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A popular t-shirt in the 1980s espoused simply that, “Life Happens.” And happen it does, as daily people face the ups and downs of birth and marriage, death and divorce, financial ups and downs, and injury and disease. Every day each one of us faces a variety of personal problems and issues, of all weights and complexities, bombarding our emotions and vying for our attention. It is obvious to say that often these personal stresses (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘productivity’
Personal Problems At Work
Monday, August 8th, 2011
Mediate Parenting Plans – Decrease Presenteeism
Monday, February 28th, 2011
Employers know that parents worry about their children, and sometimes are preoccupied with thoughts about their children’s health and well-being while at work. To be sure employees going through a litigated divorce are often preoccupied with the process and worry about the outcome.
What about after the fact, once the divorce is finalized the child custody agreement and parenting plan is in place; are parents done being preoccupied with these issues at work? (more…)
Mediating ADA Accommodation Compliance
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Employers and human resource personnel often find themselves trying to reasonably accommodate the needs of disabled employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Unfortunately, for many employers, the concept of ADA accommodation can be a controversial topic. (more…)
What is the Most Stressful Job in America?
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010There is a lot of talk these days about employee stress. Employees report feeling overwhelmed with higher employer expectations for less pay. The news is full of headlines about long-term unemployment, and most have either experienced unemployment recently or know someone who has. It is reasonable to assume that current economic conditions increase stress experienced in the workplace. (more…)
Employee Stress & Workplace Conflict
Friday, October 1st, 2010
One thing that has not decreased in the current economy is the effect of employee stress in the workplace. It is estimated that the total cost of employee stress in the United States is well over $300 billion annually.
Stress results in increased health costs, absenteeism, presenteeism, distraction, workplace errors & accidents, workplace conflict, and litigation. (more…)
Truth about ADA Compliance Guidelines – ADA Reasonable Accommodation
Monday, March 1st, 2010The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is 20 years old. In addition, recently employer focused ADA compliance issues and requirements were in the news as a result of some political campaign, included national coverage of Rand Paul’s senate run in Kentucky.
It is hard to argue the impact of ADA in our everyday lives, many accessibility improvements have become commonplace when they used to be rare. Technology has also increased accessibility options – such as voice simulation on computers, virtual offices, web-based communications – allowing widespread access to information, communication, and functionality that was not an option 30 years ago.
Despite the options currently available, at issue for employers is complying with ADA accessibility requests of its employees and potential hires. Unfortunately it is the perception of many that employer ADA compliance results in a costly and often unreasonable burden on the employer.
This is a clear misunderstanding.
ADA compliance guidelines charge employers with making “Reasonable Accommodation” to comply with ADA guidelines. Unfortunately, this seems to be often misunderstood. It is not the intent of ADA that employers are at the mercy of their employees (or potential employees), instead it is the intent that reasonable accommodations will be made to facilitate an individual employee’s ability to be a successful and valuable employee. In other words, ADA compliance guidelines benefit both the employee and the employer.
Perhaps a job function requires that an employee stand for an extended period of time. However, someone – who can fulfill all other requirements of the job – is not able to comply with the expectation of standing due to temporary or permanent injury or disability. A reasonable accommodation may be the use of a stool or chair during this individual’s shift.
Perhaps an office is located above ground level with no wheelchair access. As opposed to relocating the entire office to accommodate a single employee, creating a virtual work environment for the employee may be an option.
An employee who has back or other issues requiring a modified work station may initially request a particular ergonomic chair that costs thousands of dollars – which can be cost prohibitive for many employers. Perhaps there are other options that meet the physical and medical needs of the employee, but are far more realistic for employers to provide.
These options may seem overly simplistic – how can it be that easy if everyone is so at odds about the cost of ADA compliance?
It seems that, like so many conflicts (an issue that is trying to be resolved from two divergent views), the employers and employees involved in this issue have found themselves fully ensconced in their emotional-based positions: each side focusing on protecting and supporting their idea, instead of working towards a resolution. They have lost sight of the shared interest in the resolution of the conflict.
Mediation is an excellent means of the resolving conflicts related to ADA compliance – included worksite ADA compliance issues.
A neutral mediator can bring both sides together to create a resolution to the ADA compliance issue that promotes the shared interests and meets both the needs of the employer and the employee.
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Employer Concern Does Matter
Friday, October 9th, 2009A new study by Shepell Fgi, The Missing Link: Supervisors’ Role in Employee Health Management, refers to the important role that supervisors play in employee benefit utilization and overall employee health and wellness.
Not only does supervisory quality directly impact the health and well-being of workers, it can help or hinder access to all the other supports an organization puts into place. For example, an organization can have excellent work/life balance policies and programs, but if a supervisor is not supportive of employees’ lives outside of work, this can become a significant stressor and may lead to physical or mental health problems for employees.
Ensuring that supervisors are aware of available health and wellness benefits and can offer their employees real solutions to personal issues is important to an employer’s bottom line.
Mediation as Employee Assistance: Privacy Check
Monday, March 2nd, 2009If an employer provides CFR’s Employee Mediation Benefits as to your existing employee benefits package, does that mean that they are trying to pry into your personal life?
The answer is no. Employee Mediation Benefits, like other health and wellness benefits, are entirely voluntary and confidential.. Your employer has no involvement in your case beyond providing you information about the benefit.
So why are they doing this for you?
Employee Mediation Benefits provide employees with a real means of resolving personal and workplace issues that otherwise can have a negative impact on general levels of productivity.
Lost productivity in the workplace accounts for a significant amount of any company’s losses. According to the 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey, two-thirds of employees who call in sick are really skipping work to deal with personal and family issues. One widely quoted study by the Employers Health Coalition showed that the costs of presenteeism can be found by taking the costs of absenteeism and multiplying them by 7.5. Could those costs be avoided?
Absolutely – in fact, that is exactly what those types of benefits are designed to do. Consider the Employee Mediation Benefit. This benefit does more than just help employees deal with conflict in the workplace, it provides access to services which help them resolve personal conflict. If conflicts are addressed promptly and efficiently through mediation, employees are less likely to focus on personal business during the work day. One online survey suggested that employees actually spend 1.3 hours of every day on personal business.
The average costs of wasted time and avoidable productivity losses can range from $700 to $2000 per year per employee, depending on whose research you read. To find out more about CFR’s Employee Mediation benefit, contact our benefits department for more information. It’s private, it saves time, and it definitely saves everyone money.
Why an Employee Mediation Benefit?
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008The question of why an employer should provide an Employee Mediation Benefit that addresses personal conflicts such as divorce or child custody, in addition to internal workplace issues, is not surprising – especially in these economic times.
The news is rife with stories of rising benefit costs and falling revenues. Employers are more likely to cut voluntary benefit programs versus adding a new one. An Employee Mediation Benefit, which can be added for little or no cost is one that can significantly reduce the impact interpersonal conflicts have on productivity.
By promoting mediation as the preferred means of conflict resolution for life’s problems, employers are ensuring their employees are able to resolve their personal conflicts with the least amount of added stress, time, or expense. Mediation has the added benefit of having a great level of long-term effectiveness and adherence to settlement agreements. Participants in mediation no only agree to all aspects of the settlement, they also develop improved communication skills, resulting in less future conflict.
Encouraging employees to access mediation to solve personal conflicts, versus traditional legal intervention, means less likelihood that the issue will bleed into the workplace and affect general productivity. Employees that are going through a divorce or custody battle are likely to have increased absenteeism, presenteeism, interpersonal conflict, and stress levels. They are likely to be preoccupied causing additional workplace stress as well.
Unlike litigation, or traditional legal intervention, mediation is a means of establishing an efficient and effective resolution, which frees employees to focus on their jobs not their problems. An employer’s minimal financial investment is rewarded with focused employees who see their employers as providing a valuable benefit that resolves the conflict quickly and effectively.
Responding to Presenteeism
Friday, November 7th, 2008
Presenteeism is a term used to refer to the loss in productivity resulting from employees showing up to work despite illness that makes them unable to perform to their employer’s expectations.
Human resource professionals have primarily referenced employee illness as a cause of presenteeism, however it seems that emotional distress and preoccupation with work & personal life stress could be a significant contributor as well.
Employers have become increasingly aware of the negative affect personal problems can have on employee functioning and many have responded by implementing employee assistance programs (EAPs) – which, to a degree, mitigate some of the impact on presenteeism.
Existing EAPs are limited in their scope however. Mediation is a means of intervention that can resolve the personal problem, allowing employees to focus on their jobs not their personal lives.
Find out more about CFR’s Employee Mediation Benefit.
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