EEOC chair says employee tracking tools could violate discrimination laws | Weekly jobless claims fall as Mass. fraud clouds data | What to do with resistance to DEI
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair Charlotte Burrows warns that so-called bossware tools that track workers could lead to violations of discrimination laws if they, for example, penalize breaks for Muslims taking time to pray or pregnant women using the bathroom often. Burrows said the agency is working with companies to educate them on the use of these tools but that she's "not shy about using our enforcement authority when it's necessary." Full Story: The Associated Press (5/18)
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Recruiting & Retention
Weekly jobless claims fall as Mass. fraud clouds data Initial jobless claims dropped by 22,000 to 242,000 during the week ending May 13, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The decline in applications for unemployment benefits is the largest since 2021, driven in part by a large drop in Massachusetts as the state combats alleged fraud which economists believe has been muddying the data. Full Story: The Associated Press (5/18),Bloomberg (5/18),MarketWatch (tiered subscription model) (5/18)
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How workers, managers can prevent passion from causing burnout People who are passionate about their job may have lower stress, higher productivity and greater career growth than those who aren't, but it can also leave them feeling depleted and burned out. Workers can prevent passion from turning into exhaustion by taking time for rest and recovery, and managers should help their teams manage workloads, be on the lookout for emotional exhaustion and support work-life balance, write organizational behavior researcher Joy Bredehorst. Full Story: Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model) (5/17)
Reiterating your company's purpose frequently and acknowledging the contributions of every employee go a long way toward making workers want to do their best, writes leadership coach John Baldoni, expanding on a recent speech from movie director Christopher Nolan that credited good films to everyone down to the popcorn servers. Keep in mind your company's mission, and don't worry about getting credit for yourself, Baldoni suggests. Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (5/18)
Workplace Chatter
Are office brainstorms delivering on their promise? Employee collaboration is a major reason given by employers to demand a return to the office, but does it really deliver results? Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia Business School, argues that extensive research shows group brainstorming sessions don't yield the same level of creativity and innovation as workers deliver when given alone time. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal (5/18)
SmartBreak: Question of the Day
The New York Times reported on May 19, 1964, that a spy tip led to the discovery of microphones hidden in US Embassy walls in Moscow. How many mics were discovered then? Check your answer here.
Is your organization still using employee collaboration or brainstorming as its primary reason to call workers into the office? If so, you may need to rethink this tactic. True innovation comes not from gathering team members around a conference room table, but from giving them time alone for deep thinking and research, according to today’s Workplace Chatter story. “You do not get your best ideas out of these freewheeling brainstorming sessions. You will do your best creative work by yourself,” says Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar. I agree. Conversations around conference tables and water coolers have value and purpose in the innovation process. But time alone in focused thought and work is also critical for taking ideas from concept to reality. Are you using collaboration as a reason to bring teams back to a physical office? How do you make these session useful? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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