Workplace Culture
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A Poor Dating Policy Could Break a Company's Heart—and Wallet
With employees and companies becoming more accepting of office romances, companies should make sure they protect themselves from any potential sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits.
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Homeward Bound
For years companies have looked to outsource jobs to cut costs, but now more U.S. employers are looking to beef up operations domestically. It's a trend known as 're-shoring.'
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Study Touts the Benefits of Internal Social Networking Sites
A recent study conducted by Baylor University found that developing an internal social networking site could help a company acclimate its new hires into the corporate culture, improve employees' morale and reduce turnover rates.
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New Employees: 'We Were Jobbed About This Job'
Companies aren't giving candidates a realistic picture of jobs, leading to 'buyer's remorse,' report says.
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The Rules of Professionalism: Getting Millennial Workers Onboard
Should professionalism be defined by wearing specific attire and being at work at a designated time? One thought leader says human resources should focus more on communicating the results expected and allowing flexibility in achieving those results.
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It’s All in the Wrist—and in the Back
Emphasizing ergonomic workspaces can lead to a healthier workforce, lower costs and a stronger business overall.
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Law Firm Ordered to Restore Retirement, Pension Plan Assets
Eichholz Law Firm P.C. and former Managing Partner Benjamin Eichholz breached their fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by improperly transferring and lending plan assets to prohibited recipients.
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When Innovation Turns Into Exasperation
Failed inventions and initiatives can give rise to painful—unproductive—“innovation trauma.”
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Not Your Grandfather's Industrial Lab
Nowadays, companies ranging from high-tech firms to service companies have invested in a new generation of idea factories. They share one trait: a mantra that time equals money.
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Innovative Thoughts on Innovation
Key takeaways from experts in the innovation arena
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Survey Shows Lack of Innovation Motivation
Four in 10 organizations see themselves as ineffective at fostering innovation, and there's a mismatch between what companies are doing and what they say is effective when it comes to inspiring inventiveness.
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Workforce Game Changers Call for More Attention to Innovation
To round out our exploration of innovation in the workforce, we turned to our Game Changers. Below are questions we asked them and some of their provocative answers.
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Brighter Ideas
To cook up greater creativity, organizations ought to update their approach to collaboration, compensation and culture.
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Risky Business People: Study Finds 1 in 8 Workers Bring Potential Peril to Their Company
Organizations need to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of behavioral risk of all employees. Doing so allows an organization to manage risk in a constructive way, according to a study published by SHL, an Atlanta-based talent management company.
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No Joke: Stand-Up Comedy Training for Employees Can Improve Workplace Culture
Infusing comedy into workplace culture has the potential to improve employee communication skills, build a tight-knit team of employees and lower turnover rate.
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A New Beginning
On Jan. 7, 2013, MediaTec Publishing Inc. bought Workforce from Crain Communications Inc. MediaTec's president, Norm Kamikow, provides his thoughts on the purchase.
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‘Microvolunteering’ Can Make Macro-difference
Unlike traditional volunteerism, which may take hours of time, microvolunteering focuses on making use of the free time employees have during the workday, such as lunch breaks and coffee breaks.
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McDonald's to Franchisees: Merry Christmas. Now Open Your Stores
McDonald's must pull out all the stops to eke out gains after its global October sales decline, its first in nine years.
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SAP Looks to Spread the Word
SAP employees become social brand ambassadors while participating in corporate social responsibility programs.
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Your Brand, Their Words, Your Reputation: Keeping ‘Brand Ambassadors’ on Point
How to make your most prolific employees a positive representative of your brand.
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White Men Can’t Jump to Conclusions on Minority Issues
Rockwell Automation discovers the key to diversity training.
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What’s Wrong With Your Diversity Training?
Most diversity programs only focus on the experiences of women and people of color, and there is rarely any role for white men beyond making them feel guilty, an expert says.
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Holiday Parties Turn Into Sandy Relief Efforts
Companies across the city ask their employees to raise money and bring canned goods and clothing. Those affected by the storm, including teachers and firefighters, get invitations.
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Catalysts of Creative Destruction
Despite the hype about private equity and job loss, they have little net effect on employment levels.
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Private Equity Turns and Burns … Its Past
While horror stories exist, in some cases private equity takeovers can lead to healthy updates to management methods and practices.
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Drama Discussions a Drag for Workers and a Bother for Bosses
Of the nearly 300 corporate executives, managers and employees who took a recent survey, nearly 40 percent said sex and relationships were the most taboo workplace topic.
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Wal-Mart Expands FCPA Probe to Brazil, China, India
The FCPA, a federal law with criminal and civil penalties jointly enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC, punishes foreign bribery, inaccurate financial records and inadequate controls.
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Chicago Boardrooms Lag Nation in Diversity
Overall, minorities account for only 12 percent of the boards of directors at Chicago's 50 largest firms, versus 15 percent at the 200 largest S&P 500 firms, said a new report by Chicago United, a not-for-profit group that advocates diversity in executive ranks.
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Advisers Reveal the Proper Care and Feeding of Interns
Skip the clerical work. Bring on the client meetings, mentoring and day-to-day business.
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Learning Contributes Directly to Bottom Line: Study
Oakland, California-based research firm Bersin & Associates says companies with a sophisticated approach to employee development averaged three times higher revenue growth from 2008 to 2011.
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Sandy Prompts Companies to Improvise People Management
Telecommuting policies and rented hotel space help organizations cope with the storm.
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New York City Media Agencies Set Up 'Pop-Up' Shops
Businesses set up shop at hotels and cafes to power through electricity outages and complete projects on deadline.
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New Research Shows Retirees Are Bailing on 401(k)s Earlier
The data suggest that more retirees are taking their money and bailing from their plan even sooner after they stop working than used to be the case.
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Democrats and Republicans Agree—Workplace Flexibility Key to Job Satisfaction
Congressional staff members and 25 members of Congress participated in a SHRM survey, which found that 55 percent feel that ‘flexibility to balance work and life issues’ is very important, but only 26 percent are very satisfied with the flexibility in their own workplace.
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Health, Safety Lapses in Lab Tied to Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
Investigators found “serious health and safety deficiencies” at the compound pharmaceutical lab tied to the fungal meningitis outbreak, according to a preliminary report released Oct. 22.
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Expedia Constructing Work-Site Clinic at Headquarters
The clinic is being constructed by Qliance Medical Management Inc., a Seattle-based health care firm that contracts with employers to provide primary care to employees and their dependents through its network of clinics.
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Business Spells COO a New Way: MIA
Across Chicago and the rest of the U.S., chief operating officers are being erased from the org chart. The disappearing act is part of the evolution toward flatter business structures as well as get-lean pressures that have companies looking twice at any personnel expense.
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American Staffing Association Names 2013 Board of Directors
The American Staffing Association's 2013 board of directors was elected during the organization's Staffing World show earlier this month in Las Vegas. Representatives from 24 member staffing companies serve on the board.
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Johns Hopkins Shooting Spurs Improvements to Hospital's Workplace Violence Response Program
Following the shooting, part of the hospital's efforts to enhance its violence prevention planning included instructive courses with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit on identifying certain behavioral patterns that often predict a violent outburst.
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Survey: More Companies, Jobs to Head Back into Chicago
Almost 80 percent of 12,000 area professionals surveyed by Ernst & Young LLP say they believe companies will keep moving from the suburbs to Chicago.
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Meet Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's Recruiter-in-Chief
The new CEO aims to turn the company around by fixing its people problems.
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Yahoo's Executive Shake-up: a Timeline
New CEO Marissa Mayer made key hires, mapped out talent plans before starting a brief maternity leave on Oct 1.
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Happy Holiday: More Executives Are Taking Vacation
Completely unplugging from the office is still a challenge, although about 50 percent of CFOs in a recent survey said they didn't check in while checked out.
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Gender Bias Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Wal-Mart in the Southeast
Zenovdia Love, the lead plaintiff, had worked for Wal-Mart for 15 years until 2003. She was passed over for promotion to an unposted co-manager position by a male from outside Wal-Mart who had less experience than her and then was required to train him, the lawsuit said.
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Automakers Try New Recruiting Strategies to Fill Engineering Vacancies
Threatened by a chronic shortage of engineers -- exacerbated by years of industry restructuring -- auto companies are having trouble filling job vacancies in Detroit now that the industry is coming back to health.
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Most Risky Day of Week to Drive to Work? TGIF
A Columbus, Ohio-based insurance company determined its members have the highest average number of claims per day on Fridays—at 4,664. Wednesday came in second with an average of 4,197 claims, followed closely by Thursday, Monday and Tuesday.
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Veteran Nurse Fired As Transplant Kidney Gets Disposed in Medical Waste
Both a part-time nurse, who actually disposed of the kidney in the medical waste, and a 30-year employee are no longer with the medical center, the newspaper reported.
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Study: Generational Job Seekers Not Using All Their Tools
Recruiters take note: Baby boomers, Gen X and millennials are spending almost all their time job searching online instead of offline. Boomers turn to LinkedIn first, while Gen X and millennials are first using Google and Google Plus.
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Turkey Processing Company Must Pay $1.3 Million to Disabled Workers for 'Severely Substandard' Wages
On Sept. 18, Judge Charles R. Wolfe of federal district court for the southern district of Iowa in Davenport ordered Hill Country to pay $1.
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Looming Strike in India a Threat to U.S. Companies?
Trade unions there called for a nationwide strike to protest India's opening of its retail sector to international retailers Walmart and Tesco.
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The Motherhood Penalty
Why women with kids are having a harder time finding work.
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California Hospital to Pay $975,000 to Settle Racial Harassment, Discrimination Case
The EEOC said the hospital's English-only language policy was used to harass and discriminate against Filipino employees in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Contraceptive Coverage Legal Battle Looms for Missouri
Missouri lawmakers on Sept. 12 overrode Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of legislation that would allow employers and insurers to deny contraceptive coverage, setting the stage for yet another legal battle over contraceptive coverage.
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Ex-Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Exec: I Was Fired for Whistle-blowing
Clifford Jagodzinski alleged in a complaint filed last month that his firing in April by MSSB was “an action for unlawful retaliation under the Dodd-Frank Act,” as well as claims under state law.
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National Origin, Religious Harassment Alleged in EEOC Suit Against UPS
Since 2004, Talal Alfaour, a loader at UPS in San Francisco, allegedly had faced verbal and physical harassment, often referred to by supervisors and co-workers as “Dr. Bomb,” “al-Qaida” and “Taliban,” the EEOC said in a statement.
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Hobby Lobby Lawsuit Seeks to Block Enforcement of HHS Contraceptive Coverage Rule
Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Stores, a privately held, self-described Christian-owned and -operated retail chain with more than 500 stores and 22,500 employees in 41 states, says it is the first non-Catholic owned business to challenge the HHS edict.
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Temp Jobs Fall by 4,900 in August
Temporary employment as a percent of total employment — the temporary help penetration rate — slipped to 1.89 percent in August from 1.90 percent in July.
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How to Avoid Ethics Scandals
The only way to create an ethical workplace is by rewarding the right behavior—even if it means losing business.
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Recruiting Poster: CDW Wants Soldiers
Technology giant says military vets bring 'unwavering commitment' to getting job done
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Kentucky Staffing Firm Settles EEOC Suit
University of Kentucky student Megan Woodard is a member of a fundamentalist Baptist church whose members believe women should not dress like men, including refraining from wearing pants, according to the EEOC.
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More Workers Feeling Bullied on the Job: Survey
A total of 35 percent of workers said they have felt bullied at work, compared with the 27 percent who made such a report a year ago.
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Working Longer No Lock for Comfortable Retirement
In the past, most workers figured they'd be able to retire at the age of 65. But following 2008's financial crisis, the idea of working a few more years to recoup lost savings became commonplace.
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Penalty for Not Completing Health Risk Assessment Does Not Violate ADA: Court
Broward County began offering an employee wellness program in 2009 through its group health insurer. The county required all employees to take a health risk assessment and provide a blood sample to determine glucose and cholesterol levels.
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Survey: 45 Percent Would Cut Salary for Flexibility
A survey released August 30 found 45 percent of working adults are willing to relinquish 8.6 percent of their salary for more flexibility at work.
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Survey: Workforce Strategy Not a Priority
About 78 percent of employers lack a workforce strategy to garner hard-to-find talent, according to the survey conducted by the ManpowerGroup's Strategic Workforce Consulting business.
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Demand Up for Recruiters with Social Media Skills
Recruiters with social media skills are most frequently recruited for jobs located in New York City, Chicago, Washington, Boston and Los Angeles.
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Many Moms Leave Maternity Leave Behind Early
When Divya Gugnani, founder of accessories e-commerce site Send the Trend, gave birth to her son in May, she took two weeks of maternity leave—far less than the 12 weeks of leave that many corporate women get.
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After Aetna fires Rush, Rush drops Aetna
The change comes after Aetna late last year canceled its contract with Rush to provide care to Aetna patients, effective January 1. Rush refused to accept a roughly 30 percent cut in reimbursement rates.
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Most Employees Say Benefits Enrollment Information Lacking: Survey
Fifty-two percent of workers indicated their employers have not distributed any communication regarding upcoming open enrollment periods. Thirty-nine percent said they were only somewhat prepared for open enrollments, while 26 percent said they were unprepared or very unprepared.
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EEOC Files Charges Against Burger King in Workplace Attire Dispute
Ashanti McShan was assured she could wear a skirt to work, but when she arrived at work for orientation, store management told her she could not do so, and she was told to leave the store. McShan is a Pentecostal Christian, a denomination that requires women to wear only skirts or dresses.
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Jury Award of $3.5M Reinstated in Chrysler Discrimination Case
According to the ruling by the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in Otto May Jr. v. Chrysler Group L.L.C., the Cuban-born May was the target of racist, xenophobic, homophobic and anti-Semitic graffiti that appeared in and around the company's paint department between 2002 and 2005.
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Love Takes Work, but Can Work Take Love?
Experts say companies should define their policies around co-workers dating, particularly when it comes to managers dating subordinates.
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Skilled Workers Scarce Despite Unemployment
Staffing company ManpowerGroup of Milwaukee said in a 2011 survey that 52 percent of employers were having problems filling critical positions. That number was up 14 percent from the previous year.
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Racism Lawsuit Targets Mercedes-Benz Store
A lawsuit filed in federal court in New York charges that Burnell Guyton, 54, and Andre Grammer, 44, both black, found racist graffiti on several occasions in a bathroom stall used by employees.
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Whistle-Blower Suit Involving Company's Visa Practices Dismissed
Judge Myron H. Thompson of U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery said while Palmer's charges are “deeply troubling,” there was no evidence that Bangalore, India-based Infosys had violated Alabama state law.
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Small Bank Spies Hiring Opportunity
New hires have been attracted to the bank because it doesn't have layer upon layer of management, so its bankers have a closer working relationship with clients than they would at a larger bank.
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Harvard Grads Flooding Wall Street
Any time so many bright young folks flood into Manhattan's concrete canyons to take jobs in investment banking or private equity, it's a clear sign the market has topped out.
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Memphis Opens Health Clinic for City Employees, Retirees, Dependents
The clinic offers diagnostic services and non-emergency care for a range of conditions, including sinus, urinary tract and upper respiratory infections, cold and flu symptoms, muscle sprains and minor cuts and burns.
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Muslim Woman Charges Disney with Religious Discrimination
Compromises she offered, including wearing a hijab in colors matching her uniform and bearing a Disney logo, were rejected by the company, while Boudlal rejected Disney's suggestion she work elsewhere in its complex away from public view, according to the lawsuit.
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Move Over, Millennials
When many people envision digital startups, they think of young, would-be Mark Zuckerbergs in hoodies and T-shirts spending late nights coding at a company with a name that's missing a vowel. There is, however, a small but growing number of over-forties trying their hand at Web 2.0 entrepreneurship.
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General Motors' CEO Dan Akerson Urges Employees to 'Behave With Integrity'
Akerson told employees he wants to focus GM more on brands and customers, and better position the company to survive the next 50 or 100 years.
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More Companies Linking Rewards, Penalties to Wellness Program Results
Fifty-eight percent of employers offering wellness incentives pegged rewards to completion of lifestyle modification programs such as weight loss, smoking cessation and physical fitness.
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New Rules on Hiring Veterans, Disabled Unnecessary: Report
The OFCCP has proposed regulations intended to strengthen the requirements in hiring veterans who are protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.
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Rent-A-Desk Scene Heats Up
As the number of local co-working communities doubles, work-space owners must get creative to stand out.
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Moto Mobility's Mart Move Creates a New Tech Hotspot in Chicago
Google's plan to move Motorola Mobility Inc. from the suburbs into the city's largest office building cements the River North neighborhood as the center of a tech scene that has been gathering momentum for a decade.
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The Young and the Carless
Among millennials, the love affair with the automobile is turning chilly.
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Women Facing 'Retirement Income Glass Ceiling'
Savings totals are being crimped by lower wages and the time they've spent outside the workforce.
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Joplin, Missouri, One Year Later: Lessons Learned after a Tornado
The journey from ruin to rebirth involves lessons in taking care of employees, operating a store amid chaos and excelling at customer service despite having no nice building to work in.
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HR Not Whining About Winemaker's Sustainability Rating
Companies nationwide are learning that sustainability has taken on a new holistic view of how the company treats the Earth and its inhabitants—particularly employees, stakeholders and customers.
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Meeting in the Middle
It's well known that more and more women have entered the workforce over the years. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that about 31 percent of adult women were employed in 1948, but that figure, which has dipped in recent years, jumped to 55 percent by 2011.
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Journalism School Grads Turn to Startup Scene
There's a small but growing number of recent journalism-school graduates who are eschewing conventional career paths to newspapers, magazines and even internships and choosing instead to launch their own digital startups.
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Former United Flight Attendant Files Whistle-Blower Lawsuit
Malcolm Hamilton alleged he was fired after reporting to the Federal Aviation Administration that United had an “unofficial, unspoken policy” requiring flight attendants to file false reports.
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Poll: Social Life, Not Social Media, Is Work's Biggest Distraction
A new ComPsych poll runs contrary to other surveys that indicate that tools such as Facebook distract employees during work hours.
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Big Brother Is Watching: Why Social Media Policies Make Good Business Sense
Social media policies that define what employees can talk about and how employers will monitor them help organizations protect their intellectual property while giving workers a framework for online communication.
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Five Things Every Social Media Policy Should Do
Among other things, a policy should explain why breaking the rules could hurt the company.
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Employee Bonuses Driven By Customer Loyalty at General Motors
For 2012, salaried workers in North America will get a year-end bonus if GM hits an internal customer-retention goal. But it is inside GM's 650-person field sales division that the customer-centric pay structure probably reflects the most striking departure from GM's past.
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Defense of Marriage Act Struck Down By U.S. Appeals Court
Seven married same-sex couples and three widowers of gay spouses filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Boston in 2009 seeking to block federal employers from enforcing the DOMA restrictions.
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Veterans Unprepared for Career Transition, Report States
Just 29 percent of veterans were confident about finding work that suited them, notes a May index released by Monster, down from 44 percent in November.
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Analysis: Corporate Leaders, It's Not About Them. It's About You.
An executive must win the respect of those around him every day to be effective. Failure to do so undermines his or her success.
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Muslim Woman Wins $5.1M Judgment in Work Discrimination Suit
Employers must make sure their employees, including line workers as well as supervisory staff, are 'trained carefully in anti-harassment measures and policy.'
