Depression – How sad is your state? MSNBC reports on a recent study that ranks depression and suicide by state, noting that “Researchers found that states with easier access to mental health resources had lower suicide rates.” The top 10 saddest states in order: Utah, West Virginia, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Nevada, Oklahoma, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio and Wyoming. Check your state’s depression ranking.
Returning vets – The Philadelphia Inquirer recently featured an excellent series on Alpha Company two years after their return from Iraq. This National Guard unit based in Northeast Philadelphia lost six members during their 11 month deployment and has 131 survivors, who are police officers and college students, construction workers and drug store clerks. More than half have been treated for PTSD. This series tracks their experiences since returning home in their own words.
Training blog – In our travels, we’ve just discovered Thoughts from Training Time, a blog about ideas and issues for corporate and government trainers and human resource managers. A few sample posts we found noteworthy: Harassment training may save you millions; Employee reward ideas from the Tooth Fairy; and Training the trainer: tips for public speaking.
Wellness – One of the problems your employees may face in getting good healthcare is simply finding access to a primary care doctor, according to a recent story in U.S. News and World Report. As a sidebar to the story, they offer 7 Tips for finding a doctor. Some other resources: AMA Doctor Finder and WebMD Physician Directory.
The high cost of bias – Race in the Workplace features an excellent post by Adina Ba about Workplace bias costing companies $64 billion annually. Among other things, she discusses results from the recent Corporate Leavers Survey (PDF), which found that over 2 million managers and professionals leave their jobs every year solely due to unfairness in the workplace – things like being passed over for promotions, being publicly humiliated or bullied, receiving unwelcome questions about skin, hair or ethnic attire, and being compared to a terrorist.
Healthcare – Tom Lynch of Workers Comp Insider has been writing on healthcare in the US, comparing how we rate against other OECD countries on a variety of measures such as cost, quality, and longevity. Part 3: What do we get for the money? looks at whether we live longer or have better health in the US given that we spend 250% more than the average OECD country. It’s eye opening.
Sleep deprivation – Human Resource Executive features an article by Scott Flander on how your sleep deprived employees may be hindering your organization’s productivity. Some companies are addressing this by offering on-site nap rooms. In a recent survey, ” …more than one-third of those polled said their workplace permits napping during breaks, and 16 percent said their employer provides a place to do it.”
FMLA – Workplace Prof Blog discusses New Jersey’s recently enacted paid family leave bill and links to a report from the national Partnership for Women and Families which lists some interesting facts about FMLA, such as ” …only 31% of people take FMLA leave (which is unpaid) to care for a seriously ill family member, and only 18% take leave to care for a new child. The majority of people who take the leave take it for their own serious health problem.”
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