Managing People at Work

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Back-to-school: How to manage leave requests

The start of each school year brings new responsibilities that pull employees away from work. You may try to be flexible with your parent-workers, but how far you bend depends in large part on whether employees are nonexempt or exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state short-term leave law

Productivity, hours worked increased in the last year

Managers say their teams have become more productive and are logging longer hours than they were a year ago, according to research by the Robert Half staffing firm. The trend raises concerns about employee burnout, lower morale and higher turnover.

Promote respectful workplace communications with 10 actionable strategies

You’re not alone if you’re concerned about maintaining a civil workplace during the run-up to elections this fall. Some employers have considered banning political discussions altogether, but that approach can backfire. Bernadette Jones, co-founder and CEO of HR consulting firm Visionova, has a more

Wage growth tapered off in the last year

Pressure to pay employees more seems to be easing. Compensation costs for private-sector employers increased 4.1% between June 2023 and June 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How to counsel employees who have personal problems

FMLA, ADA and attendance: Consider health problems before firing for failing to call off

Ordinarily, employers can require employees to notify their boss if they anticipate having to miss work. But there’s an exception for those times when the employee simply can’t make that call because of their disability or serious health condition. Always double-check and consider the circumstances

Are RTO mandates just layoffs in disguise?

More than a third of managers and senior leaders believe their organizations laid off workers because return-to-office mandates failed to make more employees quit, according to a new survey by Bamboo HR. They’re probably right.

Let’s talk politics (or not): Regulating political expression at work

The run-up to a national or local election can spark heated debate around the watercooler. That can cause distractions, disputes—and, in some cases, lawsuits. You have the legal right to control employees’ activities on the job. That includes putting a stop to political activism or political solicit

5 essential questions to ask your employees

Don’t wait until you spot performance problems or the telltale signs of disenchantment. Take time to regularly sit down with workers to ask questions that get to the heart of their role with the company. Here are five essential questions to ask, as suggested by Susan Scott, author of Fierce Conver