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
A friend of mine once shared with me a story of leaving a job to pursue one that seemed like a great opportunity. Soon after taking the new job, she discovered the culture was a nightmare. The company owner had terrible temper and was not necessarily following appropriate guidelines for the business they were in. Needless to say, it was not a culture fit for her and she moved on to find another job. When determining your next career move, culture should definitely be a considering factor. In the next few weeks, we will be talking about culture on The
Immigration is a hot topic whether you have an opinion on it or not. And most people do. This isn’t a post to comment on to build or not build a wall, but to deal with the reality that immigration scrutiny is on the rise for businesses. Are you prepared as a business leader for what that means? One reality is that it is harder to get and keep visas for those who are not U.S. citizens. One proposed change being discussed to H1-B Visas is to limit them to only positions that have a minimum salary of $130,000 a
Healthcare costs have risen an average of five to seven percent each year for the last five years. With costs steadily increasing, employers are starting to look for creative solutions to combat this steady climb in costs. One solution many employers have adopted is Employee Health Clinics. What is an employee health clinic? It is when an employer or group of employers work with local health care providers to create a health clinic specifically for use by their employees and dependents. The employer usually pays a monthly fee per employee, often between about $50 to $100. Some employers opt to
What’s one thing that is extremely detrimental to both employers and employees? Boredom at work! I once worked with an adult client wanting to make a career change. She was an extremely talented individual, and in talking with her about her then current employer she says she felt like she was just a “warm body”. One of the main reasons she wanted a change was because she was bored as a gourd at work! She worked for a government contractor (a waste of taxpayer money as she sat there bored) and none of her talents and skills were being utilized in