Growth and evolution are the two terms that would continue to relate with the HR tech industry in 2020 as well. According to industry experts, as the new players enter the market, organizations would turn to technology for further efficiency and productivity gains. In addition, the venture capitalists would remain enticed by the promising HR tech firms. Josh Bersin, an industry analyst in his recent article mentioned that HR software would continue to be ‘white-hot,’ in part because organizations operating in ‘talent-constrained environments’ would seek to invest in tools that would aid them in making better recruitment decisions; develop and support their workforce.
Starting January 1, 2020, 21 states in the US would see a rise in the minimum wages; states like Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada, and Oregon would see an increase in the minimum wage in the latter part of the year. According to the research carried out by Paycor, it was revealed that about 42% of the surveyed organizations reported negative feelings about their compliance with management practices, partly due to limited resources and partly due to frequent changes in the minimum wage laws along with paid sick leave and pay equity laws.
According to the lawsuit filed on Monday by Uber Technologies Inc. and other services along with other app-based companies have asked the US court to block a California labor law that would go in effect from January 1, 2020. The lawsuit stated that the bill violates the US constitution and is a veiled attempt to target the gig economies that rely heavily on the contractual workforce as compared to the full-time employees. The office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in his statement on Monday said that they are reviewing the complaint. It seems the bill – AB5 – faces numerous legal challenges.
The Department of Labor (DOL) would be reeling out anew overtime rule from January 1, 2020. According to DOL, this new overtime rule would ensure that about 1.3 million new workers are eligible for overtime pay. What it implies for employers is that starting January 1, 2020, the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) threshold would be increasing to $35,568 annually, or $684 weekly from the previous salary threshold of $23,660 per year, or $455 per week. Thus adding previously exempted employees into the nonexempt employee category.
The Walt Disney Company is in the news again and this time it is the character staff of Walt Disney World that took the center-stage and report indecent groping by the tourists. The Walt Disney World employees portraying the popular characters Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, each filed a police complaint in December, stating that they were touched inappropriately by the tourists. The incidents came to light when one 51-year-old man was arrested in November after a complaint by an employee portraying a Disney princess. Andrea Finger, a Disney spokesperson said that Disney encourages cast members to come forward and report any incident where they don’t feel safe while portraying Disney characters.
Contrary to the idea of holidays that workers revel in the festivities and not engage in office-related work during their off time, more than 50% of workers don’t switch off, Fortune reports. The issue now is: how do you encourage people to disconnect? According to a LinkedIn survey conducted among 2,000 office workers, 51% of workers have been contacted by colleagues or bosses via phone, text, or email while they were on a holiday break.
PTO, or paid time off, is the most desired non-insurance benefit among employees, according to the findings of an Unum survey. Flexibility paid family leaves, gym memberships and fitness/healthy lifestyle incentives were the top five most-desired benefits according to the survey. Unemployment is as low as 3.6%. If workers don’t get what they want from their employer, they will look for better benefits elsewhere, HR Dive suggests.
In a new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, an employer can restrict the employees’ use of its email system in a way that doesn’t discriminate against union communications or other protected communications. In 2014, however, NLRB had ruled that employees with access to their employer’s email system for work-related purposes had a right to use that system for communications during non-work time.
A Bankrate poll found that in the past 12 months, half of the U.S. workers haven’t received a pay boost either via a raise or a job change. Among those who received a raise, 38% said their increase was based on performance, 31% were promoted to receive additional responsibilities, and 26% were compensated for the increased cost of living.
Travis Kalanick, the co-founder of Uber, has severed his ties with the company. Kalanick resigned from the company’s board and sold all his shares to turn his focus to a new venture creating “ghost kitchens” for food delivery services, Reuters reported. Kalanick stepped down as chief executive in June 2017 under pressure from investors and after a string of setbacks.
Women are less likely to engage in self-promotion than men, according to new research in HBR. The findings came out in an experiment conducted by professors at Harvard Business School and Wharton. Women gave themselves lower performance ratings even when they knew how they had done relative to their peers. Fortune suggests employers should investigate why women are likely to be swayed by male employees’ self-promotion.
BRT companies are more likely than non-BRT companies to offer paid parental leaves and have better disclosure properties around paid parental leave. However, they tend to offer fewer leaves than non - BRT companies -11 weeks to new mothers and six weeks to new fathers, compared to 12 weeks by non-BRT companies. For flexibility in planning, BRT companies are seeking same requirements for paid parental leaves as FMLA.
Workers with imposter syndrome have lower job satisfaction, higher burnout and perform poorly, according to a report by Crossover Health. Imposter syndrome affects both men and women across all age groups in many industries. Employees are increasingly looking at their employers to address mental health issues. Training managers can spot troubling behavior or performance problems among employees to bring mental health issues under control.
A new Gartner study says the number of U.S. employees working remotely will surpass 50% in 2020. Therefore, it is imperative for managers to learn to manage the remote workforce and lead them to success. Communication, community, and career development are three areas for managers to focus to bring the best of a remote team. Remote work will get bigger in the coming years, Fortune reports.
Visible tattoos, casual dress, and unusual hair colors are more accepted at workplaces now. An Accountemps survey found that 91% of senior managers attribute acceptability to relaxed social norms and a work environment that caters to the younger generation of workers. Bad language, Pets in the office, and political images remain big offenses at the workplace.
Tesco said it has suspended its production at a factory in China because the factory was forcing prisoners. Allegedly, the factory was forcing foreign prisoners to help make charity Christmas cards. Reportedly, Florence Widdicombe in South London discovered a plea note among Christmas Cards. The company has started an investigation, The Guardian reported. Similar cases have been reported earlier.
World Economic Forum report says gender parity will not be attained for another 99.5 years. While Education and Health and Survival have the least gender parity gap (96% and 97%), economic participation, political empowerment, and educational attainment are far from coming to a close. Political empowerment is the farthest from parity at 24.7%. However, the sector showed a 1.8% increase in the past year.
Recruiters often seek soft skills in new hires. However, soft skills are hard to uncover in the recruiting process. Also, soft-skills can vary from role to role. Technical roles, for instance, may require collaboration and teamwork, other roles may require written communication skills. In-demand soft skills include adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence.
A new survey from Mojo Vision says 78% of employees are open to wearing extended reality headsets at their employer’s request. Another survey from Perkins Coie’s said 78% of execs and investors believe XR technology can be used for workforce development. XR could soon be seen being used for workforce development.
Resilience is important to combat workplace stress. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Center for Workplace Mental Health, workplace stress causes 120,000 deaths and about $190 billion health care costs annually. Stress also contributes to many illnesses ranging from chronic depression to reduction in immune system functioning. Hence, organizations must take steps to help employees fight stress and find resilience.
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