Calif.'s fast-food workers to earn $20 an hour on Monday | Study: Employers see positive ROI on wellness programs | Use data and analysis for strategy, but also trust your gut
California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers rises to $20 an hour on Monday, and the state’s fast-food chains are reducing hours, laying off workers and raising menu prices. One wage expert expects prices to go up between 2.5% and 3.75%, with 540,000 fast-food workers seeing as much as a 25% bump in pay. Full Story: Yahoo (3/27)
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Recruiting & Retention
Study: Employers see positive ROI on wellness programs A Gympass survey found 90% of employers are seeing a positive return on their investment in wellness programs, while 85% say the efforts reduce recruitment and retention costs. "If a company does not pay attention to its workforce, if it does not try to make its employees happier, healthier and more productive, employees will know it and start shopping for other jobs," says Livia Martini, chief people officer for Gympass. Full Story: Employee Benefit News (free registration) (3/27)
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Study: Employers have the edge with raises, remote work Employers have the upper hand right now with pay increases and remote work mandates, according to a new survey from Payscale. The data show that fewer employers plan to give raises this year -- 79% compared to 86% last year -- and that in-person work is up to 31%, an increase from 27% last year. Full Story: Yahoo (3/20)
Technology
Cyberresilience offers benefits in current environment Cybersecurity threats continue to rise, with a 20% increase in data breaches from 2022 to 2023 and significant impacts from a March 2024 cyberattack on a major US health care billing company, while artificial intelligence introduces new, often unforeseen threats. Despite these challenges, many companies have grown complacent or unsure of how to prioritize their cybersecurity efforts, yet achieving 100% protection is unrealistic; instead, the focus should be on cyberresilience, ensuring quick recovery with minimal disruption, data loss and impact on financial health or brand reputation. Full Story: MIT Sloan Executive Education (3/27)
The HR Leader
ADHD is not a curse -- it's a superpower More adults are being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and employers need to reframe how they see these employees and take advantage of their unique talents. “You're a member of some elite, superpower squad. That's kind of what it feels like," says Andrew Batey, five-time tech founder and co-CEO at Beatdapp. Batey was diagnosed with ADHD a few years back. Full Story: Forbes (tiered subscription model) (3/22)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
NHL great Wayne Gretzky started his career with the Edmonton Oilers and scored a majority of his 1,072 total goals with them. But his last goal was scored as a member of what team?
Leadership takes boldness. Risk. The willingness and determination to implement an idea that you think will solve a (big) problem. That’s what Bayer CEO Bill Anderson is doing as he overhauls the company’s organizational framework with his dynamic shared ownership plan, laid out in today’s Leadership & Development section. The new structure aims to eliminate the managerial bloat that slows down processes and idea generation, and give employees more freedom to make decisions. “Our people, if you look what they're doing outside of work, they're running a family. They're involved in their church, they're involved in their community, they're organizing, you name it, they're doing stuff. They're taking responsibility. They're owning decisions. This is not a foreign concept to them. They've gotten educated in great colleges and then they come to an office where they're basically given this little job and like, "Oh yeah, you don't make decisions." And so that no wonder people are so disillusioned with corporate life,” Anderson said in a conversation with The Wall Street Journal’s Chip Cutter. It’s quite a gamble -- it will cut about 40% of middle management positions -- but if it works, Anderson will be able to right the company financially and set a new course for organizational hierarchies. What are your thoughts on plans like this? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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