The state of the American workplace is so bad, the US Surgeon General has now stepped in. The same guy who warns us of the deadly consequences of smoking is now saying Americans suffer from mental and physical health problems because of stressful, sometimes hostile, often toxic workplaces.
He cites specific workplace conditions that contribute to […]
We were warned.
For years, companies like Gallup cautioned that the vast majority of our employees were disengaged from their work. Researchers showed us that this lowered productivity and morale, and increased absenteeism and employee turnover. They said that large chunks of our workforce were considering changing jobs or careers.
And they placed the blame squarely on […]
It’s no secret the pandemic brought unprecedented upheaval to the American workforce.
Overnight, many of us had to learn to work from home or take significant precautions at work. Over the first few weeks, thousands lost jobs.
The pandemic shocked us out of our routines and gave us a chance to see our work, jobs, and lives […]
In all areas of life, incentives work really well. They’re easy to understand—if I do this, I will get that—and they focus people on a specific outcome. We start young—eat your vegetables and you’ll get dessert—and we continue to respond to incentives all our lives.
In business, incentives are incredibly successful. Do you want your employee […]
Do you feel pressure to come up with new ideas?
Things change so quickly these days, it seems we need new ideas and fresh thinking just to survive. We need to understand how our customers are changing. Will they still need us a year from now? What should we do to our products, distribution, or marketing […]
There’s no debate that companies with engaged employees and diverse teams are more successful. They have greater profitability, lower costs, and higher stock prices than companies with disengaged, homogeneous workforces. For years, studies and real-world experience have shown this to be true, and yet here we are at the beginning of 2021, […]
Theft by employees is roughly a $16 billion problem in US companies. Employees steal through fraud, cheating the accounting department, or stuffing cash or product into their pockets. In response, businesses buy security cameras and motion detectors and hire security guards. They develop tracking procedures and reporting systems, and have their attorneys compose theft […]
Imagine you have a skill so rare and so valuable that companies will pay tremendous amounts of money for access to your talent. They’ll go to great lengths to win you over because your extraordinary abilities can bring riches to your company, accolades to your boss, and thrills to your shareholders.
Because they–and you—believe you have […]
We all know managers have a tremendous impact on the productivity and engagement of their teams. And we know that not everyone can manage people: Gallup says only 10% of people are natural managers and another 20% are coachable.
Upgrading the quality of your existing managers can seem like an arduous task, but one thing […]
