Our Halloween HR News Roundup has treats as well as serious fare. Come for the HR horror stories and end stay for the zoo animals devouring pumpkins
10 HR Horror Stories to Make Your Skin Crawl
Ginger Christ, HR Dive
This Halloween, don’t fumble in the dark on these compliance issues. The world of compliance can be fraught with peril for those in HR. In October alone, we’ve reported on dozens of lawsuits against companies for alleged discrimination and violations of labor law.
HR headlines can be an employer’s worst nightmare and lead to settlements, mandatory training and bad PR — internally and externally. Keep reading for some of the more recent horror stories we’ve reported on.
4 HR Horror Stories: How Should You Handle Them?
Jackie Plunkett, HR Morning
Working in HR means navigating complex circumstances regularly. Things can go wrong even when you make efforts to alleviate potential HR horror stories. Even good intentions can lead to stress and nightmares.
Here are four all-too-common and scary situations — plus suggestions on how to handle them so you can anticipate, avoid, or prevent something similar in your workplace.
How Can We Promote Our EAP to Increase Its Usage?
Mental Health America
In the U.S., nearly all (98 percent) of mid to large companies offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), but only about 4 percent of employees use them each year. To increase the use of EAP services among employees, it helps to thoroughly understand your EAP, including services offered, accessibility issues, and the percentage of employees who use these services.
For many employers, there are three main reasons why employees may not be using their EAP: (1) Employees are not aware that an EAP exists, what services are offered, or how to access these services; (2) Employees are fearful that their employer may be tracking their usage of services; or (3) the stigma of mental health and its association with EAPs prevents employees from seeking services.
The Lasting Impact of Exceptional Candidate Experiences
Andy Kemp, Gallup
An employee’s relationship with their organization begins before their first day of work. The experience an organization provides to candidates during the recruitment process directly influences how likely they are to accept a job offer — but that experience also sets the stage for their future as an employee.
How to Deal with Team Conflict and Get Everyone Back to Work
Karin Hurt and David Dye, Let’s Grow Leaders
You’ve got a clear focus on what matters most. Your team seems to work well together, but then you get that call: “I need to talk to you about …” or a team member suddenly explodes at their teammates and storms off the floor. It’s conflict, a disagreement, or a clash of personalities. Handle it well and you’ll build trust and influence. But ignore it or respond poorly and not only do you lose trust and credibility, but the conflict distracts your team from the work that matters most. Team conflict can feel like quicksand and a distraction from your work, but it’s an excellent opportunity to improve morale, productivity, and processes.
What HR Leaders Can Do to Help Autistic Employees Succeed
Miriam Edelman, Human Resource Executive
Every October, we observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Access to Good Jobs for All.” HR leaders can use this occasion to make workplaces more hospitable and accepting of autistic people.
Too often, these employees are discriminated against and even fired for autism-related problems, meaning organizations often miss out on autistic employees’ unique skills and valuable contributions. When adequately matched to a position, autistic employees can be up to 140% more productive than average workers.
Here are some ways HR leaders can reevaluate their hiring, talent management and culture practices to ensure all employees feel valued and can work together to drive the business forward.
Related: How Booz Allen and Bank of America Are Training Managers to Be More Neuro-inclusive
HR News Roundup: Quick Takes
- What Your ‘Stress Personality’ Reveals About Handling Stress at Work
- What Will Salary Increase Budgets Look Like for 2025?
- Employer Health Benefits Costs Likely to Soar Again in 2025
- Employers Seek Strategies to Combat Rising Health Care Costs
- 13 Tips For Managing Employee Morale During Major Internal Change
- What Is LinkedIn Hiring Assistant? The Platform’s New AI Recruiter Explained
- LinkedIn Enters AI Agent Race With LinkedIn Hiring Assistant
- Bad Managers Cause Turnover: 5 Tips to Prevent It
- Best Practices for Onboarding and Training Seasonal Employees Quickly
- Fall Back with Ease: 10 Tips to Adjust to The End of Daylight Saving Time
- Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2024
- AI in the Workplace: Answering 3 Big Questions
- Daily Loneliness Afflicts One in Five in U.S.
- 8 Strategies to Navigate Hiring Top Foreign-Born Talent
From the Lighter Side …
- Feeling underappreciated lately? Visit thiscomplimentdoesnotexist.com, turn up the sound, and click to get a compliment. You can re-click for as many affirmations as you need.
- When being photographed for work, people usually strike a pose that puts their best professional foot forward. Photographer Richard Calmes wanted to shake things up a bit when he photographed musicians from New Trinity Baroque, a Lindon-based ensemble and orchestra. See the gallery of Serious Musician Behaving Badly.
And for a few moments of Zen, we leave you with some clips of zoo animals enjoying pumpkins at Halloween.
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