basic social skills? Do you tend to use email if you don’t want to see or hear the reaction of the recipient? Do you feel that technology is more of a hinderance than a convenience? We look forward to hearing your opinions!

Do Liberal Arts Majors Have an Edge in the Workplace?

2007-03-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

What happens when a panel of higher education and business leaders look at what a college education should consist of? They come to the conclusion that college graduates must be able to do more than simply prepare themselves for their first job. USA Today published an article urging colleges to focus on liberal arts. The conclusion was that “in an economy fueled by innovation, the capabilities developed through a liberal education have become America’s most valuable economic asset.” The report identified four “essential learning outcomes:” 1. A broad base of knowledge across multiple disciplines 2. Intellectual and practical skills, such as teamwork and problem-solving 3. A sense of personal and social responsibility, including ethical reasoning 4. Experience in applying what is learned to real-world problems Specific recommendations include having all students complete: - Writing-intensive courses - Undergraduate research - Service learning and internships Employers appear to be supportive of the report’s findings: - 69% of employers surveyed said that combining broad knowledge with more in-depth focus is “very important” - 63% said that too many recent graduates do not have the skills to be successful in today’s global economy Obviously, some of you have had liberal arts experience while others have not. If you participated (or are participating or plan to do so) in a liberal arts curriculum, do you feel that your experience has been a help or a hindrance in the workplace? For those of you who chose another course of study, do you feel that you were adequately prepared for meeting the demands and expectations of the workforce? Do you agree or disagree with the article?

When the Social Contract With Your Employer is Broken

2007-02-07T08:55:00.000-05:00

Most of us, at some point in our lives, get a job. When we begin work, whether we’re aware of it or not, we initiate a “social contract” with our employer. We have expectations of the employer, and the employer has expectations of us. Expectations, based on role, experience, culture, gender, and a myriad of other factors originate a social contract between the employer and employee. Social contracts are not new. They have been around since Aristotle and were made famous by Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s book, The Social Contract. The idea is that in addition to any specific contract we might sign with the employer, we also get an unwritten contract. A written contract might place special terms of employment such as pay levels, vacation policies, and intellectual property rights, into legal form. The unwritten agreement is called a “social contract.” The social contract assumes particular protections in various matters such as discrimination in terms of gender, race, age, religion, and disability. The social contract includes issues such as: coming to work on time, being respected in the workplace, cooperation, collaboration, and receiving rewards for productivity and creativity. Even an expected “good morning” could be part of an unwritten agreement or “social contract.” When the social contract is broken (breached), when employers or employees do not fulfill their unwritten social contract obligations, resentment ensues, tensions build, and relationships break down. Breached social contracts are what make working intolerable for many people. Our new blog is designed to begin a dialog with people in the world who are concerned about human factors in the workplace, and we begin the blog with the idea that, as Arthur Miller once wrote, “Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” Breached social contracts result in employer and/or employee betrayal. We believe that social contracts in the workplace are:

a minimal employer obligation;
a minimum employee obligation;
extremely tenuous as they are understood today; and
in need of open consideration and critical discussion.

Please join in the discussion at our new Human Factors in the Workplace blog. Your response about social contracts will help address an issue that should be critically important to all of us focused on improving the workplace experience. For one perspective (ours) on the subject, read the linked article.