Barbara Flynn

By Kathy Gurchiek   Disaster can strike at any time—whether it’s a hurricane ripping off the roof of one’s house, a catastrophic health issue or some other unexpected hardship. The resulting stress has consequences on employees’ health and well-being, and has impacts for the employer, as well. With a whopping majority (92 percent) of workers worried about...

By Kathryn Mayer   Research conducted over the past several months found that although inflation has recently abated, employees’ financial wellness is still suffering. Now, new research goes even further with its main finding: Financial wellness is at an all-time low.   That’s according to Bank of America’s (BoA’s) annual Workplace Benefits Report, which surveyed more...

By Kathryn Mayer   Many working parents already are faced with challenges around child care, trying to find affordable options while navigating work and family life. Now, those challenges may get even more difficult. On Sept. 30, $24 billion in federal pandemic relief funding for child care—as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan...

By Kathryn Mayer   U.S. employers are planning smaller pay increases in 2024 compared to this year—and organizations say increases could decline more if economic conditions worsen, new data finds. A new survey out from consulting firm Mercer—which comes on the heels of several other compensation prediction surveys—finds that employers in the U.S. plan to...

By Allen Smith, J.D.   The Israel-Hamas war raises several HR issues stateside, from disruptions in international business to leave requests from employees shaken by the violence, and even arguments in offices and on production floors among workers with strong, opposing views.   On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists, as the White House stated, broke into...

By Kathryn Mayer In the total rewards space, employers are already busy preparing for open enrollment, navigating compliance updates and strategizing their 2024 pay increase plans. Now comes another item on the to-do list: encouraging employees to get vaccinated. Flu shots, COVID-19 boosters and even the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine are all on the agenda....