Employers are increasingly reassigning workers instead of laying them off amid restructuring, but some wonder if this signifies a "quiet cutting" trend where companies are trying to push employees out while saving on severance pay. "I've seen lots of examples in my practice where employees are told they're being let go in a 'restructuring' and it turns out that they're the only one affected," says employment attorney Angela L. Walker. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (8/27)
Studying your audience can go a long way in polishing internal communications and open an opportunity to cater messages by groups, writes Michael DesRochers of PoliteMail Software. In this commentary, DesRochers notes that Tuesday is the best day of the week to get employees' attention, sending messages early in the workday is preferable, and that framing a top executive as the sender will get more attention. Full Story: PR Daily (8/25)
Rigorous fitness may help older adult brains stay "young" Research by the Center for Vital Longevity at the University of Texas at Dallas suggests that older adults who engage in regular, intensive fitness practices tend to have "younger" brains than people who are not as active. Investigators describe in the journal Neuroscience how strenuous exercise and good cardiorespiratory fitness allow older adult brains to make up for age-related decline by bolstering their ability to handle complex cognitive tasks. Full Story: University of Texas at Dallas (8/23)
Benefits & Compensation
How employers can support workers' financial wellness The workplace presents key opportunities for expanded access to banking and financial wellness services for employees from underserved demographics, researchers noted in a Commonwealth report. Employers can help by enabling staff members to automate financial decisions, partnering with banking institutions to provide benefits, offering financial wellness programming, and practicing financial inclusion in the work environment. Full Story: BenefitsPRO (free registration) (8/25)
The typical worker receives 30 emails each day, a Statista study reports, but the ones we send tend not to be inviting or especially helpful. Common errors include poor subject lines, a lack of greeting, huge blocks of text, no call to action (or too many) and a lack of gratitude, writes nonprofit strategic communications executive Joel Schwartzberg. Full Story: Newsweek (tiered subscription model) (8/24)
Mick Jagger, now 80, wasn't kidding when he sang, "Time Is On My Side." It's a hot debate who was first, but who among the following was the first to invent the wristwatch?
I had dinner last week with a dear childhood friend -- I’ll call him Victor -- who recently moved back to our area. I offered to pick him up so I could say hello to his parents whom I hadn’t seen in several years. I was stunned when he opened the door. He looked fantastic -- lean and fit with excellent skin. No wrinkles. No love handles. I rolled my eyes as I stepped in to hug him. “Seriously, Vic?” I asked, backing away and looking up at him, my eyebrow raised. “You can’t age like the rest of us? Where’s the paunch? Why don’t you have wrinkles? Are you using eye cream?” He laughed and hugged me again as his parents walked into the room. Over dinner, I discovered Victor worked out like me, but was also still playing tennis. “As much as I can,” he said, cutting into his carnitas burrito. I marveled at that. I don’t play tennis, but I know it’s rigorous -- there’s running, lateral movement, backpedaling. I can’t do most of that anymore, thanks to a fragile Achilles tendon. The last time I jogged I spent the next two days, icing my leg and limping around in pain. But I need to find a way to bring more strenuous activity into my workouts. According to our Health & Wellness story today, rigorous exercise and cardiovascular fitness are critical to staving off age-related neurological changes in older adults. I want that. I want to be mentally sharp well into my golden years. I want to be able to go to graduate school or learn a new language. I want to be able to continue geeking out on the Bible and understand its complex narratives. So, hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to the gym I go -- to lift and stretch and jog and walk -- hi-ho, hi-ho, hi-ho, hi-ho! What are your favorite rigorous activities? How do you stay mentally engaged in those activities (that’s my challenge)? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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