The federal unemployment benefits have ended for those who are still out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. April Stokes, an optician who has been out of work since the pandemic began, said the struggle is finding a job that will accommodate her children's schedules as child care is severely limited.
Benefits trends evolve quickly. It's no longer enough to keep pace when supporting your people's health — particularly if you need to attract and retain top talent in the current job market. Discover how you can move your company toward a personalized and virtual-forward future. Get the guide.
The US labor force was older in 2019 than 1979, with employees 55 and older increasing as a share of the workforce and young adults and teenagers declining, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The data also shows the percentage of employees who are married dropped from nearly 66% in 1979 to 52% in 2019, while the percentage of non-white US employees increased from 11.7% to 22.3%.
It's not business as usual COVID-19 has dramatically changed our financial landscape and work culture, sparking a lasting shift in how we do business. Returning to a "new normal" can also mean new risks - and new insurance needs. Learn more.
When looking for insight from employees, Liam Fahey suggests looking through employee surveys for mixed messages and changes and then deciding where to go from there. Fahey suggests that by going beyond the data, one can find critical, underlying issues and work to find how best to overcome those obstacles.
Taking time off from work to care or grieve for a pet can add to stress, particularly because many employers don't take the human-animal bond seriously, say social workers Tom Favale and Sandra Brackenridge. Brackenridge suggests employers include pets in bereavement leave, while HR adviser Melissa White recommends people mourning the loss of a pet use counseling services under an employee assistance program.
People use combinations of "dominance, competence and virtue" to attain status, which is so desirable that lower-status people will ignore the truth to mimic what powerful people do, say and believe, writes Ed West in a review of Will Storr's book. "[S]tatus is a zero-sum game, and unlike wealth the pie cannot be expanded: if your group rises in status, others must fall, and the psychological and even physical effects of losing status are real," West writes.
"I know no one in this room can beat me in soccer."
Fighting words.
A friend made this statement yesterday at my house during a barbecue. All the women were sitting inside at my dining room table when he said this. The statement brought three of us -- all former soccer players -- to our feet, shouting and pounding the table. Everyone outside on the deck looked over their shoulders surprised.
“Oh no you didn’t just say that?!”
“Brah, bring it!”
“Dude, let’s go!”
I grabbed the soccer ball that sits next to my desk and we all headed outside to the street. Everyone who had been on the deck also made their way to the street to watch -- and laugh.
This morning I have my left leg propped on a chair, and an ice pack strapped to my ankle. It’s my Achilles. It’s sore and swollen and has me limping around the house.
So Marlene Chism’s story about decisions and choices hits home with me today. “Unfortunately, most choices are based on something other than well-thought-out decisions. Sometimes our choices are based on convenience, fun, avoiding risk or looking good,” she writes. I admit it. When my friend issued his challenge, my competitive nature shot up hard and fast. Fun and ego led my choice to play.
And I’m paying for it today.
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