September 29, 2007

Bloomberg (the company) accused of sex bias
Posted by Diane Danielson at 9:15 AM

From the International Herald Tribune:

NEW YORK: The U.S. government is suing Bloomberg, the financial services and media giant, saying the company engaged in a pattern of discrimination against women after they became pregnant and took maternity leave.

In the suit, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges that female employees at Bloomberg were demoted and that their pay was cut after they disclosed that they were pregnant. In some cases, managers questioned the women's ability to carry out their work because of family responsibilities, according to the suit, which was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Click here to read full story.

...

 

September 24, 2007

A new kind of green in recruiting
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 1:03 PM

Human Resource Executive online reports on a new competitive tool in the recruiter's arsenal:

You do all the right things to recruit top talent. You offer competitive salaries and good benefits, and you pay attention to work/life balance.

But other companies do, too. So what's your edge? Do you even have one?

Don't look now, but what may be the next big thing in recruiting is already here -- and some of your competitors are taking full advantage of it. They're thinking green. And we're not talking about the color of money.

The interest is not confined to one age group:

They say job seekers coming out of college are now demanding to know the kinds of things that potential employers are doing for the environment -- but they're noticing a similar passion in baby boomers, who may be looking for more meaning in their careers and are desiring work at a company that reflects that.

Read the full piece here.

What is your organization doing to attract environmentally conscious workers - of any age?

...

 

September 20, 2007

Mass. unemployment rate falls
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 11:59 AM

Massachusetts' unemployment rate fell below the national rate in August. Unemployment in the state fell from 5.1 percent in July to 4.5 percent in August, while the national rate was at 4.6 percent. The state also gained 2,800 jobs.

There's good news and bad news in this. Unemployment rate down and adding jobs: good. Reason for falling rate: not so good:

The state's August unemployment decline was driven by a nearly 41,000-person drop in the size of the labor force, which is the sum of employed and unemployed workers in the state.

Read the "Daily Business Update" piece.

...

 

September 19, 2007

When HR Becomes CSI
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:47 PM

TV watchers, here's an interesting perspective from Workforce Management online that you might connect with:

With more than 25 million viewers week after week, the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a certified hit. The crime drama, which demonstrates the use of science to prove how a crime occurred, is so popular that CBS has spun it into a three-series franchise.

The shows demonstrate again and again that assumptions are often wrong and that situations can be interpreted from a number of different angles. And each episode, believe it or not, is packed with learning opportunities for the HR profession. Unfortunately, analyzing untoward events -- even ones short of murder -- is something that rarely occurs in the HR function.

Read the full piece.

...

New England may stay afloat in stormy economy
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:46 PM

Attempting to determine the direction and health of the economy these days is tricky business. Storm clouds and talk of recession are looming.

But according to this report in today's Globe, the region's economic base may help this time around:

. . .[S]ome sectors of the region's economy, like technology, healthcare, and life sciences, are less vulnerable to a domestic slump because they sell many of their products in global markets, [UMass, Boston economics professor Alan] Clayton-Matthews said. The region's professional services firms, which sell research and consulting worldwide, are similarly insulated from a US slowdown, he said.

The region's telecommunications companies sell software and hardware "invented here in Massachusetts, but deployed in the world's communications network," said Hassan Ahmed, chief executive of Sonus Networks Inc., a telecommunications company in Westford. "The growing international presence we have is driving a substantial part of our growth."

Read the full piece.

...

 

September 18, 2007

Americans lead world in productivity
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:19 PM

From Human Resource Executive Online:

A new report released by the United Nations' Geneva-based International Labour Organization has found that Americans continue to lead the world in productivity, and are also working more hours than employees in most other developed countries in order to do so.

Good news - at least on productivity. So who do you think is #2, 3, 4? (Hint: they're an ocean away.)

Find out here, and what Michael Stallard, president of E Pluribus Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based think tank, says is the important next step:

Stallard says he believes "the next step in evolution of [American] organizations is that their cultures will become 'connection cultures' and that will boost productivity even more. Innovation drives creation of new companies, new products and new business processes," he says. "Innovation is a team sport. You don't have that unless you have a high-trust, high-cooperation environment."

...

 

September 11, 2007

Remembering 9/11
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 3:08 PM

A year ago today, on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I posted an entry that considered changes in the workplace since the events of that infamous day. It includes a link to reflections from local business leaders on the changes we have seen.

I urge you to take a moment at some point today, the sixth anniversary of the attacks, to visit the earlier entry and read the article from the Northeast Human Resources Association.

And take a moment to pause and consider your own reflections, as well. We owe it to those who perished - most of them in the workplace at the time - and to ourselves as we move forward in this changed and challenging world.

See more coverage of today's remembrances on Boston.com

...

Relaxed fit
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 2:50 PM

Are Wall Street and inside the DC Beltway the last bastions of the well-dressed?

According to a recent poll, that may be the case:

Watch out power suit. In the office, khakis are beating the pants off you.

Business casual is increasingly the wardrobe of choice among executives, a new survey has found. Almost 80 percent of executives prefer to wear more casual attire at work, and 62 percent said business casual is their standard workplace dress code.

Read the entire piece.

...