 The ability to work from home and choose your own schedule used to be a luxury that only bosses could do but now it is becoming more and more prevalent in a variety of workplaces. Workers from all areas of expertise and experiences are able and willing to work from remote locations. We all know the dreaded 9-5 cubicle life with bland grey walls and bad lighting. That kind of working condition creates an unproductive state of mind. Savvy leaders are starting to understand this and are starting to use workplace flexibility as a strategy, not just a perk. With all this new technology, work can be easily done anywhere. A number of companies have implemented communication tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, and Skype from smartphones which has allowed their employees to work remotely. Even in the office, it is much more common to email a co-worker rather than walk down the hall to communicate to the same person. “Eighty percent of people want to telework; 50 to 65 percent hold a job that could be done remotely at least half of the time,” said Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics. So who’s contributing to this workplace flexibility? Believe it or not, Millennials. According to an article in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “studies show that, by 2020, Millennials will make up 50 percent of the global workforce -- and that, also by 2020, 50 percent of all U.S. employees will work remotely.” How do you feel about this kind of workplace flexibility? Would you trust your employees to choose their own schedule and work when they want? Studies have shown that this is a feasible option for all workers and the results have been positive. Written by Katie Silvers katie@invigoratehr.com Last year the Department of Labor (DOL) announced proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the law which outlines overtime exemptions for workers. These proposed changes extended overtime protections to nearly five million workers making many positons previously considered overtime exempt under the act, nonexempt and eligible for overtime. After 10 months of review, the final rule was published May 18, 2016.
Overview The final rule focuses on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional workers to be exempt. Specifically, the rule:
Employers have until December 1, 2016 to comply with the final rule. This means that in order to be exempt from overtime, employees must make a minimum salary of $47,476 and satisfy the duties test outlined by the DOL for exemption from overtime (see table below). Employees who do not meet this criteria must be classified as nonexempt and paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 hours per week. &utm_medium=email&utm_content=April%2019,%202016&MID=00609464&LN=York&spMailingID=25280151&spUserID=ODY0MzY0Njk4MjUS1&spJobID=782931039&spReportId=NzgyOTMxMDM5S0) It is almost impossible to escape the influences of social media in our everyday lives. From Facebook posts, to Instagram photos, to Twitter’s tweets, we are receiving information 24-hours a day. While much of this information relates to individuals’ personal lives, some of it is business-focused reminding you of company news and events, industry trends and best practices.
But, have you ever stopped to consider how social media may benefit your organization or even you as a manager? The reality is that social media can be your key to identifying and recruiting top talent for your organization. According to a 2016 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 84 percent of organizations use social media for recruiting. This statistic is up almost 30 percent from 2011. These organizations utilize sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to reach both active and passive candidates by promoting their unique company culture and job opportunities, ultimately enticing candidates to view their jobs. Because of the wireless and “connected” world we live in, organizations have to use the most appropriate methods and means to engage talent. Given that nearly two-thirds of Americans are active on social media, this media makes the most sense. So how effective is social media when it comes to recruiting top talent? The answer is, it is very effective. Jobvite, a U.S. recruiting technology company, recently launched results from its new social recruiting survey indicating that 70 percent of the active workforce credits social media for their jobs. The survey also reports that 73 percent of recruiters/hiring managers have successfully hired candidates through social media outlets. Additionally, 43 percent of job seekers use their mobile device to engage in job-searching activity. This data indicates that social media plays a key role in discovering talent. So next time your organization has an open job and is looking for its next star employee, don’t forget about how social media can be your key to talent! Written by Jeremy York jeremy@invigoratehr.com  As an HR professional, managers often ask for advice on how to best manage their millennial staff. Many of them express frustration that the traditional management methods used in the past are no longer effective.
Why? It’s because millennials are unlike any other generation currently in the workforce. They work differently, think differently, and have different expectations from employees we have managed for years. First of all, who are millennials? Millennials were born from 1981-2000 and are often referred to as “Generation Next.” They are fiercely independent and value achievement, diversity, work/life balance and open communication. Millennials grew up with technology at their fingertips, had a best friend named Google, and received recognition not just for winning, but for participating. As for the workplace, they have very high expectations of company culture and see no value in negativity or conformity. Millennials do not just want to come to work, do their jobs and go home. They want involvement, a sense of purpose and belonging and personal development. They believe it is important that they mold themselves into socially responsible and compassionate people, working to make a difference in whatever they do. Millennials see the workplace as a venue to achieve their own individual goals. It is this millennial point of view that makes them so vastly different from the generations who precede them.  No one ever said that managing employees was an easy job. While most managers enjoy leading and developing their staff’s skills, dealing with unhappy employees can be challenging. At times it can be consuming, awkward, uncomfortable or confrontational. Unhappy employees can take up a manager’s time -- time that could be spent encouraging top performers to keep up the good work. These are all reasons why many times unhappy employees and their behaviors are never addressed.
Encouraging dissatisfied employees to continue their behavior by not directly addressing it negatively impacts your business and can create a negative work environment. It can have an impact on others’ work, upset customers by offering subpar service, result in unsatisfactory job performance because they just don’t care and take advantage of company resources. Recently, I read an article on Entrepreneur.com titled, “Six Best Practices for Managing Unhappy Employees” that summed up how to deal with these employees in six simple steps. According to the author, unhappy employees can be made into star performers, if a manager handles the situation by applying the steps summarized below:
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