Ensuring Compliance and Security in a Remote Work Environment

By Lin Grensing-Pophal for HR Daily Advisor It’s an understatement to say that the pandemic experience has changed the business—and workplace—landscape forever. The shift to remote and hybrid work is not temporary as business leaders once believed. It’s here to stay. With this shift comes risk—and an increased need to ensure both compliance and security when employees are “out of sight, and out of mind.” How can businesses navigate this new terrain effectively? Understanding the Risks While the digital age and the ability to work remotely have offered businesses, and employees, a great deal of benefit, those benefits aren’t without…

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Move faster, v2

by The B2B Growth Newsletter Hi all — Last week, I wrote the post “Move Faster.” The post’s thesis: To move faster, you need to sequentially prioritize. (AKA: focus on your #1 most important thing at a time.) Get your #1 thing done as quickly as possible, then move to the next thing. Don’t approach productivity as “crush as many tasks as possible.” I got a lot of replies. One question stood out: “This is super interesting, but how do I operationalize this when I have a million things to do?” Why you don’t hyperfocus Let’s invert. Three failure modes: You don’t know…

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Amazon’s Firm Stance on Remote Work

By Lin Grensing-Pophal for HR Daily Advisor The pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work, with companies around the world quickly adapting to virtual environments. As they navigate the post-pandemic landscape, businesses are faced with the challenging decision of whether to bring employees back to the office, adopt a hybrid model, or continue with remote work. Amazon, a global powerhouse, has made its stance clear. “Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees to get on board with the company’s return-to-office plan or to consider employment elsewhere,” Brian Fung writes in an article for CNN. Such a bold directive from the helm…

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Denying Religious Accommodations Now More Difficult Under Federal Law

By Mackenzie Clark for HR Daily Advisors Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) requires employers to accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs unless accommodation would result in an undue hardship. Historically, denial of a religious accommodation has carried a minimal burden of showing hardship, but a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court just made denying a religious accommodation because of undue hardship more difficult. The Facts The issue of religious accommodation became significant during the COVID-19 pandemic, when employees who objected to vaccination because of their religious beliefs brought a slew of litigation across…

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Is Your Office Worth the Commute?

By Morten Brogger for HR Daily Advisor From packed buses to standstill rush hour traffic, commuting is rife with inconveniences. Long commute times are linked to negative effects on sleep, productivity, and overall quality of life. Commuting Americans spend, on average, 52 minutes per day traveling to and from work — an increase of about 20% since the U.S. Census began collecting that data in 1980. Recently, ever-increasing housing costs within big cities have given rise to “super commuters” who travel more than 90 minutes each way, some even by plane! Super commuters aside, a typical worker can expect to lose 408 days to…

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My Client Is Always Late Paying Me

... and three other tricky workplace dilemmas. BY ALISON GREEN for Inc. Here's a roundup of answers to four questions from readers. 1. My client is always late paying me One of my clients, a creative agency, has always had issues paying my invoices on time, but it's getting worse. Every single time I send an invoice, I have to go back and remind them to pay me. It's a great company, but I'm starting to get frustrated that I can't send an invoice without having to follow up repeatedly. Sometimes they say they missed the invoice, sometimes they apologize, but I eventually always get paid.…

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Improve Company Culture and Create an Engaged Workforce

By Cheri Wheeler for HR Daily Advisor Global Company Culture Day is here! Observed on September 18 every year, this day provides a unique opportunity for company leaders to take a step back from their business and evaluate their company’s culture. The answer to improving your company’s culture could be as simple as reviewing, and perhaps tweaking, the benefits your organization provides to its employees. Employees want to feel that their employer prioritizes their health and well-being. Investing in a strategic and thoughtful benefits package can lead to a positive work environment and engaged workforce, which ultimately benefits both employees…

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My Colleague Thinks Working From Home Means I’m Available 24/7

How do I get her to back off? BY ALISON GREEN for Inc. A reader asks: I work at a small company, almost completely from home. I go into the office about twice a month, and for the most part, it's been a dream. I am vastly more productive and have found that my mental health has improved drastically. Since the transition, I have done everything I can think of to set clear expectations as far as when I am available. I have specific, set hours when colleagues can expect me to be at my desk. I use away messages to…

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When Your Employee Isn’t Reaching Their Full Potential

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Dorie Clark for Harvard Business Review You’ve seen flashes of real competence — maybe even occasional brilliance — in your employee. So why are they failing to live up to that potential? As a leader who cares about cultivating your employees’ skills, abilities, and professional growth trajectory, it can be enormously frustrating to feel that they’re not taking the initiative to do more with their talents. At times, you may even wonder if it’s a question of knowledge or willpower: Do they not understand what’s necessary to perform at their best? Or are they just unmotivated? Obviously,…

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How to Implement a 4-Day Workweek–According to 1 Business That Successfully Made the Change

BY SARAH LYNCH for INC In 2022, Jake Kurtz was burned out. But as the CEO and founder of his own social media management agency, Brick Media in Tampa, he realized that he had the power to make a change in the way he and his company worked. That led him to test run a four-day workweek. He'd come across studies supporting the success of four-day workweek pilot programs: In one U.K. study, 92 percent of companies that tested a four-day workweek planned to continue with the schedule. Once an employee fantasy, the shortened workweek has gained serious traction, with small businesses leading adoption. Kurtz thought: Why not give it a try?  …

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