Tattoos in the Workplace? One Employer Says, “Absolutely”

Some employers frown upon tattoos and others begrudgingly accept them, knowing that sometimes the best talent comes adorned with body art.  However, one employer appears to have not only embraced tattoos, but is actually encouraging employees to decorate their bodies…with a tattoo of the company logo.  What do employees get for this extreme demonstration of loyalty?  A 15 percent bump in pay, according to a report last week by the CBS affiliate in Albany, New York.  Rapid Realty, based in Brooklyn, New York, even pays for the tattoos, which can cost up to $300.  Since the “loyalty program” was announced, 40 employees have been inked.  “In an era where job security is no longer guaranteed, particularly in an industry as volatile as real estate, it is surprising that so many employees would permanently brand themselves with an employer’s logo.  There is also a real risk that such a visible demonstration of loyalty will backfire if employees who did not get tattoos are treated differently or even perceive that they are valued less because of their decision,” noted John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.  What are the pitfalls for both the employer and the employee in this type of loyalty building program?  How do most employers view tattoos in the workplace?  Are tattoos an obstacle to job-search success?  What are other ways that employers boost loyalty and morale?   

Mid-Week Bulletin: Retirement Concerns; Napping At Work

Retirement Worries May Create Workforce Gridlock

 A new survey this week showing that older Americans are more pessimistic than ever when it comes to their ability to afford retirement could be a sign that an increasing portion of the workforce will opt to continue working beyond the traditional retirement age. While continued employment will help aging Americans avoid financial hardship, it could make it increasingly difficult for younger workers to climb the employment ladder. In the widely reported survey conducted by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, nearly half of all American workers and retirees were either “not too confident” or “not at all confident” about being able to afford a comfortable retirement. There is good cause for concern for many older workers, according to the survey, which found that 52 percent of those 55 and older have less than $50,000 in retirement savings. Despite the concern and the lack of savings, only 23 percent of survey respondents have sought professional financial advice to help them plan for retirement. These trends create a lot of problems in the workforce, according to employment authority John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement and executive coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “These older workers will want to…make that, need to stay in their jobs longer. And employers may oblige, since they value the experience and increased productivity these workers bring to the table. Employers may even be able to negotiate lower salaries for the prospect of increased job security. This is great for the experienced workers trying to delay retirement, but it significantly diminishes advancement opportunities for younger workers. Of course, this could backfire for employers when these older workers finally retire and they are faced with a wide experience gap between those leaving and those who remain.” What are the pros and cons of older workers staying on the job beyond the traditional retirement age? What can companies do to ensure that younger workers have opportunities to advance within their organizations? What other employment/second career opportunities exist for experienced workers who do not want to stay in their current job or want to re-enter the workforce?

Challenger Survey: Most Companies Not Following Yahoo, Best Buy

When struggling big box retailer Best Buy followed in the footsteps of Yahoo! Inc. by altering its telecommuting policies for employees, some undoubtedly concluded that there would soon be a flood of companies doing the same.  However, a new survey indicates that Best Buy may be in the minority, with the overwhelming percentage of companies planning to maintain their telecommuting policies.

According to the survey, 80 percent of the 120 human resources executives polled said their companies currently offer some form of telecommuting option to employees with 97 percent of them saying there are no plans to eliminate that benefit.

The survey was conducted by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. in the days following Yahoo’s widely reported and controversial plan to bring work-at-home employees back to the office.

“When major companies like Yahoo and Best Buy make notable policy changes, there is no doubt that other employers will take notice and some may even re-evaluate their policies.  However, it would be misguided to assume that other companies will follow blindly without considering their own unique circumstances,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Get the full report here.

Monday Bulletin: Telecommuting Turnaround at Yahoo; Sequestration Cuts To Come

Telecommuting Trend Turnaround at Yahoo!

At a time when many Silicon Valley tech firms are battling each other to attract and retain the best talent, the decision by Yahoo! Inc. to end its telecommuting program may prove to be shortsighted. The move, which was widely reported this morning after a leaked memo made its way to the press, stems from the belief that “speed and quality are sacrificed when people work from home.” Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer is determined to shake things up in an effort to turn the struggling company’s fortunes around. “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together,” the memo reads. According to John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., there is some wisdom behind the memo’s sentiment. “Yahoo is definitely in a fourth-and-long situation, so it needs to try new tactics. There is a collaborative advantage to having all of your employees in the office. However, there is also an advantage in having the best and brightest tech workers on your payroll. The question is whether this move will result in an exodus among the company’s top talent,” he said. Could the move to end telecommuting backfire for Yahoo? What are the pros and cons of telecommuting programs? Will other companies follow Yahoo’s lead and end or rein in telecommuting options?

Sequester Could Send Government Job Cuts Soaring

Will failure to reach a budget deal by March 1 ignite another round of government job cuts? Automatic spending cuts totaling $85 billion are scheduled to take effect Friday and will impact federal agencies, including transportation and defense, as well as cut aid to states. Instead of finding a solution, Democrats and Republicans are arguing the overall impact of the cutbacks, with Democrats taking a “sky-is-falling” stance while Republicans argue that the cuts, which amount to less than 3% of the $3.5 trillion budget, will barely be felt by most Americans. The truth, as usual, probably lies somewhere in the middle. “The thousands of federal workers forced to take unpaid furloughs will certainly feel the pinch in their annual budgets. Meanwhile, state governments will have to pass along the cuts by eliminating jobs. In Missouri, for example, the automatic budget cuts will slash about $12 million in school funding and will put about 160 teaching jobs at risk. That may not seem like a lot of jobs in the big scheme of things, but it’s everything to the 160 teachers who could ultimately find themselves unemployed due to political gamesmanship,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Last year, announced job cuts by government agencies fell to 19,128 after reaching 142,503 in 2011 and 183,064 in 2010. What will be the overall economic impact of automatic budget cuts that kick in March 1? Will automatic budget cuts send government job cuts to 2010-2011 levels? Are consumers and businesses spending enough now to hold up the economy if government spending declines?

Romance Rocks The Office

SOME EMPLOYERS OUT TO NIP OFFICE ROMANCES IN THE BUD

The approach of Valentine’s Day may have many human resource managers on the lookout for any evidence of budding or ongoing romances between co-workers or, even worse, between a worker and supervisor. With some surveys indicating that as many as 60 percent of co-workers, casually dating, hooking up and/or finding love in the workplace, it is an issue that keeps many human resource executives up at night. “Office romances are fraught with pitfalls that can impact workplace harmony, productivity, more and, in some cases, the bottom line if they end badly and a lawsuit is filed,” noted workplace authority John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Despite the pitfalls, 35 percent of employers in a 2007 Challenger survey had no formal policy regarding romance between co-workers. The survey revealed that while many companies discourage such relations, others simply maintain a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The growth of social media and networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, are helping co-workers find each other and interact under-the-radar. A host of new social apps specifically designed to facilitate romance or more casual “hook-ups” between friends, work colleagues, or even married people, could create even more challenges for human resources professionals trying to keep a lid on workplace romance.

Should employers try to prevent workplace romance? Is there an upside to allowing co-workers to be romantically involved? What guidelines should romantically-involved co-workers follow to prevent any negative impact on the workplace?

Companies Plan More Holiday Parties in 2012

While companies continued to hire at a less-than-stellar rate in 2012, strong corporate profits are giving them plenty of reason to celebrate.  A new survey shows that more than 83 percent are planning year-end holiday parties this year, up from 68 percent in 2011.

In its annual survey of human resources executives, global outplacement and workplace coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. not only found that more companies are hosting holiday parties, but 17 percent said more money is being budgeted for the festivities.

Despite the increase in holiday parties from a year ago, the percentage of companies holding year-end functions remains shy of a pre-recession 2007, when about 90 percent of companies surveyed held holiday festivities.

Black Friday Becomes Black Thanksgiving

Retailers Bet on Black Thanksgiving

In the push to get the most out of the Black Friday sales, several retailers, including Walmart and Target, have announced they will open as early as 8pm on Thanksgiving Day to kick off the holiday sales season. The decision further extends the controversial but lucrative strategy in recent years that saw a growing number of big box retailers open at midnight on Black Friday. The action has spurred numerous online petitions to the stores to rethink this move, including one on Change.org started by a California Target employee upset about spending the holiday working instead of with family and friends. If successful, there will be little doubt that retailers will continue the practice in the future and even possibly extend store hours into the afternoon on Thanksgiving.  How might the decision to open earlier on Thanksgiving impact employee morale? Could the move backfire with consumers? Will earlier Thanksgiving openings create more opportunities for holiday job seekers willing to work on the holiday?

Hurricane Sandy Impact To Be Felt Nationwide

Hurricane Sandy has not even made landfall yet, but the economic impact of the storm is already mounting.  The biggest financial toll will come in the wake of the storm, when the clean-up begins.  However, with thousands of companies along the eastern seaboard already closed in preparation for the storm, including the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, as well as thousands of flights cancelled and railway transportation halted, the storm is already costing the economy millions in lost output, productivity and consumer spending.  “The effects of the storm could be felt well after the last cloud passes, as power outages and structural damage take days or weeks to repair,” noted John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.  “If there is any silver lining in all the destruction the storm is expected to cause, it’s that such storms tend to provide a boost to the economy in their wake.  After the initial shocks to the economy related to lost output and productivity, we will probably see an employment surge in construction, skilled trades and other professions needed to help repair the damage.  There will also be an increase in business and consumer spending and companies and homeowners replace damaged equipment, household items, etc.  While much of it will be paid for with insurance money, the injection of money into the economy will be beneficial nonetheless,” he added.  Are there any steps east coast companies can take to lessen the impact of the storm on productivity?  How will consumers and companies in other parts of the country feel the economic impact of the storm?  What opportunities for economic growth will exist after the storm?

Beware Political Discussions At Work

With the presidential election fast approaching and the polar platforms of the two contenders making headlines, the debate over each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses is undoubtedly spilling over into the nation’s workplaces.

As the line blurs between employees’ work and personal lives, coworkers often become members of one’s social circle and therefore a sounding board for one’s political views and opinions.  However, while political talk in the office should not be discouraged, it is important that certain ground rules be followed, according to global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

“Passions and tensions are high, especially with the general election so close, and with the Republican and Democratic candidates so different,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. “Political discussion is the hallmark of a free society, but when the debate enters the workplace, it can create some significant problems

2012 Fantasy Football Report

With less than two weeks to go before the opening kick-off in the National Football League season, the estimated 24.3 million Americans who participate in fantasy football leagues will undoubtedly spend several hours in the coming days fine-tuning their draft selections and opening-day rosters.  Unfortunately for the nation’s employers, some of the time spent on player research may come during business hours.

 According to a very rough, non-scientific, non-verifiable estimate, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., if 22.3 million American workers spend one hour each week managing their fantasy football team during the average 15-week fantasy football season, the cost to the nation’s employers in terms of wages paid to unproductive workers could approach $6.5 billion.

“Before fantasy football players around the country launch a letter-writing campaign lambasting our numbers, it is important to realize that even if this figure was verifiable and accurate, it would not even register as a blip on the economic radar,” said noted John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“Employers will not see any impact on their bottom line and, for the most part, business will proceed as usual.  However, even if the economic impact is faint, it is important to acknowledge fantasy football’s overall impact as a societal and workplace phenomenon.  Companies that embrace the growing popularity of this activity could actually see a positive impact, particularly in terms of employee sentiment and loyalty.  Those that try to squash employees’ use of time and the company Internet for fantasy football could see consequences far worse than a few distracted workers,” he noted.

How did the firm reach its estimate?  It assumed that 8.2 percent of the 24.3 million fantasy football participants (as estimated by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association) are unemployed, leaving about 22.3 million employed team managers.  The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that weekly earnings for all Americans in the second quarter averaged $773 or $19.33 per hour.  Assuming on the conservative side that fantasy football participants spend one hour each week researching stats and tweaking their rosters, the firm multiplied the $19.33 figure by the 22.3 million employed participants.  That results in a dollar amount of approximately $430.9 million each week in unproductive wages paid by employers to fantasy footballers.  Multiply that by 15 weeks and the total reaches $6.46 billion.