After the all-too-short weeks home with your new baby, it’s time to go back to work. You head back into the office, say hello to everybody, and check in with your boss to get up to speed. During the conversation, you mention needing a private place to pump milk for your baby, only to hear, “Just go ahead and use the washrooms, nobody will mind.”
At this point, you do a direct stare into the camera like Jim from The Office.
The CEO of the agency welcomes you on your first day and leads you to your workspace. It’s decked out with top-line equipment: a brand-new Mac, an Aeron chair, and a glossy-white desk.
The only thing your new office is missing? Walls.
In the movies, domestic abuse is often obvious, with bruises and broken bones as telltale signs.
In real life, however, domestic violence often manifests not as a show of physical force, but rather a complicated pattern of behaviors used to gain power or control over a spouse, a partner, or family member. These behaviors can include intimidation, verbal abuse, and emotional manipulation. Despite apologies and promises to change, the abuser rarely does, keeping the victim perpetually on edge.
Domestic abuse doesn’t affect just an employee’s personal life. The effects also spill over into the workplace.
You hardly talk to each other anymore. You’re spending more and more time apart, and when he is with you, his heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. He’s being secretive, wearing nicer clothes, and you’re noticing an increased number of unexplained absences.
Finally, he sits you down and says it: He’s leaving you … for another employer.
The Exxon Valdez disaster. Nine Mile Island. The Challenger explosion. Chernobyl.
Sleep deprivation has been linked to each of these disasters, as well as many more.
When lives are on the line, sleep deprivation can result in deadly mistakes. But even if your employees handle reports instead of reactors, sleep deprivation can do a number on their health and their job performance.
The wind whips through your hair as you deploy your parachute. You gaze down at the mountains, the forest, and at the crystal-blue water lapping the beaches. Then … Mom calls you to dinner and you put down your game controller.
Many of us grew up all but living outdoors—riding our bikes to and from friends’ houses and playing outside until the sun went down (and then coming inside only to grab flashlights and head back out for more).
But over the years, something has changed.
"I want to lose weight." "I want to work less and travel more." "I want to give back to my community."
Most of us have some sort of goal driving our actions or even just tickling the back of our minds.
While people often have the best of intentions setting these goals, achieving them is another matter—not because they’re lazy or distracted, but because they haven’t identified a reason powerful enough for them to make lasting changes.
Quick: Think of the traditional stereotype of a typical marijuana user. Popular culture has long depicted people who smoke cannabis as rebellious teenagers (or shiftless adults living in mom’s basement).
That public image, however, is quickly shifting. As marijuana becomes increasingly legalized and socially accepted, soccer moms and CEOs are perusing different strains at sleek, Apple Store-like dispensaries, while politicians’ talk of former marijuana use elicits nothing but shrugs. (We’ve come a long way from “I didn’t inhale.”)
Your employees may also be partaking, for a variety of health-related reasons.
Some people joke about the “man flu”—the idea that men tend to exaggerate their symptoms when they become sick. Recent research suggests there might be some legitimacy to this mythical ailment, however, with a true immunity gap existing between the sexes.
“Man flu” notwithstanding, men have an increased risk for many other serious, even potentially fatal, conditions. As we enter Men’s Health Month in June, it’s important to acknowledge five significant health risks men face and learn what employers can do to improve the health of this segment of the workforce.
The United States has approximately 3 million more STEM jobs available than skilled workers to fill them.
Some companies find it hard to compete with the allure of the Amazons and Googles of the tech world. Others are challenged to find local job-seekers with the right skill sets. Regardless, one thing is clear: Tech employers need to find innovative ways to attract and retain top employees.
