Research and personal experience tell us that American employees often underutilize or “save up” PTO, sometimes leading to disengagement and burnout. Could the workcation trend be an option for employees who don’t need time off but need a little inspiration and a change of scenery? “Workcation” is the combination of work and vacation, where an employee works remotely from a destination other than home or an office for a short period of time. With the significant expansion of the remote/flexible workforce, are more people taking workcations? How do workcations impact organizations? These questions inspired a research project by Daniela Hodges,
Ahh, remote work! Work as we know it will never be the same. At Horizon Point, remote work has always been part of our daily grind, so we definitely know the benefits. Check out these Key Remote Work Statistics (as they relate to employees) from Small Biz Genius. 40% of people feel the greatest benefit of remote work is the flexible schedule. 76% of workers would be more willing to stay with their current employer if they could work flexible hours. People who work remotely at least once a month are 24% more likely to be happy and productive.
Written by: Lorrie Coffey, Horizon Point Consulting Ten states plus DC have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Thirty-four states have legalized it for medical use. And CBD oil is readily available in most states. But marijuana is still classified by the Drug Enforcement Agency as a Schedule 1 drug, which means it is still illegal to grow, buy or sell, possess, or use under federal law. Oh, and while CBD shops popped up on every street corner as soon as the Farm Bill was signed back in late 2018, the Farm Bill did not legalize the general production, sale, or
The diamond on my ringer finger I can thank in part to a teenager engaging in summer work. My husband worked during the summer every year starting at age fifteen. And although I wasn’t even on his radar at age 15, nor do I think marriage to anyone was at that point in time, his hard work and savings from that hard work led to a lovely diamond on my hand that he paid cash for. He worked painting schools, mowing grass, driving a forklift at a lumber yard and building tree stands while in high school. His college work
In a difficult hiring market, it is hard to think about adding another layer to your hiring practices that potentially screens people out instead of in. As one hiring manager said to me last week, “I just need people with a pulse.” But one reason why you may be hunting for people that are alive and not much more is because you aren’t hiring the right people to begin with, so turnover is a challenge and a cost to you in more ways than one. If done correctly, assessments can be a valuable part of your hiring strategy. To maximize
Written by: Lorrie Coffey, Horizon Point Consulting “Before companies can start to think about their succession plans, they have to understand their jobs.” – Sharlyn Lauby, President of ITM Group, Inc. For the past few weeks I’ve been focused on helping a client complete a People Review of their top talent and outline their succession plan. Each April they complete the People Review, evaluating their top talent on the areas of performance and potential, risk of leaving the organization, and mobility within the organization. In working through this process with them, I’ve discovered that for most of their key employees,
I remember thinking, how am I going to do this? I had just started my first full-time job out of college, and I was getting married that year. I had been given two weeks of vacation for my first year that I had to earn throughout the year. If I wanted to take a honeymoon and be off a day or two before the wedding, I really had almost no time left to take off. And a couple of my good friends were getting married that summer too, and I was in their weddings out of town. Was I going
Much has been said about the open office floor plan. The concept arose out of Silicon Valley and became a popular way to supposedly create “collaborative” work environments where innovation happens. Oh, and as an added bonus, companies saved a lot of money designing office spaces as open. I’m not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg- the realization that money could be saved this way, or that “collaboration” and therefore innovation would thrive in this type of design. But in many studies, including this one: The impact of the ‘open’ workspace on human collaboration, it was found
You can find me most afternoons between 3:30 and 4:30 pm working on 2nd grade homework. While I work until the normal quitting time of 5:00 pm one to two days a week (thanks to grandparents), my schedule at least three days a week revolves around being done in time to pick up kids and start what often seems to be a harder job than what pays the bills- getting my 2nd grader through 2nd grade. One interesting assignment he had in his homework packet a couple of weeks ago was to identify whether a list of statements was fact
Written by: Lorrie Howard, Horizon Point Consulting Even with today’s technology, many people have a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept of a virtual company. When someone asks me where Horizon Point’s office is located and I respond that we are a virtual organization, I often get some puzzled looks. Their first question is usually “If you don’t have an office, where do you work?” And that’s often followed up with something along the lines of “Don’t you miss interacting with other people?” Truthfully, I’m always interacting with people, including co-workers, clients, fellow HR professionals, and other members