South African TelKom in a letter to the Union, dated January 15, 2020, revealed that it could cut about 3,000 jobs of more than 15,000 workers, as it struggles with a decline in performances in fixed voice and fixed data services. In its letter to the unions, the company mentioned that it has been struggling with the mounting organizational and operational inefficiencies related to fixed voice and data services. The letter also mentioned that while it has been trying to keep pace with the growing demand for the internet and data with the increased use of smartphone usage, it has not been able to match up. The organization also mentioned that it would consider voluntary severance and early retirement packages for employees affected by phase one of the job cut.
In a recent announcement, dated January 8, 2020, it was revealed that the Walt Disney Company would expand its education plan – Disney Aspire and add Purdue University Global and Southern New Hampshire University to its previous network of schools. Disney Aspire is a 100% tuition paid program in association with Guild Education. The announcement further revealed that over 12,000 students have enrolled in classes and about 500 of them completed the programs since the program’s launch in August 2018. And with two new universities joining the bandwagon, eligible employees would be able to pursue programs like cloud computing, digital photography, legal studies, and higher education administration among other programs that are offered.
Starbucks has added ‘Headspace’ – a subscription service that offers hundreds of themed sessions and easy guided meditations to the previous lists of employee benefits informed the press release by the organization. The app includes programs that would help people with stress, anxiety and other mental health-related issues. It is the latest offering from the coffee giant’s enhanced Employee Assistance Program that was created to post the feedback from employees and qualified experts in the field of medical health.
According to the latest announcement dated January 9, 2020, McDonald’s and Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College, have entered into a partnership between 300 McDonald’s restaurants and 18 of the school campuses. As per the announcement, Ivy Tech would offer a chance to McDonald’s workers to obtain ‘crosswork credits’ thus allowing them to learn while they earn. In addition, the Ivy Tech counselors would also help McDonald’s workforce to identify which training and experiences would count as credits.
According to the LinkedIn Learning Report that was released on January 9, 2020 ‘Creativity’ was one of the most demanded soft skills in 2019 and it has retained its top position this year as well. The report revealed that organizations seek employees who could approach problems creatively and offer creative solutions. Other soft skills that made to the top of the list included – Persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. LinkedIn in its report noted that emotional intelligence was the new entrant to the list and was here to stay.
In the recent development as reported by Broadsheet – Fortune’s daily newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women – women in the US have outnumbered men in the workforce. The newsletter reported that it was the first time since 2010 and the second time ever that women surpassed men on the US payrolls. Currently, it was reported, women hold about 50.4% of jobs that exclude roles like farmworkers and the self-employed. Keeping in line with the trend the economists predict that the future of the American workforce is women.
In a recent JPD report released on January 6, 2020, it was revealed that interviewers have flirted with about 20% of job applicants. The report also mentioned that about 58% of women had flirted back as compared to 71% of men flirting back with the interviewer. In addition, the report mentioned that about 59% of respondents revealed that they have been also asked questions about their personal lives that had made them uncomfortable. The report also featured other attributes that men and women worried about differently at the time of the interview.
According to the reports by Celluloid Ceiling released on January 3, 2020, while the number of women working behind the camera has risen significantly in 2019. It is still far less, as men continue to outnumber women by the ration 4:1in the important behind-the-scenes roles. The report revealed that women comprised about 20% of all directors, producers, executive producers, writers, editors and cinematographers working on the top 100 films in Hollywood. The reports also emphasized on what experts felt about the entire scenario and revealed that there still needs to be a huge improvement.
Taco Bell in the latest press release dated January 9, 2020, announced that it would test a $100,000 annual salary for its restaurant manager at company-owned stores in few select locations in the latter part of the year. The release also revealed that the chain would also introduce a program called ‘Makers’ for employees who wish to grow their leadership experience but don’t want to be general managers. In addition, the chain announced that as of January 1, company employees would be eligible for at least 24-hours paid sick leave each calendar year.
In a recent announcement by the Governor’s office, Tennessee would be offering paid family leave to its state employees, effective March 1, 2020. The governor signed an executive order on January 7 that granted the popular benefit. According to the governor’s office, the latest leave sanction would be consistent with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The press release also mentioned that the requirement doesn’t apply to private business.
In a recent ruling California Court announced that independent truck drivers were exempted from ‘gig worker’ law as they are subject to federal statute. The ruling Los Angeles judge handed a victory to one industry that was challenging the state effort to clamp down on labor abuses. The said law is known as AB5 and took effect on January 1, making it difficult for organizations to classify their workforce as contractors instead of employees – a discretion that exempts them from being eligible for overtime, healthcare and workers’ compensation.
The US Federal Trade Commission or FTC – the agency that is responsible to enforce antitrust law would reconsider the rule that allows employers to force their workforce to sign the non-compete agreement. According to the announcement made by the officials on Thursday – the law that was meant for white-collar professions like doctors and tech workers; has trickled down to the blue-collar profession that requires minimum or no training. The state has earlier also argued the non-compete agreement was illegal.
According to the latest research by Harvard Business Review, it was revealed that managers who are too much involved with their employees’ personal issues might tend to pay for it in terms of enhanced distress, sadness, and nervousness. The research revealed that while leaders their employees with work problems tend to improve their work engagement, dealing with personal issues could have an opposite effect. The researchers concluded that dealing with personal issues of employees could also be taxing for leaders as well, especially the inexperienced ones.
Two Afro-American executives filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant for ‘systematic but covert’ racial discrimination prevalent at McDonald’s. The executives alleged that the racial discrimination reached its peak under the former chief executive Steve Easterbrook who took over the company in 2015. The lawsuit comes at a time when McDonald’s conducted a broad examination of its corporate culture in the wake of Easterbrook’s departure. The current suit filed in the latest in a series of racial and sexual harassment cases that were brought against McDonald’s.
A recent study by HR People + Strategy revealed that Chief People Officers lack skills and technical knowledge to meet the demands of the new-gen workforce. According to the study about 520 executives believed the absence of C-suite support as the major cause of not being ready among the officers. The study explored the development of the next generation HR leaders also found that about 99% of CPOs believed that while they had courage and agility to change, there was only a handful about one-third who were ready for the change.
This New Year marked a critical year for ‘training compliance efforts’ especially the sexual harassment training requirements in the US following the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. According to the new training requirement laws, California employers with either five or more employees – irrespective of their employee status—would be required to offer two hours of sexual harassment training to all employees in the managerial roles by January 1. The program also mandates a one-hour of said training to its employees in non-managerial roles by the same date. Post that the employers would be required to conduct the training sessions every two years henceforth. Human trafficking awareness training for 20 minutes for employers in the travel and hospitality business was another law.
In order to strengthen its regional units and speed-up decision-making process, the UBS Group AG had plans to cut as many as 500 private banking jobs as the lender moves ahead with a wealth management revamp. The group would split up its private banking system in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) among its top managers. The changes, as per the memo, released by the group, are the current steps taken to reorganize its wealth management business after the split from the rival.
According to an announcement from Governor Cuomo’s office, New York state would be eliminating subminimum wages for tipped employees across miscellaneous industries statewide. As per the announcement the change would be done in two phases. The first phase would see the difference between minimum wage and current tip wages halved on June 30, 2020, and completely eliminated by December 31, 2020. The change would affect more than 70,000 people in various jobs including but not restricting to nail and salon workers, car wash workers, and other employees who come under the tipped employees' category.
As the new Finnish PM Sanna Marin floats the idea of the four-day week, the critics were ready to criticize the idea of reduced working hours. The reduced work hours boost productivity, reduces carbon footprint and overall make the employees healthy and happy. A study by Henley Business School revealed that about 77% of employees felt that a four-day week would improve their life quality.
The survey by Olivet University strengthened the idea that technology drives office transition trends. It also threw light on the preferences of new-age employees opting for an eclectic mix of both open and private spaces. However, in a recent survey by Zapier, it was revealed that the traditional office space – a closed-in office or a cubicle – would become obsolete by 2030. The Zapier survey also mentioned that employers who wish to redesign their office spaces, they need to keep into account the diverse needs of their employees.
This website uses cookies to enhance website functionalities and improve your online experience. By browsing this website, you agree to the use of cookies as outlined in our privacy policy.
